In the tragedy, Julius Caesar, written by William Shakespeare, and supposedly also in real life, Caesar was warned by a soothsayer to ‘beware the Ides of March. ‘ Caesar was killed on March 15th, and in Roman culture, the ‘Ides’ typically meant a day falling between the 13th and 15th of the month, which literarily became a warning sign for misfortune, betrayal, or anything characterized by Evil.
When in 2014, in the run-off to the 2015 general elections which berthed the end of 16 years of political dominance and control of power at the center by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, five governors moved against the candidacy of the then-incumbent President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, not many believed that they threat to rock the boat for the party on whose ticket they were in office could bring an end the 16-year reign of the PDP.
When in 2014, in the run-off to the 2015 general elections which berthed the end of 16 years of political dominance and control of power at the center by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, five governors moved against the candidacy of the then-incumbent President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, not many believed that they threat to rock the boat for the party on whose ticket they were in office could bring an end the 16-year reign of the PDP.
The five Governors were; Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rabi’u Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara). One could recall vividly that President Jonathan called the bluff of the G-5 who were regarded then as renegade governors.
The five Governors were; Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rabi’u Kwankwaso (Kano), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara). One could recall vividly that President Jonathan called the bluff of the G-5 who were regarded then as renegade governors.
Reports had it then that many close associates of the President advised him to prevail on the aggrieved governors not to leave the party, particularly the Governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi.
In one of my meetings with one of President`s Jonathan close allies in the United States after his defeat, the PDP chieftain lamented that he was one of those who appealed to the former president to prevail on the former Rivers State governor not to move away from from the Party.
He said, “we appealed to Jonathan then to try as much as possible to stop at least two of the governors from leaving the party, particularly, Amaechi, because we knew what was going on and even the northern elements he was depending on were all going to betray him and vote for Buhari.
“He didn`t listen to our several warnings and we all saw what happened. Even Sule Lamido and Babangida Aliyu who did not join them in the APC remained in the PDP but worked against the party”, narrated the people chieftain who did agree for his name to be mentioned here.
The fact that the PDP gave its presidential ticket a zero-zoning formula was a problem on its own as it was against the popular opinion that the south should have its turn in 2023. Of course, it gave room for the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, to win the ticket in a convention that was characterized by conspiracies, gang-ups, and manipulations. What was more shocking was the refusal of the current national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to step down to allow for a southerner to replace him.
Ayu had on a national TV declared that once a presidential candidate emerged from the north, himself being a northerner, would step aside for a southerner to step in to allow for what many regarded as a delicate balance in the party.
Although it`s been rumored in many quarters that the aggrieved governors in the PDP over the refusal of Ayu to step aside as promised are about seven, only five have been very vocal about their insistent on Ayu honoring his words to resign.
Just like we have in 2014/2015, the PDP again is faced with a similar scenario, and Atiku who was the coordinator and head of the movement that removed Jonathan and the PDP from power in 2015 sees himself in Jonathan`s shoes today. Although GEJ was an incumbent, which is slightly different.
Today, we have Governors Nyesom Wike, Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi Okezie Ikpeazu, and Seyi Makinde of Rivers, Benue, Enugu, Abia, and Oyo respectively, actively calling for Ayu`s removal and subsequently withdrawing their support for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
What political pundits are still unable to come to terms with is how will an opposition party with 13 governors be able to enter and win a presidential election without the support of at least six of these governors when a sitting president with all the powers and resources within his reach was defeated and humiliated in 2015 largely due to the efforts of the five governors with Rivers Rotimi Amaechi being the arrowhead. And we have the current Governor of Rivers, leading this onslaught this time around.
If the recent outburst in Makurdi over the weekend by Governor Samuel Ortom is anything to be considered, one could quickly summate that the lingering crisis that has bedeviled the main opposition PDP since June 2022 has become insurmountable.
Governor Ortom in a widely reported clearly stated that he would never support the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The campaign council chairman and Governor of Akwa-Ibom State is reported to be tinkering with the idea of withdrawing from the position as he was said to be complaining of a lack of direction and funds.
Other prominent members of the party who are said to be moving against the candidacy of the former VP owing to the compromising way he has been handling the protracted debacle have vowed to ensure that he loses the 2023 election.
Former governors, Ayo Fayose, Donald Duke, Ibrahim Dankwabo, and other major stakeholders who ordinarily ought to have pulled their resources to support Atiku are all said to be irked by the ostentatious style the Waziri Adamawa has handled the disagreements in the party.
The governor of Bauchi state, Senator Bala Mohammed is also reported to have vowed to restrict himself and the party`s structure in the state to his second term bid and other local elections which he believes are much more important to them than the presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar.
Apparently, one could say that the agitation for respecting the concept of fairness, equality, justice, and diversity within the party has snowballed into a full-blown crisis that is unwittingly setting the presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar into an unending Cyndarrela fairy tale that could never become a reality.
Then it pays to ask, has it become late for PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to beware of the ‘Ides of the Five Governors’? Only time can tell.
Deacon Darlington Okpebholo Ray, a social media consultant, Journalist, Member of the British Association of Journalists (BAJ), and publisher of Truth Live News, writes from Greenwich, London, United Kingdom