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The national chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Adebisi
Akande, speaks on the party’s controversial consensus method of picking
its candidates, its chances on the national level and the choice of
Nuhu Ribadu as its presidential candidate.

The choice of Nuhu Ribadu as the consensus presidential candidate of the party

In August last
year, our party decided to migrate from using the old hands and
resolved to make use of the youth. That was why we encouraged the youth
to pick our forms for elections. We felt that the youth of this country
have been denied the opportunity to be in the forefront in the
political life. So we wanted them to be able to come forward and
showcase their stuff. So our party is determined to create opportunity
for the youth to partake in elections and governance. As a result of
this, we allocate enough space for the youth in our party. It is our
desire to see the youth operating while we are still alive and we are
trying to accomplice that. Therefore, because Ribadu falls within that
bracket, he was able to get our ticket for the presidential election. I
need to tell you that among the three persons that were presidential
aspirants on the platform of ACN, there was unanimous decision that
Ribadu should be the candidate. We thought there was going to be an
election by the delegates to elect one of the aspirants, but when the
three of them spoke, they came up with a decision that Ribadu should be
the candidate. So, none of the remaining two, Bafarawa and Malami is
aggrieved over Ribadu’s emergence.

The chances of an opposition party defeating the PDP at the national level

Honestly, we are
very optimistic that we can win the presidential election in the
forthcoming April poll. When we felt that our party may not be able to
do it alone, we are trying to form alliance with other parties of like
minds. We are discussing with CPC and ANPP and we hope that with such
people in those parties, can easily strengthen the opposition and
defeat the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party. The discussion is really
progressing and I want Nigerians to be very assured that we are going
to chase the PDP out of the presidential villa in Abuja this year.

Conduct of the general election

Considering the
leadership of the INEC, I think one can say the election will be free
and fair but we are not sure of the role that the police will play yet.
The inspector general of police needs to come out with his agenda and
convince Nigerians on his own commitment to ensure free and fair
election.

Protests within ACN over imposition of candidates

We are in a
democracy. So, what do you mean by imposition? It is the same democracy
that is being practiced in England and Canada as well as India. The
style they are using there is the style ACN is using here. It is only
in America that they use primary election in choosing candidates. You
cannot tell me that the American democracy is superior to that of the
British. Such style practiced in America has the tendency of splitting
the party into pieces. The British democracy is the oldest in the world
and you cannot see political parties there conducting primary elections
before choosing their candidates. They do it by picking competent hands
that are trustworthy in the judgment of the party. So, we believe that
election under a democratic setting is when we are contesting with
other political party during polls. If election within our party is
what you are trying to describe as internal democracy, then we reject
such ideas. Nobody should accuse ACN of imposition because that is our
style.

Anyone that is not
comfortable with that should go and contest in another political party.
So if you see anyone carrying placard around, he is wasting his time.
We know the efforts we made before the party became what it is today
and where were they when we were making the efforts. It is when they
saw that the party was popular that they were attracted to it and we
don’t expect them to come and hijack the party because of their dirty
money. We don’t allow anyone to hijack our party and that is why we
take the decisions in the interest of the party.

Possible return of Atiku to the ACN camp

Atiku is a
businessman with a mind in politics. He thinks politics could be played
the way business can be managed. If he is not careful, he will soon
become a rolling stone that gathers no moss. The earlier he realizes
this, the better for him. However, if he wants to come back to ACN, he
is welcome. If Atiku comes back to our party, we will remind him, had
you know, you would not have gone back to PDP again. So, anybody can
join our party from their wards in their local governments and no one
can prevent them.

His long romance with politics

I will die in
politics. It is not possible for me to quit. Even when I become older
that I cannot move around again, my soul will keep playing politics.
Don’t forget that politics is ordained by God and it is through
politics that you will be able to help other people in the society to
be better. When you are in politics, you are an apostle of a kind. Oh!
I love politics very much. I’m not going to quit.

Salary of lawmakers and political office holders

The nation’s
constitution does not allow legislators to regulate their earnings and
emoluments, but it is a lawless act coming from sheer impunity which is
the major characteristic of the PDP government. As far as I’m
concerned, it is looting. My party does not support such a thing.
Instead of benefiting the generality of people of this country, they
are busy enriching themselves with public fund. That is what we call
self aggrandizement and it is naked stealing which is not acceptable to
our own political party. That is the reason why our party is striving
to make sure that those who will serve the public through our platform
must listen to the party leadership. We are trying to make sure that
those elected on our party’s platform don’t misbehave or steal. We are
making them to realize that the party is superior, irrespective of the
power that their offices give that after the elections. So, they must
listen to the party. That is why you see governance in Lagos and Edo,
because we don’t allow the governor to put themselves above the people.

Monitoring ACN lawmakers in the national assembly

It will be a little
bit difficult. We cannot give such instruction because it will provoke
crises within our party. Our representatives in the National Assembly
know our attitude on this matter and they know that we are not
comfortable as far as the issue of jumbo pay is concerned, but our
lawmakers are helpless. They are human beings and it may be difficult
for them not to take the money when their colleagues from other
political parties are collecting theirs. We can stop that aberration
when our party takes over the presidency through the next election. The
emolument for members of the national assembly would be fixed by using
what the labour wage and in consideration of the revenue that is
generated by the country.

PDP unhappiness with ACN of Osun

I don’t think the
judiciary did anything wrong by taking away the stolen mandate from the
election riggers and return it to the rightful owner, Aregbesola. When
the same judiciary gave it to PDP in Ogun and Oyo state, Omisore did
not complain. However, I don’t blame him. The young man is frustrated.
As you can see, he was very ambitious and his ambition just crashed.
So, he is overwhelmed by the development and he was saying rubbish
because he was confused. Choosing between Obasanjo and Tinubu Obasanjo
is confused, while Tinubu is a focused party manager. Tinubu has some
people he listens to while Obasanjo has nobody to fear.

We are told that successful people and successful nations play
to their strengths.

They analyse what they are good at, what resources they have,
where they can add value and direct their efforts and energy in that direction.

When they make careers out of what they are good at and what
they enjoy, they are likely to be successful and happy doing that. They are likely
to relocate to the most suitable place to run that business or offer that
service; and by their cumulative or combined efforts, the industry thrives.

I was conversing with an architect friend just last week,
enquiring about how profitable it is to make a living from architecture; and
remarking on how fortunate I believe architects are to make a living from their
passion, very much like artists, musicians and so on. The conversation turned
to ways of starting a second or parallel career to supplement one’s income. I
suggested playing to one’s strengths and building an income stream around it. I
asked him what his strengths were and how they had already assisted him in
making a success of his occupation. To my surprise, even though he was
passionate about design and architecture, he said he did not really know what
his strengths are.

He said that most of his peers don’t know what they are good at,
or what their strengths are. They just find work to earn money and put food on
the table and that is why there is so much job frustration and, basically, no
job satisfaction at all. What a revelation! How many of us know what our
strengths are, as they relate to our work and our occupation? For those of us
who do, how did we discover what our strengths are? Let’s take this to the
national level. I am quite sure that eight out of any 10 people I ask will know
what Indians are good at, or what the strengths of the Chinese are.

Ask what Nigerians are good at; what our strengths are; and what
we are known for. Other than the immediate negative responses such as 419 scams
and corruption, people would have to take a moment to think about it. On
reflection, they would say that Nigerians are enterprising, but how has that
translated into a national strength?

Our traders and markets are largely in the informal economy; and
Dangote alone cannot represent the spirit of enterprise in the nation. They
would say that we are excellent at problem-solving and coping, but has this
talent been directed by our policy makers to solving our national challenges?
They would say that we are known for our creativity. Yes, through individual
effort, writers such as Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, musicians like Fela,
Asa, TuFace and so on have become internationally acclaimed. How are other creative
spirits nurtured and encouraged, other than through private avenues such Terra
Kulture and Nike’s Gallery. Our unappreciated museums full of valuable
artefacts have been left to deteriorate.

Diversity as strength

A wonderful trend is that you can study almost any subject you
can imagine.

Throughout your education, starting in primary school, the
teaching staff are talent-spotting, busy identifying latent or developing
skills, talents, passions, or potential. It is rare for a child to reach age 16
and not know what they are good at, both academically and vocationally and what
kinds of careers they can pursue.

Here, the majority graduate from school having passed their
exams, and that is all. The fortunate minority would have engaged in formal
music, arts, or sports programmes in private schools. Even those who were
award-winners in extra-curricular activities never imagined making a career out
of them and are actively discouraged from playing to their strengths by their
advisers.

We are known for being very intelligent and good at cramming
facts to pass exams. So, for many children, the subjects they get good grades
in are not subjects they have any interest in. What kind of career guidance do
school children get about how the subjects they take for SSCE will affect their
A’levels/JAMB and how their choice will affect their careers?

How can we know what our real strengths are? Without identifying
them, how can we, as a nation, harness our strengths? Natural resources are
just that, resources. Without people and functional systems to exploit and
benefit from them, they will not do us any good. To the contrary, we will be
left to live with all the disadvantages of extractive industries without
enjoying the beneficial effect they can have on a people, as we have seen in
the Middle East.

Let’s start at the beginning, with education and with the
children.

Help those around you in the workplace, who are square pegs in
round holes, to find square holes to thrive in. Employers should use
personality profiling to allocate their human capital where they can perform
the best on their own and as part of teams.

Oh yes, one of our strengths is our diversity. We haven’t yet figured out
how to play to it yet. All I have seen is pandering to different groups instead
of pulling the strengths of our diverse ethnicities to propel us into G20
status and achieve our Millenium Development Goals.

One single issue,
which revolves around social justice, is most likely going to be the
selling point of the ANPP presidential candidate, Ibrahim Shekarau who
is one of several candidates seeking to upstage President Goodluck
Jonathan in the April polls. Mr. Shekarau, who enacted an upset in Kano
politics by defeating the then PDP incumbent governor, Rabiu Musa
Kwankwaso in the 2003 elections, has claimed to have promoted human
development during his eight years as governor.

Mr. Shekarau, who
was received by thousands of his supporters at the Malam Aminu Kano
International Airport after he emerged the ANPP presidential
flagbearer, said social justice is synonymous with employment
generation, protection of lives and properties, educational
opportunities, access to basic infrastructure like water, roads,
hospitals, housing and poverty alleviation.

It is an
interesting aspect of Kano politics that Mr Shekarau, who is enjoying
his second term in office, still enjoys mass appeal. On his return to
Kano after winning the ANPP presidential ticket, he moved round the
ancient city with his convoy, amidst cheers from residents of the city.

One Uche Moses, who
joined the convoy of Shekarau as it traversed the Kano metropolis, said
he supported the choice of Mr Shekarau by the ANPP. “Yes, I believe in
Shekarau, he is the leader we need because he has made Kano a home for
us.

Nobody is telling
me I am a stranger here because I come from the east. There is less of
crime here, no religious riots anymore. I wish Nigeria is like this.”

Chris Azuka,
special adviser on inter-community relation to the state government,
said Nigerians deserved a large-hearted person like Shekarau at the
helm of affairs.

“I want Nigerians
to use this opportunity in the forthcoming election to vote for a
leader that will liberate this country from the shackles of bad
leadership and that person is Shekarau,” he said. “You can see for
yourself what he has done that has translated into the relative peace
we are enjoying in Kano today. Even the appointment of non-indigenes in
his administration is a testimony to the fact that this man is a true
Nigerian.”

Mr. Shekarau has
said his campaign will revolve around promoting social justice in the
country. A sociologist, Samaila Yusuf, said this is a worthy agenda to
elicit the support of Nigerians.

“Social justice is
an integral part of governance, and if you look at it from the law of
social contract perspective, it is a principle that guarantees balance
of power and participation between the haves and the have not,” he said.

“It also
contributes to sustainable democracy because it allows for freedom of
speech and fundamental human rights. It creates openness and
transparency and includes Malam Aminu Kano’s theory of providing safety
nets for all.” Kabiru Gwangwazo, who is a governorship aspirant of the
opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), however said it is
too early to talk about social justice at a period when corruption has
eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian society. Mr. Gwangwazo
thereby admonished Shekarau to drop his candidacy and join former
military ruler who is also the presidential candidate of the CPC,
Muhammadu Buhari in the struggle to wrest power from the PDP.

“He should reach
and work with him if he is serious about social justice, what we
required now in Nigeria is fighting corruption and Buhari remains the
person to do that,” he said. “The most important thing is survival, and
corruption is bane of our development.” Nevertheless, this may have
explained the governor’s resolve to play up the issue of social justice
in his acceptance speech at the Eagle Square in Abuja last weekend.

Royal support

Mr. Shekarau, who
accused the PDP administration of failing to live up to the
expectations of Nigerians, assured that he would usher in an era of
prosperity and progress if elected president of Nigeria this year.

He said: “Today,
our country is looking for a leader who would restore integrity, rule
of law and the confidence of Nigerians in the governance of their
country; who could fulfill promises in power supply, food production;
pay special attention to education, implement and deepen governance
reform to squeeze out corruption and raise high the stake of committing
crime, attract investment and commit a robust transparent financial
services industry, and facilitate steady progress everywhere across
this blessed country. On this day and from this place,

I, Ibrahim Shekarau
pledge to fellow Nigerians, that I shall focus my attention to all the
above if you vote me the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero who is championing Shekarau’s societal
reorientation programme in Kano, joined scores of notable personalities
that has so far endorsed the Shekarau presidency project.

The Emir, who spoke
after Mr Shekarau was driven round the metropolis, said his performance
as governor of Kano is enough to sell him to the electorates. He
particularly praised the societal re-orientation programme of the
government as something other states should emulate.

Mr Shekarau, a
retired school principal before he became governor, has always touted
his support for education. Thus, some of his earliest supporters were a
group of retired educationists and school principals from across
Nigeria. He also got support from another group of elder statesmen led
by a retired Supreme Court Justice, Mamman Nasir.

To win the
presidency, Mr Shekarau will have to appeal to voters outside the ANPP.
Even in Kano, he has to cope with a resurgent PDP and a newish CPC
which is growing in strength. Kawu Inuwa Gurjiya, the campaign
coordinator for the Obasanjo/Atiku presidential race in 2003, said he
was underwhelmed with Mr. Shekarau’s presidential ambition. Mr Gurjiya
said the governor had nothing to offer the country because he couldn’t
do anything with the opportunity he had currently to better the lot of
the people of Kano.

“There is nothing this man Shekarau can do because we have been able
to assess him in the last eight years,” he said. “He has failed as a
governor, talk less of overseeing the affair of this country. I urge
Nigerians to disregard this campaign of social justice and vote for
PDP, which is the only party capable of delivering the much needed
services to the people.” Mr Shekarau will have to sell his social
justice agenda if he has any hopes of proving people like Mr Gurjiya
wrong.

The daily influx of
failed contestants in the recently concluded primaries of the Peoples
Democratic Party to its Abuja headquarters is merely an indication that
the ruling party is on edge. Gubernatorial, senatorial, House of
Representatives and State Houses of Assembly contestants who failed to
make it in the primaries have been besieging the secretariat to lodge
complaints with the National Working Committee over alleged
manipulation of the process.

The NWC, sources say, has no fewer than 30 petitions arising from the conduct of the primaries across the nation.

Some familiar faces
at the secretariat include: Osita Izunaso and Chris Anyanwu, both
senators from Imo State; Lee Maeba (Rivers), Grace Bent (Adamawa),
Abubakar Sodangi (Nasarawa) and a host of others. They form more than
60 of the 84 PDP senators who failed to clinch the party’s tickets in
their states. From the House of Representatives were Etim Bassey and
Patty Etete, from Akwa Ibom State, Dino Melaye (Kogi), who were among
hundreds of lawmakers of the lower chamber whose planned return was
scuttled during the primary elections. However, only two gubernatorial
cases have been loud at the secretariat. They are those of Akwa Ibom
and Kogi States. In the case of the Akwa Ibom, there were protests by
supporters of the opponents of the governor, Godswill Akpabio, who is
seeking to return for a second term in office.

Two weeks ago, some
placard-wielding youth stormed the party’s national secretariat, urging
the NWC members to cancel the election in the state. They claim Mr.
Akpabio merely imposed himself on members of the party.

Although no party
official received them, but apparently acting on petitions it received,
the NWC subsequently cancelled the election and ordered a fresh primary
election, which was again won by Mr. Akpabio. In the case of Kogi,
there were protests against the emergence of Jubrin Isah as the
gubernatorial flagbearer of the party as well as the defeat of Mr.
Melaye, a member representing Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency.
When he came to the party’s secretariat, Mr. Melaye, who only a few
weeks ago had his suspension from the House leadership quashed by a
court, claimed that he lost the ticket because a fictitious delegates
list was used to conduct the exercise.

A strange twist

But the case of Mr.
Isah was more strange. Those who protested against his election alleged
that he is facing corruption charges at the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC). In the petition dated January 14, 2011,
submitted to the NWC, and signed by Segun Adeniyi from Kogi West
senatorial district, Shuaibu Ibrahim (Kogi East) and Abubakar Avazi
(Kogi Central) said Mr. Isah, who was until recently a director of
Afribank Nigeria Plc, “is still having a case pending against him with
other alleged corrupt bank officials with whom he was alleged to be
involved in fraudulent practices to the tune of N55 billion.” “We
implore the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party to look into
this issue so as not to be seen as a party that exalts corruption with
a view of preventing Isah Jibrin from using the party’s platform to
obtain immunity cover for his corrupt practices,” they concluded in the
petition which was also sent to INEC and EFCC. Curiously, even Idris
Ibrahim, the outgoing Kogi State governor who allegedly backed the
election of Mr. Isah, became a protester. He was at the secretariat to
make a case for his son, who lost the PDP ticket for a seat in the
House of Representatives.

The Obasanjo protest

Like Mr. Idris,
former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the earliest callers at the
secretariat. Mr. Obasanjo, whose regime witnessed a high volume
substitution of candidates without due process, held a closed-door
meeting with the former chairman of the party, Okwesilieze Nwodo for
hours.

Although, he
refused to speak with journalists on his mission, sources said he was
there for two reasons. The first was the alleged plot to deny his
daughter, Iyabo, a ticket to return to the Senate. He also reportedly
discussed the case of Oyo State where crisis trailed the congresses in
the state, leading to the death of a factional leader of the National
Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Lateef Salako aka Eleweomo.

Two different
primary elections were held in Ogun State and the former president
suspected that the outcome of the one spearheaded by the governor,
Gbenga Daniel was going to be honoured by the national secretariat of
the party, hence he rushed down to Abuja. Before then, the leader of
the other camp and Commerce and Industry minister, Jubril Martins-Kuye
was already pressing buttons in Abuja to have the result conducted by
his camp recognized by the PDP national leadership or, at least,
harmonised the two lists of candidate thrown up by the two camps.

Incidentally, on
the day Mr. Obasanjo came, the Oyo State governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala,
his deputy, Taofeek Arapaja and prominent indigenes of the state also
met with Mr. Nwodo and other members of the NWC on how to resolve the
crisis in the state, which had then led to the arrest and detention of
the Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin.

Indirect protest

However, others
chose not to make noise about their grievances over the outcome of the
primaries. A few others, including governors, are registering their
complaints quietly or through emissaries. Sources disclosed that even
Mr. Akpabio has been making a case for some members of the House,
namely Etim Bassey and Eseme Eyiboh. Mr. Eyiboh, the spokesman of the
House of Representatives, was defeated by a former commissioner with
the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Bassey Dan-Abia. But the
governor’s alleged plan to make it a secret affair might have
backfired. Mr. Dan-Abia has vowed never to surrender his mandate. “I
can never surrender the ticket that was massively given to me by the
people of Eket federal constituency,” he told journalists.

Claiming that he
defeated Mr. Eyiboh by 586 to 179, the former legal adviser to the PDP
in Akwa Ibom State said he did not believe reports that Mr. Akpabio was
linked to the plan to supplant him. The governor himself has since
denied the move. Mr. Akpabio may not be the only one in the game. His
colleagues in Adamawa and Bayelsa States, Murtala Nyako and Timipre
Sylva, respectively have also appeared at the secretariat allegedly for
similar reason but chose not to make it loud. Unconfirmed reports said
the Bayelsa chief executive is still lobbying the PDP national
leadership to drop Henry Dickson, a member of the House of
Representatives for one of his acolytes. In the last two years or so,
there has been no love lost between Messrs Sylva and Dickson, a former
attorney general of the state when President Goodluck Jonathan was its
governor.

Nwodo’s last stand

The case of Enugu
State was a prominent one, with Mr. Nwodo and the state governor,
Sullivan Chime at each other’s throats. While Mr. Chime wanted almost
all the elected office holders to return, the former national chairman
would have none of that. Although Mr. Nwodo was forced to resign last
Tuesday over series of litigations against him, his exit is believed to
have been remotely caused by the battle with the governor and members
of his camp.

In Delta State,
Emmanuel Uduaghan who only returned as governor recently, is up in arms
against his former aide, Ifeanyi Okowa. Mr. Uduaghan is said to be
rooting for Mariam Ali, wife of the former national chairman of the PDP
to replace Mr. Okowa who won the ticket for Delta North senatorial
district. In Sokoto State, Kebbi, Taraba, Kaduna and a few other
states, there is anxiety, especially in the rank of federal and state
lawmakers who failed in their bid to return to the legislature.
Expectedly, apart from the governors who are itching to have the lists
of candidates from their states doctored, some of those who failed are
still mounting pressure on the PDP national leadership to send their
names to INEC.

Repairing the cracks

Mr. Jonathan is
also said to have come under pressure from some notable federal
lawmakers to intervene. Some of the aggrieved senators have, at a
meeting with him, allegedly reminded the president of his earlier
promise to ensure that many federal lawmakers are re-elected in order
to ensure that experience rule both chambers.

It was further
learnt that the lawmakers, who had planned protest votes against Mr.
Jonathan during the January 13 national convention, have asked the
president to pressure the party leadership to consider some of them
before the January 31 deadline for the submission of lists of
candidates to INEC.

But the party
leadership appears not ready to play ball. Bello Mohammed, the acting
national chairman said the NWC which is in custody of the lists from
all the states and will only tinker with them based on verifiable
reasons.

“Every petition
will be given due consideration and decision will be based on justice
and fair play,” Mr. Mohammed said. “Nobody will be shortchanged. No
result will be changed without valid, cogent and verifiable reasons. No
result will be cancelled except on reasons we can advance to the
general public.”

Going by the constitution of the party, the national chairman heads the committee that looks into such complaints.

But the anger in
the party has raised apprehension over its outing in the coming
elections. For a party that has been in power at the centre since the
return of democracy in 1999 and which controls about 27 states, the
fears of losing its hold on the nation, are genuine. This is especially
as some of the opposition parties are in alliance talks aimed at
dislodging it from power.

“It will be a tough time if the umbrella (symbol of PDP) goes into
battle tattered. Now the governors are taking the shine. All of them
who wanted second term got it and some are reportedly asking for the
head of the ministers from their states. This is what we wanted to
avoid when we proposed a bill to be included in our NECs,” a lawmaker
who prefers not to be named said last Friday. A source said last week
that the leadership of the party is likely to convene a special meeting
soon to address issues arising from the primaries before the January 31
deadline for the submission of list of candidates to INEC.