AFTER a piece, entitled: “Presidency: Revisiting Anenih’s Position on Zoning,” written by Silas Onigbogi was published in no fewer than eight national newspapers, between June 23 and 27, 2010, I had thought nobody would still be well disposed to embark on a mission to fault the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, on the position he espoused on the issue of zoning, which has become very topical in the polity.
The position taken by Anenih on the zoning of the presidency, and to which he is entitled, is that the  arrangement within the PDP is not sacrosanct because it has never really been totally embraced, cherished and respected by the generality of party members.

He had in his letter, dated June 14, 2010, to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, painstakingly given details of how the arrangement had been observed more in breach than in practice since 1998/99 and, especially, in 2003 and 2007.

It was, therefore, Anenih’s well-considered opinion that the zoning arrangement had, as a result of the manner it was selfishly violated by some party members from the North (in 1998/99 and 2003 by some Northerners who contested against Olusegun Obasanjo for the party ticket) and the South (in 2007 by some Southerners who contested for the party ticket despite the ceding of the position to the North), lost its force of authority and, therefore, cannot be binding on any individual(s) or group(s).

This position cannot be faulted.  To fault it, as a report in the June 28, 2010 issue of Daily Trust, entitled: “Between 2002 and 2010: Anenih flip-flops on Zoning” had attempted to do, and in the manner it had gone about it, smacks of mischief.

The report had set out to portray Anenih’s position as one influenced by selfish consideration “to reposition himself for a role in Jonathan’s effort to overturn the zoning policy in order to enable him (Jonathan) contest for the 2011 ticket”.

This suggestion is not only preposterous, but also deliberately packaged to portray Anenih as opportunistic, inconsistent and insincere.

But this is far from the character and person of the former PDP BOT Chairman, who was actively involved in the formation of the party in 1998.

Consider how the front page lead report – which surprisingly was not an editorial – came across as an opinion piece wherein the reporter wrote: “Chief Anenih’s position on zoning in 2002/2003 was apparently because, that time, he was the chief manager of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s re-election campaign and in particular, was looking for a way to stop Vice President Atiku Abubakar from challenging Obasanjo for the PDP presidential ticket”.

What rationalisation!  There was nobody to stop then! Anenih was, from my understanding, concerned about preserving the internal cohesion of the party which also verged on the cohesion and stability of the nation.

As a tested politician who is versed in the art of deploying political strategies for maximum benefits, Anenih knows that a political party platform is a veritable means for contesting and winning elections.  Therefore, the platform must be well run to achieve predetermined results.

That was why efforts were made from the outset to uphold party supremacy so that whatever position(s) the party takes is (are) respected by the members as this would deepen mutual understanding, cooperation and unity within the party.

That was, I believe, the reason Anenih wrote the August 5, 2002 letter to the National Chairman (then Audu Ogbeh) of the party, reminding him of the zoning arrangement in the party.

The letter was written against the backdrop of the tension generated within the party by the scheming and plotting by some forces to upstage the arrangement.  For Anenih, who was and is still on top of developments in the party, it was necessary to avert the tendency to disobey the party which manifested in 1998/99 when the late Abubakar Rimi bought form to contest for the party ticket, despite the zoning of the office to the South of the country.

But Anenih’s admonition in the letter that the party should ensure that the zoning arrangement stood was not heeded as the late Rimi and a former National Chairman of the party, Chief Barnabas Gemade (both Northerners) bought forms and contested against Obasanjo for the party ticket in 2003.

The same violation, even in greater magnitude, was witnessed in 2007 when the position was zoned to the North and 16  Southern aspirants collected forms and jostled for the party ticket.

Therefore, a reappraisal of the zoning arrangement from 1998/999 till date in the PDP could not have escaped the conclusion reached by Anenih: That it has been observed more in breach than in practice.

He said in his letter thus: “A careful analysis of the above tables (which he displayed in the letter) shows that the purported zoning arrangement was observed more in breach than in practice, especially in 2003 and 2007. The fact that some aspirants stepped down for others is not a sign that the purported zoning was respected”.

Anenih’s letter dated August 5, 2002, was an appeal which some party leaders turned down and went ahead to contest against the zoning in 2003.  I  make bold to say at this point that Anenih has remained consistent and persistent on the issue of zoning.

If there were or there are individuals who did a complete flip-flop, certainly it was not Anenih but those who disobeyed the gentleman agreement (the zoning arrangement), bought the forms and jostled for the ticket as well as the party and its leadership which encouraged them to buy the forms but failed to sanction them for violating the zoning arrangement.

This is what has brought the party into its present situation, where it has become difficult to enforce the zoning arrangement as it is no longer sacrosanct.

This is the reality of the situation, which is appearing to be very painful and unpalatable to some vested interests to take in and digest in the light of the unusual circumstance that has thrown up President Goodluck Jonathan to complete the unexpired tenure of the Yar’Adua/Jonathan presidency following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on May 5, this year.

That is the way the Almighty God had designed it.

Mr. Mohammed, a public affairs commentator, writes from Abuja.