IT is indeed necessary to look back and assess how our journey to democracy has been. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan has, in spite of numerous challenges, sustained the evolving democracy notwithstanding the many challenges. Nigeria, under the president, has turned out to be one of the most enviable nations on earth.

The current challenges are “carry overs” from past military and civilians administrations but President Jonathan has, since mounting the saddle of leadership, resolved many of the issues. Like the saying goes that Rome was not built in a day, so it is that President Jonathan cannot resolve all the issues at the same time. That is why we have to give him another opportunity in 2015 to consolidate the work he started.

As democrats, we know that politics is a game of numbers. We need people and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP is anchored on people for membership, people for votes and people for solving the problems of Nigerians.

We should, therefore, use this basic doctrine of all-inclusiveness in the membership of the PDP, rather than godfatherism, this or that faction syndrome, to resolve problems in States where there may be crisis. There must be total inclusivity of all party members in the membership and the running of the party. The umbrella is so big and can indeed accommodate all that wish to come under it.

PDP is a party that was founded on concrete principles. It rode to power on the massive support and enormous goodwill of the Nigeria people. Over the years, the party has squandered this goodwill to the point that even some of the members are no longer proud to be identified as PDP members, while other Nigerians now say that the problem of Nigeria is the PDP. This is the time and here is the place to begin to restore the people’s confidence in the party.

We must sustain the internal democracy, trust and confidence in the party, credibility in our electoral process, all-inclusiveness in membership. We must also entrench democratic ideas in our party politics and above all, excellence as hallmark in fulfilling the party’s covenant with the people. Loyalty to the party and the ideals enunciated by the party’s founding fathers must remain its beacon light.

The same patriotic spirit that inspired the party’s founding fathers on August 19, 1998 should be invoked in party members today, and this is “that in the irresistible tides of history there comes a time that individuals must rise and dedicate themselves completely to larger causes, set aside the simplistic notions of  selfishness, greed and sectionalism.”

Such times as we have today in the party, nay country, call for the humanity and compassion of men – a deep desire to associate together in the pursuit of nobility of purpose, devotion to duty and dignity in individual existence and love of one’s country.

MARY OYIBOCHA AGBAJOH, a lawyer lives in Abuja