By Chidi Obineche
A leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former deputy chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George has urged Nigerians to be patient with President Muhammadu Buhari as he grapples with the myriads of problems confronting the country.
George, who said he has refrained from joining issues with him because, “it is just a year and personally, I don’t believe this is the time to start kicking them”, described Nigerians as “ very impatient.”
He identified the congregation of different groups in the party which has defied proper fusion as the major cause of the many problems afflicting the government which has slowed down progress. Describing the President’s All Progressives Congress (APC) as a “congregation of strange bed fellows”, he averred that the instability in the party has frustrated the expectations and hopes of Nigerians on the government, adding that, “if you don’t have a solid political foundation, forget about any economic growth.”
George further advised the APC not to make the mistake of the PDP by allowing these crises and divisions, which he blamed for the latter’s ouster from government in the 2015 presidential elections.
“For me, it is still too early. Understandably, they came from different groups that make up the party. They are still struggling…politics and political activities are the foundation for economic growth.
“If you don’t have a solid political foundation, forget about any economic growth. It is sine qua non. There is CPC, ACN, APGA, nPDP. It is a congregation of strange bedfellows. It will take time for them to melt together.
“We don’t want to go into that crises and divisions, because we know what happened to our party that we got a bloody nose. Thank God it was not a technical knockout”
On the crises rocking the PDP ahead of its National Convention in May, George blamed it on individuals and groups who have put their ambitions before other considerations including the party’s constitution.
He advised the party to stick to the report of the Ike Ekweremadu’s committee report which had been adopted by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
According to him, the committee zoned the presidential slot for the 2019 elections to the north, the vice president to the south, the Senate president to the North, the Speaker of the House to the south, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the North, and the National Chairman to the south.
He vowed to challenge any alteration of this arrangement which he said was devised in the interest of equity, fairness and the corporate existence of the nation, with every legal means at his disposal.
He expressed pessimism over the capacity of the party to confront the APC if these developments were allowed to fester.
“A divided house is a defeated house; a disgruntled army is a sine qua non for defeat. This is what we will watch; you cannot arrogate to yourself as an individual that you own this party. There must be a lot of discussions. We should settle a lot of things that are burning,” he lamented.
George also spoke on his relationship with former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his role in the present government. He admonished him saying: “Whatever you sow, you will reap”. And “do unto others what you wish to be done unto you.”
Recounting the brushes he had with Obasanjo which many people believed caused the travails that took him to prison some years ago, George declared his innocence for the umpteenth time, adding that he knew it was a political witch hunt.
“He did not create me, and I did not sin. If he had at the back of his mind that Bode sinned, that was his perception.
“He took me before the court, the convoluted conspiracy was unraveled by the superior court of the land, which said that we shouldn’t have gone on trial at all,” he affirmed.
George spoke on other topical national issues including the clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers, Governor Ayo Fayose, Northern Elders Forum, among others.
- Read full text of the interview in the Sunday Sun edition of May 1, 2016.