By Temidayo Akinsuyi

Chief Ebenezer Babatope, a former Minister of Transport and member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, speaks on 20 years of democratic governance in Nigeria and other national issues. Excerpts:

Nigeria just celebrated 20 years of uninterrupted civil rule on May 29. What is your take on that and how do you feel about Nigeria’s democratic process?

Nigeria is advancing though with problems all over the place. But, we are advancing because we have not got any intervention and it appears that the Nigerian people are not set for an intervention from any extraneous force other than the democratic process. Unfortunately, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to give true meaning to democracy in Nigeria. That, notwithstanding, we are there. We thank God and we will continue to play the political games until our democracy comes to ripe age in Nigeria.

You said APC is yet to give true meaning to democracy in Nigerian, but looking at the last 20 years, your party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was at the helm of affairs for 16 years before APC took over in 2015. Is that not contradictory?

PDP ran a government and I am not saying that we are all perfect, but that notwithstanding, I don’t think we have great problem during the PDP administration as we are having now. What is happening now is frightening; hunger all over the place. It is not only that; people are afraid to move from one place to the other. I was reading a post on Facebook recently by somebody, who said the South-West has been taken over by the Hausa/Fulani jihadists and if we are not careful, they will descend on the South-West and there would be political travail in the land.

Are you saying that PDP is confident of regaining Osun State through the Supreme Court?

We believe that by the grace of God the Supreme Court will give us justice. We believe that and I do hope that the apex court will do as it had done before. It has done it twice in which I have applauded the justices of the Supreme Court. First was when they overturned the judgement against my friend, Olabode George, by nullifying the judgements of both the High Court and Court of Appeal that jailed him. The Supreme Court saved the situation by defining properly what could have been the definition of how contracts should be awarded.

The second time was when they said Ali Modu Sheriff should step down as National Chairman of PDP; that he was not running a proper PDP and that the party should be run on a true democratic basis. So, we hope that this time around again, the Supreme Court will justify what is right and advance reasons why Nigeria’s democracy has to be saved.

What will be your reaction if the Supreme Court rules in favour of the APC?

What can we do? I am a lawyer, but again, I am appealing to the Supreme Court as the last arbiter in this affair, to see itself as the last pillar that people can rely upon to restore hope in democracy. If it doesn’t do that, then we shall fall into what Fela Anikulapo called ‘demon crazy.’ So, I hope that the Nigeria judiciary through the Supreme Court will give us justice.

You were an active participant during the First, Second and Third republics, can you compare those republics with the present Fourth Republic?

You can’t. When the late Shehu Shagari was president, I was a functionary of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) under the leadership of the late Papa Obafemi Awolowo. No matter what anybody says, President Shagari tried his best. Even though he gambled, he tried his best. What happened during Shagari’s time cannot be compared to what is happening now. What is happening now, like I said, is what Fela called ‘demoncrazy,’ and demonstration of crazy. The APC has made all of us in this country to be criminal elements.

How did the ruling party do that?

We are unable to do anything. They twisted and manipulated elections and they have a professor in INEC, who came to manipulate things for them. So, we have got to accept it, but all I know is that things cannot continue this way. By the grace of God, the younger elements in Nigeria will have a say.

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Are you saying this because your party lost the last presidential election?

No! We are still at the tribunal. Again, our hope is in the Supreme Court, not in the Court of Appeal under the leadership of that woman

(Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa). Honestly, people have come to regard the Court of Appeal as a big tragic punctuation mark in Nigeria’s progress.

How do you mean?

Because in every case that gets to the Court of Appeal, you can be sure that it is going to be twisted and manipulated by those who are there in favour of the ruling class.

But the appellate court has ruled in favour of the PDP at a time?

When did that happen?

The case of Rivers State in which it ruled that APC had no candidates for the 2019 general elections…

It was so obvious that the APC in Rivers was so disorganised in its operations that the party didn’t have a candidate, so anybody that was put in the judiciary at that time cannot but do that. In fact, it wasn’t a pronouncement by the Court of Appeal that APC has no candidates; it was a question of the fact that the case has been well solidified and built by the High Court and from there it proceeded to the Supreme Court that gave meaning to what was happening.

You said APC government came to power in order to punish people over alleged corruption, but it is believed that some of those people who are facing corruption cases today were those who served in PDP government…

Those who served in PDP’s government but later joined APC, some of them didn’t get it correctly, so they got themselves enveloped in heavy punishment. I don’t want to waste time defining the democracy of President Muhammadu Buhari as regards the question of corruption. Anybody knows clearly that anyone that joined the APC in a manner that is so clear to the eyes has become a saint in the presence of the corruption principles of President Buhari and his APC. But that notwithstanding, Nigerians have got to struggle on and we are going to struggle on until justice is done to the people.

The battle for 2023 presidency has already started with political leaders in both the North and South positioning themselves to succeed President Buhari. What is your take on that?

I don’t see that race between North and South; we can only see that within APC. They are the people who are now fighting themselves. There is no battle of North, South in PDP. PDP has not taken any decision; we are in tribunal and when we finish at the tribunal and we see the outcome, then PDP will take decision that you can be sure will serve the best democratic interest of Nigerian people. The war that is going on now between North and South over 2023 presidency is within the APC.

Don’t you think the issue of 2023 presidency is not being raised by APC leaders alone as some northern and southern leaders are also involved?

They have not said it categorically to anybody and every political party has the right to decide what seems good for it. As far as PDP is concerned, we are waiting for the tribunal and when we finish everything, we will come out with our decision concerning 2023. But as at now, Atiku Abubakar remains the symbol of PDP and we are going to rally round him.

Some Northern leaders and groups have already come out to declare publicly that power should remain in the North in 2023 on the ground that in the present Fourth Republic, the South has ruled for 14 years and therefore they should be given another four years in 2023 to balance the equation. What is your view on that?

I wish them the very best of luck. But as far as I know, the definition of democracy as it will happen in 2023 is predicated on two fronts – first, God’s will for Nigeria and secondly, the decision of the political parties themselves to fashion out a programme that will suit their members and the country.

Do you see the possibility of PDP zoning its presidential ticket to the North in 2023?

It is possible. Why not? Don’t forget the fact that PDP had already zoned the presidency to the North before we had the last election and that was what produced Atiku Abubakar. All the people that appeared to be in the presidential race on the platform of the PDP were from the North. I was a member of the 12-man panel set up by the party to screen the candidates and I can tell you that we have done it before the country ever did it. There may be other variables that will happen between now and 2023, which will determine the attitude of PDP towards the presidential election in the country and whatever happens, you can be sure you will meet us there.
https://www.independent.ng/pdp-can-zone-its-presidential-ticket-to-north-in-2023-babatope/

nigeria and nigerians are indeed in for another four years of hardship and poverty.Your parents queued up
for long hours in 1984 for
milk, rice and beans; you'd
have to be a gullible
dimwit to think buhari
gives a damn about you
anti corruption fight?
A people with no
knowledge of their history
will never be gifted with
the skills of retrospective
analysis, and are bound to
keep repeating their
mistakes. This is exactly
why it was easy to pick up
an expired ethnic bigot
and despotic illiterate from
the dustbin of history, and
dust him up into a
"reformed democrat" in
the eyes of the gullible,
ignorant populace.

Next Level of.....

Why are zombies avoiding this thread?

Zombies come Oo gossip don land

Next Level poverty

Buhari is a curse

I saw Babatope, I knew immediately he won't be a Yoruba moslem like BuhariAdvocate.

I opened the thread and I wasn't disappointed.

Nigeria is under siege in tyranny clueless buhari government .Donald Trump upon his heavy criticism by the opposition party, Trump never ban any media stations. Infact CNN journalist abused him in the white house, he suspend the journalist and the journalist went to court to seek redress and now the journalist is reporting from the White House. Buhari never respect the rule of law. So so pathetic .

Call me whatever name . But you see this babatope has gone mad,they are many things that associate with this unstable character called Ebenezer.

ChristianNorth:
I saw Babatope, I knew immediately he won't be a Yoruba moslem like BuhariAdvocate.

I opened the thread and I wasn't disappointed.

BuhariAdvocate:
Call me whatever name . But you see this babatope has gone mad,they are many things that associate with this unstable character called Ebenezer.

Yoruba moslems easily attack their Christian brothers why? You hate him because he is a Christian speaking against Tinubu. True or False?

Why are you lying my friend Buhari didn't close any media station but NCB did Because the Radio station not obey the rule and regulation that established Radio stations in Nigeria. Stop blame Buhari for everything Buhari don't know Dokpesi or whatever they call him.

Johnnyessence:
Nigeria is under siege in tyranny clueless buhari government .Donald Trump upon his heavy criticism by the opposition party, Trump never ban any media stations. Infact CNN journalist abused him in the white house, he suspend the journalist and the journalist went to court to seek redress and now the journalist is reporting from the White House. Buhari never respect the rule of law. So so pathetic .

BuhariAdvocate:
Why are you lying my friend Buhari didn't close any media station but NCB did Because the Radio station not obey the rule and regulation that established Radio stations in Nigeria. Stop blame Buhari for everything Buhari don't know Dokpesi or whatever they call him.

you should be ashamed of yourself , is NBC not under Efcc probe of corruption? Is the NBC boss not Apc chieftain in kwara state niiii? Stop been partisan here.

You have problem ,There's nothing like religious issues in yoruba land.

ChristianNorth:

Yoruba moslems easily attack their Christian brothers why? You hate him because he is a Christian speaking against Tinubu. True or False?

So true

BuhariAdvocate:
You have problem ,There's nothing like religious issues in yoruba land.

Stop deceiving yourself, there is.