The Minority Whip of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Adebola, in this interview with JAMES AZANIA, speaks on the quest for power shift in the Northcentral state.
How vibrant is the All Progres-sives Party (APC) in Kogi State?
It’s not as if there are is no vibrant opposition, but the structure of politics itself is against the emergence of the kind of vibrant opposition you are talking about. And, really, you don’t need a party to build an opposition. Every man on the street is an opposition; once their right and their welfare are not attended to. We are all opposition as long as our interest, our right, our welfare are at stake. The whole country is looking up to us as an alternative, but the nature of politicians we have here, they only respect democracy to the extent that it will satisfy their interest. Once it goes outside their interest or their view of what is on ground, the next thing is that they bring in all these sort of tendencies that are not democratic. It’s not that there are no opposition members here, but the party has been structured and totally hijacked by forces that are not truly democratic. You can’t deceive yourself. You can’t deceive people outside. People see us when we are practising real democracy he people know when we are agents of change. So, until we have people that are serious minded, genuine in their attendance of democracy, that is when opposition can emerge. Not the way we are going about it.
What does the loss of Ekiti in the recent election portend for the future of APC?
I think it is an eye opener, that we need to understand the people that we govern better. But, in a larger sense, if the APC gets itself together I don’t see it as a setback. It’s a challenge. It is something we can overcome, but that still depends on how well we are able to see it as a challenge. A lot of things has to change; fundamentally, structurally and we don’t have a lot of time to do that. More transparency, more democratic culture, and I am sure we will triumph. It’s unfortunate for the party what happened in Ekiti.
If the people of Ekiti have made their decision, that means there are one or two lessons we must learn as a party and I think we have what it takes, if there is the will.
How can the party regain its composure?
One, people-friendly culture. Two, the party must clearly differentiate itself from the practice of existing political parties, in excellence per se. We cannot afford to do things the way other political parties are doing it. In most cases, we keep saying we are opposition and what other parties are doing we do it; imposition, by-cutting the electoral laws, even internally. So, if we can place ourselves above board, I think it will go a long way for our system
Are you saying there is no internal democracy in the APC?
There is, but it’s not enough to the extent to which we think it should be. We think we can do better than what we are doing now. There have been some challenges, especially in some states. We have to create a platform within the system with which we can reappraise ourselves; we can challenge ourselves, we can oppose ourselves, all for the better, not just a one directional thing, or group thing, or a caucus thing or a leaders’ thing. It has to be something that looks up to a new generation, built in transparency and in progress.
There are crises in some APC chapters. How can they be resolved?
It’s what I told you. It’s a problem which we have created for ourselves. If we had allowed the democratic process to play its way, even if there is going to be crisis, the crisis is going to be minimal. When you feel aggrieved, when you feel you have been cheated, when you feel you have not been consulted, that is what brings political crisis. But, if we institutionalise the process, if there is a loss it won’t be a bitter thing, you will know it’s the system that has defeated you and you will go and re-strategize, but often times most people are angry because it is not the institution that has defeated them, it is the people there. So, let us build the democratic culture round the institutional process and all these challenges will reduce naturally. That is my view. We still have a lot of chances to make a lot of positive difference.
Now, we have an exco, which should reach out, soothing nerves, making sure everybody come to the table, examine various interests, then see how we can parley it together, make it work together for the good. I think the APC has a lot of future. But, it has a lot of issues to address within itself.
Do you believe the APC is an alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015?
Yes. With the precedents, with what is happening now, APC is an alternative to PDP any day.
What does the APC possess that can make the party dethrone the PDP, especially at the federal level?
Naturally, and with the mood of the country, they are suited as an alternative, with the lots of challenges which the country has gone through since 1999. I think people will want change and see something different. Remember that PDP has been in power since 1999 and of course, nothing has changed; is it poverty? Is it insecurity? Is it provision of basic facilities? Is it inflation? Mention it, all factors are not improving significantly. So, I think the APC in that regards has a chance, because people will want to see something different. That is the number one chance they have. And, number two, I think they have been able to pull themselves together from different areas of the country, this is also an advantage. Then, number three, I think Nigeria is a youthful country, which is why we have to be careful in all the decisions we make as a party. If the APC can position itself as the party of the youths, I mean, about 70 per cent Nigerians are less than 35 or 40, If APC can start from the ideals which we have been talking about, if it can position itself as a party of the youths, I think it will also have an advantage well over other parties.
