CROSS CARPETING One of the issues that has made headlines last week was the national convention

of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Of course the PDP has always been in the news for many reasons. Apart from the fact that it is the ruling party, it has been accused of anything that lacks transparency so if some money is missing from somewhere, people will say it has been PDPed. But the splitting of the party into two was what formed the centre of discussion among political pundits. Many are of the opinion that an end has finally come to a party that has dominated the Nigerian political atmosphere. The party has even coined a slogan for itself as the largest political party in Africa. I am still wondering how they arrived at that slogan. If the Islamic brotherhood could span across the entire North Africa and even have admirers in countries like Nigeria, Niger and Mali, I dont see any reason why it should not be called the largest political party. Whether it is the largest or not, that is not my concern, it is a subject of debate for people who have the time. An analogy is what I intend to draw from the crisis in the PDP and the daily lifestyle of Nigerians. When a successful man is facing some difficult moments in his life, critics abound everywhere. They will call him names and even try to find some evil explanations to his source of success. A closer look at those spreading such negative rumours about the once successful man would reveal that majority of them are either those whom he had supported in one way or the other or those who ate from his crumbs some hours before his status started to witness a down turn. Give such people some hours and you will discover that they have pitched tents with another successful man. Should their former boss overcome his challenges and rise to grace once again, such shameless people will come with one form of lie or the other trying to justify the reason for their switching of masters. In most cases, poor devil is always the culprit. I have observed over the years that it is only in Nigeria that people do not have a reason for forming political parties. A rich man can decide to register a political party with the Independent National Electoral Commission just to prove to Nigerians that he can afford to do that. I dont need to mention names but those who have been around already have a mental list. Some political parties do not have manifestoes that will attract membership. No wonder, the ballot paper keeps competing with some dwarfs in terms of height. Political party membership in Nigeria depends on which party is in power. Since in the past, the power of incumbency has been used to manipulate election results, many Nigerian politicians believe that belonging to a party that is in government will give them an automatic ticket to the political position they are contesting for. This explains why belonging to a ruling political party in Nigeria is a do or die thing. I am still wondering why this should be so after all there are many fishes in the river. The crises in the PDP should serve as a lesson for other political parties to keep their houses in order before the 2015 general elections. We know that crises are a part of what maintains the equilibrium in a society so we should expect them to come. The only way we will not be picked aback is when we have done our home work to nip it in the bud. It will be a total disappointment if after all the laughter from the opposition parties, they become clueless when it is their turn to face the storm. Be careful while pointing a finger at one for there might be two pointing at you.