Former Jigawa State governor and presidential aspirant on the platform of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Sule Lamido, in this interview with Senior Deputy Editor, TAIWO AMODU, speaks on party politics in Nigeria, chances of his party in the next general election, clamour for restructuring of the country, among other issues.
YOu are a staunch member of the PDP. Do you still believe that PDP can still win the votes of Nigerians without rebranding itself?
When you talk about branding or rebranding, are you rebranded? It doesn’t matter what I put on me, whether it’s the normal Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba cap\attire. It is the same face of Sule Lamido. So, why must we deceive ourselves by taking leave of certain things and finding a way out to hide our failures? We should be proud of what we are, and admit that we have made mistakes and then see how we correct them. But when you say you are rebranding, you are masking, hiding and deceiving! I don’t believe in that. We must admit that, yes, we made mistakes, but we can do the right thing. That’s all. No matter how you change yourself, or whatever you put on your face, people will still confront you and say, ‘Ah, you are wearing this mask, but I know you. I can identify you.’ It doesn’t matter whether you change from Action Congress, to Alliance for Democracy, to All Peoples Party. (APP) to All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) to All Progressives Congress (APC), it is the same Nigerians. Now, we can all see the consequences! It is sheer fraud; changing nomenclature doesn’t change your character. So, I don’t believe in rebranding. I believe we should be honest with ourselves: What have we done wrong? How do we correct it? That’s simple.
But the perception out there, which is being reinforced by the APC, is that the PDP messed up Nigeria for 16 years and the electorate should treat it like a leper. What is your take on that?
They were part of the mess. You see, every Nigerian was in PDP when the party was in government. In 1999, when we came in, where was the country? It was PDP that ensured Nigeria was stabilised, restored and reconciled even for the current key players to be able to talk in Nigeria and be in those offices. Anybody you see in Nigeria today under APC had something to do with PDP and was part of the restoration and reconciliation we did some 10 years ago. None of them could talk in 1998 under General Sani Abacha’s military regime.
All those you are seeing now in APC were PDP inventions. All of them. They were either PDP governors, PDP speakers and ministers who are now in APC. Is that what you call rebranding? Our own inventions? Now they are talking about failures! They were part of the failures, weren’t they? We should be very honourable and say the right thing, do the right thing, not by changing nomenclature. It is the same face you see.
How hopeful are you of a successful national convention in December?
We have learnt our lessons and I have been saying this: We either do things right in PDP or we will be in deep trouble! It is the only party with the capacity to call Nigerians together, because it isn’t a contraption. It didn’t indulge in any facile rebranding; it is original and we are willing to correct our mistakes. It is natural. You know PDP has become an institution. We are human beings; we cannot claim perfection.
There has been talk about moves by stakeholders in the party to ensure that the like of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo return to the fold. Are you involved in this?
Papa Obasanjo is a pillar in PDP, and like many others who worked hard, made so many sacrifices to get Nigeria properly stabilised from 1999 when we formed the government, you cannot ignore him. So it is important.
Has the former president Olusegun Obasanjo actually responded?
Look, institutions don’t reach out. They are there; they are stable; they become the beacon that people galvanise around. He is there. It is for us to go and meet him and say, ‘we are here, our papa. We are your children; you cannot renounce us. We might have been rude, naughty, but you cannot abandon us because our political DNA is in your own blood. So, he is our papa and wherever he is, his heart is with us.
What is your take on the debate for restructuring of the country?
It is a debate which is seen from different perspectives. What does it mean to you and I and others? So, given the general feelings, what do we mean by that thing called restructuring? When we understand it that we are on the same page, then, we can unite to discuss it. But today, ask them what they mean, they will say it is because I am angry and I want food. Some will tell you it is because I am not employed, I want a job. So, if you are employed and the government is working perfectly well, you will complain less. So, I believe in democracy and we should listen to what people are saying. Let us hear them as leaders. The debate has been very emotional and people are taking it as political debate. It isn’t fair. It should be a real debate on hard issues. Most of the people talking are doing so for political popularity.
But there appears to be a consensus in the entire southern part of the country that there should be devolution of power to the federating units. A group, the Southern Leaders Forum, actually called for a return to the 1960 constitution, where we had regional arrangement with self-autonomy. Do you align yourself with this proposition?
If you look at the constitution of 1960 in the regions, we have had how many constitution reviews now? We have had seven, because of several agitations. Even Jigawa State wants a new constitution, same as Osun, Ogun and others. Why must we be bringing this difficulty? The constitution shouldn’t be a problem. In 2001, was there clamour for this kind of thing
What I am saying in essence is, let us look at the debate honestly and see where we think we have made genuine mistakes, which we believe must be corrected and then make amends. Then, if we must go into regions, let us go into regions. No problem. But the debate on restructuring is something that must be thoroughly understood, beyond emotions, beyond sentiments; because the debate is being diminished.
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