FEATURE: PDP FINALLY WAKES UP..... By Tai Emeka Obasi

"When President Goodluck Jonathan attempted to remove subsidy, I personally joined the demonstration from Ojuelegba to Tinubu Square and back through same route to Anthony bus stop near Ikeja. That was the day I fully demonstrated that I was one arm of the people in the description of democracy".....Tai Emeka Obasi.

The act of being an opposition is not just about barking. It is more of biting whenever the situation demands so.

Yesterday, the biggest opposition party in the land bit and bit very deep.

While the biggest and most ruthless tyrant that ever led Nigeria in name of General Sani Abacha reigned supreme, the biggest headache he encountered as commander-in-chief was Olisa Agbakoba's organised five million-man march. The fearless Senior Advocate of Nigeria defied security warnings to get Lagosians on the streets in unbelievable numbers the same day the then head of state was welcoming his own self-succession driven two million-man march in Abuja to ask him to remove khaki for babanriga.

Agbakoba was thoroughly brutalized by a combined team of security forces but he got his very important message across. That completely shook Abacha and his self-succession plot until death did the rest. That nobody seems to remember that very vital role the Onitsha-born legal guru played in our struggle for democracy simply because he is an Igbo man, is a matter for another write-up.

When President Goodluck Jonathan attempted to remove subsidy, I personally joined the demonstration from Ojuelegba to Tinubu Square and back through same route to Anthony bus stop near Ikeja. I have never trekked that far as an adult before and never again. But, I enjoyed every bit of it because, that was the day I fully demonstrated that I was one arm of the people in the description of democracy. In the end, Jonathan's government backed down and reduced the intended price hike of fuel.

Yesterday, I enjoyed another round of mass movements across the nation. The PDP organized it but it was by no means just a PDP affair. Just as much as it was not only about His Excellency, Emeka Ihedioha and Imo State. It was, and still is, about our collective future as a people.

CJN Ibrahim Tanko is not blind. If he is, he is not deaf. Either way, he got the message loud and clear. He has ruptured his career, if he ever had one. He has destroyed his integrity if only mediocrity could ever, be regarded as one.

President Muhammadu Buhari, even without an official certificate, is not completely, insensitive. His aides must have briefed him that the PDP-organized mass protest across the nation is something to deeply, worry about.

Even his hatchet man, Abba Kyari would not have slept early last night, if indeed he closed his eyes at all. His cynical eyes must have seen the news of the demonstrations. He must have been thinking whether he went overboard with his instructions to Justice Tanko or whether the dull-looking CJN overdid it.

For those negative-minded fellas, who never see anything good in any act, I say you are the major part of the problem. Staying in your bedroom and saying nothing will come out of any protest, is doing more harm to our collective future than the ones perpetrating the evil acts. Followership in Nigeria is the major problem because we leave our blind leaders unchallenged. For those of you who are in APC and supporting the miscarriage of justice in the land and other evil acts of your Federal government, I warn you that nothing lasts forever.

For the youths who are one way or the other going to benefit from Hope Uzodimma's government in Imo and already preaching falsehood and propaganda about, I say be cautioned. No one benefits from evil and ends well.

For those that made it to different demonstration arenas, I say stand up and thump your chests. You are the real heroes of our democracy, which unfortunately, is at its lowest ebb.

For my own state PDP chairman, Hon Ndubisi Nwobu, I say take a bow. Yesterday, you led like an action general; from the front.

For the PDP gubernatorial candidate of my state in the last election, His Honour, Oseloka Henry Obaze, who anchored the protest like a veteran, I say God will continue to bless you Sir. You are a very contented man in every ramification but every day you fight for the masses, for a better tomorrow. I look up to you and say, I will never get tired!

For those who could not make it to Awka because the protest was planned and executed within a very short notice, I say applaud yourself for having the appropriate mindset.

For the PDP as a party, I say thank you for waking up to your responsibilities. Peaceful protests are very important aspects of any democracy. If such was done after Ekiti State Supreme Court steal, we may have avoided the Atiku/Obi bombshell. If there were such protests after the Supreme Court skewed judgment on Atiku/Obi we may have avoided the Ihedioha coup.

I do not particularly bother if Tanko will have the guts to reverse the atrocity he committed on Imo people. It will be ideal if he does.

However, believe me when I tell you that, Buhari is presently thinking deep. His actions for the remaining years in office will never be as carefree as it used to be. It is the Nigerian masses that aided this government's terrible acts by just accepting just anything without a single grumble.

What do I finally tell Fr. Mbaka? Father, please steer away from politics as far as possible.

Let's watch and see how our tomorrow unfolds.