From Gyang Bere, Jos
A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former member of the House of Representatives, Bitrus Kaze has urged President Muhammad Buhari, to shelve any ambition to contest the 2019 presidential election because he would be defeated just like Jonathan was defeated in 2015.
Kaze, who is a founding member of PDP, blast Buhari for approving $1 billion to fight Boko Haram that his administration claimed to have defeated technically. He spoke on these and other issues,
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ended their National convention amidst controversy; do you see the party having any prospect ahead of 2019?
The convention came and it is over, there was contest between Prince Uche Secondus and what people think is Prof. Tunde Adeniran. It has come and gone with the victor clearly declared with overwhelming votes. A lot has been said about the convention but I think it was successful.
The prospects of PDP ahead of 2019 General elections may not exactly reflect what happen at the convention because it was an intra-party election, there are lots of accusations and counter accusations about how the winners emerged and that happens in primary elections and party congresses in the country. But when it comes to General elections, it is not easy. I know that the PDP will contest all positions in 2019. At the presidential level I know if PDP put their heads together and allow a popular candidate to emerge as opposed to candidate of the leaders and those who control the wherewithal, it will help the PDP much more than we have seen.
We are all aware that some of the aspirants for the chairmanship position from South west pulled out due to politics of money bags will you adjudged the congress free, fair and credible?
On that count, I am not sure I can say it was thoroughly successful, I say so with a heavy heart because this is the second time the south west is losing. When we were in the House, the PDP decided in its wisdom that the Speakership of the House be zoned to the south west, we worked for Mulikat Akande and somehow, we are not sure we had the total support of PDP at the time and we lost the Speakership to North West.
In Port Harcourt, it was clearly defined that the chairmanship will be in South West and the powers that be and those who control the wherewithal thought it should be Lagos State 2015 Governorship candidate, Jimi Abaje at that time. But at the recent national convention, somehow South West lost out and I am not sure how that will help to promote PDP in the zone. Like Governor Nyesom Wike rightly said, even with the President, the PDP wasn’t doing excellently in South West and so now that the party is not in power, if the zone gets the chairmanship will the situation be any different? That is not a comfortable scenario but I do not believe that will help the PDP as it ought to, we need every section, PDP is a national party and we need every section of this country to rally all the votes against the seating government.
Governor Wike may have said that the South West has never produce votes for PDP, but from those who emerged during the convention, some have never produced councillors for PDP in their place too. I think we need to work hard as a party, especially with what happened to South West, it is clear that they are aggrieved but I am happy they are working towards reconciliation.
The PDP appears to be focusing towards regaining power at the centre in 2019, and President Muhammadu Buhari has been endorsed by some sections of the country to continue, don’t you think that, that is a major hurdle for the PDP?
That was what they said about Goodluck, that with Goodluck in power controlling the military, Police and other security agencies, how could anybody defeat him? But it happened. If Buhari defeated an incumbent President, what tells him that he cannot be defeated? He is a human being just like any other contestant, he can be and I am sure he will be defeated in 2019. Nigerians are dissatisfied with the change that they were promised, nobody is seeing that change and if there is any, it is change for the worst. This government has told us repeatedly that technically, they have defeated Boko Haram but they have just approved a withdrawal of $1billion to fight a defeated enemy. We were told that children and the aged will have free meals, that every graduate will have some social welfare. All the promises in the world, water, energy, and infrastructures, but nothing are on ground. They have collected lots of billions of naira of looted funds which are being re-looted; they have not been able to put it to use anywhere. The recent revelations by the Maina has revealed a lot and we are not even sure that the report that has been given against the head of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, during his clearance that was denied twice by the Senate have been dealt with.
There are a lot of accusations against key members of this government, including the Chief of Army Staff. Therefore, Buhari can be defeated because he does not live what he preaches. You could see that Buhari’s cows are well fed more than some humans in this country.
Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar defected to PDP to seek for presidential ticket against Buhari; do you think if the ticket is given to him, he can match President Buhari?
Honestly speaking, there are few politicians in this country that have the experience that Atiku Abubakar has, no matter how much you hate him. The truth is that the man has gone through the process, all through he is a thorough bred politician and I believe that one of the people that can square up with General Buhari is Atiku Abubakar. He understands the man’s strength and weaknesses, he has passed through the terrain, Personally, I feel that if the PDP gives Atiku the ticket to run for the presidency, Buhari will know that his time is up. Because it is the same Atiku that participated in making APC and Buhari, he would understand better, I don’t want the PDP to make the mistake of the national convention.
But it was the same Atiku that participated in the same APC primaries with Buhari in 2014 and lost?
Yes, there is no doubt about that. How many times did Buhari contested? Buhari contested and cried, I am sorry to say crocodile tears and even said he will never contest for the presidency again. But today he is the president of Nigeria, meaning that Atiku Abubakar contested and failed before, fortunately he never like Buhari said that he will never contest again. So, if Atiku contested and lost in the past does not mean that he will not contest and win in the future.
Are you saying if Atiku did not emerge as PDP candidate, PDP should forget it in 2019?
Certainly that is not what I am saying, if there is a fair play, if there is a level playing ground and all the contestants are satisfied that they lost fairly, and Atiku Abubakar believed that they lost fairly and working together with whoever won, PDP can win the election, that is why it is fundamental to give the people what they want. The era has gone when leaders must impose their will because they control the wherewithal. But if we continue to perpetuate that character, which led to our defeat in the first place in 2015, the Ike Ekweremadu report is there, I am not just talking sentiment here, we will be digging our grave again. So it is either PDP sits up to provide a level playing ground or we continue to suffer. I am not saying if it is not Atiku, there is nobody, I am not saying that. I am only recognising the fact that if Atiku gets the ticket, it makes it easier for the PDP to defeat the APC because this is somebody that knows the in and out of PDP. But my position is that, if he does not get it and there was no fair play in the process, whoever gets the ticket will face some challenges.
Don’t you think the candidature of Atiku will be frustrated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo?
You will never have a candidate that doesn’t have a feud with anybody. I have had it on good authority that Sen. Ahmed Makarfi is not happy with former President Goodluck Jonathan for not picking him as running mate when former President Umaru Yar’Adua died. Therefore, if we give Sen. Makarfi the ticket, what will Jonathan say? If it is Sule Lamido, you will certainly discover that he has an issue with a key political player and therefore he is an enemy to that player, therefore everybody has an opponent, we need to have a way of managing it. Within the PDP level as of today, Baba Obasanjo has said he is no longer a political party player but even at that, I recognised the fact that whether he is a political player or not, he remains a father, he remains a leader and a respected elder in the country, he must never be despised, he must always be respected irrespective of the fact that he agrees or disagrees with us.
Most Nigerians had earlier advised the president not to contest for second term based on his health, are you also looking at things from that perspective?
I am not even talking on the issue of health because anybody can fall sick and many people who are sick have lived long. Buhari need to learnt from what happened in Zimbabwe with Robert Mugabe, when you remain in a system for too long, no matter how good you are, you lose your credibility and respect, Buhari was considered a near saint before he came back into government in 2015, within two, three years of Buhari in power, people now remember how they suffered during his regimental military rule where he forced people to queue for essential goods. It would have been in his health interest and wellbeing to allow a younger person, even if it is in the APC to contest the election, he will still be alive to offer his ideas. Why can he learn from Nelson Mandela, nobody suffered in the country more than him but after sometime he said I am old enough, let another person come but our President is insisting on the contest, I am not worried about his health but his age, I do not really believe that President Buhari should still be holding any political position.