How APC hijacked our change slogan —ADC national chairman

NATIONAL chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Ralphs Nwosu has said his party originated the slogan of changed but was hijacked by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and scandalised by  the governing party.

He said it was for this reason that ADC has adopted a new slogan, Arise; ADC- Arise; AD and C – Nigerians Arise and Shine.

Nwosu told party faithful at a conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of the party in Abuja, on Tuesday that his party had since moved on in its quest to save the country from the crossroads the  APC had led the country.

He said one of the best ways to appreciate what the ADC stood for was the pedigree of its presidential candidate since 2007.

“We may not have taken over the Villa or the governors’ mansions in our various states, but we have certainly made great strides. It is on record that the presidential candidates under our platform, Professor Patrick Utomi in 2007; Professor Nwangwu in 2011, and Dr Mani Ibrahim in the very last election, were the best among all the candidates at the various times.

‘We may not have won, but that explains the state of our nation and our democracy. As pathfinders, it behooves us to champion the process to position our country away from the way that we warned that it was headed 10 years ago. We have a duty to regenerate the Federal Republic,” Nwosu counselled.

He said the critical challenges facing the country today were because the governing APC lacked the full knowledge and understanding of the ADC change advocacy at inception 10 years ago.

“When our party was formed, we presented to the Nigerian people our platform, the Change we advocate. The ruling party hijacked our change advocacy and slogan to win the 2015 general election. Unfortunately, since then, they have torpedoed.

“But, our party understands that leading change has a process: deliberate and strong stakeholders agenda, sense of urgency, clear vision, transparency, role modeling with integrity, and justice. Where is the effective leadership, coupled with efficient management that is required for this project?

“Today, Nigeria is certainly at a crossroads. And it is not certain that the country can withstand any major stress or integrity test. The political state is challenged. Our democracy is challenged. The democratic process is broken; the parties in power use state powers and institutions to perpetrate fraud with INEC as the chief enforcer. Our democratic system of governance is in trauma. The power divide, and the checks and balances in our system are no longer tenable. The meaning is lost in practice.

‘The Executive arm has become the big elephant. The executives have emasculated the legislative bodies and the judiciary. In our 36 states and Abuja, the tier of government closest to the people, the local councils have become moribund. For a nation of over 180 million persons, a one-way government is certainly a graveyard call,” he stated.

According to Nwosu, if the truth must be told, the country currently shirks in its statutory responsibility to the citizenry.

He said; ‘The books and thought leaders define a failed state as one whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control. They argue that the failed state refers to a nation in disequilibrium, where basic conditions and responsibilities of the government no longer function properly.

‘The common characters of failure are sharp economic decline, widespread corruption and criminal action, government immobility, insurgency, refugees, and the involuntary movement of populations.’

The ADC chairman observed the existing political structure was defective and could not endure, lending his voice to the clamour for the rigging of the system to a workable federation.