PDP presidential primary: How delegates were caged by governors -Tanko Yakasai
What is your reaction to the outcome of the PDP Presidential primary which President Goodluck Jonathan won by a landslide. It is a classical manifestation of manipulation of the process. The PDP announced that the delegates will be accredited at the International Conference Centre on Wednesday and all of a sudden it was announced that […]
What is your reaction to the outcome of the PDP Presidential primary which President Goodluck Jonathan won by a landslide.
It is a classical manifestation of manipulation of the process. The PDP announced that the delegates will be accredited at the International Conference Centre on Wednesday and all of a sudden it was announced that the accreditation will now take place at the various offices of the state governments in Abuja which indicated that the process of accreditation was being manipulated. It was not done in accordance with the initial arrangement. I just read in a paper that as a matter of fact in certain states the accreditation was done in the private houses of some governors and that the governors personally took charge of the accreditation instead of the officials appointed to do so. The sum total of this manipulation as we can see is that most of the genuine delegates were suddenly replaced by people handpicked by some of the governors. But it is clearly good to note that in places where governors allow things to take their natural courses delegates decided according to their conscience and did not vote for Jonathan. Only five states allow things to take their natural courses without manipulation and you can therefore safely conclude that out of the 19 northern states plus Abuja if delegates were allow to use their conscience freely, Jonathan wouldn’t have been elected or adopted as the Presidential candidate.
Previously you said that if the PDP fail to elect Atiku as the Presidential flag bearer your group, the northern elders will decide and vote for another candidate in the north. Have you made that decision now.
We have not reached that yet. You may be aware that we are already pursuing a court case. We have filed a writ of mandamus asking the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compel the PDP to continue the zoning system which they adopted in 1999 and continued from 2003 to 2007. Unfortunately I don’t know what happened. The day the court was suppose to listen to our lawyers, a miracle happened. The judge did not appear and we were told that the judge asked the registrar to return the case to the chief judge to reassign to another judge. Usually when the court is in recess, an administrative judge is usually appointed to act on behalf of the chief judge. So the case has been returned to the court 3 of the Federal High Court Abuja. The Chief judge has been away and the case has not been reassigned to any judge. We are waiting for that.
If you lose at the court, what is your next line of action?
You don’t begin to preempt the judgment. We believe that we will win. You don’t begin to think of loosing yet.
Don’t you think that if the court grants your request it is going to create confusion because of INEC deadline for the submission of candidates might have elapsed?
There is still time for the substitution of candidates. We are aware of the INEC deadline. We know that political parties have the chance to replace their candidates either on the basis of disqualification of their candidates or other exigencies. So the question of PDP not fielding a candidate does not arise because there is still time for the party to substitute a candidate should the court direct them to honor the zoning arrangement which court has already decided that it is binding on its organs and binding on its members.
If you look at the pattern of votes announced so far, you will discover that the south-south, south-west and the south east voted overwhelmingly for Jonathan. Some people believed that had the north voted the same pattern for Atiku, things would have been different. What is your take on this?
You see what that tells you is that there was some manipulation. It is not possible that the entire south, the three geopolitical zones will vote for one person. It has never happened in any election. And in most cases not a single vote for Atiku. No sensible person will agree with that. We are not sure of the vote in Katsina but we are told that the pattern in the south was repeated in Katsina. But given the political antecedents of Atiku who has been the political ally of Late General Shehu Musa Yar’adua. A political ally of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua both of whom are from Katsina. It is absolutely impossible that in a primary like this, delegates from Katsina will not vote for Atiku who had been an associate of late Shehu and Umaru Yar’adua. It is unthinkable.
What about Adamawa where he also lost.
That one too is surprising because virtually everybody who is in the PDP today in Adamawa was brought into the party by Atiku. People can betray but it cannot be a wholesale betrayal.
What can you say about governors from the north who made their delegate to vote for Jonathan?
It actually amounted to betrayal because they acted against the wishes of their people. Their people did not vote for them to go and work against their interest. Now this is not the first time people betray the confidence or trust of their people. It happened before. It happened in old Kano. It happened in the old Kaduna where PRP sponsored people to various elections. They got elected and after being elected they turned their back not only on the party but also on their leaders. In the subsequent election those betrayers were rooted out. So don’t be surprised that such traitors will be voted out by their people. I am sure that they will be voted out by their people in the subsequent election.
Going by the outcome of this primary, will you say that those who have been trying to divide the ranks of the north and weaken it politically have succeeded to some extent?
Yes they have succeeded to some extent because they are now able to buy the conscience of some of the leaders in the north. It is clear that if some of these leaders did not sell out, the outcome of the primaries would have been different. Nobody will doubt this fact and nobody will deny it. But treachery has never been a permanent victory. You can betray your family and your friends. But in the long run it is you who will be the net loser. This is what God says. Anybody who betrays trust and confidence the betrayal will turn round and hunt him .The nemesis will catch up with him sooner or later.
What is your call to the northern elders as things have turned out this way?
I will rather direct my call to the people. Let the people of the north remain resolute. We have seen that some of the delegates voted according to their conscience. If others were allowed they could have also voted according to the dictate of their conscience. We are coming to the election. Yes at that time people will try to manipulate the voters but I doubt that people will be able to manipulate the teeming millions of people in the north. At that time they will be able to tell what the consequences of betrayal are. But am sure we will teach them some lessons.
Why do you think that some people are hell bent on discarding this zoning arrangement despite the fact that the south has served out its eight years in power.
You see in this world there are people who value honour and there are people that are dishonorable. You always have such people. Such people are banking on their likes among the northerners. Hausa people have an adage that it is with the connivance of your kinsman that you can be defeated.
They are using our people against us. I am not surprised because people who have soiled their hands can be manipulated. This is what has happened. Leaders who committed various kinds of crime and used political power to enrich themselves and their family can easily be manipulated but not every leader is like that.
The Qur’an says many a times people who are smaller in number will overcome people who are greater in number by the grace of God. I am sure that those leaders who allowed their delegates to vote according to their conscience will in the long run see the result of their action. It is a matter of courage. If you are courageous enough you can stand your ground. When people know that they have betrayed the confidence of their people they will not have the courage to stand firm.
There are reports that former President Olusegun Obasanjo after the primaries said that he is still laughing. Do you share the opinion that he is behind all these attempt to discard zoning?
No doubt about it. If you remember that when late President Umaru Yar’adua was away on medical treatment, Obasanjo was at an event at Yar’adua centre where he called on late Yar’adua to resign. That started what has culminated into what happened on Thursday at the Eagle square. But even those who betray the confidence of their own people knows in their conscience that they are not doing the right thing and they know that they don’t have respect in the eyes of Obasanjo .That is why he said that he is laughing. He is laughing at the people he thought are honest and brave but they are not. But in the long run, he who laughs last laughs the best.