Why Atiku, AC might return to the PDP, by Kwande

AMBASSADOR Yahaya Kwande, a chieftain of the Action Congress (AC) in Plateau State and a staunch follower of the late Gen. Shehu Musa YarAdua wants the country to revisit the two-party system to entrench democracy. In an interview with ISA ABDULSALAMI in Jos, Kwande also spoke on former President Olusegun Obasanjos tenure, Alhaji Atiku Abubakars impending return to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and how to strengthen the opposition among others. Excerpts:

How is the Action Congress (AC) taking former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar impending return to the PDP?

The man told you he might return to the PDP. But he put up a very tough condition. I will only turn to ask you: will they accept the condition? If they will accept the condition put across by Abubakar, then of course he will go back. And on that day, the whole country will turn behind him. But do you think the condition will be acceptable to PDP? Is it not the type of condition that you put across and you know it is going to be difficult? That is the only answer.

As a man who knows Abubakar very well, why did he put up such a rash condition?

No, you cannot call it rash or would you say it is an unacceptable one because it is the only reason everybody will come and make it in PDP. Then, we can pick the concept of PDP, the original concept that he is putting across. So, if they are willing to pilot themselves on the path of progress, he will accept it. I think he is not harsh. All he is saying is that let us pick the virtues of democracy. The wrangling within the PDP and appointment of people into sensitive posts are not acceptable. This question of consensus candidates should not arise. Anybody who wants to lead on a political platform will see what Atiku is saying. When I say it is a difficult condition, it is because I know the hawks in PDP will not accept it. So, we are waiting and I am assuring you we are very strong on the ground and people are just lying down, they are not sleeping.

Should all the conditions be met by the PDP, what will be the fate of AC?

Our fate is that we are only going back to join the party that we started. We shall all walk in. we left PDP because it was derailed. If the rail line is fixed, then we go back.

AC has been a formidable opposition to the ruling PDP because Atiku is there. What will be the fate of opposition in the country if he leaves for the PDP?

When Abubakar says I will return if... it means that he is going to be in. He has an edge to still participate in the politics of this country. When Atiku is talking about returning, he is not talking about himself as an individual, returning. On that day that he returns you will hear the reactions of every state of the federation. We are still waiting for him. When I say reactions, we will just move and declare for PDP again.

AC has been checking the excesses of PDP. If he leaves and the AC joins him who is going to check the PDP?

Somebody or group will do it. Did they tell you that the Presidential Candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) said he is also returning to the PDP? There will still be opposition. You have forgotten that there are 50 registered political parties. AC is not the only opposition party. When we all move to PDP, I assure you there will be people who will move out of PDP because our coming will not go down well with them. Those politicians who cannot accommodate us will move away because the constitution of our party, the PDP, did not allow anybody to meddle and toy with the party.

However, the immediate past President, Obasanjo decided to take the leadership of the party for himself. He was the Prime Minister, he was the President and he was the Chairman of PDP. So, he was dictating what he wanted. They were not following him. The people that worked for him are now regretting to have destroyed Nigeria because he had everything that would favour him even outside governmental activities. But since he decided to destroy what he tried to build, nobody was honest except Obasanjo. The propagation was so much and that was why we moved out. And if we are going back on the condition we made, at the convention, we can then put this country on the path of justice.

You were a political disciple of the late General Shehu Musa Yar Aduas school of political ideology, so also was Atiku. You always moved in his direction. What quality did you see in him?

We believe in the leadership of Gen. Yar Adua: a selfless man, very generous and an astute politician. So we were all under his supervision. He was decentralised his authority down to the wards. He was not dictatorial. He was not a single human being doing things on his own. I will give you an example of what Shehu could do. When former Military President Ibrahim Babangida dissolved all political associations and hoisted two, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), we were already deep in our own, so there was no alternative than to join one of the two. He did not take the decision alone. Myself, Tony Anenih, M.S. Buhari, Atiku were there. Baba-Gana Kingibe, Professor Ango Abdullahi and Farouk Abdulazeez were also there. Then, some of us believed in republican type of activities. So he left us for Ibadan and asked us to decide which of the two we should join.

I was the one that said we should join the NRC because they are traditionalists. They are conservatives. When Shehu came back he asked if we had taken a decision and we said yes that we should go to NRC and not SDP, that SDP was too radical. He sat down with us and said no, that he would like us to go to SDP because if we join the predominant northern Moslems in NRC, then we have set up a path of crisis, religious crisis, political crisis, geographical crisis because we would now be joining the traditionalists. Then he told us that we better go to SDP. At that moment, it was predominantly Christians, let us go and dilute it so that nobody would wake up in Nigeria and say that this is a political party based on religion and because we would have been active, nobody would look at me and look at you and say it is a Christian party. And he was doing this for peace and it worked. So, these are the thinking of patriotic Nigerians. Nothing is sacrosanct about him. We are politicians and nothing is shameful in it. It is a matter of allowing you to express your views. It was not there in PDP anymore. That was why we left. But if they can follow the condition, which Atiku put down, fine. He is telling you that he loves Nigeria more than himself. If the thing is correct, he said he would come back.

Why is the PDP insisting that Atiku should come back?

Well, they know the man. He is a political leader with vision and he is the type that no hour is free in the office and at home. This is what politicians will like. This is politics. Some people go in glowing with happiness. If you look round, you will not see the twin brother of Atiku in politics. If you want to know, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu was holding the South, and somebody was holding the North and Shehu then was supervising with Arthur Nzeribe. All these things we did together. You should have known also the saying that, there is no permanent friend or enemy in politics. The only thing that is permanent is interest. And in our case, we are only thinking of the progress of Nigeria.

Dont you think that the move might weaken the opposition and lead to, a one-party state in the long run?

No, I have earlier told you that there are about 50 political parties. There are people that can lead the opposition. We are only talking about two out of the 50. What happens to the rest? They will now see the benefit of coming together and opposing the PDP. I really believe that Atikus going back will not upset political activities in Nigeria. There will be no one party-system in Nigeria. That is no democracy. It will not work. Multiple party-system is better for Nigeria.

Our returning to the PDP means we are going to make PDP strong and they are going to follow our ideas. We are going to re-organise and restructure the whole system. And then the opposition should be vibrant enough to take over from us if we make mistakes. And I know that Buhari is good for it and if he is the one that wins, we will also pursue him as opposition. If you look at my interviews these days, everybody has his own style of government. President Umaru Musa Yar Adua is a calm person, very decent. He is there. We have not jumped to him because we want to maintain the opposition that we are now doing. If they say or do something we attack but we also praise. We are not in politics to just to oppose. If they are beginning to have excesses, that is where we come in.

Could you score Nigeria at 48?

At 48, Nigeria has progressed. I dont agree with those who are saying Nigeria is not progressing. I am going to 80. I have seen the changes from primitive administration that Indirect Rule gave to our traditional rulers. The Emir of Kano had a court that could condemn a person to death and Agwu Wukari heading Grade One Court etc. All these are no more. Human activities are being protected now. We should not project leaders of political parties as if they are gods. That is what is happening in Nigeria. In the 1950s we had only two main secondary schools but now we have thousands of secondary schools. Would you say we are not progressing? We are definitely progressing. During the period, there was only one hospital in Jos and one in Pankshin for the whole of Plateau State. Now, nearly every local government has two or three hospitals. This is progress. We are now producing doctors. In the past, you would have one doctor supervising Plateau hospital and Bauchi hospital at the same time. But now there are many hospitals.

The only area where we have not made any progress is our political system. They dont understand the word democracy. People think of elections in terms of what they stand to benefit. In Britain you have Labour and Conservatives and in the United States you have the Democrats and Republicans. They have ideologies. But in Nigeria we are just swimming. What would you say is the ideology of PDP today? If you have oppositions, they usually are not good enough to take over the government of the day because they will be busy going round the ministries and taking contracts. Everybody is only talking about himself. If I have my way and I am in authority to do it, I will go back to a two-party system.

QUOTE

When Abubakar says I will return if... it means that he is going to be in. He has an edge to still participate in the politics of this country. When Atiku is talking about returning, he is not talking about himself as an individual, returning. On that day that he returns you will hear the reactions of every state of the federation. We are still waiting for him. When I say reactions, we will just move and declare for PDP again.