‘2015: I will work for Jonathan’
BY WILLY EYA
Recently, the former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, formally dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Leading the hierarchy of the PDP and other top government functionaries, President Goodluck Jonathan was in Sokoto to welcome Bafarawa, who by all calculations, is considered a bish in the politics of the state. In this interview in Sokoto, the former governor bares his mind on various issues, including his reason for abandoning the APC. Excerpts:
You talked about remodeling the PDP manifesto while addressing the crowd. Isn’t that too early since you are just joining the party?
Well, what I was trying to say was that the manifesto of the PDP was developed 16 years ago. I think that for the reformation of the PDP, we are supposed to look at the situation that Nigerians are looking for so that we can incorporate what is happening in the country now into where we left it 16 years ago. For example, now we have security problem, we have poverty problem. These are becoming serious is-sues in the country that were not there 16 years ago. Therefore, such issues ought to be part of the party’s manifesto because manifesto is just a guideline for the executive governor or Mr. President on what he is going to do. What obtains currently is a situation where somebody is elected into office and he comes up with his own agenda. But the idea is for elective office holders to follow what is in the manifesto of their party. So, when you compare what is in the manifesto of the PDP, which was written 16 years ago, to what is happen-ing now, I think the manifesto needs to be reviewed.
You have been an opposition politician all your years. How comfortable do you think you will be in the ruling party?
Well, as I have said before, joining PDP is not my decision. It is the decision of my people. Sometimes, somebody find himself in the opposition not because he wants to be in the opposition but because of the circumstances he found himself in. It could be that in the election, your party failed to win and automatically you are part of the opposition. So, it is not by interest that somebody becomes part of the opposition. But as I have said, in joining PDP, we are looking for a change for the better.
That will not stop me from bringing my own ideas and contributions towards the betterment of Nigeria. I think that now, it will be easier for me to do that. If I could not implement it in the opposition and now I’m a member of the ruling party, I think it will help me in pursuing the welfare of my people, as being in the opposition is not my personal opinion.
I was in the position to protest against injustices being done to my people and to ensure that jus-tice is done. So, I was not in the opposition just for the sake of being in the opposition. No, no, no. All I was trying to do was to make sure that things were being done the right way because in the constitution of any party, there must be internal democracy. And if we follow the rules of the game, then we must respect the constitution of the party. When you follow the constitution of the party in the administration of the party, you won’t have any problems. The problem of Nigerian politicians is that they register political parties just for the sake of registration. They will have a constitution, they will have a manifesto; and they take it to INEC. But they don’t go back to look at the constitution and manifesto of their party. As a result, the party leaders don’t supervise elected officers. That is why our democracy is weak .
Is there anything you are going to do as a prominent politician in the country to make sure that certain positive changes are brought to bear on the PDP to make it more people-oriented?
I think, yes! I know that the present chairman of our party is energetic; he is a listener and also he can take advice. Therefore, whatever advice we can give him will not be for our personal interests but for the betterment of our party. Therefore, I believe that the present chairman and members of the National Working Committee (NEC) of the party would make PDP a new PDP.
The party, are there other signs that you see, which suggest that the PDP is ready to welcome the kind of ideas you are known for?
Yes! The PDP is a national party. You can see that for the last 16 years I have been opposing the party. But when I decided with my people to join PDP, automatically they started giving us the same treatment like those that founded the party unlike other political parties that will meet the owner and take it away and give it to a new member. So, when you sit down and compare the two, you can see that PDP is more national than any other political in the country. On the day I joined the PDP, I went to Abuja with my people to see the national chairman and he told us that we are all equal. And look at what has been happening since then there have been signs of togetherness, unity and brotherliness. Look at the calibre of people that came to Sokoto to celebrate with me and my people to accept us into the party. The president, vice president, senate president, national chairman and members of the NEC, serving governors, and even former chairmen of the party were all here to welcome us into the party. So, you can see the difference within two weeks.
Do you have any regrets having waited for this long before joining the ruling party?
Not at all! I have no regrets because I am fighting injustice and that is why I’ saying I’m not in politics for the sake of the ruling party? Not at all! I have no regrets because I am fighting injustice and that is why I’ saying I’m not in politics for the sake of my personal interest. I am in politics to advance the cause of my people positively. When people saw that there was injustice in the APC, they made up their minds that we should leave and join PDP. It was their decision and I could not say no to their decision.
That is why we found ourselves in the PDP. Therefore, I’m not regretting anything.
But you are joining strange bed-fellows. What makes you think you are comfortable?
You see, up till now, we are still building democracy in the country because we have a mix up in learning the affairs of democracy in this country. This is because there are some frustrated politicians and there are also politicians, who are political office seekers that are looking for either elective offices or appointments. You can only see these ones very active when it is time for election and some of them shop for ticket from one party to another. So, we (the professional politicians and those who take to politics in search of appointments) are still mixing ourselves up.
Some people say you left APC, which you helped to form for PDP because the leadership of the former took the structure of the party from you and handed it over to the incumbent governor after he decamped to APC. How would you react to that?
You see, we are not quarreling with anybody in APC. All we are saying is let us follow the rules of the game. If you are playing a game and there is no rule to guide it, then there is a problem. And as a leader, I cannot just be dragging myself when I know that I am leading millions of people. If I know that things are not being done well and I continue to be dragged into the ship and I know that the ship is going to sink on us for whatever, then there is a problem. Therefore, my people decided that we have to change and we changed. That is what is expected of a leader and that is why we joined the PDP. I only hearkened to the wish of my people.
What do you think that APC has lost with your decamping to PDP?
I don’t think I’m the right person to comment on what they have lost or not lost with our leaving for the PDP. As far as I am concerned, if I were of any value to them, I don’t think they could afford to lose me. But maybe, they did not know my value. And because I’m no more occupying the seat of governor where I can award contract or release money to do whatever I was asked to do. So, maybe, they felt that instead of them to go for me, they’d better go for a governor, who has money to dish out.
What do you think are your chances considering the fact that it is always difficult to dislodge an incumbent from power?
You see, you never say that you have won until you win. When you are talking about incumbency, all it requires is awareness. It has been happening in so many places. It happened in Zamfara, it happened in Kano, it happened in Imo, it even happened in Sokoto. So, it is not something that is new if it happens. So, if people have awareness and they see that his candidate is better than our own candidate, they can decide and vote for him.
The event to welcome you into the PDP was well attended by the people. How were you able to mobilise such a crowd?
When I was in office, I treated ever-body equally irrespective of political affiliations. Anything I shared, I gave other political parties their own share. That’s number one. Number two, even before I became a governor, I was a part and parcel of Sokoto politics for the past 38 years. I have been in politics virtually all my life; I see politics as my profession. Therefore, before assuming office as governor, I was with my people and after leaving office I still stay with my people. I don’t go to Kaduna or Abuja to stay. No matter what happens, I’m in Sokoto with my people. Therefore, anywhere I go, I’m together with my people.
BY WILLY EYA
Recently, the former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, formally dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Leading the hierarchy of the PDP and other top government functionaries, President Goodluck Jonathan was in Sokoto to welcome Bafarawa, who by all calculations, is considered a bish in the politics of the state. In this interview in Sokoto, the former governor bares his mind on various issues, including his reason for abandoning the APC. Excerpts:
You talked about remodeling the PDP manifesto while addressing the crowd. Isn’t that too early since you are just joining the party?
Well, what I was trying to say was that the manifesto of the PDP was developed 16 years ago. I think that for the reformation of the PDP, we are supposed to look at the situation that Nigerians are looking for so that we can incorporate what is happening in the country now into where we left it 16 years ago. For example, now we have security problem, we have poverty problem. These are becoming serious is-sues in the country that were not there 16 years ago. Therefore, such issues ought to be part of the party’s manifesto because manifesto is just a guideline for the executive governor or Mr. President on what he is going to do. What obtains currently is a situation where somebody is elected into office and he comes up with his own agenda. But the idea is for elective office holders to follow what is in the manifesto of their party. So, when you compare what is in the manifesto of the PDP, which was written 16 years ago, to what is happen-ing now, I think the manifesto needs to be reviewed.
You have been an opposition politician all your years. How comfortable do you think you will be in the ruling party?
Well, as I have said before, joining PDP is not my decision. It is the decision of my people. Sometimes, somebody find himself in the opposition not because he wants to be in the opposition but because of the circumstances he found himself in. It could be that in the election, your party failed to win and automatically you are part of the opposition. So, it is not by interest that somebody becomes part of the opposition. But as I have said, in joining PDP, we are looking for a change for the better.
That will not stop me from bringing my own ideas and contributions towards the betterment of Nigeria. I think that now, it will be easier for me to do that. If I could not implement it in the opposition and now I’m a member of the ruling party, I think it will help me in pursuing the welfare of my people, as being in the opposition is not my personal opinion.
I was in the position to protest against injustices being done to my people and to ensure that jus-tice is done. So, I was not in the opposition just for the sake of being in the opposition. No, no, no. All I was trying to do was to make sure that things were being done the right way because in the constitution of any party, there must be internal democracy. And if we follow the rules of the game, then we must respect the constitution of the party. When you follow the constitution of the party in the administration of the party, you won’t have any problems. The problem of Nigerian politicians is that they register political parties just for the sake of registration. They will have a constitution, they will have a manifesto; and they take it to INEC. But they don’t go back to look at the constitution and manifesto of their party. As a result, the party leaders don’t supervise elected officers. That is why our democracy is weak .
Is there anything you are going to do as a prominent politician in the country to make sure that certain positive changes are brought to bear on the PDP to make it more people-oriented?
I think, yes! I know that the present chairman of our party is energetic; he is a listener and also he can take advice. Therefore, whatever advice we can give him will not be for our personal interests but for the betterment of our party. Therefore, I believe that the present chairman and members of the National Working Committee (NEC) of the party would make PDP a new PDP.
The party, are there other signs that you see, which suggest that the PDP is ready to welcome the kind of ideas you are known for?
Yes! The PDP is a national party. You can see that for the last 16 years I have been opposing the party. But when I decided with my people to join PDP, automatically they started giving us the same treatment like those that founded the party unlike other political parties that will meet the owner and take it away and give it to a new member. So, when you sit down and compare the two, you can see that PDP is more national than any other political in the country. On the day I joined the PDP, I went to Abuja with my people to see the national chairman and he told us that we are all equal. And look at what has been happening since then there have been signs of togetherness, unity and brotherliness. Look at the calibre of people that came to Sokoto to celebrate with me and my people to accept us into the party. The president, vice president, senate president, national chairman and members of the NEC, serving governors, and even former chairmen of the party were all here to welcome us into the party. So, you can see the difference within two weeks.
Do you have any regrets having waited for this long before joining the ruling party?
Not at all! I have no regrets because I am fighting injustice and that is why I’ saying I’m not in politics for the sake of the ruling party? Not at all! I have no regrets because I am fighting injustice and that is why I’ saying I’m not in politics for the sake of my personal interest. I am in politics to advance the cause of my people positively. When people saw that there was injustice in the APC, they made up their minds that we should leave and join PDP. It was their decision and I could not say no to their decision.
That is why we found ourselves in the PDP. Therefore, I’m not regretting anything.
But you are joining strange bed-fellows. What makes you think you are comfortable?
You see, up till now, we are still building democracy in the country because we have a mix up in learning the affairs of democracy in this country. This is because there are some frustrated politicians and there are also politicians, who are political office seekers that are looking for either elective offices or appointments. You can only see these ones very active when it is time for election and some of them shop for ticket from one party to another. So, we (the professional politicians and those who take to politics in search of appointments) are still mixing ourselves up.
Some people say you left APC, which you helped to form for PDP because the leadership of the former took the structure of the party from you and handed it over to the incumbent governor after he decamped to APC. How would you react to that?
You see, we are not quarreling with anybody in APC. All we are saying is let us follow the rules of the game. If you are playing a game and there is no rule to guide it, then there is a problem. And as a leader, I cannot just be dragging myself when I know that I am leading millions of people. If I know that things are not being done well and I continue to be dragged into the ship and I know that the ship is going to sink on us for whatever, then there is a problem. Therefore, my people decided that we have to change and we changed. That is what is expected of a leader and that is why we joined the PDP. I only hearkened to the wish of my people.
What do you think that APC has lost with your decamping to PDP?
I don’t think I’m the right person to comment on what they have lost or not lost with our leaving for the PDP. As far as I am concerned, if I were of any value to them, I don’t think they could afford to lose me. But maybe, they did not know my value. And because I’m no more occupying the seat of governor where I can award contract or release money to do whatever I was asked to do. So, maybe, they felt that instead of them to go for me, they’d better go for a governor, who has money to dish out.
What do you think are your chances considering the fact that it is always difficult to dislodge an incumbent from power?
You see, you never say that you have won until you win. When you are talking about incumbency, all it requires is awareness. It has been happening in so many places. It happened in Zamfara, it happened in Kano, it happened in Imo, it even happened in Sokoto. So, it is not something that is new if it happens. So, if people have awareness and they see that his candidate is better than our own candidate, they can decide and vote for him.
The event to welcome you into the PDP was well attended by the people. How were you able to mobilise such a crowd?
When I was in office, I treated ever-body equally irrespective of political affiliations. Anything I shared, I gave other political parties their own share. That’s number one. Number two, even before I became a governor, I was a part and parcel of Sokoto politics for the past 38 years. I have been in politics virtually all my life; I see politics as my profession. Therefore, before assuming office as governor, I was with my people and after leaving office I still stay with my people. I don’t go to Kaduna or Abuja to stay. No matter what happens, I’m in Sokoto with my people. Therefore, anywhere I go, I’m together with my people.
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