2015: Opposition parties’ merger dangerous for PDP – Prof Alkali

President Goodluck Jonathan has started his last months in office. This administration has witnessed a spectre of insecurity. What are your thoughts on this?You know that we always have reasons to celebrate. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be in charge of the federal government till 2015. And we have celebrated 100 years of this […]

President Goodluck Jonathan has started his last months in office. This administration has witnessed a spectre of insecurity. What are your thoughts on this?
You know that we always have reasons to celebrate. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be in charge of the federal government till 2015. And we have celebrated 100 years of this country as a nation. I always have positive feeling that we are making progress. I understand that Nigerians want democratic rule. We have always come out as a shining star in the African continent, if not the world, as the largest black nation.
I have always emphasised that building democracy is not very easy. Like I always say, democracy is never a finished product. You can’t go into a supermarket and purchase a beautiful label called democracy. It is a long and tedious process. It is also a goal. Even nations that have had enduring democratic governance are still in the process of perfecting the system. Certainly, democracy is an interaction of forces. It is the interaction of these forces that helps to shape the character of the system. But the fundamental thing is that democracy must have institutions that can stand the test of time. However, after several years of running the system we still want to thank God that there has been a national effort to ensure that the institutions of democracy are put in place, especially the party system. We have the National Assembly, electoral system, the judiciary, the press and civil society organisations. We are trying to do our best. Ultimately, we want to be a better country.
Of course, as you rightly observed, we are now facing new challenges and difficulties. Security has become a serious problem in the country. But I want to say that we must look at this security globally. Today, what has attracted attention is what has been happening in the North-East. It has been very terrible and difficult to comprehend. You will also see that in other parts of the country we have similar problems. We have places where kidnapping has been very prominent. It’s of varied matter. We also have places where we have human merchants, where people kidnap female children, drag them to some places, force them to produce children and sell those children. Often, we assume that those children that are being sold at N50, 000 and above are being purchased by people who are barren or who want to raise children. But I’m not too sure that is the story. Only God knows what happens to such children. I believe it is time for the security agencies to investigate further what they do with thoe children that have been purchased. We also have other issues coming up.
Only few days ago, we heard that some pipelines were blown up. There is general insecurity. If you add this up to what is happening in the North-East, it is not the kind of picture that one will want to paint for the rest of the world to see? There is every reason to worry. However, I want to congratulate the government of Goodluck Jonathan for going this far. But we still have to pray and hope that government would do more to squarely face the challenges that are before us.
    
You said it is difficult to comprehend what is happening in Nigeria. Are you saying that there is no solution to the problems?
 You will notice that I believe in the tradition of the PDP as would be seen when I was the national publicity secretary of the party. We have avoided going to issues that are related to security matter. Security is a very sensitive matter. It is not everybody’s business. There are people who are trained, organised and paid to manage this issue. They should be allowed to do their work. There is no harm if you have information that you can make available to them. They should be willing and ready to do that. But the moment we begin to politicise security matters, the moment we begin raise questions about the credibility of certain institutions, especially the security institution, then we have exposed our country to further dangers. I want to say this with the emphasis that we need to reduce our voices. Nigerians need to reduce their voices. Too many people are saying too many things at the same. Some of the sayings are very unhelpful. I want to call on our leaders, elders, especially the ulama and the clergy to take us as their children and guide us. Once people who are supposed to be pacifists become combatants, how do you expect their followers to behave? We are not saying that the ulama and the clergy are trying to become combatants; we are saying that whatever they say, however small they say it, has a spiral effect. It is important they recognise that. The moment you get into a very difficult situation, everybody will have to come together. Of course, creating division within the services will never be the solution to our problem. Every history has its own problem. It should be allowed to solve its problem. I think that anybody who begins to sow seeds of discord in the services is going to cause more damage to our country and our future. That is my own concern.

Are you worried that your successor at the PDP is accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) of benefitting from the crisis?
I have worked with Olisa Metuh for a long time. He is a well groomed politician. He knows what he is doing. He does it his own way, going by the information at my disposal. I believe that he and his colleagues may be informed by the circumstances at the moment. I have a feeling that we need to put our heads together so that we will reduce the areas of tension. We need to look at the fact that in a situation like this, there is need for bi-partisanship. Members of the opposition will have to know that there is a way we can handle this issue. It’s not everything that is supposed to be in the paper. It’s not everything that is supposed to be on television. If we want to support this government to overcome these challenges, then everything should not be in the market place. This is not the way our traditional African setting is. There are so many channels where people can communicate information and give dispassionate advice. If everything is politicised, then it will be too bad.
It is unfortunate that the opposition keeps abusing the president and his party for failing in so many respects. But when you are dealing with a sensitive matter like this, you will find out that everybody has a role to play. Everybody has a share. I think people should move away from blame game now. People should accept responsibilities. As far as national security and future of this country are concerned, you don’t have to bring selfish interests. It should be Nigeria first.

There is this argument at the confab on revenue sharing. Some say those who produce oil should take 50 per cent. Some are saying everybody should control their own resources. You are a PDP chieftain; what are your thoughts on issues of this nature?
You should know historically that politics is about resource management and control. Harold Dwight Lasswell (February 13, 1902 – December 18, 1978), who was a leading American political scientist, says politics is who gets what, when, and how. I think that all these debates would help solve the problems if they are informed by rationality. But it appears that people easily forget the past. They don’t want to know what is happening now. And they are not interested in planning for the future.
 Possibly, oil is the greatest benefit that can come to any country today; but there are people who use oil to get out of oil. There are countries that are able to use oil to expand production at various sectors of the economy: agriculture, industry, mining, tourism at every level. So by the time you diversify the economy by using the oil, you have the resources that can be utilised by every citizen of the country. Even today, we know that oil contributes mainly to the export earnings of the country. It’s not in terms of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the economy or in terms of providing employment for the generality of people of this country. It does not provide massive employment. It does not provide the totality of what runs the economy in terms of foods and raw materials for local industries. It has become more fashionable because you can sell oil and get money today. People have forgotten that there was a time when there was no oil. We are marooned here because we have also forgotten that in our own very eyes, countries that are not producing oil are now producing oil. They are all surrounded by this country. Cameroon was not producing oil about three years ago. Now, they are producing oil. Niger, Ghana, Chad and other neighbouring countries are now producing oil. If you think that you are a beneficiary of something today, it may not continue to last.
This country should have moved beyond oil by now. We should have used the resources of this oil to address the issue of education because it is the root of all these problems. We should have also used the oil to address the problems of the agricultural sector. How can you expect, for example, a country like Nigeria, which is an agricultural economy not to have one, two, three or four fertiliser plants of international standard? You will need fertilisers. What of agricultural chemicals? What of agricultural equipment like tractors? How many of these things are we producing to serve the economy and distribute to the West African sub-region?
If you talk about textiles, you should know that every day, human beings must go out wearing something. We have the land to produce cotton. We have the people who can produce the cotton. We even have people who have been working in textile business for many years. They know the work. But they are very rare. In our own very eyes, the textile industry has collapsed in this country.
What I am saying is that with the oil resources we are getting, we should have been able to develop palm produce, cocoa produce, and even the cotton produce. With this, we will be able to run the system. Gradually, oil will become secondary rather than the primary source. We will also move away from being exporters of raw materials. How is it possible that you are an oil producer and you continue to import oil for domestic use? For what purpose is that? It exposes us to all kinds of machination and manipulation by foreign interests.
The assumption that everybody loves you is not true in international politics. People clap for you because they know they are going to benefit from you. Otherwise, you are nobody. Therefore, it is up to us to know that there is a time we will need food security. There is a time when we will need our own energy security. We continue to rely on outsiders for importation of fuel. That is why we have people talking about oil subsidy and people lining up on the high ocean doing nothing but collecting money from government. We open ourselves to all these kinds of things.
I want to see that oil is not a major factor in export in the next 10 to 15 years. If we don’t it, whatever we say, whether it is vision 20:20 20 or 20 30, as long as oil remains the major source of earning, then we will be moving in cycles. We must go beyond that. It is not good for Nigeria to remain an oil-producing country. There is the need to invest in other sectors of the economy.
Again, issues associated with oil, such as industrial hazard and environmental pollution should be addressed. It should also be understood that as long as we remain one indivisible country, people will continue to move from one state to another and use resources and facilities there. Is it not to our advantage? Does it mean that it’s only when you stay in your state that you can get the best of things? Is Abuja not for anybody today? Is Lagos not for everybody? All the major cities like Kaduna, Kano and others, are they not for everybody? These are cosmopolitan cities. If, for example, some of the monies that come from other sectors of the economy like agriculture and mining are used to develop states.
I also want to say that this is the time to address this matter once and for all. I think there must be balancing as well as give-and-take so that we can move ahead and put Nigeria first. But the reality is that oil is in fact an endangered economic product because industrial countries are looking for ways and means of reducing its impact. We feel oil is very important because we are holding on to traditional values. But I know that even in Nigeria where oil is being prospected, one day, when the oil comes in, the same argument will start. But I want to say that anybody who calls another person a parasite is inviting trouble for himself. As a Nigerian, you cannot be a parasite.

The 2015 general elections are fast approaching. No doubt, APC will try to pose a threat to the dominance of the PDP. What do you think are the chances of the PDP?
I am convinced that the PDP has done very well despite challenges. But I will say that we have lost too much. There is a reason for us to be worried. But that does not mean that we are losing our focus or direction. No. The fact that there are clearly defined challenges means that we have to stand up. I said it sometime ago, that when we were dealing with about three opposition political parties in the run-up to 2011; the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) with vociferous publicity officers attacking the PDP, it was not a dinner party. It was very rough. But we were able to put our house in order and fought them squarely. We were able to achieve that feat in 2011. But now, unfortunately for us, the three political parties have come together with a wrap from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Some of our best in the PDP are also with them. So what we have are about four political parties in one. If people point at you with a finger and you don’t notice the danger, then if they slap you will not understand the danger. This finger that is being pointed at us is a danger to us. But it is not a danger that PDP cannot overcome. The issue is that we have people who are capable of handling this issue. I must say that the coming of Alhaji Ahmadu Mu’azu as chairman has made a lot of difference. He is a man that I have known for a long time. He is a man that has made a lot of achievements in his life. He is a core politician. He was a governor in Bauchi State for eight solid years, where he made a lot of difference. He is also a man with wide connection around the country. I believe that since he came as chairman in January this year, things have started stabilising.
I mentioned in my earlier interview that it would take him not less than six months to stabilise the party. So, it is taking time. But he is making progress. Once we stabilise, we will now begin to also do recovery effort. By the time we approach congresses and primaries, PDP should be much stronger. The party must go back to its root and look for its own people right now. If you do that, they are the people who will be your party’s machine. It is not proper to abandon them. I know that Ahmadu Mu’azu has no reason to fail. And he will not fail. We are supporting him. I believe he will make the difference.  However, the challenge ahead is very huge.

The APC has become a threat to the PDP in Gombe State, winning massive followers. What are your hopes and fears about Gombe in 2015?
First of all, you know the history of Gombe politics. In 1999 when the military handed over power, it was the ANPP that formed the government. After the first four years the people rose against the ANPP and insisted that they needed a change. The PDP emerged after defeating the ANPP and formed a government under the former governor, Muhammad Danjuma Goje, who is now a senator. Since 2003, the PDP has been in charge. Our hope and thought was that people would remain united so that the PDP legacy would continue in the state. But what we have seen in the state is that already, there is deep division. The former governor and quite a number of prominent members of the party have moved to another political party, the APC. The governor is now trying to see what he can do with what remains on the ground. Now, under normal circumstances, I, as a PDP man, have no reason to worry since the party has been there for several years. We have our party on ground. We also have our machinery. But if you have this kind of deep division, then there is reason for us to worry. That is my only concern. From the signal we are receiving from Gombe, a number of major stakeholders in the PDP feel alienated and aggrieved. But for now, they are keeping quiet watching events and giving false impression that all is well. This is my own worry. I pray that something will be done urgently not to allow any further drift. For now, we are at crossroads. We are hopeful that along the line, things will be sorted out so that the PDP will not lose the state.

As an experienced politician, are you in touch with the governor so as to advise him on what to do?
 As a party man I am always ready to assist.

The emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe has been renewed. Do you think this is necessary?
We are going back to where we started. Unfortunately, this issue of emergency has been highly politicised. In a crisis situation such as what we have on ground, whatever needs to be done should to be done to restore normalcy. It is only under an atmosphere of normalcy, peace and stability that all other things can happen, including business and politics. We have to get to the root of this problem. Efforts and resources should be put together. It’s better to look at the country holistically. If we concentrate all the energy on one side of the country, then the cover on the other side will also be exposed. Look at the case of herdsmen and farmers. The forest reserve has been taken over. The grazing reserve has been taken over. Even what we call bridge crossing points from one state to another have become difficult for herdsmen. The water is also a very big problem.
Beyond the local herdsmen, we also have the movement of cattle from other countries in West Africa, especially the Udawa. We also have cattle rustlers. These cattle rustlers are completely different people. They come from any tribe. They are thieves. They have discovered that cattle are now the best currency in the market. When they take cattle to the market, people don’t ask whether they are stolen or not. They just buy them. Some of them do not even sell the cattle. They will take them to the forest, cut them to pieces and say that they are bush meat. This is what they are doing.
I am calling on the federal government to urgently set up a Ministry of Animal Husbandry to take care of livestock producers, fishing and forestry management. The Ministry of Agriculture is chiefly about arable farming. They have no time for livestock. It is illegal to restrict the movement of herdsmen.