11th February, 2014
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar explains why he feels sympathy for President Goodluck Jonathan, who he describes as a hostage
Your movement to the APC has provoked allegations of political promiscuity and desperation to be president, for which your chances in the PDP were less than bright. How would you react to these?
Desperation and promiscuity are too harsh to explain my political decision to defect to the APC. It amazes me why Atiku’s aspiration to offer service to my country is always branded “desperate” or “promiscuous” as if it is a crime to aspire to serve your country through legitimate, democratic means.
As I mentioned in an earlier statement, my movement from the PDP to the APC is not anything informed by personal interest or ambition. If you are passionate about this country as I am, you cannot but feel concerned about what is currently going on. I was looking at some numbers from an international group the other day. Sixty-two per cent of Nigerians said they are dissatisfied with the direction the country is going. Twenty per cent said they are not sure. So you have only 18 per cent of the population saying they are happy with the state of the nation.
Believe me, this is not the issue of the presidency. It is about the country and its people, as well as the future of democracy.
I decided to resign from the PDP after speaking to my supporters nationwide. Based on the outcome of the consultations, I came to the inescapable conclusion that Nigeria will not be able to realise her full potential as a developing nation under the current leadership style and management of the PDP.
Isn’t your new political habitat like the PDP, the same poison in different bottles, given the large number of PDP members moving in?
I have no problem with the large number of PDP members defecting to APC. We are victims of common fate – lack of internal democracy. The fact that I wasn’t the only one leaving means that there were valid reasons people should leave. The PDP leadership has deliberately abandoned the democratic ideals for which it was conceived and born. All genuine efforts to open the opportunities to all members were frustrated. I don’t anticipate any problem with any PDP member with whom I have moved into the APC. We have the same reason for leaving and such common interest itself suggests that the large number of PDP defectors is not an issue for me. In fact, I perceive them as allies because we are united by a common cause.
Are you not worried that beyond the rhetoric of wanting to bring about a change in the country, which every party employs, the APC has not enunciated anything that makes it especially appealing?
I don’t agree with you that the APC has not enunciated anything to make it appealing. Maybe you didn’t read the seven cardinal programmes of the party in areas such as education, power, infrastructure, agriculture, security, restructuring, the economy and many critical and essential issues relevant to moving Nigeria forward. I am in sympathy with these programmes because they are in line with the policy document during my 2010 campaign for nomination as PDP candidate. You are not fair to claim that “the APC hasn’t enunciated anything to make it appealing.” If you had read the party’s manifesto, I don’t think you would have asked this question. The programmes are well articulated and very relevant to our challenges. APC is social democratic in its principles. The PDP is pro-establishment. APC’s philosophy accords with my own personal political philosophy.
General Buhari was absent at your declaration in Yola. Is it not a sign that the chemistry between you is less than right?
I am not aware of any personal animosity with Buhari. What I know is that a mix-up in protocol on the part of the organisers made it impossible for him to attend. Both Buhari and I reviewed the event afterwards and were quite pleased with the way the rally held in Yola.
Give an appraisal of Buhari of the recent past and the Buhari you know now?
I don’t think it is fair to ask me to assess General Buhari in terms of his past and his present. We are in the same party now and my idea of politics is not to assess a party leader for the media at this very early stage. General Buhari is qualified in his own right to aspire like any Nigerian or party member. It is not, however, my business to pass a verdict on a fellow party leader. Unity and cohesion are essential to party spirit and therefore, it is unwise to ask me to assess Buhari for you.
Has the North given up its desire to produce the next president?
I don’t want to look at it as a North versus South issue.
If there exists a satisfaction with the way the country is being governed, there would not have been such massive defections to APC. This is no longer about the North feeling hurt or alienated. The whole country is crying for better governance. The PDP appears to be saying that they are happy with the ongoing situation of rising unemployment and insecurity. They want four more years of this situation. I think party members, who remain there, have reconciled themselves to that fact. If the PDP had shown an interest in change and reform for the benefit of the citizens, we would have remained in the party and moved in whatever direction the party leadership chooses. Nigerians seeking a change from the unwanted status-quo must look beyond the PDP.
What were the mistakes you made in your last presidential campaign?
One of the problems of our politics is insincerity and sycophancy. Everybody wants to be with the man on the seat, even if they are convinced you are qualified to run against the incumbent. By running against the incumbent in 2011, I don’t believe it was a mistake. The only problem is that people don’t want to follow their convictions and vote according to their conscience. People don’t vote for their convictions and principles; they do so for money and political opportunism. In my last campaign, I had a fantastic campaign structure and our objectives well propagated. However, at the end of the day, politicians chose to pursue opportunism rather than follow their convictions. It was a formidable task running against an incumbent, but if we had people courageous enough to follow their conscience, principles and convictions, that would not have been a problem.
With many centres of influence in your party, especially those with conflicting tendencies, is the APC not an accident waiting to happen?
I don’t agree with you. Political party is a confluence of divergent interests. There is no political party without divergent interests. However, despite this divergence of interests and conflicting tendencies, as you put it, people seek common ground to achieve shared objectives. Such is the nature of politics. In the PDP, we had people who were once enemies of military men, but found themselves in the same party of these generals. Politics brings strange bedfellows together. That is why it is hard to define Nigerian political parties in rigid ideological terms. It brings together people with different ideological orientation. And APC is no different. The APC leaders are conscious of not letting such conflicting tendencies affect the larger goal of coming together affected.
What is your assessment of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as President? There are suggestions that the President is hostage to certain influences. Do you agree?
Every president comes to power with good intentions and then finds himself overwhelmed by challenges beyond his imagination. No president in recent memory has faced the kind of security challenges Jonathan is facing. It is a mark of magnanimity to be fair, even to your political opponents. For this reason, I must acknowledge the tough challenges facing him. My only worry however, is that he is being held hostage by certain interests to the point he is in a tight corner to have a mind of his own. A leader should not see his countrymen and women in terms of friends and enemies. He should open up his mind to other opinions even if they are coming from his opponents.
How do you feel finding yourself among people with who you disagreed in the past?
There is nothing unusual finding myself among people with whom I disagreed in the past. It is the nature of political alliances and re-alignments. You find yourself at the same dining table with people who have once abused you. However, if there is something bigger than your past quarrels, the focus should be on the common goals that have brought you together under one political roof. Nigeria is the issue. If we don’t come together to tackle the rot in education and economy, insecurity and the lack of jobs, this country should forget about joining the top economies of the world.
What was responsible for the failure of your previous association with these people?
When people come together, they may always disagree. In fact, you cannot rule out disagreement altogether in politics. What you call a failure of my previous association with these people does not mean we must remain permanent enemies and disagree permanently. Politics doesn’t work that way. In every party, you might find people who once had disagreements. It goes with the territory.
How will you work with Governor Murtala Nyako?
We are already working together. The party is bigger than an individual. Therefore, the idea that you cannot work with other people is out of the question. Parties should not be owned by individuals. A political party should not be like a business in which you are the owner and CEO, where you can decide who to work with or not. Our focus should be on the unity and cohesion in the APC to achieve the common goal of bringing change. Previous personal differences should not interfere in this objective. As you can see from the Unity Rally, Adamawa has already set an example for other APC states.
Some of your old associates, like Boni Haruna, work for President Jonathan. Does this not mean your support base in Adamawa State is being eroded?
How does the involvement of my associates with the Jonathan administration affect my relevance politically at home? I am a politician with my own structures. Am I working for these associates now in the Jonathan administration? Do I owe my political foothold to them? People taking appointments don’t necessarily affect my relevance.
During your meeting with editors in Lagos, you said that presidency is not what is important now, but how to fix the platform. Supposing the platform of APC has been fixed, what will be your next move?
Yes, I said so mainly because of the fact that consolidation is more important at this point than struggling over individual ambitions. If we allow our individual ambitions to weaken internal unity, the purpose of this political coalition may be jeopardised. Let us wait for the passage of time to know about what you call my next move.
Do you support the idea that APC should go for a young blood?
I don’t think the party should restrict anybody on the basis of what you called young blood. Being young alone does not automatically make you a successful leader. Why were the Republicans privately angry at the choice of Sarah Palin as running mate to John McCain in the 2008 US presidential election? Her relative inexperience was central to their concern. This was a woman who could have succeeded the President and the Americans would need someone well-equipped in terms of experience to step into the shoes of the President. In fact, neither party in the US or anywhere should disqualify aspirants on the grounds of age. Everybody, young and old, should be free to aspire. Let there be a level-playing ground.
Essentially, what, in your opinion, is wrong with the PDP?
Lack of internal democracy and level-playing ground was basically the reason I left the party. The party has left the people. It has left the country. When I returned to the party in 2008 from AC in response to the reconciliation policy, I did so with the hope that the party was ready for reform. Unfortunately, there was no sincerity to restoring the party to the path of democratic ideals for which it was founded. The problem became worse when presidents took personal ownership of the party, which automatically made it impossible for anybody to voice an opinion other than that of the so-called “leader”.
You’ve stated that Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu is incapable of fixing the PDP. If he were not National Chairman, would you have stayed back?
As I have said before, the PDP is beyond redemption. No chairman can change anything as long as the President is determined to be the sole owner of the party. That is the reality on the ground. Nobody has the magic to change that reality. The governors and the President want to hijack the party to advance their own interests and the chairman finds himself caught in conflicting ambitions.
What exactly does Atiku want?
Atiku Abubakar is a humble Nigerian politician, who feels that his country has been too good to him. He feels he owes to the country and wants to give back. I don’t have to be President to serve my nation. I am not seeking power because I want money. I have a passion to serve my country. [Mitt] Romney and other US politicians are successful businessmen, but they still struggled to be in government to offer their experiences to make things better. We must participate in politics if we want to bring out change and this change has a lot to do with the experiences of aspirants. The ability to handle the economy, security and other social issues depends on experience. My ambition is essentially to offer myself in the service of my country and I believe it is not a crime to do. If others are aspiring to lead, why question my own right to aspire? It takes patriotism for a successful businessman to seek public office because he/she has something to offer. It takes patriotism not to stand aloof while your country is facing poor leadership. It takes patriotism to sacrifice your time and resources and aspire to give your country the leadership it deserves.
What assurance do you want to give Nigerians that you will not dump APC if you don’t get what you want?
I won’t go back to the PDP ever again. There is no reason for doing so whatsoever.
As I have said before, I have no reason to go back to the PDP. I am equally prepared to help the APC with the election whoever is its candidate.
The storms gather for the 2015 elections. Do you think Jonathan will not sweep the polls again?
Nigerians are desirous of change and as long as the elections are free and fair, it would take a miracle for the PDP to defeat APC. Giving you a zone-by-zone analysis is like giving away your trade secret. We are working on all the variables. We are leaving nothing to chance.
What, in your opinion, is the political calculation of the Igbo nation?
I cannot speak for the Igbo, but I want them to join the movement towards change, which can guarantee an Igbo presidency within a shorter space of time. I don’t know the political circulation of the Igbo, but whatever may be their calculation, let them do it within the larger interest of Nigeria – which means a fair power shift policy.
What is your relationship with Obasanjo now?
Obasanjo was my boss and I still regard him as such. We are not enemies. We still relate cordially despite his unpredictability.
You consulted widely. What were your findings from APC governors?
Yes, I did go round the country for consultations with other stakeholders. I also met governors, leaders and the common folk. Governors are power centres in their own right. They have a major role to play in bringing about the change we desire. And this consultation is a continuous process.
The Presidency said it would not miss you. What is your reaction to that?
If the Presidency said it won’t miss me, I won’t miss it either.
After 2007 election, you went back to PDP.
I have answered this question before by explaining why I went back. The party initiated a policy of reconciliation. As a founding member of the party, I went back with the conviction that there was nothing wrong coming back to rebuild a house in which you invested. However, these reconciliation and reform efforts were deliberately frustrated because the President put his personal interest above the future of the party. I had to leave.
Why did you leave Action Congress?
I had to leave the AC because of the imperative of going back to the PDP to respond to the invitation for reconciliation. My relationship with the then ACN leaders and members remained warm. I had no personal acrimony with any of them. If a runaway son sought shelter elsewhere and I was invited to return for reconciliation, I don’t think there was anything wrong returning home. However, if the same conditions that made him run persist, he might run again and this time with greater conviction to stay in his new shelter.
Culled from TheNEWS magazine