PDP: The story of our
“rebellion” by Governor Sule
Lamido
on september 21, 2013 at 2:22 am in
interview
Lamido
By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor
He probably had little reason to take the
challenging path of fighting the
establishment, given the comport and
conditions around the country’s governors.
But not Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa
State who was nurtured in the Aminu Kano
political culture of using political power to
fight for the masses.
It is as such not surprising that he is one of
the seven governors in the country pushing
to change the ways and manners of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In this interview in Dutse, Governor Lamido
opens up as never before in the media, on
the problems bedevilling the PDP, and why
he has put everything, including his life for
the struggle against those he dubbed as
scavengers determined to eat up what he
and other fellow democrats struggled for.
Excerpts:
There is some excitement that a party that
recently boasted it would dominate the
country for 60 years is about disintegrating.
Are you worried?
Let me say in our tradition, you don’t
jubilate over somebody’s downfall or
misfortune because he is somebody bigger.
For me, those who think the PDP implosion
will be a kind of carcass upon which they
can feed on, are mistaken because I don’t
think they are credible alternatives, so their
jubilation may be short lived.
I’ve said it that PDP is a big party and it is
the party that saved Nigeria from what
happened between 1983 and 1998, and so,
because it is so big, it is bound to have
some crises here and there. It is only
normal and natural.
But this is not an ordinary crisis?
Gov Lamido
We have to look at history first. If you know
what happened yesterday, you will be
prepared for tomorrow. The PDP was a
mechanism for saving Nigeria from what
happened between 1983 and 1998 and it
has done so much with distinction.
If you know what was Nigeria during
Buhari’s rule, Babangida’s rule, Abacha’s
rule and so by 1998 when Abdulsalami
came in, the matter was putting a
mechanism that would be able to restore
Nigeria and give Nigerians hope and
confidence. Therefore, the mechanism was
not in ordinary democracy; it was the
democracy that was supposed to address a
very, very serious national injury and 13
years after, that aspect for which the PDP
was formed has been accomplished.
Now what you are seeing now is because
the country has been stabilized by the PDP.
It is now to face the next level.
And after stability, after restoration it is to
give Nigeria and Nigerians service.
You know, there is the issue of employment
of our youths, security from hunger,
infrastructure and a number of things. You
need a party which will metamorphose or
transform from the old methods to now
serving Nigeria which is the most difficult
thing.
You need people with the commitment,
with the dedication, with the discipline; to
uphold the rule of law because only the
rule of law will be able to save Nigeria and
make Nigerians get the services they need
from their leaders.
And what you are seeing now, is this
metamorphosis; this transition into the
next phase, which is going to address
Nigerians’ needs which is the cause of what
you may call this implosion.
So, must it take Nigeria 14 years to get
there?
In 2007 when Yar‘adua came in, we were
then stabilizing as a country. We were then
fully reconciled as a nation. The militants
and other people who felt shut out from
the Nigerian economy were coming on
board with the amnesty programmes and
commitment to serve Nigeria.
Yar’ Adua was the next phase, but
unfortunately, he died and the injuries
which we cured eight years earlier came
back.They all came back and we had to go
again through the same political process of
again leaving services to address the
political problems which then arose of how
Nigeria will be maintained and reconciled.
So again, arising from this death and
because of the way the political debate was
being approached with emotions and
sentiments and the play of every card, we
were drifting.
There were people at that time saying that
if Jonathan contested that they would take
him to court. So, because of the way the
debate was drifting leaving issues, whipping
emotions and sentiments; North, South,
Christian, Yoruba and all that, we were
back to square one. So the election 2011
was supposed to be the final healing
process.
It wouldn’t have taken that long, it was
because when we were trying to move,
something happened (Yar‘adua’s death)
and it was something beyond the party, it
was something brought in by God.
So, in trying to look at 2015 we feel that
our action in 2011 has been able to
vindicate our position; to justify our
position that that healing process has at
least been attained; that nobody was
denied access to power because he was a
Christian. So, Jonathan was elected on the
basis of the healing process.
Now the question is that by that action of
2011, that process has now been
established and Nigerians are now looking
for service and we feel that the PDP
naturally has to face the next level.
Does this war now mean that the PDP is
not satisfied with what has happened since
Jonathan was elected in 2011?
You see, the PDP after coming to power
again is not being careful as per the
stipulations of the party’s constitution, the
party’s traditions and the party’s
conventions of the way of doing things and
you can see it. You sack a governor for
failing to pick your phone call!
In Adamawa, Bamanga went to deconstruct
the party and to reconstruct it. Thereafter
see what he did in RiversState, see what he
did to Oyinlola and no pretext. They are
very, very dangerous signals in the party
and we felt that things were not normal
and we went round to our leaders to say
that there are some things happening in
the party which we all slaved for, which we
all made sacrifices for and we felt that if
you destroy the vehicle which will keep
giving Nigeria the kind of peace we need,
the kind of hope we look up to, unless we
do things right as a party and as a
government, we will keep on having
problems.
However, those in the Tukur led PDP are
saying that those of you in the nPDP have
not exhausted the internal party
mechanism to lay out your grievances and
they also accuse you of trying to destroy the
old PDP for you to move over to a new
party?
The claim that we have not exhausted
internal party mechanism is an after
thought. It arose after the action. Few
months ago, we started going around the
country, we met our leaders. We went to
Obasanjo and we said “sir, the very party
that we all built is about to be ruined by
Bamanga Tukur, the abrasions, the high
handedness, the insensitivity is bringing us
into some serious problems. We went and
met Abdulsalam, we briefed Babangida, we
met Alex Ekwueme and we have met
virtually everybody that could intervene.
After having gone round, Obasanjo called a
meeting of PDP governors and for two days
we met and these grievances were
identified and itemised. He went and met
the President and told him the problems.
Now, after that, whatever you call us, either
aggrieved governors or whatever, we went
again and met the President and explained
to him and said “sir, we have been going
around in the last few months and these
are the issues and we feel that there are
some problems, so do something about
that.”
After seeing the President, we also went
and met Bamanga Tukur and told him the
same thing, “sir, tell the party that there are
some problems” and we told him what we
told President Jonathan and what we told
all the other former leaders. After that
nothing was done.
On the day of the convention, around
12:30, myself, governor of Kano, governor
of Niger, governor of Sokoto went to the
President in the State Box and said “sir,
there are some problems, do something;
Do something please because right now
Governor Nyako has been denied entry into
the convention arena and all his delegates
have also been denied, and the Rivers
delegates who are statutory delegates
being members of the National Assembly,
have been changed at the venue of the
convention.” And nothing was done.
So, when you say that we failed to exhaust
all avenues, I don’t know what you mean.
And you would see that every time the so-
called praise singers and drum beaters
would say “don’t mind them, they can’t do
anything, who are they? The power of the
presidency is this or that, they can’t do
anything.”
We are not challenging the power of the
Nigerian President because we know what
the power of the Nigerian President is like.
You may be powerful but your duty is to
understand me as your citizen, as your
party man and know my grievances.
When we are taken for granted and told
that the heavens will not fall, “who are
they?”. And who are those saying this, these
are people who had no idea how PDP was
formed in 1998, these are people who had
no idea how Jonathan was elected in 2011.
Because to them they see the industry in
the presidency, they don’t want anything
that will bring the system to normalcy or
they will lose the filth that they are eating.
Are you then moving to another party?
It will be very, very sad if that is how we
are being perceived because it is part of the
blackmail. I went to prison under Abacha
for challenging him. I stuck my neck for
democracy in Nigeria. I was one of the nine
pioneer members of the PDP who formed
G9, I am part of G18, I am part of G34. So,
when you say I am moving out, moving out
to where? You are not being fair to us. It is
part of the blackmail. Moving out to leave
the party to who? To who? For these
scavengers?
Who are these scavengers?
Those who are saying that we are moving
out. Those are the scavengers.
Besides the nPDP you are also being linked
to a brand new party?
In this era of confusion, of blackmail and
threats and coercion, people can raise
anything for them to extract an advantage.
So when you say people, who are those
people? Where were they when we formed
the party? Where were they when I was in
prison? So, it is very, very sad because
when you say I am moving out, to move out
to leave the party for who? Scavengers?
So, I am not moving out. We are in PDP,
because we know what PDP is, we will not
move an inch and will make sure that no
matter what it takes, at the risk of
everything including our personal safety,
our offices, our children, family whatever it
is, to restore PDP to the path of sanity, the
path of legality, the path of due process,
the path of constitutionality.
Or would you say to stay within and
demolish it?
When you demolish your house what will
you have over your head?
Was the walk out of Eagles Square on the
convention day spontaneous or planned to
disgrace the president?
That is another dimension which is also
painful when you say to disgrace the
President. That gathering was a political
party gathering, not a government
gathering. That gathering was a convention
of the party where all delegates were to
come and address issues of the party. It is
not a government meeting. It is a
convention. At a convention, it is members
of the party, the family coming together. It
is not a Nigerian gathering, it is only PDP
members who should be there.
So, when you say to disgrace the President;
you make the whole thing look a little bit
silly. Conventions by tradition are supposed
to address party issues. Therefore the
personalities of person there don’t even
exist. So, at that point, if there is going to
be election, he (President) has one single
vote, I have one single vote.
So please, distinguish between a
government gathering and a political party
convention which is the peak, the assembly
of all the party men with delegates coming
from all the states of the federation coming
together to be able to look at the party and
their interests to be able to run the party
very well.
So, when you say to disgrace the President
you make it very, very personal.
So, it was spontaneous? And what was
Atiku’s role in it?
There was a build up. It was very, very clear
that there would be some problems. We
even went and told him after going around
for three months and made it very clear.
We went around for three months talking
about these problems. And after going
around, we briefed the President and
briefed the party Chairman. Nothing was
done. On the day of the convention, we
went again and said “sir, this is what is
happening.”
So, when you say it was a plan by Atiku,
you take the value out of it. You make it
valueless. Did we go to Atiku when we were
moving around? So, if Atiku felt he had
seen a small fish upon which he could latch
in to achieve his goal, I have no problem
because he has interests too. So if he saw
us walking out and he joined, why not? The
more the merrier.
Atiku is also a member of the party, he was
at the convention, he has got his own
grievances and therefore he found out that
there were others having their own
grievances and that he should join them.
The internal democracy you are
championing at the federal level is alleged
to be completely absent at the state level.
In Adamawa State for instance, it is alleged
that the governor has imposed someone
from his local government as state
chairman…
You see, that is part of the misinformation,
the distortion. The chairman of Adamawa
was chairman before Nyako (Governor
Murtala Nyako) became the governor. When
they picked him as candidate, didn’t they
know that the chairman was from that local
government? When I was picked as
candidate, the chairman of Jigawa at that
time was from my own ward.
But he has since been changed?
Yes, by another party congress. When you
are saying Nyako imposed, Nyako did this,
it is part of the misinformation. It is false, it
is a distortion of history. In 2007, when
Nyako came as a candidate, Bamanga was
not in PDP, he left the party because his
son then was contesting and because his
son did not get the ticket he left the party.
In 2007, Atiku left for ACN, so there is some
history behind this and because of this
distortion, people are confused. So you are
not right, you are wrong.
You have mentioned scavengers. Who are
these scavengers?
If there is no President, there would not be
anything called Okupe or Abati and they are
his personal aides, who came after he
became the President. So they have no idea
of what he went through as a candidate;
his friends and collaborators, how they
worked together to get him in there, they
have no idea. So literarily, if they see you
standing in the cause of justice, they feel
we are being personal to the President. We
are not being personal, we are talking
about Nigeria, we are talking about the
PDP, we are not talking about the Nigeria
President. Now, if for instance, the
Chairman challenges us, he has the locus
standi, but not personal aides, who I call
wage earners.
Could persons like Chief Edwin Clark, Asari
Dokubo and the rest be some of these
scavengers?
Thank God Dokubo said he is not a member
of PDP, he said over the television that he
is ACN. So if he is ACN and is now talking
about PDP, then, I have some problems.
Could we still find a lasting solution to this
problem in the PDP?
There is a way out though obviously with
some spill over effects or some collateral
damages. Maybe if what we had been
saying had been harkened to in the last
two, three months, maybe we wouldn’t
have been where we are today.
After going around, after meeting with the
President, the party Chairman and they
found that these things were real, that if
they were addressed, there wouldn’t be
any problem. If at the time of the
convention when we went to the President
and said “sir, please do something;
Governor Nyako has been shut out of the
convention; he has been denied the tag to
come into the arena; the delegates from
Adamawa have also been stopped from
coming into the arena. Rivers delegates
who are statutory delegates by being
members of the National Assembly have
also been changed, sir, the agreement is
that all the members of the National
Working Committee who resigned should
all be re-elected, but sir these things are
being breached, so please do something…”
What was the President’s response?
He said he would do it.
We are saying that those who we privileged
with our votes to lead the party after they
had been humiliated in their zonal
congresses, you know before the
convention (March, 2012) you know there
was this zonal congress in Bauchi and he
(Tukur) scored zero!
Correct? And when this happened, the
President said no, he called us and we said,
you want Bamanga? So, we said you are
going to have him. You are going to have
Bamanga because we were doing the
bidding of the President. So as his
loyalists, we called Nyako, we said you
cannot humiliate the President’s candidate.
Even though it is a democracy, democracy
also has some traditions and conventions.
So we dignified Bamanga, we honoured
him, we cleaned him out, we got him
resurrected otherwise by now, he would
have been garbage. Real political garbage.

CHAIRMAN1: Firstus Odiegu