It is a reflection of an underlying sickness in the political parties of Nigeria, in which internal conflicts are no longer perceived as something that has to be resolved through dialogue and constitutional means but through being couched in the language of threats, blame, and preemptive blame.
The warning sounded by the Bauchi wing of the PDP seems to bring back to many Nigerians on the outside that the nature of political contests has become so personalized and securitized so that political discord becomes the danger. It nourishes the popular distrust of political parties professing democratic principles and who find it hard to exercise them at home, and it reinforces the conviction that once the ring of political power is put on, it will tend to flow out, through the institutions, into fear and than distrust.
To the citizens, the question of who leads the PDP in Bauchi is less important than what should change in the political culture of Nigeria. Nigerians expect party leaders to calm situations and leaders of the government to abide by court processes and leave institutions to solve disputes and not use tough words or threats.
There is also an increasing civil wish that political participants actively seek to prioritize stability over supremacy and constitutionalism over factional interest. In case of anything to be done, it is back to the internal party democracy, open mediation between the national leadership, and a clear intention by the state to ensure that all political players, irrespective of factions, are safe.
Otherwise, incidents such as Bauchi will keep validating the thoughts of many that Nigeria has ceased to be a nation where politics and policies are becoming a significant battleground, but control is not, at least not at a cost to the citizens they are weary of paying.
