Endgame for PDP — Why patriots must join the coalition, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
Love him or hate him, Alhaji Sule Lamido has paid his dues — to both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and to Nigeria’s long struggle for democracy. His lifelong commitment to justice, equity, and internal democracy is unquestionable. That is why the PDP’s refusal to even sell him a nomination form is not just an act of political betrayal — it is a declaration that the party has lost its soul.
This is not an isolated blunder. It is the final act in a long, slow decline. Since its defeat in 2015, the PDP has drifted from one crisis to another — more obsessed with personalities than principles, more interested in power games than nation-building. Its internal fractures, opportunism, and arrogance have steadily eroded what little credibility it once had.
Before the 2023 elections, some of its governors openly undermined their own presidential candidate, trading loyalty for personal advantage. The party that once boasted of “power to the people” now survives on intrigue, manipulation, and self-sabotage.
Lamido’s humiliation is not just another episode in the PDP’s drama; it is the most telling symptom of its decay. He is no ordinary politician. A founding father of the PDP and one of its most consistent defenders, Lamido believed in the ideals that once defined the party — inclusiveness, fairness, and internal democracy. Denying him the right to contest under the banner he helped build is not just petty; it is proof that the PDP no longer recognizes its own founders, values, or vision.
READ ALSO: Bring back the opposition, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
Once upon a time, the PDP was Nigeria’s “big tent” — a meeting point for North and South, rich and poor, traditional and modern. Today, that tent is collapsing under the weight of ego, factionalism, and short-term greed. Let’s be honest: the ruling APC doesn’t need to destroy the PDP — the PDP is doing that job all by itself. Defections, court battles, and bitter rivalries have turned the once-mighty party into a theatre of self-inflicted wounds.
The result is obvious. The PDP, once Africa’s largest political party, is now a shadow of its former self — fractured, fatigued, and fading fast. Its promise to rule for sixty years has turned into a cautionary tale of what happens when power is divorced from principle.
But the real danger goes beyond the PDP. A dying opposition is a danger to democracy itself. Without a credible alternative, Nigeria risks sliding into a one-party state — where accountability disappears, arrogance thrives, and the people’s voice is silenced.
For the few patriots still within the PDP, the time for wishful thinking is over. Loyalty to a decaying structure cannot serve the nation. The moment demands courage — the courage to move beyond old labels and build something new.
Nigeria now needs a coalition of conscience — a broad, credible democratic front anchored on integrity, inclusion, and national renewal. The future belongs not to those clinging to the ruins of the past, but to those ready to rise above them.
The PDP had its chance to reform and redeem itself. It wasted it. The Lamido episode is not just another misstep — it is the party’s political obituary written in broad daylight.
History will remember this moment. The day the PDP denied Sule Lamido a form may well be remembered as the day it denied itself a future.
bgabdullahi@gmail.com
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp:
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
