Lessons from the rise of APGA

By Uchem Obi Esq March 05 April, 3:02pm

Thirteen years ago, in 2002, The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was formed, as a puritanical political party for unblemished and purpose – driven Progressive Politicians. The beginning was very humble and the fear of political watchers was whether the party would remain committed to its ideals and shun the overtures of the hawks and vultures of Nigerian politics. It was not easy for the party because when the birds of destruction descended, it was stretched to a near-snapping limit, to fight the battle of its young life.

If it had lost that battle, it would have been nunc dimitis. The party would have been taken over by questionable money-bags, “Kick-backing” contractors and the “bad men” and “dream killers” of every good Nigerian dream. If APGA had lost that battle, its destiny may have become wasted like many others before it and its soul may now be resting in pieces like the troubled souls of other Political Parties which were so sadly sacrificed on the corrupt altar of individualism. All those troubled parties had at one time or the other reincarnated into more troubled destinies. APGA refused and rejected such reincarnation.

If it had lost the battle for its life, probably, it may have suffered worse fate than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has been struck by a strange hormonal dysfunction, which causes sixteen year olds to reverse to breast-feeding and sucking feeders. The disease is so strange that long after its victim dies, the victim still breathes, oscillating in the valley of confusion. The victim is neither dead nor alive.APGA saved itself this nightmarish condition when it worked hard to win its battles.

However, it wasn’t enough for the party to win the battles. It must survive the victory it won. The party fought hard again. From the rubbles of its victory sprang fresh agitations, litigations and spurious attacks. Not few people believed that the party would go under. Surprisingly and against permutations, the party survived and continued to wax stronger. Shortly before the 2015 general elections, it was dealt what many believed was a final uppercut, when its BOT chairman and former governor ofAnambra State dumped the party for the PDP, after eight years using the party’s platform to govern the state.

Obi’s departure from the party seemed to be the tonic the party needed to re-discover its rhythm. It does appear to political watchers that long before his departure Obi had stopped working for the growth and expansion of APGA and had become fullyinvolved in the activities of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In reality, at the time the former governor officially joined PDP, he had become more of a liability than an asset to APGA and that was why the party posted its best electoral outing since its existence in the 2015 general elections, just shortly after Obi’s departure. APGA has yet won another battle and rather than shrinking, the party has continued to rise and rise.

In the just concluded general elections the party won 11 House of Assembly seats in Abia State, 27 in Anambra, 2 in Bayelsa and 1 in Taraba. The Party also won 2 House of Representatives seats in Anambra, one each in Abia and Taraba states. Speaking in a recent Sun Newspaper interview, the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Victor Oyewas confident that more victory would come the way of the party by the time the Tribunals round off because the party’s mandates in many state were stolen. 

As it stands now, the party has commanding influence in many states now, unlike before. In Bayelsa and Kogi States where governorship elections are already scheduled for this year, the momentum of APGA’s political in-roads is giving other political parties sleepless nights. APGA appears to be the party to beat right now and officials of the party are leveraging on this momentum.

Rather than sleepless nights, other parties should be taking crucial lessons from the repositioning and rejuvenation of APGA. The first lesson to learn from the APGA miracle is the dire need for political parties to remain focused, committed to theirideals and shun buck-passing. In the said interview mentioned above, Dr. Oye said; “- - We met a very strong and focused party and we are going to consolidate and build new platforms to further relationship within the party.” He didn’t seize the opportunity to upbraid the former Exco of the party or tell the story of how he is struggling to re-build a party destroyed by his predecessors. Lesson No 1 – don’t pass the buck and don’t pull others down because others gave their known best for the general good and have their own supporters. You need these supporters as friends and not enemies.

Other political parties should also learn from APGA how to handle intra-party squabbles, without ripping the party apart. Commenting on the party’s relationship with ex-governor Obi, the APGA National Chairman enthused, “Obi is our brother and also our friend, and we love him. He thought that Jonathan was going to win the second time, and which was the calculation of many people. So, there was nothing wrong in what he did. That is how I see it.” Well said and absolutely dynamic. Lesson No 2 – don’t be holier than thou. Never shut the door. Always keep it open. You will be surprised at how many unlikely people would come back through that door.

This may explain why traffic into APGA has become high. It may also explain why internal democracy thrives in the party and party members are allowed to express their convictions without fear of sanctions. Another great attribute of the party is its penchant for total disclosure and honesty at it. On Igbo block vote for President Jonathan, the Party is of the opinion that the Igbos erred. The party was not cowardly in indicting itself because Jonathan was also the party’s candidate in the election. The party chairman went further to say, “the biggest mistake APGA made in 2015 was not to have fielded a candidate and that candidate would have succeeded in unifying theSouth East and other parts of the country, but because they did not calculate properly, we are suffering the consequences”. Lesson No 3 – Never grandstand. Always keep it clean and honest even when you are wrong. Your honesty will win you sympathizers.

APGA’s honesty is already winning supporters in Kogi State. The party has remained committed to its ideals and has refused to pander to bandwagon practice. Though it is now the trend for individuals to dictate the tune for their parties, APGA still dictates its own tunes and also compels its members to dance to it. This is called partydiscipline, which makes the party’s positions superior to the interests of its members. APGA is the only party that can lay claim to party discipline and party superiority. The party always ensures that the field is level for all players and this inspires members’ confidence in the party.

It does not select a candidate and force him or her upon members. It allows its members to choose who they want to vote for. In the run-up to the Kogi election, hear Dr. Oye again, “we are going to bring forth a candidate that has integrity, that has the clout, a candidate that has popularity and is acceptable to the people.” This is lesson No 4 – Never take the people for granted. They can make or mar the party because the power that the party seeks is in the hands of the people.”

These and many more reasons that cannot fit into one write-up are some of the reasons behind the rise and rise of APGA.