We Don’t Want Babangida Aliyu In APC – Shamaki Ruth Choji — February 2, 2014 Hon Atiku Shamaki is the member representing Magama/ Rijau federal constituency of Niger State and in this interview with journalists, he declares that the APC in Niger State is not interested in having Gov. Babangida Aliyu in their midst. Ruth Choji was there There has been lots of wrangling within the Niger state APC camp, what are the real issues? Politically, I can say that there is no party that does not have issues, it is the ability to handle the situation that makes all the difference. For a party that was merged to be successful like our party, it takes the total cooperation of the state chairmen, councilors and party members from all the three previous parties, so it was surprising when some group of people, who I can describe as cabals decided to hijack the party, organizing meetings and renting crowds to disturb the peace of the state. Nobody has appointed them, all members and senators of the APC don’t recognized them. But the party has given defected governors power to become automatic leaders of their party, if Gov. Babangida Aliyu defects today and join the APC, will he become your leader? There is a template that spells out those that are eligible for positions of principal officers of the party. This means that where there is no serving governor, a senator will take the leadership of the party. This was how we want it to be, but unfortunately these people have decided to start parading themselves as the leaders of the Niger state APC. Don’t you think this has justified the stand of some critics who have always predicted that the APC will likely disintegrate when it comes to sharing of positions? Well, I am not surprised with such statement, we don’t expect anything less than that, but for a party that is as strong as ours, we are bound to have internal problems, you should expect things like that. But this situation is not peculiar to Niger state, Kano state and other states are experiencing one crises or the other, don’t you think that leadership crises in the party is imminent? We are still trying to stand on our feet, naturally personal interest must rear its heads, but with time, we will resolve these issues and then settle down to tackle real problems that will help us in the general elections. Personal interest must not supersede national interest and that is one thing we are teaching our people to know. It is not just about who gets what, but how it will impact on the life of Nigerians is what really matters. Coming to the house of Reps, now that the APC seems headed to having a majority in the house, what will happen regarding positions that are headed by the PDP, will there be changes? In the house, we don’t talk about party, we are united and our concern is always about Nigeria, not our party. Beside we were very calm and understanding when the PDP was in the majority and so I think we will get the same consideration from them now that we are in the majority. No opposition member was given any chairmanship position, so now that the change has taken place, the PDP have to take it. Now the gap is not much but I know with time, as more PDP members defect to our party, we will take over the house completely. The APC is like an institution, we will not run things the way the PDP were doing, and we intend to do things that will show Nigerians that there is more to leadership. One common trend is that, most of the legislators defected because their governors cross over, don’t you think this has proven that we lack principle and ideology as a people? You are right, in developed and serious democracies, a politician should have his own mind, we should be following the crowd just to keep our position. The image this legislators has portrayed is that, their fate lies in the hands of their governors which is very unfortunate. I am not PDP and I got my mandate under the opposition, then CPC, so I am not a victim of any governor whatsoever. Even when the speaker met me for the first time and asked me what I wanted, I told him that, all I wanted was a road that will open up my constituency to the major road. He was surprised and he even told somebody that. It was so unlike the other people that would have asked for position. Will you be happy if your governor, Babanagida Aliyu defects to your party, APC? We don’t want him in APC. Niger state was created when I was in the primary school and it is unfortunate that till date, we have never had a governor that could develop the state. We use to be insulted in the chambers that Niger state is the poorest in the nation, in terms of development and it is true, which ever road you ply to enter the state, you must have a flat tire. This administration was the worst in the lot. But it is reported that your party chieftains have been inviting him and are willing to accept him if he so decide to join the party? I am aware of that and I also know that they encourage governors to come in because of funding and structures of the state. That is why we are rushing to put in our structures on the ground, before he will decide to join us so that he will not take over the party. What has been the impact of the five PDP governors that defected to the APC knowing how they are used to having their way? As a Nigerian, you must understand that, since the advent in of this democracy, PDP has become a part of us. So these people are also used to doing things the PDP way, but I can assure you that, nobody will give them the chance to do what they are used to. We might have welcome them because of their money and structure’s, but they should know that they met some people there, who have worked very hard to ensure that the APC came to being. The Obasanjo style of leadership where you have to bulldoze your way in everything is still what is happening now. They have the mentality that once you have won the primaries, automatically you have become the winner of the elections. Most of these PDP leaders still behave that way, but the APC is different and they must abide by the rules of our party. Feelers form the APC indicate that Buhari is likely to be the flag bearer of the party, with the renewed agitation for generational shift, what do you think will be the outcome in 2015? I am a Buhari offshoot, I will support him any day, anytime. Considering his age and state of health and with the type of problems we have, I think we need a young, strong and vibrant young man that is familiar with the time. We are getting too old for the colonial leadership, the world has moved to digital leadership. We have many problems and it will take somebody that does not have regional biased, religious biased and political biased. We need a person that will be above leadership and religious bias, we thought we have found the person in Jonathan, but with what we have seen so far, Jonathan has failed the youth of this country. If my party decides that it is Buhari that will lead them, then so be it. Some Nigerians are insisting that the only way there will be free and fair elections is if Prof Jega is removed as INEC chairman, what is your take on this? There are many problems within the electoral system. Nigerians should not expect miracle from Jega, he is just the head of a rotten system. I think the national assembly will do something about that soon. Don’t also forget that the funding of INEC is done by the PDP and so don’t expect to get anything good from the PDP, removing Jega will not solve the problem. The United States once prophesied that Nigeria is likely to disintegrate by 2015, with the indices we have in the political sector, do you think we are heading towards a break up and do you think the National Confab will solve this problem? I don’t think the National Confab will solve our problems. We have more crises than a National Conference and itemizing them at a round table will not solve our problems. We have had others in the past and nothing changed, what will make this one different? Nigeria still has a problem of neo-colonialism, all these IMF, WORLD BANK and the rest are ways to keep us in perpetual bondage, no matter how much we use their laws and principle and apply it to our situation, it cannot change anything because of our culture and believe. Look at the Asian tigers that are rising up, they apply these laws based on their culture and beliefs, they were not forced into adopting other countries cultures and that is why it is working for them.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 05:54:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015