I had seen this coming, the rumble, tearing of shirts, clenching of fists, the exchange of jabs and blows which characterised the National Assembly session. An action-packed session which kept Nigerians glued to their television sets and youths freely using up their data to experience the thrill of a fight which in my opinion was more entertaining than the Pacquiao and Mayweather bout.

The lawmakers were also not disappointing as they kept some completely bored Nigerians enthralled while they freely ripped their clothes apart with their hopes high in anticipation of N17.5 million wardrobe allowances from tax payer's money to replace the torn clothes. In all of these, I must also admit that this brawl came quite early bearing in mind that their inauguration took place just three weeks ago. This shameful event that took place in the National Assembly was only a reflection of the internal wrangling that characterized the former Action Congress of Nigeria. Allow me take you down memory lane.

In 2011, Ganiyu Olatunji Olukola who was seeking a return to represent Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency was among other ACN members who went to court following the imposition of candidates by the leadership of the party. Some decried lack of transparency in the conduct of primaries within the party and the imposition of candidates by the party leader Bola Tinubu. Bola Tinubu had severally been criticized for handling the ACN like one of his business conglomerates and this had been my grouse with the party.

The Latin maxim states, nemo dat quod non habet, and I asked a question which was never answered, "what democratic values do you give Nigerians, when these values do not reflect in the conduct of your party primaries?" For me, since the party was unable to resolve the issues bordering on electing its candidates in a free and fair manner, it was better off a Lagos political party.

When the ACN decided to team up with the CPC and other parties, I had my fears. I was concerned about the inability of the ACN to resolve its internal issues and complaints from party members about imposition of candidates which had always been the flaws noticed by observers. I had strong doubts about Bola Tinubu's willingness to give up his position and accept another individual as leader of the party. Also, considering the number of times Buhari had contested, "would a resolute and resilient Mohammadu Buhari still remain in a party if he is not the presidential flagbearer? Another incident that slightly shook the party was the emergence of the Vice President but fortunately for the APC, they successfully weathered the storm and to the joy of Nigerians who needed a CHANGE, the APC won the presidential election

Atiku

The celebration was not over when Senator Bukola Saraki and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar reminded us of the men they are. Of course, Senator Bola Tinubu was quick to remember a man who never succumbed to his father's wish of allowing his own sister become governor of Kwara State, he was also quick to remember the man former President Obasanjo described as overly ambitious. Every attempt at bringing in the old ACN tactics of imposition in the name of the party's decision met with a brick wall as a dogged Saraki and Dogara clearly understood the politics. The sooner the former ACN leader understands that the APC is no longer that Lagos Party that was controlled from Bourdillon, the better for the party. The former ACN leader must understand that with the fusion of the CPC, ACN, ANPP, APGA and PDP defectors, the APC is a National Party that can equally boast of men with overfed accounts worldwide.

In reality the APC can best be described as a ship with many captains on board. The sooner the APC heavyweights understand and acknowledge that the leader of the party remains the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the better it would be for Nigerians desirous of a change. Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his party members have come too far to allow this power tussle destroy the hard work they put in during the electioneering campaign. Nigerians were delighted to vote for CHANGE not as a slogan but as a process itself but recent happenings have not been any different from what we experienced in the past years under the PDP. A party that promised to give Nigerians CHANGE would understand that the interest of the country supersedes the interest of the party bigwigs. By virtue of the victory of the APC at the polls, the former ACN leader amidst other leaders deserves special recognition but in the interest of the party he must lose some to win some. There is no doubt the party has been infiltrated with men who freely defect from one party to another just to ensure their selfish ambition is actualized and it behoves on the President to ensure sanity is restored within the party.

For the sake of those who casted their votes based on the personality of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibajo, it is best both men wade into this crisis as soon as possible to enable them retain the integrity they have long laboured to maintain amongst their loyalists. For as long as the various camps within the party seek their personal agenda, my fear is that Nigerians might be at the polls again in 2019 searching for another party that will rescue us from the present quagmire bedevilling the Nation as the signs presently manifesting only show we have the same old wine in a new bottle. Nigerians voted for CHANGE and anything that falls short of true change will be regarded as deceit and a big scam on Nigerians. As a Nation, we have not come this far to waste another four years with the poor getting poorer while a rich few allocate billions to themselves in the name of allowances. Nigerians will certainly not tolerate any excuses for failure. We are patiently watching.

Buwa Meldrick Memeh Political Analyst and Social Commentator.

Twitter: @buwamemeh