Chidi Obineche
He is said to be dauntless. He is believed widely to work with candour and abnegation. Buba Galadima, a long time friend and crony of President Muhammadu Buhari last Tuesday kissed bye to the spell of political wilderness in a chasm that has seized the political space and imagination. He embraced the rollicking sensational world of bawling faction. He thawed the ice in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC herding in with a mammoth crowd of dissenters in what they named Reformed APC (R-APC).
In taking the bull by the horns, Buba Galadima and his friends fought hard to impress on the polity that they put the common good above all other concerns, and the needs of others above themselves. They positioned themselves in an uncanny way that they are bringing their selfless outlook to politics. In this choice, the rippling message is that what makes you different makes you dangerous.
The words of renunciation put him up like an outraged man who views the immanent situation in the country as boring and that resistance is the option. Although reminiscent of political squabbles of old, it echoed the words of Abraham Lincoln that “A house divided against itself cannot stand” .
It rekindles William Tecumseh Sherman’s exhortation that “The carping and bickering of political factions in the nation’s capital reminds me of two pelicans quarreling over a dead fish” With the approach of General Elections, the clouds are gathering; the illnesses in a party are showing. In the words of Jerry B Jenkins, “Wherever you have people, you have factions and disagreements and personality conflicts”. Factions in all entireties cannot be wished away. Where two factions perceive their own ends vividly, where they contrive their own experiences and explanations of what they see and endure, it becomes impossible to credit each other with valid honesty and positive attributes. Opinions are not garrisoned. This is the law of strategic siege.
The die appears cast for the long expected implosion in APC which has been simmering. Galadima seems to be poised to be the harbinger of the headwinds. At the moment, he is at the heart of the action. He is the great governing spirit that will strike the blow. Amity in APC seems so weird. The air in there is still and soundless. His shadow, sorry, R-APC shadow swoops overhead. For him, sitting out and waiting out the APC is repugnant to their ideals and dreams, because tomorrow is there to win or lose. He is galvanized to action because dreams don’t work unless you do. Revolt is a spectators sport.
It is a huge stir when the battle begins. Factions do bear grudges. R-APC and Buba Galadima are no exceptions. We are waiting with bated breath to see the resolution of the plot. Will the splitting off become full blown? The darkening road makes enclave life so intense. Is Galadima the cheerleader of the farewell orchestra in APC?
He is an Engineer by profession, who was appointed National Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC formed in the run-up to the 2011 General Elections as a leading platform for President Muhammadu Buhari. He hails from Gashua, Yobe State. He participated in the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference and was also the Director General of the Nigeria Maritime Authority. He is one of the nine signatories that signed the merger agreement between the three political parties that came together with a faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, CPC, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP and Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN to form the APC.