The Nation Newspaper

Tag: one-party

  • Still on one-party bogeyman

    Still on one-party bogeyman

    Last week, a senior special assistant to the president on public affairs, Aliyu Audu, resigned his appointment because he claimed to detect a creeping imposition of one-party system designed to replace federal or multiparty system. He offered no real grounds for his conclusions other than his presumption that the ongoing defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) smacked of budding dictatorship. Yet, he was an assistant on public affairs. No, he wasn’t miffed by the defections; he probably found himself, perhaps together with a few sulking others like him, becoming less relevant in the scheme of things. Idle and depressed by a lack of relevance, he simply flung the towel at his bosses.

    Read Also: Tinubu dismisses one-party state agenda, welcomes defectors to APC

    Too many politicians and commentators appear to believe, without substantiation, that the defections to the ruling party, which are unlikely to reach the 28 or 30 that defected to the PDP during the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency, might herald a one-party state. If a one-party state could not be achieved when the PDP attained overwhelming dominance of the polity, why does anyone think it could be achieved now when the APC has 22 governorship seats in its pocket? It is simply part of the rhetoric of the next presidential poll in 2027, for which a bogeyman had to be found quickly to defang the ruling party and create a groundswell of resentment against the government. Had the same shoe been on the other foot in alignment with the goals of the opposition, it would be celebrations all the way instead of the metaphoric burning of effigies.

  • Defections and spectre of one-party state

    Defections and spectre of one-party state

    IT will take more defections than the country has witnessed to shake the National Assembly to its foundations. But clearly, Nigeria’s democratic edifice is not as steady as many democrats would have liked it to be, nor as inspiring and ennobling. On nearly a weekly basis, there is a stream of faint-hearted lawmakers moving into the safe, warm and undiscriminating embrace of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). They cite irreconcilable differences in their parties, especially the fractious Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose leaders are locked in deathly embrace. None of the defectors openly talks of the pressure the anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), might be exerting on the corrupt, with the APC thought rightly or wrongly to offer shelter to the damned. And no defector is also talking of moving to the APC to enhance future electoral prospects. But defection is proceeding apace, and the reasons are duplicitous.

    So far, the 8th Senate has become the most visible and worrisome face of these defections. Inaugurated on June 9, 2015 with a firm and unquestioning lead of 59 APC senators to PDP’s 49, the Senate has transformed mainly through defections than by by-elections into an unassailable and dominant APC forum of 65 senators to PDP’s 42 in a 109-member assembly. In a struggle over a bill, opposition is thus rendered futile and hopeless once the APC has made up its mind. The situation is even much worse in the House of Representatives whose 360 members are divided into 219 APC members and 133 PDP members by the last count, with the rest divided inconsequentially between four fringe parties that are, despite their best efforts, unable to cast a deciding vote should they nurse the ambition.

    Assuming these figures are accurate and politicians and their parties can find the ethical strength to keep them stable for some time, perhaps pundits and analysts would not make heavy weather of permutating the political future of Nigeria and extrapolating the benefits that could accrue from the present composition of the National Assembly. Sadly, the figures are still in a state of flux, with the National Assembly itself unable to track the number of defectors, not to say their shifting loyalties. More defections are expected, either as elections draw near at state and national levels or as the EFCC ramps up its activities, or as the Muhammadu Buhari presidency grabs more powers than the constitution allows it and its security agencies. For a number of reasons, some altruistic and others selfish, there will therefore continue to be some instability at various legislative assemblies in Abuja and the states, a situation that is prompting fears of a one-party state.

    At various times, the PDP had warned of the spectre of one-party rule. Their fears are not unfounded. The ruling APC, reluctant to learn from its own difficult past as an opposition party, has sometimes acted intolerantly and unreasonably in enunciating policy measures and deploying law enforcement and anti-graft agencies. This has led the PDP to complain that some of its members were being unfairly targeted by the government. Responding, however, the APC argues that since the PDP ruled for 16 years and controlled national resources, it is unavoidable that most of the malfeasances of the past governments were naturally committed by PDP members and supporters. The PDP remains sceptical.

    But the latest to warn of the spectre of one-party state is the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel. According to him, “As a country, we are assisting other countries to institute democracy, how come we are destroying ours?  We should not allow the country to be run like this, else our democracy will collapse.” The governor was unable to comprehend why the police sealed off of the Abuja International Conference Centre, venue of the meeting called by the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP. “The sealing off of International Conference Centre, venue of the meeting, by the Police was a sad commentary on our democracy,” said the governor. “Twice, we have experienced this. The other time, we had to hold the convention at the zonal secretariat of the party because the Port Harcourt stadium was barricaded by the Police…A country of more than 170 million  people is too large for one party structure. Let us make room for other parties to operate because a multi-party system will ensure the survival of democratic governance in the country.”

    Mr Emmanuel’s postulation that Nigeria may be too large for a one-party rule may be conceptually wrong, as many larger one-party states have demonstrated, he is nonetheless right to observe that the Buhari presidency has demonstrated a frightening unease with democratic rule. In fact, under the APC government, the security agencies have carried on as they did under military dictatorship, and certainly far worse than under the Goodluck Jonathan government. Apart from disobeying court orders, the government has done nothing to change the militaristic orientation of the law enforcement and security agencies, and has instead given the impression that it has struggled to acknowledge a constitution it naturally disdains and prefers to ignore. Mr Emmanuel is not the only top elected politician to worry about Nigeria’s political direction. There are many more.

    Surprisingly, the only semblance of democratic rule in the country is today located in the unsteady and sometimes vacillating National Assembly. With the PDP fractured by internal schism, and its leaders unable to speak with one voice, let alone promote and exude one generally conservative ideology, all opposition has been left to the 8th Senate and to some extent the 8th Representatives. The legislature is not often the best place where opposition should be conceived and promoted; that role is better played by the opposition parties. But given the inadvertent weakening of the PDP and the smallness and insignificance of the other parties, the role of opposition has devolved rather accidentally but fortuitously to the National Assembly. It was as if the country anticipated the future lurch towards dictatorship, militarism and one-party tendency and therefore guardedly ensured that the National Assembly was birthed in controversy and antagonism in such a manner that it would not see eye to eye with the executive for a long time.

    The National Assembly, despite its own weaknesses and faults, is actually the country’s saving grace. As the texture of opposition waned in the PDP as a party, the incidental opposition exemplified in the legislature, the National Assembly, became stronger and more emboldened. The linkage is clear. First was the rather objectionable and unprecedented desire of ambitious senators to defy their party’s formula for sharing principal offices in the National Assembly. This led to the emergence of powerful individuals willing and indeed eager to stand their ground against the Buhari presidency and the ruling party executives. In turn, the executive branch put a lot of legal and bureaucratic pressures on the rebels, thereby indirectly provoking more antagonism and more defiance. The result is that the National Assembly has by the bipartisan composition of its principal officers shaped itself, obviously accidentally and perhaps unwillingly, into an opposition and restraining group capable of putting breaks on the executive’s sometimes giddy resort to extraconstitutional measures.

    While these unanticipated happenings have helped to stabilise the polity, and in some ways, democracy itself, they do not guarantee democratic stability and progress in the long run. It is not healthy for the executive to forswear democracy and act dictatorially and often antagonistically, nor is it also healthy for the National Assembly to act like a Camorra at worst or a political opposition at best. The constitution defines their roles unambiguously, and experience here and in other climes has refined those roles and made them even much clearer than the constitution has spelt out. The country needs the three arms of government to confine themselves intelligently to those roles.

    In its heyday, the PDP did little to establish a sound culture and tradition for Nigerian democracy. Now, given the abhorrent and rampant defections disembowelling the polity, the former ruling party is a victim of its own foolish machinations. Unfortunately, the APC has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. If it is not to be a victim of its own complacency in the future, the ruling party must constrain itself to champion and possibly enthrone a sound democratic culture and tradition. It must scrupulously discourage the crazy and needless defections bifurcating the PDP and weakening the opposition. It must recognise that the story of its own founding is even shakier than the founding of the PDP, and that it does not stand on any solid ideological or intraparty ground. It appears to prefer not to see beyond its nose. That is dangerous. If the APC has any man of vision within its ranks, he must move the party to the mountaintop from where it can get a glimpse of the future, a future clearly fraught with terrible forebodings, a future the party seems bent on jeopardising by its reckless and unprincipled prostitution of partisan politics and the constitution.

  • Anambra PDP: One party, two chairmen

    Anambra PDP: One party, two chairmen

    Correspondent NWANOSIKE ONU writes on the controversial Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congress and how the crisis is troubling the party. 

    There seems to be no end in sight to the crisis rocking the Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The leadership battle is between two Princes—Ken Emeakayi and Osy Ezenwa, who are factional chairmen. Many believe that the crisis may weaken the party.

    The crisis could be traced to 2003 when former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju cursed the party for denying him a second term ticket.

    Mbadinuju’s battle with some stakeholders made former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other PDP leaders to offer the ticket to Senator Chris Ngige through his political godfather, Chief Chris Uba.

    The former governor rained curses on the chapter, saying that it shall never be well with the party, unless the injustice meted out to him is reversed.

    The party is trailing behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in terms of strength and cohesion.

    Amid the crisis, many stakeholders are planning to defect to the APC.

    Allegations of embezzlement, anti party activities and insensitivity against some stakeholders have polarised the fold. Some members are even in court against the party. The litigations have further deepened the crisis.

    Recently, the PDP national leadership sent some officers to Anambra State to conduct ward, local government and state congresses to reposition the party, ahead of the 2017 governorship elections.

    During the congress, which was conducted by Mr. Ike Abonyi, the leader of the delegation, Emeakayi became the chairman, leading 26 officers in the executive committee.

    Emeakayi’s leadership has the backing of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC). But some stakeholders organised their own congress to appoint Ezenwa as the paralled chairman.

    As if that was not enough, Another group, led by Ejike Oguebego, laid claim to the party’s leadership. They tendered a court order to strengthen their position.

    Oguebego said the purported congress was a sham, adding that it should not have been held in the first place because his tenure still subsists till next year.

    The three factions are being propelled by Chief Chris Uba for Oguebego group, Prince Arthur Eze, Sir Emeka Ofor and others on the side of Comrade Tony Nwoye and Ezenwa, while Chief Olisa Metuh, Senator Uche Ekwunife, Chief Peter Obi and are others on the side of Emeakayi.

    The congress was adjudged the most peaceful in the state. There was a huge turnout in the 326 wards and 21 local government areas.

    The only difference was that the key chieftains were behind the curtains of the congresses, unlike before when they would be in their various communities organising same.

    Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, the leader of the party, is not being carried along on these moves, although the factions claim he had knowledge of every decision taken by their camps.

    So far, none of the big wigs has come out to condemn the intrigues going on in the party.

    The new moves have led to the suspension of big wigs by the factions. For instance, the Emeakayi group suspended the PDP governorship candidate in the 2013 election, Comrade Tony Nwoye and Ezenwa.

    Others affected by the suspension include Chief Ejike Oguebego, Chief Basil Ejidike, former member of House of Representatives, Mrs. Jessy Balonwu, Hon. Kenneth Arinze, Hon Uche Ogbonna, Barr Chuks Okoye and Dr Tony Akachukwu, a former secretary of the party.

    The suspension letter was signed by Hon Chief Emma Oguaju, the Assistant Publicity Secretary of the group led by Emeakayi, which according to them, was in compliance with Chapter 10, Article 57 (3) of the PDP Constitution 2012 as (amended).

    The faction led by Ezenwa has suspended the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, based on allegations of anti-party activities.

    The group said it was also in compliance with the constitution of the party as quoted by the other group.

    Among the allegations levelled against Metuh are that he worked against former President Goodluck Jonathan during the last presidential election. He also castigated the former president and his wife, it was alleged.

    The group alleged that Metuh challenged Jonathan to give an account of his stewardship as President after he lost to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    These allegations were worrisome to Emeakayi, who banned Nwoye and his group from contesting any elective position in the party for two years.

    Ejike Oguebego, who was purportedly suspended alongside others, said that Emaekayi lacked the power to suspend anybody because they are not members of the party based on court judgement.

    He described the members of the group as jesters, who are working for their pay-master, Metuh, to destroy the PDP in Anambra State, adding that he was never elected as the chairman.

    But, for Emeakayi, the other groups were paid agents of APC who want to kill PDP to give way for the party to take over Anambra state.

    Emeakayi said: “We are aware of the plans by the APC to employ every means to distract and to discredit Chief Olisa Metuh and Senator Ike Ekweremadu to deny the PDP a credible voice in its new opposition role”

    “We pass vote of implicit confidence on our leader, Chief Olisa Metuh, and urge him to ignore the antics of the APC and continue with his good works alongside other members of the PDP National Working Committee”

    “Since the APC and their agents have made Chief Olisa Metuh their target, we call on the security operatives in Nigeria to ensure security and safety of Chief Olisa Metuh and members of his family”

    However, a chieftains of PDP, Chief Chike Anyonu, said that the party was heading to its end in the state because of the macabre dance of the stakeholders.

    He said: “We have already failed, some people are paid to destroy this party, PDP is doomed in this state, certainly, PDP cannot go anywhere again”.

    “On what offence are you suspending members and at the same time telling them to face panel, it does not go like that”.

    Some members believe that it is only Emeakayi, who has what it takes to lead the party in the state because of his doggedness and his mobilisation prowess.

    Who is in charge of the PDP in Anambra? Who is capable of taking the party to the promised land. Who will restore peace to the troubled chapter?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘No room for one-party system’

    ‘No room for one-party system’

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson spoke with BISI OLANIYI on the achievements of his administration in the last one year and other national issues.

     

    How has it been since you assumed the reins as governor on February 14, last year?

    It has been wonderful, exciting and exerting. But I enjoy every bit of it. I enjoy the challenges. More than before, I come face to face with the problems of our people. I have also seen their resilience and their endless possibilities.

    There are indications that President Goodluck Jonathan is interested in a second term. What is your reaction?

    Any talk about 2015 is a distraction. It is premature and in any case, the President has not said he is going to contest. Will I support President Jonathan, if he decides to contest? That can be taken for granted. I cannot speak about the relationship that the President has with individual governors, but what I know generally is that President Jonathan has excellent relationship, not just with the Southsouth governors, not just with me and Governor Akpabio, but with all the governors. The President is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    How can the protracted crisis in the PDP be resolved?

    Politics is the act of reconciling differences. Politics, by its very nature, particularly within the context of a democracy, engenders discontent; other times wisdom and ambition. All of these are legitimate. That is the very nature of politics. For a major and indeed, the biggest political party in the country, which has been in power for a long time now, people should not be surprised that once in a while, there are differences of opinion. That is normal in a political party. Even in the small political parties, they have differences. The PDP remains very strong. I do not think there is any major cause for worry.

    Why are PDP leaders jittery because of the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the major opposition parties?

    We have not seen APC in place. It is still a proposal. With my background of active involvement in opposition politics, before I came into PDP, it is a welcome development. This country needs virile opposition parties. No political party should be allowed to control and dominate the political space in any country or any society. This view is not the conventional Nigerian political view, but I am not a conventional Nigerian politician.

    Democracy should be a marketplace of ideas. Political parties should be the instrument of contest. I personally welcome the alternative that is being proposed, but there is a difference between the proposal and the reality of having a political party on the ground. I look forward to seeing the APC emerge as a formidable alternative. I welcome it. That is the right thing to do and the country will be happier for it. But the leaders of the APC should do more than they are talking.

    The PDP is not threatened. We have more governors. We have the Federal Government that is doing well, but Nigerians need a viable opposition to propose alternative viewpoints and ideas.

    Many National Assembly members and other politicians who worked against you during the last election attended your first anniversary. What is the secret?

    It is not a feat that I should attribute to myself. That is the spirit of the new Bayelsa. I have been a consensus builder. Politics is the act of building consensus. Political leaders are our fountains of wisdom. Building consensus and breaking down barriers are essential. Differences of opinion must be respected.

    Anybody can be a governor. Whoever emerges after the election, it is expected that the people will support the person. That people who did not support me are coming around, I thank them very well. That is the right thing to do. That is the feeling of the new Bayelsa. We are building an all-inclusive system. We are all stakeholders.

    My stake in this state is not bigger than their own. It is just that I am the custodian of the collective stakes. I do not see myself as having a superior stake. With that mindset, it makes it easy for me to consult them. Their views are taken into consideration. Where I disagree, everybody knows me. I will tell them plainly.

    Even, when we agree and disagree, we should do so in the best interest of our people. Once you have that at the back of your mind, it makes things easy. So, I want to thank them for coming around. We hope to build consensus and a united Bayelsa.

    Your administration has just put in place a law that recommends death penalty for kidnapping. Will you have the political will to sign kidnappers’ death warrants?

    I hope my political will won’t be tested. We do not want any kidnapping in Bayelsa. The rate of kidnapping in the state has recently dropped. Criminality has dropped in Bayelsa State. Even one incident of kidnapping is too much. That is one thing we do not want to hear.

    We want to maintain safety on the waterways in Bayelsa. We are making serious investments, most of which we will unfold shortly. The capacity we have and the mindset we are encouraging in this state, anybody that comes to Bayelsa to commit crime cannot go free.

    Our response time for distress calls is about three minutes in Yenagoa and its environs, which is commendable. But we want to extend that all over Bayelsa, particularly along the waterways, which are very difficult to police.

    We are going forward and we hope that criminality will be a thing of the past. For kidnapping and related offences, in respect of which I have assented to the law, we hope that people will listen and stay away from kidnapping. Bayelsa State is a no-go-area, as far as kidnapping and related violent offences are concerned. Anybody who tests our will, will face the full wrath of the law.

    Are your administration’s development projects meeting the expectation of the people of the state?

    We are being commended for restoring the lost glory of Bayelsa State. I thank everybody for their support and encouragement, but it is not yet Uhuru. Bayelsa is still a far cry from where I will like it to be. Are we there yet? Certainly no. But what I know is that we have used the last one year laying a foundation. We will build on it.

    Talking about projects and programmes that are close to my heart, people are quite familiar with my priorities. The most challenging problem of our time is that of human capacity development. That is education.

    Today, as I finish the interview, I will be going to inspect the Teacher Training Institute that I have started. We have programmes and projects that are of human capacity development. Scholarships, building of new schools, building of schools for vocational training and others are very particular to me.

    There are also infrastructure projects that are on-going and we must open up the economy. You cannot do so without infrastructure. You cannot also rule out our investment in agriculture and tourism. There is so much to be done. In all these, investment in human capacity building is very important. Development comes first, but human being is the most important resource. No investment in that sector is too much or misplaced.

    The devastating floods of 2012 greatly affected Bayelsa State, leading to loss of lives and property. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has just asked Nigerians to expect more floods this year. How prepared is your administration?

    It is a wake-up call. Good that the warning came quite early. It is a clarion call for people, especially those at the helm of affairs, to be proactive. Last year, the flood was terrible, but the effects would have been far worse, particularly in Yenagoa City, but for our timely intervention in opening up the various water courses that had been blocked over the years.

    Some people did not understand it initially. They thought it was highhandedness, when houses were broken and other structures or things were pulled down. Later, when the floods came, that Yenagoa City was not evacuated was because of the proactive steps taken by the Bayelsa State government. So, the flood warning should be taken seriously.

    I intend, next week, to empanel a technical committee to address the issue and come up with an immediate plan of action. How that will be, I do not know. But something has to be done. We will take steps, within our powers and available resources, to ensure that we lighten the burden for our people.

    During your first anniversary, you inaugurated the Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC), whose Advisory Board you are chairing, with Ambassador Lawrence Ekpebu as your deputy. What was the motivation?

    While I was campaigning, I knew clearly that the economy was a major challenge and we needed to address the economy. In Bayelsa, you do not have manufacturing companies. The economy is completely dependent on government. That affects the people’s attitude, the political culture, our IGR (Internally Generated Revenue) status and other things.

    So, I know that in going forward, there is the need to expand the base of the economy. I am not a businessman. I may not even be, but I know that there are outstanding business people and people who had played critical roles in various sectors of our economy over the years from Bayelsa State. I knew that I was going to empanel the team made up of financial experts to look at the various ways by which our economy can be diversified, because in this state, we know that oil and gas resources are wasted assets.

    If you visit Oloibiri, which is just five to ten minutes drive from here (Government House, Yenagoa), you will see what we mean. Most states probably do not know that oil wells get dried up. We know that in Bayelsa, because of Oloibiri and other oil wells that are now dry. Therefore, there is the need to begin to expand the base of our economy, as much as we can, to prepare for the days without oil.

    I do not feel we are running economies that are sustainable. Any economy that depends on revenue allocation from the Federal Government is not a sustainable economy. There are very few state economies that are sustainable in this country, especially Lagos, with the capacity to generate enough revenue to fund their services and development. I want Bayelsa to begin on that note, to self sufficiency.

    Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation will also place the economy of Bayelsa S tate on the world map. Which is why the BDIC has already set up its international headquarters in London and the African regional headquarters in South Africa. These are major economic centres. So, that we can key-in the pool of investments outside and also attract capital, local and foreign, and human resources to manage it.

    I want to thank the leaders of Bayelsa and elders who volunteered to be part of it and many Bayelsans, within and outside Nigeria, who are going to serve on the board, as honourary members.

    Top managing directors of banks in Nigeria, top businessmen in this country and outside have aslready indicated their willingness to join the board, because they have seen the sincerity of our vision and they have seen the clarity of the vision and they agreed to be part of it. We want them to turn Bayelsa to a new Dubai. The new Dubai of Nigeria. The new Dubai of Africa and it is possible. If they did it in Dubai, why can’t we do it in Bayelsa and other parts of Nigeria?

    How transparent is your administration’s transparency initiative, in view of your promise of placing emphasis on transparency and accountability?

    Everything I promised, we have tried to fulfil. Transparency has become a cornerstone of our government. We feel that, that is the right way to go. Democracy is all about openness and recognising the rights of the people to participate and know.

    Our transparency programme is on course. Every month, I address the state and I explain the details of their income and expenditure. To show how seriously we take the matter, we have even by the law, made it an impeachable offence and gross misconduct, if a governor fails to do so for three months consecutively. That law has also placed a burden, a responsibility and duty on the part of local government chairmen, to also do so at the local government level.

    We may not be there yet, but we have started a system by which the rights of the people to know about what resources they have and how these resources are managed are respected and critical to going forward.

    Are you not afraid of disclosing the figures?

    No. I am not afraid. It is the right of the people to know. The resources of the state are not the personal property of any governor. That is part of the issues I have with the council chairmen. The resources that go to the local governments cannot be treated as pocket money of the chairmen and the cabal in the local government areas that want to feed fat on public revenue.

    People must learn to work. If I as governor or anybody in my government want to do anything, want to be a business person, you will have to resign, to go and be a businessman. The government is to address the problems of the people. Government’s resources are to be channeled to solving the problems of the state and transparency is the right of every people to expect and it is the duty of every government to offer.

    What is your advice to the youths of Bayelsa State ?

    I have told them that I am not the governor because I am the best among them in Bayelsa. Probably, even the least. Going by my background and how it has pleased God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, to elevate me, with the support of the people of this state to the position of governor, I have always said that if I, who started from the humble beginning as a recruit constable, could get to this level and occupy the other offices, I do not think God is through yet with me.

    The young people of Bayelsa State, the young people of Niger Delta and the young people of Nigeria should take a cue, to know that if they work hard and play by the rules, have confidence in them-improvement and respect constituted authorities, respect the laws and the norms of our society and work hard to educate themselves, empower themselves and dream big dreams and the sky is their limit.

    President Goodluck Jonathan has also told the story of how he started. The son of a canoe carver, but today he is the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He started by going to school without shoes.

    It is not just my personal story or the story of the President. The important thing is that the young people in Bayelsa State, Niger Delta and Nigeria should learn that the idea of having to have everything overnight does not pay. Cultism, getting involved in drug abuse and getting involved in other forms of criminality do not pay.

     

  • ‘Merger will prevent one-party system’

    ‘Merger will prevent one-party system’

    Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, in this interview with   EMMANUEL OLADESU and JEREMIAH OKE,  explains the significance of the merger and implications for 2015 general elections. 

     

    How did the four political parties come about the name, All Progressive Congress (APC)?

    There is nothing unusual about that. I cannot tell you how we came about the name, but coming together is more important to us right from 2005. We made an effort between 2005 and 2006 that all opposition parties should come together before 2007, particularly the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and ANPP, but it didn’t work. We formed the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and went straight to form alliance with ANPP towards 2007 elections. That seemed to have threatened Obasanjo so much that he misbehaved in 2007 elections to the extent that the late President Yar ‘Adua came to say that the election that brought them to power was severely flawed.

    Unfortunately, ANPP joined the PDP in their Government of National Unity and that ended the alliance. In 2010, we tried again, but unfortunately, it could not materialise. Some groups joined AD to become the ACN. The ACN has been in the front seat to ensure that all opposition parties work together since that time. Towards the 2011 election, ACN and CPC negotiated the possibility of an alliance till almost a week to the elections, but it could not work. We were not happy; we felt very disappointed. This time around, we thought we started where we ended with the CPC. Fortunately, before we took off, the ANPP decided to come on board and we quickly set up a committee of ACN to start negotiation with them. The CPC set up its own committee and ANPP set up its own committee and we all accepted to work together. I think the APGA does not want to be left behind; that is why they also joined us. We rejoice over this and we have to celebrate it. The committee has not reported back to us, but we are happy so far that they are giving us a symbol of desirability of coming together of all the opposition parties. I think, the situation has been so well received by the country that, before long, we shall be able to establish this party properly and it will be the only progressive party that Africa will be able to witness and before long, PDP will stop calling itself the largest party inAfrica.

    What is the significant of the merger of the four parties?

    The significance of the merger is to prevent one-party system because one-party system is not good in a democracy. But at the rate we are going, PDP is using the electoral institutions and the police to foist one-party system on the country. Therefore, we think, if the opposition parties can come together and decide to form an alliance, it will prevent one-party system.

    How are we sure that there will not be tension between the four parties, if they perceive themselves as the senior or junior partners in the alliance?

    If the merger is the alliance of two political parties, you can be talking about senior and junior. But the merger, as we can see it now, is the alliance of four political parties. Ranking will be very difficult in this kind of situation. What we think is that progressives are progressives, no matter where they are, and we should move on because it may not be all the parties that are signing up now that will eventually come on board at the end of the day. We know for sure that more than 70 per cent of PDP will also be coming on board, as soon as the platform is properly laid.

    We learnt that ACN is trying to reconcile General Buhari (rtd) with his former party, ANPP. How far has the reconciliation gone?

    We have never attempted such a thing. General Buhari has never told us he was quarreling with ANPP; neither has ANPP told us that they were quarreling with General Buhari. General Buhari joined the ANPP and used the platform to contest for an election twice and, if he decided to form his own party, he did nothing wrong. But had it been when he formed the CPC and before too long, CPC is as big as ANPP, if not bigger than ANPP, I can say there is a quarrell. If you plant a seed, it can produce a fruit bigger than the original seed you planted. So, I don’t think they are quarreling with each other, but I think, in a democracy, we try to establish a policy and if it is not possible within the party, you can come out and try your own. Reality has dawned on us today that, unless we come together, there is no way we can be able to have enough strength to deal with the PDP.

    Now that the new party has been born, what is the fate of ACN, ANPP, CPC and APGA?

    That is the essence of it; it is a matter of sacrifice. We are going to surrender our certificates to the Independent Nigeria Electoral Commission (INEC) and we stop being called ACN. Also, CPC will surrender its own certificate and it will stop being called CPC. The ANPP will also surrender its own certificate to the INEC and they will stop calling themselves ANPP, while APGA will do the same and from there, a new party is born. And nobody will know himself as either ACN, ANPP, APGA or CPC; we will all be known as APC. So, all we need to do is to fine-tune and recognise that APC has been born. And no matter how you look at it, any funny name you may call it, it will cure any type of ache. Some people call it armoured personnel carrier, I will tell you, it is meant to destabiliee enemy at war. So, it depends on the way you look at it. To me, APC is a fighter; either a fighter of an ailment or fighter of war. This is a political war we are going to fight and APC will be handy in getting them down. The moment we fine-tune this platform, which we are building now, nobody will call himself ACN, CPC, ANPP, APGA again. We will all know ourselves as APC and there is going to be equality of membership.

    A section of APGA has said that it is not happy with the merger. What is your reaction to this?

    In any democracy, there is no way you won’t have a similar thing. Honestly, I was a little caught unaware because we never had prior discussion with the APGA, but because everybody sees the need for it. APGA is also a party of the winners and they don’t want to be left behind; that was why they jumped into the train. Though, it may be a shock to some of the members of the party, but we allow everybody to go back to their various parties and conduct a conference or a convention of their parties and announce to their members that they have adopted a new party and that they are happy with the new party.

    What form will the manifesto of the new party take?

    The manifesto committee is already working. It is going to reflect what we believe; general development of human being in Nigeria, general empowerment of the youths to destroy unemployment in the country and general development of the atmosphere. All these are what you can see in Lagos State today; neat houses everywhere, good houses everywhere. The welfare of the people will be much more better because the purpose of any government is to take care of the people. It is unlike what the PDP is doing. The purpose of government of PDP is sharing. They must share the money because all of them want to be rich in their party. So, they have changed government to market sharing. But in our own case, we are far different from them and that is why we call it All Progressive Congress. Progressive in our context means don’t govern for yourselves, but govern for the advantage of the generality of the people. That is the manifesto of the party for now.

    Do you envisage any hurdle from the INEC?

    There is no INEC hurdle other than giving them 90 day-notice that we are coming together before any election. We do that by attaching our name, logo, manifesto, our constitution and to abide by the rule of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. INEC does not have any choice in that matter than to accept and register us. We are coming onboard and, as soon as the platform is ready, INEC will ask us a question according to the law of the land and we will fill a form. That is the law; they don’t have a power on their own. INEC power is base on the law of Nigeria and we are going to create and develop the platform according to the law of Nigeria. So, when we act in accordance with the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, INEC has no option.

    How prepared is the new party to withstand any likely intimidation and harassment by the PDP?

    PDP is jittery already. PDP is in trouble already. PDP has been sleepless since we announced the new party. I listened to the national chairman of the party in bravado recently, that they are happy about that. I congratulate him for that courage. But with APC, 100 per cent votes in a state will not be possible again because all of us will defend our votes. I am sure we will all be everywhere in the country. Look at the party, look at the structure, and look at how it was formed. APC is everywhere in all the nooks and crannies of the country. It is not a tribal party; it is a national party. And the moment you have everybody in a party like that, voting wrongly with impunity will be checked.

    How is the party preparing for the challenge of party leadership composition at the federal and state levels?

    Currently, I am the national chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). If by tomorrow you ask me to be a local government auditor of the party, happily, I will take it because the post is not the issue, but the purpose is what we have to contribute to the making of the development of the people of Nigeria. So, I don’t think anybody will be dragging anything. In case you don’t know, we don’t pay salaries to officers, unlike the PDP. So, it makes it comfortable for us to adapt to any situation we find ourselves. As the national leader, if they ask you to go and do local government assignment, you quickly go and do it because no money is attached to it that will make you say you don’t want to leave the post. That was the way we were trained in the UPN and AD and that is the way we have been carrying on in the ACN. That same culture we are going to adopt in the APC We are not struggling for money. At our age, what money do you think I will be struggling for? So, I can assure you that there will be no power tussle in APC leadership.

    Observers are saying that the choice of the presidential candidate and his running mate could generate tension in the APC. How would this be resolved?

    That will not create problem because we are all having our eyes on the youths for most of our offices. Look at most of our people in the Senate and in the House of Representatives , even governors. They are all young people and I believe that this will be the the case in the APC. We will use the young ones so that they will be able to be the architect of their own future.

    PDP said that, by forming the APC, you are heating up the polity. How would you react to this allegation?

    If that is the way they see it, then, we are getting at them. They are becoming afraid. They are nervous. They heat is on them. They are already feeling the heat. I think I am proud about that. The opposition is giving them the heat.

    Can APC dislodge PDP in 2015?

    PDP is already dislodged. The people are angry with the PDP and that is why they are unable to move on. Do you see them doing anything? The economy is in shambles; they cannot even make roads, they can’t build infrastructure, they cannot make peace, and so, they are already in trouble. When you enter an examination hall, and all questions are difficult to answer, you know you have failed already. You look at question number one; it is difficult, two, beyond you, number three also beyond you. There in the examination hall, you have seen your result that you have failed. The paper we put before the PDP is to make peace and create peace for Nigeria, but it is too difficult for them, they can’t do it. Improve economy, they don’t know where to start. They don’t know how to do it. Education is in trouble. Unemployment is rising and many more crises in the country. So, they are confused. As all the oppositions are now together, it’s added more to their tension so, they are in trouble with the formation of APC.

    PDP is threatening to capture Lagos, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti in the next elections. What is your reaction?

    PDP is fond of boasting. I don’t comment on boasting because PDP lacks ideas and they believe that taking over is a matter of a boasting. Thank God, Nigerians are determined to dislodge them across the country. Tell me their stronghold; I don’t know where in the country that the PDP is strong. I only know that PDP is very strong in the INEC, they are very strong in the police, and they use the combination of the police and the security agents at elections. Apart from that, I don’t know where PDP is strong and I don’t see where somebody will come out in public and say he is proud of PDP, apart from the people who are stealing our oil money.

    What is your reaction to the centenary celebration of Nigeria’s amalgamation?

    Do we have anything to celebrate? Only the senseless people will be counting age. It is not how old you are now, it is how well. Nigeria is not healthy at 100. So, what are we celebrating? A country is supposed to live for thousands of years and, if it is not healthy at 100, we can call such a country a ‘sickle seller’. That means a country that may not live, and that is why APC is formed so that Nigeria will not be killed by the PDP. They love spending money and celebrating triviality. Centenary or how do you call it? To me, it is a celebration of triviality. So, there is nothing to celebrate in Nigeria yet.

    The ethnic nationalities have been clamoring for a Sovereign National Conference for years, but we are yet to see any action in this regard. Does it means that it will not hold in our life time?

    Honestly, I don’t believe in a Sovereign National Conferences, but I believe in conferences. You may not understand the difference. Let me tell you, in a Sovereign Conference, whatever you say is law. Whatever you say must be obeyed. So, how do you select people that will sit and decide those things? But I believe in conferences and that is what we have started. There are some fundamental issues that must be resolved before such conference can be held. I believe in conferences so that we can come together to solve those problems and decide on what to do so that no decision will be imposed on the people. Honestly, I don’t really support it.

    Now that the National Assembly is set to review the 1999 Constitution, what are your expectations?

    I don’t think the National Assembly will achieve much because the bases are just not there. I think what the National Assembly should do now is to look at how to strengthen the electoral system, particularly the registration of the electorate. Anything that will make the votes fraud-free is what should be done. In a country where the population is about 150 million, and we have voters registration of about 150million, we know something is wrong with that. So, I think if they make finger print of the registration biometric, we will have the kind of what we have in Ghana, where they did not finish the voting the same day and they started the following day. Until they make our registration biometric, the review of the constitution cannot take us to anywhere.

    Does the likelihood exist that the two factions of Afenifere will reconcile?

    I don’t know if Afenifere still exists, but I know of Afenifere Renewal Group. What I mean by that is that the Papa Afenifere is gone and it is gone forever, but the baby Afenifere is growing and that is what I expect in any society. When the elders are old, they encourage the youths to start putting themselves together so as to start where the elders ended. So, the Papa Afenifere is gone and gone forever, but the Afenifere Renewal Group is alive and becoming energetic. They have achieved what the Afenifere could not achieve, in terms of regional integration idea.