Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar, recently defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, of
which he is one of the founders, to the opposition, All Progressives
Congress. In this online interview with LEKE BAIYEWU, he says the
resignation of Bamanga Tukur and appointment of Adamu Mu’Azu as the
National Chairman of the PDP will not end the problems with the ruling
party
Why did you leave the PDP, despite the resignation of the former National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, who you were aggrieved with?
Bamanga Tukur is my kinsman. I have no
grievances against him. The problem of the PDP was not caused by Tukur.
Lack of internal democracy is at the centre of the crisis bedeviling the
PDP. It is a cancer that is spreading rapidly and destroying the fabric
of the party. Despite all efforts and political chemotherapy, the party
has continued to show debilitating signs.
Don’t you think Adamu Mu’azu’s emergence as Tukur’s successor will solve the problems in the PDP?
I have said this in an earlier interview: PDP’s wahala
(trouble) is not a problem of one man nominated or elected chairman can
solve, when anti-democratic forces masquerading as leaders and
godfathers continue to loom large over and above the powers and
authority of the chairman of the party. The party has in its leadership
structure a value defect, which pulls it down despite efforts made by
few democratic characters within its fold to lift the party. Impunity
has become a way of life in the party and some of us don’t fit in
anymore. If our country must make progress, then we need to chart a new
way forward. And as things stand, I do not see the PDP being able to
provide the leadership in this direction.
Is your grievance really about the PDP or the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan?
My grievance is about the leadership
values predominant in the PDP, which promotes anti-democratic forces in
the affairs of the ruling party and these negative influences rub off on
the conduct of national affairs. This is why our country is lagging
behind in the comity of nations in democratic development, eradication
of poverty and job creation for our teeming, unemployed youths. This
impunity now rears its ugly head in every facet of our national life. It
is manifest in how we resolve political problems, how we run our
universities and how we recruit people for leadership positions. The
leadership of our country is not fair to the Nigerian people.
As a founding father of the PDP,
one would have expected you to stay behind and face the challenges of
your brainchild. Why did you run from the problems in the PDP?
Sadly, it does appear that the PDP has
left Nigerians, I inclusive. I did not leave the PDP but the party left
me a long time ago. When I was pushed out of the party in 2006 and went
back in 2009, the reason behind my action was to square up to the
challenges of preserving the vision of the party. But, the reality is
that the PDP has lost its soul. Those who call the shots now are not
development-oriented and are, therefore, uncomfortable with any
progressive element and people-oriented ideas.
As an individual, I thank God for
fashioning me out of adversity. I was not born with a silver spoon. If I
could face the challenges of my childhood and emerge as a successful
businessman and politician of note in Nigeria and the African continent
today, it speaks of my capacity to face the challenges that come my way.
I don’t run away from troubles and challenges of life. But, the
problems of the PDP are now national problems beyond the capacity of one
man. I have tried as an individual to tackle it from within the fold,
it did not work. I am not ashamed to tell you that. My APC idea is to
remove the PDP from continuing to be Nigeria’s problem.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo,
who was widely seen as a threat to your political career in the PDP, is
having similar complaints with you. Who are those disrupting the peace
in the party, as you’ve said the crisis is leadership-induced?
I don’t want to continue discussing PDP’s
crisis at this point of my political career and Nigeria’s
socio-economic challenges. I have ported! I want to concern myself with
and channel my creative energies to solving problems and challenges
facing our country as a whole. I have many children and grandchildren,
who are looking forward to a greater and prosperous Nigeria. I want to
dedicate the rest of my life and resources to pursuing the greater good
of my country and its people, by ensuring that a new political
leadership emerges in Nigeria to revive the economy, give jobs to the
youth and provide security to every citizen.
What can you say about Governors
Abubakar Aliyu and Sule Lamido, who went with you to form the New PDP
but have returned to the mainstream of the party?
We are in a democracy. My brand of
politics is not about conscriptions and giving orders. We are not in the
highly regimented military, where you are expected to obey the last
order. These governors are masters of their political fate and every
decision they take is right, as far as it concerns them and their
political future.
What are the differences between the PDP that you left and the APC you have joined, are there no injustices in your new party?
I have also addressed this matter at an
earlier encounter with the media. The PDP is, today, a party of the
establishment — the status quo! The APC is more people-oriented — a
party of social democrats — and that is where I belonged right from my
Social Democratic Party days. I am pro-people.
It appears that your decision to
defect from the PDP to the APC is based on your personal aspirations.
You are one of the most prominent politicians who have defected many
times. Can you deny this?
It is based on constitutional
aspirations. The constitution provides for it and, as a citizen, I am
under obligation to express myself politically, socially and
economically within the context of my personal liberties, as guaranteed
by the ground norm of the land.
Why did you make consultations with
politicians across the country before your defection, was it to sample
your level of popularity before you finally declare your presidential
ambition?
I am a people’s person and, beyond
politics and presidential ambitions, as you said, I am a man of diverse
ambitions. I have a wide family network across the country. I am not
clannish. I am not provincial. I am very cosmopolitan in my world view. I
am a global player in business, a huge employer of labour and a
continental politician. I can no longer take decisions on the basis of
self. Also, I don’t believe I know everything. I am not a show-business
politician, so I don’t get involved in popularity contests. I am
focused, with enough confidence to see me through life. What I did with
the consultations was democracy at work. I needed to get feedback from
my associates regarding our political direction in the light of the
prevailing realities in our country. What was interesting about my
consultations was that at the end of all the meetings, the outcome was
derived via a snap vote.
You contested the presidential election in every party you have joined, are you an APC presidential aspirant?
I am in the APC to work with progressives and social democrats like me to rescue our country from the drifting ship of state.
Will you remain in the APC if you do not realise your presidential ambition?
It is more important to have a prosperous
country than to be the President. So, I am in the APC for the good of
the country. And APC is here to stay. My primary purpose of moving to
the APC is not to pursue my personal ambition but to work with
like-minded persons to provide Nigeria with the change they desire.
Whatever ambitions we may pursue as individuals must be done against the
backdrop of a stable, peaceful and harmonious environment. What we seek
is to return sanity to our democracy and body politics. At this point,
it does not matter to me who emerges as APC’s flag-bearer. What is
important is for us to build a strong and united party, with zero
tolerance for the impunity that has come to define the PDP.
Some observers have said if you contest against President Jonathan on the platform of the APC, you’ll enjoy the backing of the North.
That idea belongs to the past. In my
Nigeria of today and the future, there is no northern or southern
agenda. There can only be a Nigerian agenda and that is what I wish to
champion.
Are you moving to the APC with the Peoples Democratic Movement?
I am not a member of the PDM. I have
friends in almost all the political parties in Nigeria. Politics for me
is not a do-or-die affair. It should be without bitterness.
What is the fate of the New PDP at this point?
It has coalesced into the APC.
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