Buhari, Tinubu’s alliance will be the greatest disaster Nigeria has ever seen –Bode George Amid the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at a time when the rival All Progressives Congress (APC) is not only seeking registration but also doing everything to woo members of the PDP into its fold, former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, has given assurance that there would be no implosion in the party. He called on elders and founding fathers of the PDP to take measures to douse the tension pervading the party. George stated that the APC is not an alternative to the PDP, as, according to him, the personalities behind the formation of the opposition party can never agree politically. How do you think leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could settle the crises in the party? We are all concerned. It has become a problem that every Nigerian thinks is the most critical one in the country. The state of our party and the years of existence of our party must allow us and enable us to handle the crises. This is not the worst crisis that we have seen. We’ve seen worse crises than this before. The founding fathers and the committed leaders of the party should be involved now. It started like a little problem and the opposition is expanding it for us. If you leave your flank open, in a competitive world, people will ram into it and further expand it for you. There are problems, but they are not fundamental problems that cannot be solved. I believe that the party should take a deep breath and cool down. The governors that feel aggrieved should also cool down. It is not only in the interest of our party but also in the interest of Nigeria. What has sustained democracy this much is the concept in our party constitution. That concept has sustained democracy and will continue to sustain democracy. What is this concept? I tag it as turn-by-turn Nigeria Limited. You know, in PDP, we base all our appointments and the management of the nation on the six-geopolitical setting of Nigeria – the North East, North West, North Central, South East, South West and South South. For the first time, the founding fathers of our party thought there was need to give recognition to the minorities in the North and the minorities in the South. Now we’ve been in this game trying to put all our idiosyncrasies in one pot, to melt it up, merge it up and marry them together to come up with one concept of nationhood. It would take a bit of more time, but surely, gradually, we are getting there. The issues that are getting to the front burner now shouldn’t have gotten to this stage. We can manage it and we will manage it. We should not allow personal ambition, on all sides, to drown the vision of the founding fathers of this party. As a staunch member, who served at various levels of the management of the party, my advice is that we need to calm down, go to round the table, as one family, and talk. The current President started it at the May 29 Democracy Day celebration, with the PDP family dinner. It was a beautiful concept. He said it was time for us to meet. Let us re-energize the camaraderie; let’s re-energize the oneness. Let’s meet and interact with ourselves. The Americans have a day they call ‘thanksgiving day,’ where they reestablish the family values. What have we been doing? Who is falling behind? Let us pull him up. That one is our own thanksgiving and I believe we can pull it together and we shall pull it together. Many believe that individual ambition is responsible for the crises in PDP. What do you think? Absolutely. I was away for some time, but from what I heard and what I have read, I believe that no individual interest should be greater than the corperate interest of the country and of our party. There must be disagreement. People say that if you don’t arrest a little crisis, before you know it, it becomes a monumental one. You can see the opposition is gearing up and trying to use it against us. They can’t even form an executive now and they want Nigerians to entrust this country into their hands. It is a huge joke. I am sure Nigerians are not interested in making any experimentation now. We started it about 14 years ago, when we decided that the most incongruous group could come together to form a party. We know we’ve been trying to marry everything together, to form one nation and these people are just coming up and telling us that they can do better. They are yet to be tested. Even in the states where they are in-charge, where they govern, you can see their monumental disaster. I marvel when I hear Bola Tinubu trying to talk about removing the leadership of the country. Does Tinubu know what leadership qualities are? Does he have any? Does he understand what is democracy? It’s unimaginable to entrust this country in his hands. It is a huge joke. So, I say, PDP had crises in the past and we always rise above it. Personal ambition must be subdued, must be subsumed. I have seen it in many nations: once you allow your personal ambition to be bigger than the corporate ambition of the country, you will sink. We would not have an implosion. It is being speculated that some important members of your party are planning to pull out. What do you say? Those who are far more politically stronger tried it before and how did it end? They should stay within a system that brought them to limelight. They also contributed in building the party. Don’t jump ship. You are used to your system and you know the democratic practice that goes on there. You know the corners and the ups and downs of the system of the party. You want to go and queue up there? Do you see APC as a threat to the PDP? They say there is Igbo representative and they bring out Rochas Okorocha. Another says he is Yoruba leader. Who made him Yoruba leader? Tinubu says he is going to carry Yoruba people and join General Muhammadu Buhari to rule Nigeria. I know General Buhari fairly well. I know his character, his demeanour; his personality runs every inch at absolute distinct variance to this man in Bourdillon Road, called Tinubu. They are like oil and water and they cannot meet. That union will be the greatest disaster this nation will ever witness. The joke of it, on the lighter mood, is that they say they are APC. APC medicine expired many years ago. Nobody uses it anymore. Tinubu went to America and told Nigerians that President Obama invited him personally. What a bloody liar? Secondly, he said he went to talk to the British parliament in Britain. Tinubu addressed British Parliament? They won’t even allow him to go to the gallery to watch debate there. What happened to the council election allegedly won by your party in Lagos? The first tribunal gave us victory. Some of the young judges overturned it. They overturned Agbado Oke-odo, Eredo, Badagry and others. But they said we filed our papers late. They took all our cases and said we lost. But there will be a date of real judgment. Nobody will plant evil and reap goodness. How prepared is the PDP for the 2015 elections? When you have something good in your hands, you don’t know its value until you lose it. I wasn’t around when some of these things happened. I mean the hurricane that swept us out of power. In-fighting and bickering among us cost us the South West. We have realised that pull-him-down syndrome is not necessary and that it has not paid us. We must work together. We have seen the flaws and we know innuendoes would not help anybody. What has happened to the South West, at the height of its glory, should not happen again. The South West was at the height of its glory before the Action Group crisis. No ambition would be larger than that of our nation and that of our party. In the next few weeks, you people will see what we mean. We have asked for support and understanding around the country and people are ready to oblige us. I am more enthusiastic about our success than the last before. The ACN went through the Appeal Court to take some states from us, but the Yoruba are politically sophisticated. From Lagos to Oyo to Ekiti, Ogun and Osun, they are now watching and waiting because they know those who can serve them best. That is why I am calling on Professor Attahiru Jega to modernise our electoral system. There is hardly any specialisation in the world, where you will not find a Nigerian who is an expert. We must modernise. Let what the people decide with their votes be announced as the result of elections. Are you calling for modernisation of the electoral system? If that is what the civilised world does, what is wrong with it? Don’t you have your ipad now? You are recording this interview with you iphone; you google your office from your tablet; fax machine is obsolete now. We have our children graduating in all kinds of callings. We should avoid what is happening in the Arab world. I mean the Arab spring. Look at my state, Lagos State, commercial motorcycle and commercial tricycle operators are being forced out. What do you expect from people from who you take away their means of livelihood?
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 08:58:35 +0000
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