I have watched how a cataclysm of sentimentalism has successfully reduced the PDP’s greatness as a National Political Party to nothing in the Presidential and National Assembly Elections of 28th March 2015. Even though I feel a great sense of loss, I think it was an appropriate “coming of age” ritual that the party had to go through in order to reposition better for the future. More so that a victory of the PDP at the just concluded poll threatened to dash the hopes of Nigeria’s survival as a Nation. I praise the PDP leaders for acknowledging the time to bow out of the scene, take a back stage, and allow the “broom revolutionaries” to demonstrate to all of us Nigerians what their mantra of “Sai Buhari” truly signifies for the progress of our dear country, Nigeria.

I have watched how a cataclysm of sentimentalism has successfully reduced the PDP’s greatness as a National Political Party to nothing in the Presidential and National Assembly Elections of 28th March 2015. Even though I feel a great sense of loss, I think it was an appropriate “coming of age” ritual that the party had to go through in order to reposition better for the future. More so that a victory of the PDP at the just concluded poll threatened to dash the hopes of Nigeria’s survival as a Nation. I praise the PDP leaders for acknowledging the time to bow out of the scene, take a back stage, and allow the “broom revolutionaries” to demonstrate to all of us Nigerians what their mantra of “Sai Buhari” truly signifies for the progress of our dear country, Nigeria. I genuinely and sincerely pray for General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd.) to succeed where up to half of Nigerians (not including myself) saw only the failure of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. That said, I now fully turn my attention to focus on the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections that are slated for 11th April 2015 – next Saturday. I will not waste any time in making it clear that I still go with the PDP in this one, and I urge anyone that hears my counsel to do the same, especially in Plateau State of Nigeria. Somewhere below, I will carefully outline my reasons for making that decision.

Quite similar to what has happened at the National level, I have watched with grief and great disappointment how the unfortunate outcome of the Governorship Primary elections of the Plateau State PDP has torn to shreds the “so-called” unity that exists between and among the over 50 different ethnic groups that occupy the Plateau State area. Even though their unity has been a cosmetic one, a workable system of rotation and zoning was beginning to emerge as a way of managing relationships between the different ethnicities of Plateau State, even though that system was still very rudimentary. That was until Governor Jonah David Jang decided against the same wisdom, and worked assiduously to entrench one of his tribesmen and prodigies as PDP governorship flagbearer – a task at which he succeeded, but in it, earned himself the hate and disgust of many citizens of Plateau State. So it was that Senator Gyang Nyam Shom Pwajok, Governor Jang’s prodigy, emerged as the Governorship flag bearer for the PDP Plateau State, but to be despised by many citizens of Plateau State.

While I unequivocally condemn the act of Jang and his team in entrenching GNS Pwajok on the people, it alone does not qualify as a reason for me to jettison the PDP for the APC. Moreover, if we are to look critically at the build-up to the PDP primary elections in the state we would see that it was not only Jang that was to blame for the eventual outcome, even though he (Jang) demonstrated a clearly self-centred, deeply tribalistic and “stubborn-goat” attitude in the situation, making his actions the chief determining factor.

I honestly will not blame anyone for being sentimental about who should become the next governor of Plateau State, but I also feel that beyond all this sentimentalism, what we must hang our choices more on should be the objective criteria of what the person has to offer for the development of Plateau State. it is on this ground that I stand and make my choice to actively support and vote PDP’s Senator GNS Pwajok as Governor for Plateau State in the forth coming gubernatorial elections. For the sake of clarity, below are my reasons for supporting Senator GNS Pwajok’s aspiration:

1. Politics is all about interest and I do not see my voting Lalong as serving my interest in anyway as a Plateau man. That is because he does not seem to have anything to sell aside from sentiments that will in the long run only result in ethnic particularism and favouritism. What is Lalong’s developmental strategy for the state? From all his interviews on TV and in the newspaper and from what I have heard from people, all what the guy talks about is the foreign debt profile of Plateaus State and how he plans to to tear-down some of the laudable achievements of Gov Jang. On the other hand if we must accept that Jang has performed excellently, then we must also acknowledge the role which GNS Pwajok played as his chief of staff, being rumoured to be the main brain behind the Jang Administration’s programs. Simply put: I believe GNS has a Plan while Lalong has no plan for the development of the Plateau.

2. With what happened before and during the primary elections, it may not be only Jang’s actions that are to be blamed for the outcomes of the Primaries. While the actions of Jang seem to have worked for Senator GNS Pwajok, it is also clear that the refusal of the several contending candidates to step down for Longjan gave Jang further courage to do what he did. why did the other candidates not step down for Longjan? Well, I am not certain, but I honestly think the other candidates did not respect Longjan enough, neither did some of them (especially those from the Central and Northern zones of the state) respect the Zoning argument that is supposed to have kept the balance between the different ethnic groups. Also, the candidates did not do anything formidable to checkmate Jang’s manipulation of the process. If Longjan’s failure at the Primaries must be blamed on Jang then it should also be blamed on the other candidates that blocked Longjan’s chances.

3. I am a PDP Member and I will not work against my Party just because of what I consider to be unfounded sentiments. Besides, Longjan has not yet left the PDP so I still follow him in the PDP. In that light, tell me how, as a Pan man, that it would be right for me to begin to be sentimental about Longjan’s failure at the primaries if Longjan, as the foremost Pan leader and elder has not come out in any fora (both officially and unofficially) that I know of, never came out to tell us about his grievances and to ask us to support another candidate of another party so as to help him and our collective Pan ethnic group to save face. I cannot cry more than the bereaved. If indeed we must cry “fault!, then let the aggrieved” cry the loudest. I feel that I cannot follow anyone in absentia, because I do not know where to go to neither do I know when we are going to arrive at a destination. So if my leader, whom I respect very much, is in PDP, then I will stay in PDP.

I here urge again all those that listen to my counsel to please see reason with me as outlined above and support Senator GNS Pwajok in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections.

Now, despite my reasons so outlined above, I will congratulate Lalong if he wins, and I will give him a chance to try his best for the Plateau. I am not one to be sentimental about politics.

By Kop’ep Kevin Dabugat

Kop’ep is currently the Political Adviser to the Chairman of the National PDP Councilors’ Forum and it a frequent contributor to discourse on Plateau issues.

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Why I shall be voting for GNS Pwajok by Kop’ep Kevin Dabugat