In politics, pandering refers to the insincere, opportunistic appeasement of a group of people, usually a large electoral bloc, for the sole purpose of winning their votes. President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Nigeria’s new “Democracy Day” and the conferral of posthumous awards to the late MKO Abiola and the late Gani Fawehinmi, commendable as they are, are classic cases of pandering. The pandering is carefully calculated to reverse the noticeable diminution of Buhari’s political capital among Yoruba voters ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

From 2003, when Buhari started running for president, to 2011, he had never won Yoruba, Igbo, Northern Christian, and Southern ethnic minority votes; Northern Muslim votes, which he has always won, were never enough to make him president. In 2015, he re-invented himself as a cosmopolitan nationalist and won Yoruba and Northern Christian, or Middle Belt, votes in addition to the votes from his traditional base.

Apart from his lusterless and mediocre performance as president, one of the immediate triggers for the dramatic waning of Buhari’s appeal among Yoruba voters was his politically inexpedient extolment of the late General Sani Abacha, the persecutor of the cultural and political icons of the Yoruba people—MKO Abiola, Gani Fawehinmi, Wole Soyinka, and so on. On May 22, 2018, Buhari told supporters who visited him at the Presidential Villa that whatever people might think of Abacha, they had to concede that he would go down in the records as someone who built roads, hospitals, and schools.

This high praise of Abacha provoked mass outrage in Yoruba land, even among Buhari supporters, and threatened to erode the last vestige of goodwill he had in the region. That was particularly politically precarious, and here is why. Buhari has now irretrievably lost the Northern Christian vote. If he loses the Yoruba vote, he would be down to his pre-2015 Northern Muslim constituency. So he needed to do something radical to appease Yoruba voters.

His strategists advised him to go for the ultimate emotional appeasement: Declare June 12 “Democracy Day,” which it already is in the Southwest; honor MKO Abiola, Gani Fawehinmi, and other Yoruba icons; apologize for the voiding of the June 12 election; and even go so far as to make the outrageously inaccurate claim that “June 12, 1993 was far more symbolic of democracy in the Nigerian context than… October 1,” the day of Nigeria’s independence from British colonialism.

Buhari did this at no personal political cost. His political base will always stand by him, irrespective of what he does. Any other northern Muslim politician who does what Buhari did would have alienated and lost his base. But Buhari’s supporters interpret this move as a “necessary evil” to get the Southwest to reelect him.

The president’s tactical emotional and political tokenism seems to have worked—at least so far. I have nothing against the Yoruba elite—and the voters they influence—for being suckers for Buhari’s appeasement. We are all suckers for something. And our emotions are a valid component of our being. June 12 and MKO Abiola are obviously tender spots for many Yoruba people—and that’s entirely reasonable.

However, while it’s legitimate to be a sucker for emotional appeasement, it helps to be self-aware of the potential for costly naivety. I’m glad that Professor Soyinka’s public pronouncements show evidence of this self-awareness. On June 12, for instance, he told President Buhari to his face, “You cannot honour Abiola in one breath and admire his tormentor in another breath.”

Other Southwest political elites aren’t this clearheaded, unfortunately. Femi Falana, for instance, in his giddy excitement over Buhari’s pandering to the Yoruba, chose the path of self-centered intellectual dishonesty to defend Buhari’s clearly unconstitutional declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day. “It is crystal clear that the president is not required by law to seek and obtain the approval of the National Assembly before declaring a public holiday in the country," Falana said on June 7.

A week later, Buhari’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, undercut Falana’s duplicity and helped to underscore the insincerity in the declaration of June 12 as Nigeria’s new Democracy Day. “As it relates to public holidays, there is truly a Public Holiday Act,” Malami said . “The Act can be amended and the process of amendment has been put in place. When the Act has been fully amended, the declaration of the President will come into effect. It is a declaration of intention, a declaration of desire and that will eventually be given effect with the amendment of the existing law.”

In other words, contrary to what Falana said, President Buhari has no constitutional powers to unilaterally declare June 12 as Democracy Day; he needs to amend the Public Holiday Act before his declaration can become legal. As always, for political reasons, the president shot before he targeted. If this wasn’t pandering, the president should have first set the process for the amendment of the Holiday Act in motion before announcing his “declaration of intention” to make June 12 the new “Democracy Day.”

As it is now, it is entirely within the realm of possibility that the legal and legislative processes required to amend the Holiday Act to make June 12 Nigeria’s Democracy Day won’t be completed before the 2019 presidential election. It is also conceivable that if Buhari wins a second term with votes from the Southwest, there would no longer be any talk of June 12 as Democracy Day. The president would shift the burden to the National Assembly, which won’t care for it. Only Yoruba states that already celebrate June 12 as a democracy day would continue to do so.

Buhari’s June 12 pandering is eerily similar to his faux sartorial and religious inclusivity in the run-up to the 2015 election. He donned the symbolic garbs of various ethnic groups and even attended church services. This was complemented with the deliberately false Internet story that he countenanced the marriage of one of his daughters to an Igbo Christian— and such like fabrications. Pastor Tunde Bakare even recalled, falsely it turned out, that Buhari once exclaimed “Jesus!” during a moment of intense emotion.

So the pretense to cultural and religious broadmindedness coalesced with intentionally false internet narratives to construct an image of a radically transformed Buhari who was no longer beholden to narrow ethnic, regional, and religious allegiances. It didn’t take long for this elaborate fraud to unravel.

During his first visit to the US shortly after his election, Buhari said he won’t dispense equal favors to people who gave him only 5 percent of their votes and those who gave him 97 percent of their votes. Although, he immediately walked back on the statement, his administration has shown no genuine commitment to uniting the country outside mouthing pious, disingenuous bromides about the indivisibility of the country.

Buhari may well get a second term with the help of votes from the Southwest. But one thing is as certain as tomorrow’s date: he will spectacularly fall out with the Yoruba elite whose support he’s bending over backwards to court now. He’d no longer have a need for them after 2019 and might even remember that they betrayed him 2011. These same people would then turn against not just Buhari but the entire North. If we’re alive till then, we’d remind them that they are complicit in their own fate. An Italian proverb says, “When a man deceives me once, it is his fault; when twice, it is mine.”

Former commissioner for information and governorship aspirant on the platform of Ogun state chapter of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Sina Kawonise, has praised the doggedness and sacrifices of late Chief MKO Abiola who, today, is being conferred with the highest honour in the country, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR). 

In a statement signed by acting Director, SK Media Office, Mr Doyin Owobamirin, Kawonise says it was in recognition of the pro-people stance of Chief Abiola and the genuine progressive contents of the party with which he won the 1993 presidential election that galvanised leaders of SDP to re-register the party as the vehicle to get our people out of the current mis-governance at all levels in Nigeria.

According to Kawonise, “Before the eventual recognition of the iconic MKO Abiola, current leaders of SDP had seen his greatness and the unequaled sacrifices that he made for democracy and for Nigerians. We studied the constitutions and manifestos of different political parties and singled out those of SDP that won the 1993 presidential election for Abiola and chose it as the genuine progressive platform to adopt in galvanizing our people for rapid development and all-encompassing democratic order”.

Kawonise says further, “it is therefore gratifying that the progenitor and symbol of our party, Chief Abiola, is finally being given his due by the authorities who neither belong to our platform nor share in our ideology”.

The statement also salutes members of the Abiola family who, directly, had suffered most the loss of their patriarch. It concludes by calling on Ogun State residents, particularly members of the Abiola family to see SDP as “their natural habitat” and the party of choice to actualize the lofty dreams of Chief Abiola and the SDP to say farewell to poverty and bad governance, and give HOPE to our people.

Federal government has invited all former governors elected on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993 to the occasion of the historic designation of June 12 as Democracy Day and National Holiday.

A statement signed last night by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, also recognised former members of National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, including states chairmen and secretaries as at June 12, 1993, for the role they played in the struggle to entrench democratic ethos in the country.

Also included on the guest list were Mr Humphrey Nwosu invited as Chairman of the electoral body that superintended the freest election in Nigeria in 1993.

The list also had former Senate Presidents, Mr Iyorchia Ayu and Mr Ameh Ebute and Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Agunwa Anekwe.

President Buhari, who on Wednesday declared June 12 as Democracy Day will confer a posthumous national honour of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), on Mr M.K.O. Abiola, presumed winner of the Presidential election in 1993 next Tuesday.

The statement by the SGF also said, Late Chief Abiola’s running mate in the election, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe will be decorated as a recipient of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), while human rights activist and fiery legal luminary, Mr Gani Fawehinmi will be posthumously invested as Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

The investiture ceremony will hold at Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja at 10.00 am.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogora, principal officers of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council and all state governors, will be joined by Mr Bola Tinubu, Nobel Laureate, Mr Wole Soyinka, Mr Femi Falana, Mr Bisi Akande, Ms. Ayo Obe, DG News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Mr Kunle Ajibade, Mr Nosa Igiebor, Mr Kayode Komolafe, Mr Frank Kokori and Director General, Hope ‘93, Mr Janathan Zwingina.

Thisday

Parents and Government at all levels have been advised to take seriously the protection of Nigerian Children's rights and stop paying lip service to them. 

This advice was contained in a message to commemorate this year's Children’s day celebration, by a former Information Commissioner in Ogun state and gubernatorial aspirant of Social Democratic Party, SDP,  Mr Sina Kawonise.

In a statement signed by acting Director of SK Media Office, Mr Doyin Owobamirin, the SDP aspirant said a reflection on the roles and responsibilities of parents and governments towards children, showed that the country has not done well in adequately protecting the rights of Children. 

While noting that Children’s rights cover their developmental and age-appropriate needs, which change over time as a child grows up, he explained that such rights include the right to health, education, family life, play and recreation, adequate standard of living and protection from abuse and harm which are often compromised. 

He said with this year's theme,  "Creating Safe Spaces for Children: Our Collective Responsibility" all hands must be on deck to promote the safety, security and welfare of our Children. 

Kawonise noted that his administration in Ogun State, when elected, would ensure that children are protected from violence and exploitation, while their environments are safe and conducive in the pursuit of their educational goals and other life endeavours.

He urged all an sundry to ensure adequate protection of Children's rights, stressing that "children are our future and true heritage, and that the country would have a bright future only when they are well protected and catered for.

You were a national chairmanship aspirant in the last stormy national convention of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). You left the party for Social Democratic Party (SDP). What actually did you find offensive in the party that compelled you to leave?

I, by the grace of God was a foundation member of the party, had a clear vision and mission for PDP and, of course, we felt that overtime, we would be moving in a clear direction that will lead us to the attainment of the laudable goals of the party. But we discovered along the way that some members were deviating from the goals and principles of the party that are fundamental objectives of the party. We did not keep quiet. We made efforts at each point to correct what we felt was wrong with the party. What happened in December last year was the climax of going away from the goals, vision and mission of the party. At that time, people seemed to have become addicted to impunity, imposition and all those ignoble things that can derail democracy and, in fact, the absence of internal democracy in the party had reached the climax. One of the things that attracted me into the race for chairmanship was that I felt that there was need for the party to demonstrate to the world and other parties that Nigeria could be a model by showing how parties should be run, by demonstrating the full tenets or principles of democracy, which are fundamental in guaranteeing meaningful democracy. Unfortunately, people were not ready to yield ground.

People felt that the party could be converted and did make efforts to convert it to personal property. They turned themselves to emperors and that the way some of them had conquered their states could be extended to the party by disregarding all norms, due processes and without any regard to morality. I thought that a shameful display of arrogance of power should have no place in our political culture and indeed it did send wrong signals to our generation and, of course, future generations of Nigerians if we continue that way. We saw the signs. We saw it coming and we were fighting it all along the way. We kept on challenging them, explaining to them that what they were doing will lead to disaster. They kept on assuring us that we should not worry, that everything will be alright.

That was what kept us waiting, hoping and expecting that things will turn out better that they will keep faith. What mattered most were the party, and the principles behind the formation, and above all, to keep faith with the Nigerian people.

Some of your critics have argued that you would have stayed put there to right the wrongs and put it on a proper footing given the imminence of a crucial general elections?

I am aware that some people felt that way, but that feeling was borne out of ignorance. They did not have enough information to realize that for more than a decade, I have been fighting within the party to achieve such goals.  So many things happened in the party that are not salutary and there are those who felt that I stayed too long.

Stayed too long, how?

For instance, let me cite one example of when I won a senatorial ticket of the party. That ticket was taken away from me and I did not leave the party. I wanted the party members to take the ticket and utilize it, but they refused. They took the ticket, went outside the party and gave it to someone who was not even a member of the party to use. And that was how the person became a senator. So, in spite of that, I did not leave the party. So many other things happened. I was determined to fight it to the end, and of course the opportunity to change the system would have come if I had become the national chairman. There were too many atrocities. I have always believed and maintained that the worst form of corruption is political corruption, because it poisons the entire system. If you don’t get it right within the political framework, you will not get it right anywhere.

As a democrat and academic, do you think you fit into this picture because many see what you are saying as normal political practice?

They see it as normal because they have been indoctrinated into it and have lived with it. So, when you insist that certain things should be done properly, they don’t feel comfortable. It is either you play by the rules or you check out of it, because these things have consequences and the consequences are grave for our country in modulating our process of governance today and creating a legacy for tomorrow.

How do you look at PDP as a force in the 2019 general elections?

As far as I am concerned, I look at PDP as a party that is dying.  The soul is gone. I don’t see it as a force in 2019. I see SDP as the real force that will battle the combined forces of APC and PDP. My concern is to work hard to strengthen the capacity of SDP to rise up to the challenge before it and takeover to clean the rot, because the other two parties have failed the nation and we dare not allow them to come near power again.

What gives you the confidence that SDP will be a major force in the next election given that it is largely still amorphous and lacking in the ingredients of political mobilization?

I am very confident because I am aware of what is going on. At the moment, across the nation, a lot of mobilization is going on. But what is going on is not centered on the elite few. We are mobilizing the youth, the professionals, the people at the grassroots whose future is involved, is at stake. These are the people we are focusing on. The women, the rural folk. We believe that when we mobilize these people and they rise up to the challenge, and particularly when we succeed in raising their level of consciousness for them to know that their future is at stake, they will rise up to defend that future and ensure that nothing impairs their individual and collective goals. It is going to be a positive development. I am also confident because when I see various groups collapsing into SDP, I am encouraged. We also have many people in PDP and APC coming in because, they too cannot take what is going on in those parties. The values have crashed and people are just leaving in droves for alternative platforms that can match their dreams and aspirations. People are now self-seeking and self-serving. They see SDP as a worthy alternative where they can actualize their potentials and at the same time contribute in building an ideal society and nation. I am also confident because we have at the core leadership, people with unstinted character and who are determined to change things without compromising. When you have such people at the helm, it gives hope. It is very encouraging because we have a template and we can use that to the irreducible minimum. As social democrats, we center everything around the citizen and will not allow things that are convenient to individuals but are harmful to the nation.

Talking about electoral values, there are growing fears that the country may not harvest free, fair and credible polls in 2019 going by the signals from the ruling party, and INEC. How do you see this picture in the context of the vision of your party?

I am not worried about that. I do not expect that APC with its current perspectives on governance and government of the people and orientation to do the right thing. Self preservation appears to be their goal. But I believe that the people will be conscientized enough and reoriented in the sense that those in INEC and other organizations charged with election management will not be able to get away with whatever they are planning.

They will be able to resist whatever that is not in the constitution and the electoral laws and defend democracy. If they want to ground this country, or bring the country to an end, let them continue. If they want to wreck and destroy our nation, let them continue with their plans. It is important for them to appreciate the fact that where their patriotism lies is in their commitment to the goals of the nation, it’s future and the future of the coming generation. They should serve the nation and not individuals. Their own patriotism is defined and definable in terms of their own commitment to the nation, the constitution and not to a particular leadership.

When will SDP begin the process of building structures, having congresses to elect their officers?

Consultations are going on. We believe that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Structures are being put in place nationwide. We do not believe in imposition. We allow the leadership to evolve from the grassroots. That is why it seems to some people that it is taking longer than it should. We are not anointing particular leaderships. Those the people want to be their leaders are the ones that will lead and unless where there are discordant voices we will set up a reconciliation committee to look into them to ensure that justice and fairness prevail and that they are practiced at every level. Most importantly, the popular choice must prevail. We have been doing that. We are building the party gradually and opening up to others to join. We are working hard to make sure that there is still room for leadership positions for those who are coming at all levels. There is window of opportunity for those who are coming and when they come we will treat them as equals.

PDP, APC have zoned the presidential slots to the North. Where is that of SDP zoned to?

The presidential candidate of the SDP will come from the northern zone. You know we have three zones in the North. All the three are qualified but, of course, wisdom, common sense and political calculation will have roles to play.

Would it not have been better that since PDP and APC have their slots in the North, that the SDP should zone theirs to the South to take their bloc votes and battle in the North with the others?

We are not copying the others. We have done our own calculations and based on our calculations we are not in it for the fun of it. We believe that our presidential candidate must come from the North.

But the North has dominated power since 1960. Why all the predilection to the North today?

We had so many things factored into it before we decided to go to the North. By the time our candidate emerges, you will give credit to us and you will say that this is the right person to win the presidential election.

Who do you have in mind?

We are thinking of a patriotic Nigerian, a popular Nigerian, a Nigerian that is committed to the welfare of the people. That Nigerian will protect the security and lives of Nigerians, he will not give preference to religious and ethnic issues, he will be able to galvanize the nation towards development and ensure that the fundamental objectives and principles of the constitution are met. Above all, we are social democrats and we must put premium on social development and will be committed to the people. That Nigerian will bring education to the doorstep of every Nigerian and make it free and compulsory. That Nigerian is one that every Nigerian will be proud of and will not be having sleepless nights about the country. That Nigerian will emerge in a few months from now.

Is that Nigerian an ex- military general or technocrat?

We are not going to impose, but by the time that Nigerian emerges, it will be clear that this is indeed the person Nigerians have been waiting for.

How do you feel about the state of insecurity in Nigeria, especially the endless bloodletting?

I feel very worried about it. I feel that Nigeria should be brought back to the stage where you can travel at any time of the day without being afraid of accident due to bad road, without being afraid of being kidnapped, without being afraid of robbers and all forms of dangers that we now witness on our roads. I believe that what is going on now is creating problem for the survival of this nation because we now see a situation where communities are rising against communities, groups are rising against groups and confidence is being shattered by the day. And this is unacceptable, dangerous, and worrisome, and cannot lead this country in the right direction. The sanctity of the human life is being debased and we must not cheapen it. We talk about development; nobody will come here to invest in this state of uncertainty. When there is no stability, people will not have confidence. We will have confidence by ensuring that lives and property are secured. A government worth its name should rise up and do something fast about it.

Why do you think it is difficult for the government to contain this security challenge?

My reading of the situation is that there is a serious lack of political will. The existing capacity can be improved upon, but the political will to confront the problem is lacking.

As ex-minister of education, what would you consider as regrets in office?

I have a few regrets. If I had stayed in office longer, I would have put an end to strikes in academic institutions. I was very active in ASSU (Academic Staff Union of Universities). I was chairman when I was at University of Ibadan. I was part of the negotiating team with government (Shagari government) and I discovered that one of the things we were asking for that we did not get was university autonomy. That autonomy, I was working towards it under President Obasanjo and he was giving me all the backing that I needed. I would have achieved that goal ultimately if I had not left. After I left, quite a number of things went wrong that I wouldn’t waste time going into them now. But I feel bad that I didn’t have the opportunity to complete that process. I also feel that if I had stayed longer in office I would have been able to achieve the goal of education for all. It may not have been in 2015, but we would have set the pace that will lead to that. I came up with some initiatives while there, and Obasanjo was a leader that was very passionate about education. He gave me all the supports. That was why we were able to have Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme which was launched in September 1999. If we had continued with that momentum, by now education would have become free and compulsory. This country has abundant resources. There is so much wastage here and there. Without education, the country is going nowhere. Finally, while I see the National Open University (NOUN) blooming, we cannot claim to be the initiators. It was begun during the Shagari administration, but it was halted. We resurrected it and we thank God that Obasanjo was keen about it and it took off. Another big regret is that the goals of education would have been cemented. Today, we have people who have university education, but are unemployed or unemployable simply because we did not factor in the essence of that education. In other words, I was brainstorming with some groups to ensure that when people go to the universities the goal must be realized, not just training and giving people certificates to be roaming the streets. The greater percentage of the people would have been graduating and employing themselves and getting engaged in the private sector. These are issues that bother me for which I regret I did not achieve while in office.

What is the place of Obasanjo and Babangida in your party? The other day, you paid a visit to Babangida in Minna and he spoke glowingly about the party. Obasanjo has also been exposing some soft spots for your party.

As for Babangida, he made it clear to Nigerians that SDP is where his heart is. In other words, that he believes in the concept, principles and philosophy behind the party. He also made it clear that he believes in those who are at the leadership of the party as clear-headed enough, patriotic and principled to drive the wheel of the nation. He expects the very best for this country. He made it open that he identifies with the party. We appreciate it and will not let him and Nigerians down. Obasanjo doesn’t want to be partisan, and at the same time he is involved in a movement – coalition that we are also involved in. We believe in him and he believes in us and we trust that since we are trying to correct the ills of the society, he will give us his blessings. Our goals are similar and we are all united in the pursuit of change for the sake of the future and ensure that today does not block the way of tomorrow.

You don’t have political office holders like governors and senators. You don’t have moneybags and structures that can give you money. How are you going to fund the party to confront big parties that were or are in office?

It is not correct that we don’t have a member in the National Assembly. We already have one who moved from PDP. Many more are on their way to SDP in the coming weeks. That is the process that has kick-started. Governors, very soon, by the grace of God we will see them joining. That apart, we are not depending on moneybags because we are not operating a bazaar system of party system. We believe in the people and a cost- effective system that will not put premium on how much money individuals have.  We believe that party members will rise up to take up the challenge of footing election and party running bills. Those running our party are not living the kind of life you see in the other parties. So, to run our party, will not be a burden on anybody. We will continue to send the message to the people that politics is public service. When you don’t spend your earnings or borrow to put into politics, chances are that when you get into office, the tendency to loot to recover the expenses will be minimal. We want to deemphasize the role of money in politics. We believe in the people and the people will be with us.

Sun

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and National Chairman of Social Democratic Party, Mr Olu Falae, speaks with PETER DADA about the state of the nation and the forthcoming general elections

What is the motive behind your recent meetings with some elder statesmen across the country?

The purpose of my recent visits to a number of prominent Nigerians was to hold consultations with them on how to begin to tackle the problems facing our nation, especially the unusual and unprecedented mass killings that are going on. This has never happened in our history. It is something new and frightening. So, the correct thing to do is to talk to those who, like me, had held very high public offices in Nigeria and those who were once in charge of the security of Nigeria. That is my principal motive for the visits.

What have been their responses?

The views of the leaders I have met like (a former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim) Babangida was very explicit in his comment that he totally supports the SDP as an alternative since the two other parties have let us down and that he was glad that people like us are leading the party — people that had worked with him before; people who he knows to be good Nigerians; honest people with integrity and who love the nation. He also said he wished that he was younger, that he would have loved to join the youth vanguard of the SDP in order to work for it and ensure its victory.

Former President (Olusegun) Obasanjo had made his position known even before I went to see him. Indeed, it was because of the position he made known that made me to consult him.  We have in the country at the moment a government that has done poorly; a government that is watching Nigerians being killed every day and is doing nothing about it. We have a government that is watching hundreds of thousands of Nigerians graduating from higher institutions every day without jobs. Unfortunately, the same government is preparing to come back. That is frightening.

For me, I don’t think Nigerians will accept to continue to live under these conditions for another four, five years and that was what took me to former President Obasanjo, who had publicly asked the present President to step aside and join the league of retired leaders. That is the common view we have that when a government is not performing, he (the President) should do himself and Nigerians a favour by removing himself from the seat and allow a new leadership to emerge for the benefit of everybody.

But we learnt that your meeting with Obasanjo did not yield positive results in terms of adopting the SDP for the general elections.

You assess an event on the basis of its objective. What did I go there to achieve? I went there to confirm that both he and me share the same view about the APC (All Progressives Congress) being assisted to leave office. It was a success in the sense that there was a confirmation by both of us that that needs to happen in the interest of the nation and that no single party can do it. Virtually all Nigerians must come together to make that happen because as you must know, it is a very difficult thing to defeat a sitting president in Africa because African leaders, by their nature, never give up. They use everything at their disposal to remain in power, whether fair or foul.

I went there to confirm that we share the same view. It is not something a single party can do; as many parties as possible must come together, build a consensus around a common candidate when the time comes, and democratically effect a change of government when the time comes. That is what I went there for and I got what I went there for.

You said your meeting with Obasanjo was successful but I learnt that he rejected your proposal seeking his coalition’s endorsement to adopt SDP?

I didn’t go there to discuss which party and all of that. Most of what was reported in the media never took place at all. So, the visit was a huge success because it achieved its objectives.

What are the objectives?

We have both agreed that there should be a formidable coalition that will take over power from the APC government.

Some people were insinuating that you perhaps had an interest in running for president and that was why you are holding consultations with top Nigerians. Is this correct?

(Laughs) I think that is the answer to the speculation. You can see that is spontaneous and genuine laughter. No, I have decided that I would not run for any office in Nigeria again.

Do you have anybody in mind for the position?

Not at this stage because, after all, we are just building the party now. It is only in the last two months that people started rushing in and the process is still on. Every day, they are coming in. We must absorb them, make them feel comfortable and consolidate the party. It is then that aspirants begin to show interest. Right now, very few people are showing interest (in the presidential ticket).

Who are those national figures that are already showing interest in joining the party?

How many will I mention to you? Thousands and thousands of people are coming. I know you want me to mention some big names. People, who are senators, who are members of House of Representatives and other Nigerians, who are not holding any political position, many of them have never, in fact, been in politics (because they consider politics as a filthy, bad thing), have continued to join our party.

Recently, I was in Ijebu Igbo (Ogun State) to attend the 10th memorial service of the late Papa (Abraham) Adesanya, and there, a young man was introduced to me by our legal adviser in Lagos, who said he came to politics for the first time because of my name and the chairman of the party in Lagos State told me that there were thousands of them coming into politics for the first time through the SDP. That is what is going on. It is not a question of how many governors or senators are coming. Now that the APC has had its debacle, the next few weeks will be very fruitful for the SDP, just wait and see.

Are you not scared of those coming, based on their antecedents in their previous parties? Don’t you think they may come and destroy your party?

No, they can’t. I am sure you have travelled abroad before. Nigerians, while they are here at the bus stop, are very impatient. They will not queue. But the same Nigerians in London queue. Why? It is because of the environment and a functional system. You have to conform to the system you find yourself. For example, the type of the system we have adopted in selecting our candidate immediately rules out a lot of money politics.

We are expecting more than 60,000 people to vote. How many of them are you going to meet at home to bribe? But if this is a community of 200 people, you grab more than 120 of them, camp them in a hotel like prisoners, give them food and then take them to the polling centre to vote. The system itself regulates, controls and reduces the kind of malpractices we are talking about. That is one.

Secondly, this is a disciplined party. I believe that most of the people joining the party know that the leadership of the party is disciplined and that anybody, who comes to the party, must subject himself to the discipline, no matter how highly-placed. One of the unfortunate developments in Nigerian politics is that leaders have not been chairmen of their parties. (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo was the leader of the Action Group and chairman of the party. Zik (Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe) was the leader of the NCNC and chairman of the group. Sardauna (Sir Ahmadu Bello) was the leader of his own group and chairman.

They were not just leaders. Awolowo was the leader of the Yoruba; Zik was the leader of the Igbo, and Sardauna was the leader of the Hausa/Fulani and then, chairmen of their parties. So, they commanded authority and their people behaved themselves. But since 1999, we’ve been having surrogates, hand-picked by the leaders, to go and be chairmen. The chairmen became ‘boy-boy’ and the members of the party knew that those chairmen were not the ones who had the authority. They disrespected them; they didn’t pay attention to them; they knew they were easy to bribe, bully and disgrace. But in SDP, by the grace of God, the members accept me as their leader and their chairman. This makes a difference.

We are like the parties of old; we are unlike these other parties where surrogates are hand-picked to go and be chairmen of parties. This, plus the system we have adopted, will ensure that anybody who joins us will conform, and anybody who does not, we will shut him out of the party. Once the leadership cannot be bought, things will be alright in the party because that is the weapon Nigerians use –money. They all know that there is no amount of money that can buy me, no currency that can buy me or other leaders of the party like Prof. (Tunde) Adeniran and others. So, they know that that option is out. They would not even try it. They know that if they do primaries and they rig it, we will cancel it. We will be able to cancel it because we didn’t take money from you before the election. These are the reasons why people misbehave. The Nigerians, who staged a riot here, behave well in London.

How is your party preparing for the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun elections?

We are more than ready. We have a lot of credible people. We have had an electoral committee in Ekiti now for the past few days and they will be there until the election is over. We sent them from the national secretariat of our party. They were here (his house) this morning as part of the preparation for the election. Let me say this, by the grace of God, when SDP wins both Ekiti and Osun, the rest of Nigerians will know that a new situation has arisen and that SDP is ready to take over the country, not just Ekiti and Osun.

If the party is obviously preparing for the Ekiti, Osun and general elections, are you preparing against rigging and money for votes?

We are not preparing for rigging of elections. We are preparing to forestall, fight and expose it. As long as our political system is based on rigging and money, we will never have stability. The right people will never win; the right policies will never be possible; poverty and suffering will continue and instability will continue. SDP is bringing in a new system, a new dispensation where merit will be the determinant of success.

Many years ago, when I was seeking presidential nomination, I put out a little pamphlet to guide my agents throughout Nigeria. One critical statement in the booklet reads, ‘Please don’t rig for me. I don’t want to rule by fraud, but please, don’t let anybody rig me out’. I don’t know any other Nigerian politician who has ever said that. It is my genuine belief that anything based on fraud, God cannot sanction it. It will not last, it will not succeed. So, if I can say so for myself, definitely, I will say so for any other person. They should not rig for our candidates but our people must ensure that our candidates are not rigged out.

The way to prevent rigging is for you to organise your party properly which we are doing now. Organise your party down to the unit level. Usually, you have excos of the party at the national level, state level, local government level as well as the ward level. But we have taken ours further by having excos of SDP around every polling unit. So, before polling day, we will know those who are voting in that area because our exco members live around that area. So, it will be very difficult to rig because it is where you are not well represented that you can be rigged out. If you have 30, 40 members of your party in a polling unit, how can they come and start messing around?

What new things are the SDP promising Nigerians?

This is the party that will stop the killings. This is the party that will restructure Nigeria so that states will be far richer to take care of the unemployed. Things shall go back to what we used to have in the days of Chief Awolowo, the Sardauna of Sokoto and others. We are going to get the campaign to that level. The other parties don’t talk about issues like that. Their way is ‘take money and vote for us’.

Elections require money. How are you going to get the funding?

We are going to get money for our mobilisation by God’s grace to a level where most Nigerians will be most unwilling to take money and vote. It has happened before. I could remember in 1979, the wife of the late MKO Abiola, Simbi, ran for senatorial position in Abeokuta and Bashorun Abiola did not distribute only money but vehicles to party leaders. The UPN (Unity Party of Nigeria) candidate won so massively. Simbi Abiola lost the election despite the huge amount of money spent on the election. That happened in Nigeria. If that could happen before, it can happen again. Why did that happen? It was because the UPN then was a very popular party. If you give people money, they will just take your money and vote for the candidate of their choice. So, what has happened before can happen again.

Youths in the country are saying that it is now their turn to rule. Is the SDP considering picking one of them as its presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2019 presidential election?

We shall pick among those who show interest in running for the office. Like I told you, we are just mobilising. Very few people have shown interest so far. I do expect the majority of the aspirants to show their faces a few months from now and when they emerge, we will see who is available and it is the ordinary members of the party who will choose the candidate democratically. Whether young, old, male or female, it is not I that we will choose for Nigerians. If the decision of Nigerians is that a young man should be the president, those Nigerians in our party will be given a chance and respect to show their preference and if they choose one of the youth, that will be our candidate. If their feeling is that the candidate should be a woman, she will be our candidate. It is not for me or any other leader to say it must be a young man, no. That is why we adopted the direct primary method; it is the most democratic.

Is the SDP picking its presidential candidate from the northern part of the country like some other parties?

Yes, we are picking our candidate from the North – it may be from the North-East, North-West or North-Central.

How will the SDP tackle the issue of corruption, bad economy and non-payment of workers’ salaries if it gets into power in 2019?

Our major problem is corruption and once it is tackled, other things will fall in line. The system we are going to run will discourage corruption. Any public officer, who is found to be corrupt, will be dealt with according to the law. I am sure you know that I spent my entire life in the public service. I have said it several times that I have never stolen one kobo that belonged to the government throughout my career and I cannot connive with anybody to steal government money because the money belongs to all of us.

What brings corruption? Firstly, it is over-concentration of resources in one place. When this is done, ministries that have no legitimate business in certain areas would have huge sums voted into it.

The current administration still has a year to go but the killings have not ceased in some parts of the country. What do you think should be done to stop these killings?

I think, first of all, Nigerians should one day move to the streets, demonstrate and say the killings must stop. I am sure the people who are killing others are not spirits, they are herdsmen. The ones that kidnapped me and inflicted cuts on my body are there in the bush. Government can deploy the army and the police to round them (killer herdsmen) up and treat them as terrorists. It can be done and it should be done. I think all the associations, groups and unions can organise a protest against killings.

Do you also agree that the President has not shown a serious concern about the matter?

He (Buhari) has not made any statement on the national television on the matter; he is not concerned. That is why we should take him out. This is why Nigerians should throw him out of office. We can’t continue to watch him and things go on like this. After all, he is the grand patron of the Miyetti Allah, the society of the herdsmen. He is conniving with them in what they are alleged to be doing. He has not made any order to arrest the killer herdsmen. That is why Nigerians should demonstrate, to bring it to his attention that they are unhappy with him.

Punch 

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken delivery of four million printed Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), it was learnt.

The PVCs according to Chairman of INEC, Mr Mahmood Yakubu, is for 2017 registered voters.

Yakubu who made the disclosure on Thursday at INEC Campus Outreach on “Youth Votes Count’’ at University of Abuja said that the PVCs would be delivered to states over the weekend for onward distribution.

He said: “For those who registered in 2017 between April and December 2017, all the cards of four million have been printed and will be delivered to the state this weekend.

“`So, by next week all those who registered in 2017 will begin to collect their cards.

“For those who registered in first quarter of 2018 and those will continue to register before elections in 2019, I assure you that your cards will be available ahead of general elections.’’

He also assured that PVCs for newly registered voters in Ekiti and Osun states would also be ready before the states governorship elections.

Speaking on the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), INEC boss said the commission had registered about 8 million new voters.

“So far, we have registered in 2017 about 4 million Nigerian; in the first quarter of 2018 we registered about 2.9 million and in the four week of the second quarter, as at yesterday (Wednesday), we registered about 1.1million more.

“At the end of the exercise we expect about 11 million Nigerians will be registered.’’

Yakubu, who announced the creation of a registration centre on the campus, advised students and residents of Gwagwalada close to the campus to make use of the opportunity to register.

He also advised them to endeavour to collect their PVCs and participate in voting during elections, pledging that their votes would count.

“When you collect your PVCs, please on Feb. 16 and March 2, 2019, make sure you go out and vote.

“Let me give you an undertaking that in 2019 your votes will count. In 2019 only the votes cast by Nigerians will determine who wins election,’’

Yakubu said that the commission was working to carry everybody along, including People Living with Disability in its preparation for 2019 general election including the provision of magnified glasses which was demonstrated in Anambra governorship election.

Vice-Chancellor UNIABUJA, Mr Michael Adikwu in his goodwill message commended INEC for starting with the university in its sensitisation of Nigerian students in the electoral processes.

Adikwu represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Mr Edward Nwana, said that the INEC outreach to the university underscore the important of youths in the future of Nigeria.

“INEC has scored a very important goal by getting on board the future of our country that’s the youth to participate properly in a nonviolent manner in the electoral process

“What is happening today gives youth a lot of hope for the country that we will have elections that will be credible and defensible in every part of the world

“I do hope that after today’s session there will be no doubt about that we will all play our roles in ensuring that our electoral processes are credible.’’

President of UNIABUJA Student Union Government, stressed the need to carry youth along in the electoral process.

“It is a great thing for INEC to deem it fit to start the pioneer program with UNIABUJA.

“You cannot take away youths from politics. Youths in politics, leadership and governance is something that must be taken with utmost value if Nigeria must reach the great future

“This step by INEC meant that it believed in the youths not only as leaders of tomorrow but of today and we will lead ourselves into tomorrow.

“Youths represent a great percentage in the nation but if we can only write on paper without practising it to ensure that the youths get ready for the future ahead by demanding and participating in who leads them then it is a waste.’’

INEC ambassadors; Innocent 2baba Idibia, Helen Paul, Cobhams Asuquo, a Multi-award wining musician/producer with visual challenge, as well as Yakubu and Obasanjo feature at the panel session.

The Nation 

Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the Senate, Mr Shehu Sani, says there is a need for the emergence of a new political party, peopled mainly by intellectuals, the working class and youths, which will take Nigeria to the Promised Land.

This, according to him, had become the only option for the country because none of the existing major political parties in the country could do the job.

Sani, who is a member of ruling All Progressives Congress, said the integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari, around which the APC built its government, was not enough to govern a plural country like Nigeria.

According to him, integrity is just a small fraction of what is needed to lead a country like Nigeria, stressing also that “fighting corruption cannot be the only objective or the idea and only focus of a government.”

Sani was one of the guest speakers at a symposium organised on Thursday by Magodo Associates.

The symposium with the theme, “Nigeria: Which way forward?” held at Afe Babalola Auditorium, University of Lagos and had Mr Akin Oyebode, a retired professor, as the chairman.

Others speakers at the event were a chieftain of National Democratic Coalition, Mr Amos Akingba, Lagos-based preacher, Mr Tunde Bakare, represented by Mr. Femi Lawson; Mr Ishola Williams, Secretary of Magodo Associates, Mr Babafemi Badejo, and Mrs Ada Agina-Ude.

Chairman of Magodo Associates, Mr Funso Akere, in his welcome remarks, explained that the symposium was aimed at “heightening the debate about the future of Nigeria.”

He said the speakers, who are people that had experienced the good and the ills of the country, were selected in order to give the young people insight into the country’s past and how to approach the future.

Speaking, Sani said while Buhari demonstrated his integrity by declaring his assets, many of the people in his government could not do the same.

“What we have here is one man whose major asset is integrity but how many within that camp can also beat their chests and say they are as credible as he is?

“We are talking about building a nation and moving it forward, but can just the integrity of the President move the nation to the Promised Land? When we are talking about qualities of leadership, if only integrity and credibility is what you need to be in public office… integrity or credibility is just one of so many things a leader needs, especially in a troubled country like Nigeria; there is a lot of things a leader needs. We need a leader that can give every person the confidence that he is going to be fair and just. We also need a leader who is visionary, who can move the country from where it is to where it should be,” Sani said.

He charged the people in the academia not be afraid of participating in politics, saying it was the only way forward.

He said, “The intellectuals need to move forward; you need not be scared of the political terrain. Most people you see in political offices, outside they say they are representing the people, but they represent an individual, a certain power broker. The existing dominant political parties cannot lead us to the Promised Land; there is a need for a progressive political class to come together, reach out to the academics, the intelligentsia, the working class, come out together with a party that is run on a certain ideology.”

In his contribution, Akingba said the colonialists were to blame for the country’s stunted development, because, according to him, at independence, they handed over the country to the Fulani, who were least interested in development.

“The Fulani were the ones the British gave Nigeria to as an estate. From independence, they rigged the election in favour of the caliphate. They gave it to the one who does not want modernisation or modernity. In fact, when we were going too fast for them, they invented Boko Haram. For as long as all these continue to happen, so long will there be retrogression,” Akingba said.

According to Akingba, the delay by President Buhari to form his cabinet after he was sworn in in 2015 was part of the script to slow Nigeria down.

“They said Buhari was a bit late in forming his cabinet; he’s happy. Why should he rush?” Akingba said, declaring that, “Our incompetence are in charge”.

Williams, on his own part, blamed citizens for electing the wrong set of people to lead them.

“Idiots do not choose wise people to lead them. Something is wrong with followership in Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, America is more corrupt than Nigeria but unlike in Nigeria, there is no impunity in America.

Speaking through Lawson, Bakare faulted Buhari’s stance that what the country should focus on was the process of governance and not to restructure the nation.

Bakare insisted that the country’s political structure was faulty, stressing that a bad structure could not support anything good.

He criticised the discordant tunes being sung by Mr Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on the call for the creation of state police. He noted that while Mr  Osinbajo had declared that Nigeria needed state police, Buhari, this week, said there was no need for it.

Punch 

Social Democratic Party ( SDP) has said if voted into power in the 2019 general elections, that its government would provide better opportunities for Nigerian youths and women.

The party gave the assurance on Friday in a press statement signed and made available to newsmen in Minna, Niger State, by National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Alfa Mohammed, adding that the party will also achieve the eradication of youth unemployment in the country by  setting aside a reasonable percentage of the national budget for the creation of jobs for young men and women and fresh graduates from the country’s institutions of higher learning.

“Our intention is to make youths the pillar upon which a greater and more prosperous Nigeria is built through gainful employment and eradication of all forms of youth restiveness.

“This is why we are calling on Nigerian youths and women to join hands with us to build this party so that together we will record success in all the elections slated for next year,” Mohammed said.

He enjoined Nigerian youths and women to heed the wise counsel of former military president, Mr Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who recently admonished the youth and women to join SDP because it is made up of credible people that can also be trusted.

Tribune 

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Olu Falae, says President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has not performed well, adding that he was expecting him not to seek re-election in 2019.

He said this on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists after he paid a private visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He said the current administration had failed in its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property, arguing that Nigerians were being slaughtered daily and government could not stop the ugly trend.

Though he described Buhari as his friend, he faulted him on his reluctance to embrace restructuring having promised to do so during his campaign at the Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State in 2015.

The former presidential candidate of Alliance for Democracy in the 1999 election advised Buhari to do a critical analysis of his administration and retraced his step from seeking re-election in 2019.

He said, “You know and I know that the present government has not done well. The primary responsibility of government is to protect lives of its citizens. This government is not doing so. People continued to be killed and slaughtered every night and any government that cannot stop that has failed.

“President Buhari is my friend. Once upon a time, you will recall that I raised his hand at the Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan, asking people to vote for him because he said he would restructure Nigeria. So, it is not a personal matter.

“The truth of the matter is that he has not done well and I was hoping that he himself would look at the situation as a very honest and right thinking person and did himself and us a favour by saying that in the light of what had happened and giving the state of affairs, he was not going to contest. That’s what I thought he would do but he didn’t do so.”

Falae, who’s the chairman of Social Democratic Party, while talking about a possible alliance with the Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigeria Movement, said every right thinking Nigerians would support such collaboration in order to achieve a progressive change in the country.

He said, “I am sure that most, if not all right thinking Nigerians, would see the need for all of us to work together to ensure that there is a good, beneficial, peaceful and progressive change in Nigeria.

“We want a change from massive unemployment which we have now; a change from continuous harassment and killings by Fulani herdsmen; and a change from the fear and threat of Boko Haram.

“We want a change from a situation where farmers are afraid to go to their farms; a change from the riots that are all over the place because of frustration and loss of hope and a change from the present situation of depression and failure to revive the economy of Nigeria.”

He said that most Nigerians were united in wanting a change for the better, and “in doing whatever is possible to ease out President Buhari for his own sake and for the sake of Nigeria.”

Falae, who said he was a Permanent Secretary at the state house while Obasanjo was his boss as a military Head of State, explained that he came to discuss Nigeria’s affairs with the ex-President.

He said, “I am here to visit Papa Olusegun Obasanjo…to exchange views with him to see whether we can make any contribution towards the elimination of the threat that we are now facing.

“What I am taking away from here is a confirmation on the fact that most Nigerians are united in wanting a change for the better and in doing whatever is possible to ease out President Buhari for his own sake and for the sake of Nigeria.”

Punch