APC And The Cost Of Losing Fani-Kayode

The die-hard supporters of the All Progressives Congress(APC) are likely to dismiss the dumping of the party by the former minister of aviation, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode for the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) saying the loquacious former minister is a mere paper weight who has no constituency behind him for the party to be worried about. Giving fillip to this line of thinking was the statement issued by the interim national publicity secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to the effect that Fani-Kayode had never been a registered member of the party adding that if the former minister was a member of the party he would have been sanctioned for his unbridled attack on the alleged plan to field Muslim-Muslim presidential and vice presidential candidates for the party. This of course presupposes that in APC there is no freedom of expression by members as decisions are taken at the top and passed down to members unchallenged in the country’s only “progressive” party. That however is a story for another day.

To put lie to the vituperation of Lai Mohammed, Fani-Kayode has proved that he was a registered member of the APC and he mentioned those present including highly placed officials of the party when he registered for the party. And I will advise Lai Mohammed not to pick a fight with the former minister who seems to know too much on the inner workings of the party. Now for a party that has been battling to remove the toga of a religious party in the mould of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the kind of reasons given by Femi Fani-Kayode for leaving the party does not look good. The former minister accused the leadership of the party of religious bias and of being closet sympathisers of the Boko Haram insurgents. Nothing could be more damaging for the APC. Lapping on the reasons given by Fani-Kayode for leaving the party, the PDP speaking through its national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh is now saying that the former minister has confirmed its classification of APC as a “jangaweed” inspired party. This is the last thing that APC needs and their situation is not helped by the alleged zoning of the party’s presidential ticket to the northwest, thereby making it a race between the former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari and the governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso which could rule out the chances of a northern Christian emerging as the party’s presidential candidate.

It appears that the only option left for the APC if it wants to wrest the presidency from President Goodluck Jonathan is to nominate a northern Christian or a south-south governor as its presidential candidate. That is the only option that could dissuade many Nigerians from seeing them as promoters of a particular religion. But this is a road that APC may not follow especially in a country where politicians are incapable of making personal sacrifices for the general good. My advice to APC supporters: do not be deceived that losing Fani-Kayode does not matter and there is every reason to be worried. Fani-Kayode has had close romance with top echelon of the APC and in a typical kiss-and-tell style of the former minister expect sleazy revelations on those alleged to be Boko Haram sympathisers and more.