*Pledges to restore internal democracy in ruling party
Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu'azu is a former governor of Bauchi State. He was there for eight years. At the moment, he is Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
In this interview, Mu'azu, an aspirant for the position of National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, bares his mind on his plans for the party, the challenges and the need for internal democracy, among others. Excerpts:
By Henry Umoru
Come March 24, the PDP will elect its new National Working Committee members. Are you still in the race for the National Chairman?
I am in the race.
Why are you in the race?
I am in the race because I think I am eminently qualified as one of the founding members of the PDP and who has stayed in this party for the length of the time the party has been formed. I think I am adequately prepared for the position.
You are qualified and you are eminently prepared. It means you understand the problems in the party?
Yes, to the best of my ability.
Could you identify some of the major problems that you feel, when you come on board, you will address?
Among the various problems we have in the party today is the issue of lack of respect for hierarchy. As a result, the party is suffering from lack of transparent internal democracy as enshrined in our constitution. There is need for us to be more pro-active on the issue of internal democracy.
Besides internal democracy, what is your agenda?
My agenda is to ensure that our party is transformed and improved upon in line with the vision and mission of our founding fathers and indeed the founding fathers of our nation in such a way that our party policies and programmes are done to meet the needs and aspirations of Nigerians.
If you become the National Chairman – and I am sure you will agree with me now that there is no difference between the ruling party and government especially where a party on its own cannot make a statement and tell the government the decision it has taken is not okay and it will not go well with the people – do we expect to see a party that will make a statement that will be able to correct the government?
The issue of correcting government or not correcting government does not arise because the party and the government are one and the same in the sense that both the party and the government, led by our leader, the PDP president are supposed to be working together; they resolve issues and agree to do things that are correct and in the common interest of the common man.
It does not make sense that the president will be making public statements and the party is making another statement publicly.
But if the government agrees to do certain things after all due consultations with the party, the party has no alternative than to back the programme because it is in line with the agreement and in line with the party policy and programmes.
You did mention that you are eminently qualified, you have what it takes and I am sure one of the things you are looking at that may work for you is age. At 51, do you believe in generational change as to who should be the chairman of the party?
I don't want to talk about age as being too important.
However, I believe this decision is for God who gives power, using the people He has mandated the delegates to choose and I have no objection whatsoever to the decision of the delegates.
I am talking specifically about Alhaji Bamanga Tukur?
I know.
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is an elder statesman that I respect.
I have told you and I say it again, I have nothing against age. Nothing at all! Especially when you put in mind the fact that God Almighty decides on whatever he wants to do.
What is your level of consultation?
I want to tell you that, quietly, I have visited quite a number of states and I have seen quite a few stakeholders already and I have also set up teams that have personally written letters to the delegates to the convention. The delegates include all elected members of our government, the president, the vice president, the senate president and senators, the speaker and members of the House of Reps and the leadership, the governors that are PDP and their deputies, all the various local government chairmen that are in our party, PDP and all the chairmen of our party in all the local governments in the country and all the members of houses of the assembly led by the speakers that are PDP. Anybody who has not received his letter is receiving it soon.
There is this notion that PDP is a rigging machine. Apart from that, it imposes candidates. How would you address these challenges when you become chairman?
I don't know where you got all these negative tendencies about my party. My party is not an imposition party and definitely we are not a rigging machine. We are a very law abiding party.
That is why even in the 2011 governorship election, we lost in Imo and Nassarawa and we accepted defeat. We were the incumbent governments; if we are rigging everywhere, why didn't we rig there? So this issue of rigging, I think it is just calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
I assure you that we are much better than that, PDP is the party to beat. We are the most cosmopolitan, the most detribalized, the party that has everybody in it, from all the geo-political zones and therefore we need to understand that the PDP is doing a good job. However, having such a very huge family, being the largest political party, there is no way you have such a big conglomeration of people, of divergent views, people from different religion, from interest groups that will not have some level of acrimony.
This is part of the reasons we are here to make sure that if and when by the grace of God I become the chairman of the party, we will make a definite road map that will reconcile our various warring factions and members of our party at all levels.
Talking about imposition, we are not just looking at when it comes to governorship elections, we are talking about congresses. The ward congresses were just held and there were pockets of complaints. How do you intend to address these issues at the ward, local and state government level?
That is what I said in the first instance, that there is the need for us to implement true and proper democracy based on the constitution of our party, and our party policies and programmes are part of the reasons that have drawn me into this race; I assure you that you will see definite positive changes in that regard.
Discussions are going on as to getting a consensus candidate ahead of the convention. Have you been invited to such meetings; if you were invited, what is your stand?
I am telling you that I am just hearing this from you, for the first time. I am not aware of it, I have not been informed.
And if you are called, will you be ready to step down?
I don't understand about stepping down. Did anybody tell you that he is going to ask anybody to do that?
What if the North East leaders of the party, the governors decide to replay what happened on March 7, 2008, when the likes of Sam Egwu, Anyim Pius Anyim, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, others were asked to step down for Prince Vincent Ogbulafor. If it happens that way, will you comply?
I want to assure you that I am a party man and as a party man, it is not about myself, it is about our collective interests. I know from the beginning of this race and I know from the beginning of time, competitions are the most interesting things, there is always a winner and a loser and God has already ordained who will be the chairman of our party.
And anybody who at the end of the day does not accept God's verdict does not know God. We must agree that you must know and I want people to know that I am a believer in God's power to give power to whom He wishes and if He gives anybody this power, as a party man, I will work with the person and I will give him all that it takes, if he wishes for him to succeed.
PDP members know you as a former governor of Bauchi State. This is an opportunity to tell the world why you feel you should be trusted, what you think you have done that will make the delegates vote you.
It is a very good question, but I will prefer that you get one of the people close to me or the people that know me from my state to say why they think I am qualified to contest. I will not be in the position out of modesty to discuss that bit of myself.
So what will you tell the 4,500 delegates?
I wish to appeal to them to vote for Ahmadu Adamu Muazu as their chairman for true transformation of our party.
Vanguard Nigeria