Do you think that the ongoing merger
plan among the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a section of All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to form the All Progressives Congress (APC)
would bring solution to the nation’s challenges if the merger eventually
succeeds?
May be it will work or not; it is
something we are all waiting to see. But at present, there is no merger, there
is no APC, so we cannot start counting the eggs that are not hatched. But
it is an ongoing process.
ACN, CPC and ANPP have all dissolved
The dissolution meaning what? They
have dissolved into a non-existing APC. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I am
aware that a merger process is on, the parties involved are still talking and
they have not dissolved into anything.
But you moved the motion for CPC to
dissolve and the subsequent ratification of the merger?
Let them finish the process for the
merger first. We should allow the baby to be born first before we start giving
name. If you listen to my closing remarks at the CPC convention, I said let all
men of goodwill watch, this time calls for sober reflection and optimistic
vigilance because the enemy – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not going to
fold its arms and allow the entire process succeed unchallenged. Look, PDP is
not ready for any healthy competition, therefore those who are discussing
merger must know they are doing it for the sake of the nation and not just for
pocket sharing or personal gains.
Nigeria is one of the terrible
nations where you see politicians seeking power for self. I did not move the
motion for the dissolution of CPC, the party is alive and intact and likewise
ACN and ANPP. They all moved the motion to empower the various members of the
Board of Trustees (BoT) of their parties to meet and ratify the process of
merger. When they eventually merge, we will see the colour, manifestoes,
constitution, and logo of the new party. At the convention of CPC, I said that
the last time we hoped was in 1993 and I hope that in 2013, 20 years after we
would have a brighter hope. But the issue of the key players in the merger must
be critically considered because not all men are sincere.
Do you foresee a situation where the
merger will not succeed?
You are asking me that question so
that you can use it against me in future. Give them a chance. They are looking
for solution to a problem, but you have to know the problem before you can
profer solution. Let us look at what those that are involved in the merger
process were doing in the various states. Are the people happy there? Are they
performing? Look at the bulk of money in some states, compared with what some
of the governors are doing. I hope the media is digging deep into this matter.
We need to beware of a naked man who promises us a shirt.
What is your true position in the
merger, are you for it or not?
I am not the issue. I am not CPC,
I’m not ACN or ANPP or APGA? I agreed to run with the CPC Presidential
Candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in 2011 because of his track record,
discipline, integrity, incorruptibility and so on. I worked with him in the
party based on this and I believe I discharged my responsibility to Buhari. If
the principle behind the merger is to ensure democratic governance in the
country, if the people behind it have the goodwill and want the best for the
nation, if it is not just to take away from PDP to handle it like PDP, then I
will advocate caution with optimism.
The country is going through series
of challenges, insecurity, poor leadership, bad economy; how do you see all
these?
It is inconceivable by rational mind
that a government that claimed to have been elected by popular majority cannot
say that what is happening in the country in terms of security is part of the
transformation agenda it promised the people. How we got to where we are in the
country today does not require any rigorous research work. The fact is that an
idle mind is the devil’s workshop; when the rate of unemployment, poverty,
youth restiveness and where there is no justice and equity in a system is as
high as we have it in the country, what do you expect? All that you see are the
consequences of what we did wrong in the past.
To stem the tide government has to
do more. There is the need to look at the root causes of the entire situation
and not just the piece meal approach we are doing now. The fact is,
Nigerians are aggrieved, their lives have been brutalised as a result of bad
governance and if certain things are not addressed, I mean those issues that
will have direct and positive impact on the lives of people, I wonder what we
are going to be saying in the next couples of years. It was not as bad as we
are witnessing it now in the past and I wonder what the situation will be if we
should continue like this. It is something that calls for a sober reflection.
How do you see the recent pass mark
giving to President Goodluck Jonathan’s government by the South- South and the
Southeast governors’ caucus meting in Asaba recently?
I don’t like to discuss such issues
and moreover, what do you expect the governors to say? Do you think they will
say anything contrary? If they endorse or applauded Jonathan’s style of
governance, do their own people, I mean the citizens in the states of the
various governors endorse or appreciate their style of
governance? It is not possible for anybody to give what they don’t
have and that is what I feel those governors were trying to do. In the first
instance, how happy are their citizens in their states for them to drum support
for another person?
Let us ask ourselves whether there
is wisdom in governance in Nigeria today. I don’t see any. I don’t know if you
see it in anywhere. Look at the drama going on here and there, I seize your jet
and you seize mine. Consider the figure we hear on daily basis about
corruption, I wonder the type of government we are running in the country. All
our politicians are all there because of what they can get and not for the
purpose to serve Nigerians.
What the governors said was part of
the problems drawing the nation backward. I do not believe sectional or ethnic
sentiment; if something is not good we should say it for the purpose of
correction. They can go ahead and pass all the vote of confidence or commend
whatever they wanted to commend in the government, but I hope they will not
continue until the rage from Nigerians catches them.
What do you think about the
statement made by Asari Dokubo, that it is either Jonathan in 2015 or no
Nigeria; you have always said there may not be 2015?
There is no agreement between my
position and what Asari Dokubo said. If not for the necessity to clear some
areas, I don’t see the need to respond on that issue. He must have spoken out
of frustration or limited knowledge. He forgot the fact that Nigeria is higher
than one person. He also did not ask himself what Jonathan is doing to develop
the nation and the feeling of the people to his administration. Another
fact is that Jonathan is not the first president and he would not be the last
president of Nigeria. There is no need to join issues with him because he is
one of those who have made cheap money out of the amnesty programme. Otherwise
what intellectual contributions has he done towards the development of Nigeria,
even the Niger Delta he came from? He is free to support his godfather
Jonathan, so that he can continue to make money.
Nigeria needs a revolution and God
can make it happen.
What type of revolution?
Whatever type of revolution; let
those who can pray continue to pray. There is a revolution going on already,
where it will end is what we do not know, but certainly something will happen
very soon. But if we continue this way, no destructive means can bring about a
constructive end. During the Ojota protest against oil subsidy, I saw a placard
in Lagos State and at the same time a similar placard was raised in Abuja with
a message “A day is coming when the poor will have nothing to eat but the
rich.” Right now kidnapping is the business of the day. Our youths are now
thugs, murderers, can you imagine the numbers of police killed in Nasarawa
State by cultist group? Everyday what we read on the pages of the paper is one
sad story and the other. There is the need to wake up or else we are playing
with something we are going to regret.
Now we are talking amnesty to Boko
Haram. Unfortunately, we have come to a situation where every criminal who
carries arms against the government must be granted amnesty. The cheapest means
to get money from Federal Government is to take up arms against the nation. The
militants in the Niger Delta were granted amnesty and now people were saying
grant amnesty to Boko Haram sect members. Very soon armed robbers and
kidnappers will ask for amnesty. There is the need to look into the root cause
of the entire crisis in the country.
I want you to be specific whether
amnesty is good or not?
For those who are agitating for one
thing or the other in the country, the best means possible to achieve their aim
is to resort to activities that would lead into violence, so that government
can pay attention to them. What I am saying is that government needs to find
the root cause of the crisis.
Are you saying that all the
killings, bombings and violence going on in the North is limited to that zone?
They are gradually spreading to
other parts of the country. Rather than throwing money in the name of amnesty,
why not address the root cause. For instance, has the amnesty granted to the
Niger Delta militants addressed in totality the environmental challenges in the
region? So how long are we going to continue to waste money? Do not
misunderstand me, I am not preaching the kind of approach the former President
Olusegun Obasanjo used in Odi, because that also did not solve the problem, but
my argument is that we should look beyond throwing money. I do not know of any
religion that permits anybody to take the life of another person without going through
the necessary judicial process.
Via the Guardian
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