“Caterpillar Don Spoil for Road, Nobody Fit Repair Am”: How Wike’s False Hope Buried Cross River PDP

“Caterpillar Don Spoil for Road, Nobody Fit Repair Am”: How Wike’s False Hope Buried Cross River PDP

 

The 2023 general elections have come and gone, yet in Cross River State, the effects continue to reverberate, with key players in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) still debating what went wrong. Many supporters and analysts are pointing fingers at various factors, with some of the sharpest criticism directed at former Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike.

 

Wike, once a major financier of the Cross River PDP, is accused by some of failing to support the party’s traditional rotation of power across the state’s senatorial districts, which they argue ultimately led to the party’s defeat.

 

A die-hard supporter of the “Caterpillar Movement“, a political support of Sandy Onor, who ran as the PDP gubernatorial candidate, recently vented his frustrations, summing up the party’s situation by saying, “Caterpillar don spoil for road, nobody fit repair am.” This statement reflects the perceived challenges within the PDP, with many believing that the party’s internal discord and questionable choices contributed to its disappointing results.

 

Political analysts argue that Wike’s influence in the Cross River PDP played a significant role in shaping its electoral strategy, albeit with mixed outcomes.

 

According to many party insiders, Wike, once a major financier of the Cross River PDP, is accused by some of failing to support the party’s traditional rotation of power across the state’s senatorial districts, which they argue ultimately led to the party’s defeat.

 

In a dramatic remark that has since gone viral, a vocal supporter of Sandy Onor, the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, said, “Caterpillar don spoil for road, nobody fit repair am.” This expression of frustration sums up the sentiment among some PDP supporters who believe that the party’s strategy was fundamentally flawed.

 

The central point of contention is PDP’s decision to nominate Onor, a candidate from the central senatorial district, for the governorship, rather than following the established rotation and selecting a candidate from the southern district. This choice, according to some supporters, alienated voters in the southern region who felt it was their turn to produce a governor.

 

A political analyst, Mbey, echoed this sentiment, describing the PDP’s decision as a “great mistake.” He argues that the All Progressives Congress (APC) succeeded in Cross River State precisely because it adhered to this informal agreement.

 

By nominating a candidate from the southern senatorial district, the APC demonstrated what Mbey described as “sincerity” and respect for the state’s principle of fairness.

 

“Wike’s influence was pivotal in shaping the direction of the Cross River PDP, but his failure to support a southern candidate gave the APC an edge,” Mbey explained. “The people wanted continuity and respect for an arrangement that ensures balance and inclusivity, but instead, they saw the PDP as prioritizing its internal power dynamics over the interests of Cross Riverians.”

 

He wrote: “Three weeks ago, a friend called me on the phone, and as we were discussing, I asked him, “Have you seen where your Catapillar has left the PDP in Cross River State?”

“He quickly replied, “Guy, I don cross oh, na apc I dey now, come and join us.” I became curious and asked, watin happen, he replied,” Catapillar don spoil for road, nobody fit repair am. ”

 

“Let me give you a brief summary of the above story for better understanding, I will try and be as brief as possible.”

 

“Sometime in 2022, two of my friends visited me in my office, as discussions went on, political issues in the state, and who to succeed Ayade came up. I and my two friends, one from Northern Cross River, the other from Central Cross River, and myself from the South, are political analysts and enthusiasts in our own right.”

 

“So I asked my friends who they think will be the best person PDP should give her gubernatorial ticket, my friend from the North said, he prefers Sen Gershom Bassey, his father has a personal relationship with the Senator, he also said Gershom is a good administrator, my friend from the Central said, he want Sen Sandy Onor, I quickly shouted, una don start, this central people, na una turn? Stop that thing, I admonished. (The day comrade Paul Aje left PDP, I wrote an article where I explained the political impatience of our friends and brothers from the central) He then went on to tell us in confidence, see Sandy is our next governor, wike is Sandy’s friend and wike controls the PDP in Nigeria, so the rest are just waiting their time, the map has been drawn already. Some of the things I heard that day made me very uncomfortable. He mentioned names that are in the game plan to do Wike’s bidding in PDP Cross River. This discussion came long before the primaries. In short, if I remember very well, it was even before the emergency of the current state Exco of the PDP.”

 

“Then I told them that my preferred candidate was Hon. Daniel Asuquo aka Dansuki. I gave them my reason that I believe in subset and minority representation and that Akamkpa/Biase need to be given the opportunity to produce the next governor in the person of Dansuki. This position I have defended asidiously.”

“My friend from the Central formed a group for Catapillar. He knows the Senator to even his house. They speak the same language, and so, he preached Catapillar until the 2033 election was over.”

“Fast forward to three weeks ago. I was shocked by my friends new disposition, then I asked, you didn’t put your resignation in any platform, he answered, I no dey for protocol, I don cross, I don cross, Catapillar don spoil, I quickly put my phone on speaker, since I was sitting with my wife and she know my friend and his Catapillar movement thing so well, she couldn’t hold it, as she laughed and laughed and laughed.”

“I dey my dey, when I see watin dey happen for River state, I begin to imagine what would have been our lot in Cross River State.”

“Anyway, even the people were get Catapillar say the Catapillar don spoil and PDP Cross River State is a shadow of itself.”

“The APC was sincere with Cross Riverians by giving her guber ticket to someone from the south following the principles of fairness and in line with the gentle man agreement. They won, and today they are enjoying the dividends of that singular but just and fair decision. I congratulate them because they kept the ancient landmark, which PDP swept under the carpet through the greed and over sabi of a few and selfish people.”

Mbey E. G