[size=14pt]10 out of 19 northern states behind Jonathan —Abba Gana[/size]
From ZAINAB SULEIMAN OKINO and JACOB EDI, Abuja
Saturday, December 11, 2010



During the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Abba Gana presided over the administration of the Federal Capital Territory as its minister for 24 months. As minister, he allocated land to people. Now he lives in a rented apartment and says, “am happy and contented.”

Worse still, he is just in the process of developing a property, which is now stalled due to lack of funds. He insisted, however, that he did not waste his opportunities as FCT minister but was driven by his personal principles of just serving the people, not to have amassed wealth, like some of his predecessor and successors have done.

And as if to add salt to injury, Gana sensationally revealed what he suffered in the hands of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai as minister of the territory, who apparently ordered the revocation of his property for lack of development.
Gana became minister of the FCT after Obasanjo sacked his kinsman, Architect Ibrahim Bunu, from the same position. Still an amiable personality in his 60s, the former minister, who wore the toga of contentment when he spoke to Saturday Sun, said he is a man of little ambition who just wants to live a decent life without dipping his fingers into public coffers.
“You know, both life and the office are a stage.

And Shakespeare said, ‘the world is a stage. You play your part and then depart.’ Well, in my own case, I played my part and then left and life continues. I am a family man with children and grandchildren. I thank God. And I also thank Him for the opportunity given to me to serve my country and of course, to the president who appointed me, Obasanjo. So, right now, I’m not really holding any office,” Abba Gana said, with a calm resignation when asked about his life outside public office.
He also spoke on other things.



How has you political life been?
Well, I’ve been in active politics since 1978. The problem is that these days, people get into politics so that they get something or so that they get positions. If you get involved in politics to gain something or to gain some positions, it’s a problem. This is so because if you don’t get what you are expecting, you may become unprincipled or defect to another party or even withdraw. So, that is not good. You know, politics is a public office. You don’t play it, because as a person you want to get something or you want to get some position. I don’t get involved in politics, because of some gain or position. So, whether I am given a position or not, whether I am rich or not, which I am not, this does not really discourage me from playing politics.

Are you saying that you left office as FCT minister without anything?
The post of minister of FCT gives one recognition, and that is it. You know, you can get goodwill because of your job. And apart from that, I got the encouragement of the people of my country. But materially, in fact, since I left that office, I’ve been living in rented quarters.

That’s surprising! Does it mean you don’t have a house or a land?
I learnt that when my predecessor, El-Rufai, came along, he removed all of them because the court said I did not develop them on time. So, for lack of development, he re-allocated the land.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/dec/11/national-11-12-2010-01.htm

bull crap

[b]In the current dispensation, what role are you playing?[/b]Well, even now, I am one of the PDP leaders and you know I belong to the G20 group, which are supporting the ambition of President Jonathan. We have been called all sorts of names; that we are not patriotic. Some are saying that it must be the turn of the North and so on and so forth. And most of us feel that the days of Yar’Adua is the subject of whatever power sharing existed. And we say that Niger Delta people deserve some appeasement; they deserve encouragement, and since their son is now the president, and since also we have produced about eight or nine presidents from the northern part of the country, we want to sacrifice our ambition, and support the Niger Delta incumbent to continue in office. And thanks to God we are now making good progress.

[b]Where then will you keep your northern brother, Atiku, who is now a consensus aspirant of the region?[/b]Well, I am not a fortune-teller or future-teller. You see, as things are now, even in the North, as things are now, Jonathan is the favourite to win, because I can see some states out of 19 states in the North supporting him. At least 10 states will vote for Jonathan, out of the 19 states in the North. I tell you, for example, Jonathan will get Taraba, in the North-East; Borno and Yobe, in the North-East; Bauchi and Gombe, in the North West. And I am sure he may get about half of Adamawa. Then also, in the North-Central states, Jonathan will get Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau and then Benue. And they may split Niger and Kwara between themselves. And in the North West, Jonathan will get Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and possibly, Katsina. And the remaining three, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi, they will split.
In the South-South, I trust Jonathan will get about 60 to 70 per cent of the votes. In the South East, even if they split, he is ahead. In the South West, Jonathan will carry the day.

What gives you this confidence?[/b]Well, we are the ones on ground…”

[b]Are you really on ground?

Yes

But some people will say that your analysis is not sacrosanct, as things can’t remain static … You know, that the candidature of Atiku was for a section of the North; a group in the North said he is their candidate. And also our own group, G20, says that Jonathan is our candidate; maybe another group would say ABC is their candidate. The North has never really been in one place politically. Right from the NPC days, in the North, we have never spoken with one political voice,  Even in the South West, it has never happened. In fact, people do not always speak with one voice; so is the North. And they cannot say that will intimidate anybody. This tendency may not change. We are hopeful that Jonathan will carry the day.


Are you supporting Jonathan because Obasanjo, who was your boss, is supporting him? Jerry Gana too, in your group, worked under Obasanjo.
Well, actually, right now, Jonathan has shown seriousness. He is vigorously supporting the power project – electricity supply. Very vigorously! Right now, he has committed billions on federal roads, in all the zones of this country. Right now, he has actually intensified exploration of petroleum in the Chad Basin, in the other parts of the North. Right now, he has seen the real situation of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex. Right now, he is reviving the River Basin Development Authorities all over the country. And right now, education is receiving a lot of attention, because even new universities are being proposed.

[b]This is always the trend when election is approaching. Money is being sent to all these agencies you are talking about, and at the same time siphoned back to fund political activities. This happened in 2007. How is this different?[/b]This is an improper analysis. You know, it is not easy to siphon public funds, like that. It is not easy at all. You mean that if you are establishing a university in Taraba and you send money for that purpose, nobody is watching and the money will go elsewhere? How could it? I advise that such comments or commentary should be patriotic and positive, because, you know, we should always try to give the benefit of the doubt to our leaders.

This has happened before…
Well, let us give the benefit of the doubt to Jonathan, because I am sure he and the late Yar’Adua meant to work for this country. And in addition to that, he has committed himself to the railways, to the improvement of these railways. See how he has started to take the Niger Delta, because there was problem, like vandalisation of pipelines and he told the military to check them quickly.

Would you say that President Goodluck Jonathan is in control of the PDP machinery? The PDP has its own constitution, it has its own structure. Absolutely, there is no need for him to have absolute control of the party. You know, he and the governors…

So, he is not in total control?
Is there a need for it? For example, I am from Borno State. He need not know everything that we do in Borno. There are other levels.


What of the national leadership of the party?
Is it necessary for him to control all of them? He knows that there is absolutely no need for it. This is the more reason there is so much liberty now, because he said we must stick to the rule of law.

What will you say is the character of President Goodluck Jonathan government?
You know, he is continuing what he started with Yar’Adua. And more vigorously, actually. And what Yar’Adua started, Jonathan is continuing it along the same line. Now, he is achieving something to the satisfaction of most of our diverse citizens and international communities. I believe that he has not derailed from what he started with Yar’Adua. He has not derailed at all. Actually, he is improving on them.

What do you think of the aspiration of the former vice-president, Atiku?
You know, the PDP executives said according to the Nigerian constitution, which is supreme, Jonathan is free to contest. So, Jonathan is free to contest and Atiku too. His own group in the North said he is their consensus candidate. So, let him try his luck and let the best candidate win.

You won’t support Atiku apparently?
I have been a supporter of President Jonathan, right from the beginning. Right from day one, I have been supporting him. And just now, because Atiku got the opportunity, it would be unprincipled for me to abandon Jonathan and support Atiku. It would be very unprincipled. I have been known for my integrity, being a man of my words, and I do not like to change just over night.”

For whatever it is worth, did you try to congratulate Atiku since the announcement by the Ciroma group?
You know, I do not meet him very often, but if I ever see him and if occasion demands it, I will. I do not have anything against him. As a person, he relates with me very well and I relate with him well too. You know, politics is not a matter of do or die, and I play politics without bitterness, without acrimony and without hatred. There is so much bitterness, acrimony and hatred in our politics. We should remove them. If we are playing politics with bitterness, hatred and acrimony, we would be losing a lot. If people are bitter or angry, there will be Satan. And Satan will always disturb and misguide people. So, bitterness is not a normal condition of any human being.

The Senate Committee on FCT invited El-Rufai and all other former ministers. Why is it that they did not query you?
Well, the Senate Committee on FCT, under the chairmanship of Sen. Sadangi, invited us to appear – myself, Ibrahim Bunu, Moddibo and then El-Rufai – four of us. Moddibo was the then minister. Before then, they asked the public to write their grievances on any injustice done to them. Then, when they called us to appear, I was in Maiduguri actually. Then I was told to come. When I appeared, they said they did not have one single petition concerning my tenure. They asked that I told them the way forward. I took two to three minutes to tell them what I thought would help. All the members were impressed that there was no petition during my tenure. So, I was grateful for God’s guidance, for such a situation. When I was FCT minister, I never knew that this sort of thing would happen. If you do things with the fear of God, you will always be well guided.

Did you ever have the opportunity of advising El-Rufai when he was FCT minister?

“No! He set up some committees – four or five of former FCT ministers, but he did not include me. So, unless you are specifically requested, you do not need to be there.

Only Atiku can respond to this kind of analysis.

Campaign 101. Why are we learning of this now?

As Obvious as 7^UP