sages Numbers not war will determine President in 2015 — Shuluwa Today, the North, unlike before, seems divided. What can you say is responsible for the division that has visibly taken its toll on the region? We have greedy young leaders in the North who are looking unto themselves and are bent on Goodluck Jonathan’s continuity for their own selfish purpose. That was the basis of the crack. We have many young leaders in the North who are greedy and selfish. They are looking unto themselves rather than looking unto northern interest. The policy of Jonathan itself favours only the South-South. Jonathan did not embrace the North in his own democratic administration. He does not share things according to the way this country is politically divided. Now, the North has realized it. The only people in the country at the moment who have all the contracts and all the money are the Ijaw people of South-South and I think the North have seen it and would not allow it to happen again. Can you estimate how long these cracks have existed? The cracks have been in existence since 1999 because of the leadership we have given to the younger generation in the North, particularly the governors. Some of the senators were also selfish and greedy. Because of their selfish interest, they backed Jonathan in 2011. What do you think should be done to mend the broken fences and reunite the North ahead of the 2015 battle for presidency? The people in the North have seen it. So, the unity will naturally come back. Jonathan’s policy is in such a way that people have realized that the North must come together. As I explained earlier, when Jonathan became president, every juicy position has gone to the South. Today, the Niger-Delta has their own power station which can supply the entire country electricity such that they can now cut off from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). We can have it back in 2015. The North has realized its mistake. Take for instance, the militants in the South-South are being trained overseas as pilots, engineers and so on. The Boko Haram in the North are not considered for such gesture. The northern leaders must come together to have it back again. The governors are not northern leaders but greedy young people who have spoiled the North. What is your reaction to the decision of the five northern governors popularly referred to as the G5 to consult with prominent Nigerian leaders? They have realized their fault. The northern governors are the cause of what is happening today in the North. They were the ones who forced their people to vote for Jonathan in 2011. Today, they are looking for peace. They are asking the people they have visited to save Nigeria’s democracy. What for? They are the cause of all that are happening in the North today. However, I am glad that they have realized their mistakes in 2011. Jonathan had no business to contest in 2011. He ought not to be the candidate. But the governors stood behind him. What has he given them? All he has done is to divide the governors. Look at the case of the governors’ forum. From what we saw on the television, Amaechi clearly won. But the people who were supposed to make sure that the election is free and fair refused to do so. Thirty six governors could not conduct a free and fair election. For the first time, the governors said 16 is more than 19. In the midst of the crisis in the governors’ forum, the Boko Haram security challenge in the North, and the rest of them, do you foresee the possibility of the North clinching power in 2015? Let me say this; the northern governors have realized their fault. What they did in 2011 was wrong. Some of them are still working blindly for Jonathan. I have said it before and I am saying it again that we must have a northern president in 2015. It’s a must. It’s a task that must be done. I am not sure whether Jonathan would say he would want to contest in 2015. He is just paving ways to see whether he should contest or not. And those people from the South-South who are saying if Jonathan does not contest, they would fight. I have told them that we are not going to use the North as a battle ground. We are not going to use the East as a battle ground. We are not going to use the West as a battle ground. We will carry the battle to the creeks. Those who want to fight, let them go and fight in the creeks. It is not going to happen in the upland. We will not give them the chance to carry the battle to the upland. The task of making Nigeria one is a task that must be done. Most of them who are talking about fight- like Edwin Clark and Asari Dokubo- have never seen fight before. Even during the Biafra war, where were they? They all ran away. They cannot be talking about fight in a democracy. In a democracy, you fight with number. It’s a game of number. It’s a game to convince people that you have a better programme. It is not a game of spares, guns, arrows and the rest of them. Talking about the recent registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC), what does the birth of the party portend for the political landscape of this country? There is nothing wrong with two or three groups coming together as a political party if those groups meet the requirements. They come together because they believe they have something in common. They have come together to wrestle power. All of us are in politics because we are looking for power so that we can get the mandate to administer this country for the benefit of the masses. If they are able to convince the masses and get the mandate, there is nothing wrong about that. Our problem is when you get the mandate and you do not execute the mandate which the people have given you that is when something is wrong. The issue of 2015 is predicated on interest. Everybody, whether individually or as a group, has one ambition or the other. Everyone wants to wrestle power from the ruling PDP. It is now left for them to convince us; the masses that they have a better programme than the PDP. And if that is the case, then it is a positive development. If they have a better manifesto, definitely people will vote for them and give them the mandate. People will try them to see whether they can do better. So, the idea of PDP being very jittery because another group has been registered shows that something is wrong with the PDP itself. PDP has been ruling for the past 14 years. By now, they should consolidate their position. But it looks as if for the 14 years they have ruled, there is nothing to show. And that is why they are jittery. PDP is getting worse and worse every day. There is crisis at the center every day. These crises have also been transferred to the states. Consider what is happening in Rivers State today. These crises are even in the local governments and at the wards. And when you have this kind of crisis, definitely, the other group will also be looking forward to wrestling power from you. That is why it will be better for the PDP to make sure that all these things that are bringing crises should be settled. Are you insinuating that the emergence of the APC is a warning signal for the PDP? Yes. It is also good for this country because it will make the PDP to sit up and know that it must do the right thing. It will make the PDP wary of imposing candidates. If the PDP dares impose any candidate, then that can make some members of the PDP to go and vote for the other party. It will also make the people who are running the PDP to know that they now have to run the party very well. Otherwise, they will lose membership to the other party which is now coming up very strong. What is your reaction to the crisis in Rivers State? We are not supposed to witness any crisis in Rivers State at all. What you see happening in Rivers today is just interference. The presidency should leave Governor Rotimi Amaechi alone. That’s all. From what I read from the First Lady’s interview with the Bishop and that of Amaechi with the Bishop, you would see that Amaechi has done nothing wrong. The First Lady has no business snatching the microphone from Amaechi. She should understand that she was not voted for. Amaechi was voted for. She’s not the President. She’s the wife of the President. And Wole Soyinka has summarized her role in the presidency. She should stick to that role. How can five people out of over 20 people go and remove somebody? Well, it was done during Obasanjo anyway. But then, they were summoned to Abuja and some of them (the legislators) were locked up. How can only five people come up and say that they have sacked the Speaker? It is unheard. The fight in the hallowed chamber is very ridiculous. How would you react to President Jonathan’s advice at Chief Alex Ekweme’s birthday celebration that Nigerian elders should be wary of inflammatory statements? He should warn Clark first because Clark is the one making inflammatory statements. The elders from the South-South are the ones who started making inflammatory statements. You can imagine that, sometimes, Clark would compare the South-South with the whole North-one geographical region against three. Clark doesn’t know what is North. Sometimes, he looks at the North as if the region belongs to Muslims alone. In any case, democracy is not about religion. It’s not about tribe but a game of number. It is about our better life. We, the minorities of the North, can we have a better life with the South-South? No. we have seen it under Jonathan. We are not better with Jonathan. We can be better with even the Hausa-Fulanis than with Jonathan. .
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 11:36:07 +0000
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