The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has failed on several occassions to settle its internal crisis and unite under one umbrella in Ogun State. Since the face-off between Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) and Otunba Gbenga Daniel(OGD) in the build-up to the 2011 gubernatorial election, the party has known no peace. The 2011 gubernatorial election was a pitched battle between loyalists of Former President Obasanjo and Daniel, who was the incumbent governor at the time. Both Leaders supported different candidates for the party's gubernatorial ticket. Obasanjo, a retired army general, had thrown his weight behind one of his military protégés, General Tunji Olurin, while Gbenga Daniel preferred one of his trusted allies, Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka(GNI) as his successor.
The supremacy battle between both men led to the factionalization of the party and both factions conducted different primary elections under the same party(PDP). While Olurin emerged as the governorship candidate of the faction loyal to Obasanjo, Isiaka won the gubernatorial ticket of the faction loyal to Gbenga Daniel.
With the help of Ijebu-Igbo born billionaire, Prince Buruji Kahamu, who spent billions of Naira to support Obasanjo. Obasanjo was able to outwit Daniel and his loyalists since the national leadership of the party and Court Judgment declared Olurin and the other candidates loyal to his(OBJ) faction as the duly elected flag bearers of the party(PDP) across the state .
This enraged Daniel's faction and he(OGD) with all his loyasists decamped to Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) on which platform Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka contested the gubernatorial election.

Abraham Licoln said " A house divided against itself cannot stand" Isiaka came third in the gubernatorial poll, while
Olurin came second behind the winner, Senator Ibikunle Amosun of the ACN.
Amosun's party( ACN) benefited from the division in the PDP to win not only the governorship seat but almost every other political offices which were hitherto occupied by members of the PDP. It's strongly believed that if either Olurin or Isiaka had stepped down for the other, the result would have been different.

Regrettably, the crisis did not abate even with the exit of Obasanjo as the race to the 2015 general elections begun. This time, the party was torn into three factions by interests and
unbridled ambitions. A faction was loyal to Prince Buruji Kashamu, the second faction was loyal to Gbenga Daniel, while the third faction was loyal to Dimeji Bankole, the former speaker of the House of Representatives. Both Bankole and Isiaka, who along with Gbenga Daniel had returned to the PDP, laid claim to the gubernatorial ticket of the party.
Dimeji, relying on his political connections in Abuja, thought he could emerge as the party's flag bearer without participating in the primary election. Somehow, he was forced to shelved his ambition and asked to support Isiaka but Dimeji and his loyalists took no active part in the activities of the party including the campaigns.
They also failed to elicit the needed support for the party in their stronghold (Ogun Central). This again led to a poor outing by the party at the polls.
The crisis has reared its ugly head again with the conduct of ward congress by three different factions. One of the factions is led by the chairman of the party in the state, Engineer Bayo Dayo who is loyal to the recognized leader of the party in the state, Senator Buruji Kashamu. The second faction comprises nine members of the state executive and is believed to be loyal to Ladi Adebutu(OGD's Political Son), who represents Remo federal constituency in the Federal House of Representatives and has shown interest in contesting for Governorship seat in 2019.
The third faction is loyal to Dimeji Bankole, who has never hidden his ambition to govern Ogun State.
Thankfully, the duly constituted leadership is the faction loyal to Senator Buruji Kashamu, who is
the undisputed leader of the party in the state. This was acknowledged by the chairman of the congress committee, Muhammed El-Yakubu.

Senator Buruji Kashamu, as the leader of the party, must reach out to other factions and bring them under the same umbrella. Political squabbles and infighting among members have done a lot of damage to the party and will
further polarize the party if allowed to fester.
Senator Buruji must set himself the task of uniting all warring factions and make the PDP a viable alternative.
There is no doubt that there is a growing yearn for the return of the PDP to Oke-Mosan come 2019. But a house divided against itself cannot stand. Peace must return to Ogun PDP. And that task falls on Senator Kashamu's shoulders.

Written by Beejeiodus.

Same old politicians!

Flexherbal:
Same old politicians!

The peace initiative must involve both young and old members of the party. The old members have the experience, while the young members have the zeal. A brew of these, along with mutual understanding, will lead to incalculable success.

lalasticlala

Is PDP dreaming of taking the lost office back? God! I almost forgot the party is still in Ogun state. I await who is representing APC... Then, I might put PDP into consideration.


*lalasticlala, you sleep that early?*

Olakunle007:
Is PDP dreaming of taking the lost office back? God! I almost forgot the party is still in Ogun state. I await who is representing APC... Then, I might put PDP into consideration.


*lalasticlala, you sleep that early?*

The PDP has the legal right to aspire to occupy an office it lost to the APC almost five years ago. Besides, the PDP with one senatorial seat, two House of Representatives seats, and nine House of assembly seats is the biggest opposition party in Ogun. Many people in Ogun now look back nostalgically to the days when PDP was in power. With a united front, 2019 promises to be a year of return for the PDP in Ogun State.

It is only with peace we can get it right.

chriskosherbal:
It is only with peace we can get it right.

This is the absolute truth. A house at war with itself cannot stand. Senator Kashamu must live up to his role as the leader of the party in the state and reconcile the many factions in the party. This is the only way to make the party formidable ahead of the gubernatorial poll.