INDEED the momentous phone call by former President Goodluck  Ebele Jonathan conceding victory to President Muhammad Buhari after the last general elections will indelibly remain a significant milestone in the annals of Nigeria’s political history.

The ethos of this rare gesture humbles the persuasions of the doomsday advocates and prophesies that had predicted the disintegration of Nigeria based on the aftermath of the 2015 elections .

President George Walker Bush whilst referring to the American Political transitions said ‘’The Peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country’’. A Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government relinquished power without bloodletting or even throwing the country into anarchy. The election has been won and lost depending on which divide one’s political allegiance situates. Meanwhile,

The APC led government is presently  preoccupied with its convoluted style of governance. The keenly contested elections produced a political debacle of profound dimensions, Political historians, analysts and ardent followers of events in Nigeria and the international community suffice to say will hold convictions which sway to objectivity, sentiments, ethnic or religious regarding the outcome of the April 28,2015 general elections.

A new helmsman emerged in our political horizon and the expectations of a new political order was rife, As well as the trump of an economic nirvana.

The envisaged miracle of transformation orchestrated by their change mantra is fast receding as Nigerians brace up to the stark economic realities of an All Progressive Congress, APC ‘one chance promises’. It is not my quest at this point  to examine or ventilate on the immediate or remote causes which led to our great party’s misfortunes at the 2015 polls. It is instructive to recognise the  fundamentals of some underlying factors that converged critically to work  against the backdrop of meaningful intent to ensure the party’s ascendancy in the political affairs of our beloved country.

Be that as it may, we must applaud the singular resolve of former President Jonathan in striving to validate a political culture that thrives on free and fair electioneering process. But more so equally, repudiating  every possibility that would have consigned our electoral gains to the trash can of history under the watch of a PDP led government as against the spate of ‘’inconclusive elections’’ been witnessed so far under an APC government.

The magnanimity of former President  Jonathan’s statesmanship belies the magnitude and horrendous upheaval which would have engulfed the nation if he had succumbed to the primordial instincts and allure of power, knowing fully well the glaring shortcomings  that provided grounds to challenge the outcome of the elections. It is noteworthy, the inestimable value of Dr. Jonathan’s enviable patriotic act. It is also pertinent to ask if an APC  leadership under the same circumstance  will exhibit such equanimity in the interest and wellbeing of Nigeria.

We may recall that prior to the 2015 elections some APC stalwarts had orchestrated the threat of forming a parallel government in the event of an unfavourable outcome at the polls. The PDP remains a great party though we may seem bruised ,bloodied and battered . We are resolutely rising from the despair of the electoral defeat to a far more formidable party. We have exhibited courage, equanimity, maturity and a clear zeal at resurgence. it is worthy of mention the sportsmanship exhibited by PDP candidates at the 2015 general elections by taking the gauntlet to congratulate opponents who defeated them at the polls.

Taking a cue from former President Jonathan, erstwhile governor of Niger state Dr. Babangida Aliyu called his opponent at the senatorial elections but he was unfortunately rebuffed by his APC opponent. This same gesture further played out with former governor of Kaduna state and Mallam El-Rufai as well Mr. Ribadu in Adamawa state. It is ironic to note that this considerations never plays out with the APC whenever they lose at the Polls.

The outcome  of  PDP’s marginal performance at the 2015 general elections derived seemingly from intractable political subterfuge which germinated in-house and subsequently led to an implosion within the party. It is not ostensibly the handiwork of any clear political dexterity on the part of APC. The PDP members in all intent and purpose were the architect of our misfortune. As a committed party member,

I will never flagellate my party in the public domain. Our misdeeds in the past sixteen years at the helm of affairs can not be wished away just as the landmark achievements prides itself in the corridors of our nation’s history. The expectations of leadership and governance no doubt goes with commensurate measure of responsibility and attendant burden. As I rightly proffered earlier it is not yet an appropriate time to digress fully the propriety or otherwise of actions and events that coalesced to the loss of PDP’s hold on the reins of government at the centre and beyond. However the onus of my essay is the forthcoming PDP national convention slated for the 21st May 2016 which I strongly believe will provide the fulcrum for our party’s overhaul and re-engineering.

To our great party faithfuls,it is a time and a season for stock-taking, sober reflections and reappraisals. My humble submissions is the crucial enterprise of a total re-jig, we must accept the cliché that ‘’ there is no comfort in the truth but pain is what we find and advertently  acknowledge  Bryant McGwill ‘s word that “Change will never happen when people lack the ability and courage to see themselves for who they are .’’ Yes let us look at the past and ourselves , not merely to fantasize about the glorious  days nor become diminished by the present situation.

Let us all as worthy ambassadors of our great party look on to the future bearing in mind that we need to put our house in order. We can never be discouraged rather we will forge the strong bonds of resilience and renew our commitment to the service of our country and the PDP . In the light of contemporary events and with the exigencies of power having relocated to the APC  as the governing party. It is our profound responsibility as the opposition party to proffer credible and decent position in matters concerning the nation.

Mindful of our commendable performances in recent elections, it is obvious that we have risen from the embers of defeat which had almost brought us to the nadir of Nigeria’s politics. No gainsaying, events of the 2015 elections was an ‘’Eye-opener’’ which reinforces the fact  that challenges and vicissitudes we encounter in life are tests to our WILL,RESOLVE and COURAGE.

Let us from ‘’THE MORNING AFTER’’ the national convention acknowledge that the debacle of the  2015 elections MEASURED and MIRRORED our 16 years of running the affairs of Nigeria.  Our abilities as a party is to come out VICTORIOUS when the vagaries of politics besets us. Indeed, we have accepted the outcome of the 2015 general elections as a forerunner to our re-emergence and greatness come 2019 and beyond.

As a party  with illustrious founding fathers that heralded the fourth Republic, we have journeyed far from 1998 to this present day. Our  odyssey in the annals of Nigeria Political history remains momentous, come 21st of May 2016 the choices we make and how well we fare lies with us. My clarion wish is that we will rebound and emerge more formidable  from then onward.

We will define our commitments  to Nigerians and also promulgate as well as prioritize our fidelity to the expectations of the Nigerian masses. Our sense of responsibility will serve as the scaffolding on which P.D.P will erect and elicit the support of Nigerians. The last general elections questioned our Faithfulness to the PROJECT NIGERIA. The People’s Democratic Party will use the National convention to be held in Port Harcourt as a platform in renewing our mindsets towards a position that will rejuvenate a stronger and more virile  P.D.P. such that will persuade ,convert and compel a strong faith in People’s democratic Party.The outcome of the recent south-west P.D.P. meeting speaks in the light of reason for a fresh impetus to actualizing better cohesion within and across various stakeholders in the respective states of the federation. As we sew the fabric of unity amongst and across all facets of the party, greater is the incentive for us to achieve a unity of purpose.

There is no denying the absolute fact that we have learnt profound lessons and virtues which will evince in us a strong sense of social justice that  at all times P.D.P. must uphold the sanctity of NIGERIA’s wellbeing. The empowering conviction lies with the fact that our defeat at the polls afforded us the opportunity to look inward, P.DP National convention is ‘’OUR MOMENT OF HINDSIGHT’’. for in our defeat by the  A.P.C. lies the nexus of a commensurate advantage which is that the result of the last Presidential polls clearly educated us on our shortcomings and benevolently navigated  us to the shock realities that we had taken the sacred mandate of Nigerians for granted. From Port Harcourt convention,

We will calibrate our attitude to suit the expectations of Nigerians and learn to vindicate the trust reposed on us. Finally, as we set our sights on new frontiers with the political horizon  becoming succinctly clearer ahead of 2019. P.D.P will celebrate glorious triumphs as well as enthusiastic response from Nigerians. Quiet aptly, ‘’great necessities call for great virtues’’ we must forge unwavering faith having gone through the furnace and crucible of defeat and mindful of our present circumstance, Let us therefore avail the Platform of our National convention to usher AFFIRMATIVES OF A FORMIDABLE P.D.P.

This article was  written  by CHIEF  DAN OSI ORBIH, The state chairman, P.D.P Edo state.