By Lindsay Barrett

Events in recent weeks have placed Bayelsa State squarely in the public eye as far as the future of the democratic experience in Nigeria is concerned. The new federal ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be determined to make an unprecedented impact in the state in December when an unseasonable governorship contest will be mounted there.

More than 20 former stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state announced that they were going to seek the APC ticket and eventually about 19 of them actually bought the party’s declaration of intent form.

Intent form

When the APC mounted its primary elections in the state, however, internal rivalry and indiscipline emerged with such vehemence that the exercise was aborted amid allegations of violence and fraud levelled against one another by the key competitors.

A few days after the first APC primaries were cancelled, the PDP mounted its own contest in the same venue, the Samson Siasia Stadium in Yenagoa, and the difference between the two events was remarkable.

The PDP contest was certainly the least rowdy of such gathering that Yenagoa has witnessed for years. Although the crowd was large the level of organised discipline displayed there is not usually associated with political meetings in Bayelsa State.

It was clear that the ruling party in the state wanted to send a message about its continued relevance and ability to exercise control in spite of the challenges that it faces as a result of the loss of power at the centre and the defeat of the state’s most prominent son, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, at the last elections.

A giant poster was prominently displayed outside Yenagoa APC Headquarters until a few days after the APC primaries when it was torn down by an irate crowd protesting the outcome of the contest. The outcome of the APC contest even after it was re-run has continued to generate controversy and acrimony in communities around the state.

In the confusion provoked by the fall-out from the APC imbroglio the PDP is faced with the task of influencing a voter populace that has been negatively sensitised and even intellectually brutalised.

The sitting Governor Henry Seriake Dickson’s detractors have mounted a campaign of misinformation and critical dissent against him to an extent that no previous governor has had to endure.

In addition to this the opponent who has emerged as the champion of the APC cause is none other than Chief Timipre Sylva the very adversary whom he bested in 2011/12.  The resurgence of Sylva is a phenomenon that cannot be treated lightly.

This may play no small part in explaining why one of the most experienced and capable political managers in the state, Hon. Fred Agbedi has been appointed the Director General of the Dickson Campaign Organisation even though was recently  elected to the House of Representatives and has a full plate to deal with.

Gov Dickson

Hon. Fred Agbedi, a one-time Bayelsa State chairman of the PDP, had in fact been a member of the House of Representatives in the Administration that was aborted by the June 12 imbroglio in 1993.

Although he is now regarded as having been one of the most important pillars of the Dickson Administration’s first term (he served as Political Adviser to the Governor until his decision to run for election), he has not always been considered a member of the political elite.

He is noted for his attachment to populist sentiments at the grass roots and has in the past actually been victimised for supporting causes that were considered to be based on idealism rather than party privilege. However the news that he had agreed to be the director general of the Dickson Restoration 2015 Campaign Organisation has convinced a broad section of the political class and the public at large in Bayelsa that the ruling party is fully aware that the forthcoming battle will not be an easy contest.

When we met for a chat recently even though the House of Representatives had just returned from its recess Hon. Agbedi was commuting from Abuja to Yenagoa more than once a week to hold crucial meetings with the supporters of the sitting Governor.

We raised pertinent issues in our discussions and he gave us some very interesting answers:

Hon. Agbedi we have heard it said that the people of the South-South Zone have always depended on close ties with the central government to enhance their fortunes in the Nigerian political arena. Will this influence their voting in the December election in Bayelsa State?

We are aware that this is one of the arguments that some opportunistic politicians have put  forward as justification for abandoning a party that they have benefited from for nearly two decades.

Puerile arguments

However, it is clear that the majority of our people are not fooled by such puerile arguments. It is true that we have always sought to influence the course of national politics by supporting leaders of government business at the centre, but we have also always endeavoured to ensure that those leaders put policies in place that were beneficial to us.

We will continue to follow this course and our duty now is not to claim membership of a party that we have not helped to build but rather to articulate our needs and objectives effectively to the new leadership and convince them to heed our advice.

We cannot abandon the direction that the Dickson Government has already embarked upon especially in areas of development and empowerment for the people of our state, and the fact that the APC seems to be determined to foist the failed ex-Governor Timipre Sylva on us is an indication that it is not ready to embrace our true development agenda at least at the state level. Our job is to stand firm in defence of the rights of our people at home while doing our best to convince the new

leaders at the centre that our values are not inimical to national unity. I believe all true Bayelsans understand this objective and that will motivate their voting in December.

The mantra of change promoted by the APC has apparently caught the imagination of a wide spectrum of the populace in the country. Won’t many Bayelsans feel left out of this movement especially now that they have lost the Presidency?

Let me make it very plain to you; for many ordinary Bayelsans although the Jonathan Presidency was a thing of pride to them they did not particularly regard it as being the justification for their participation in national politics.

Many of us participated in national politics for decades prior to the emergence of Dr. Jonathan and our objective was never to produce a President but rather to achieve equity and fairness in our relations with the rest of the nation. While Dr. Jonathan was President we supported his efforts to install such values in the polity as a whole not just because he was our son but also because we felt it was our duty to serve the nation as best as we could. Dr. Jonathan’s loss was given an honourable aspect by the decency that he displayed in conceding defeat without any bitterness.

We were all touched by this as it has shown that we are a people who place stability and order before personal ambition and President Jonathan’s example is a lesson that we must all imbibe.

However the call for change is not new in the polity and in fact we can argue that the election of Governor Dickson in 2011 ushered in much more far-reaching change in the governance of our state than any promised by the APC.

The real shift in the political climate has been from elitist strategies to populist values. He has confronted the challenge of infrastructural debility head-on and focussed on developing the human capacity of the state. He has made it plain that he believes in working hard for the people’s collective good rather than building individual fortunes.

The APC has made it plain by its conduct that it does not subscribe to this agenda. Real change has already been put in place by the incumbent and the challenger has proven to be the enemy of change in the past. It is unlikely that Sylva will change his attitude simply because now he is coming under the aegis of the APC. The PDP and Governor Dickson are still the best option for self-determination for the people of Bayelsa State going forward. I believe they know that we support their cause.