Honourable Titus Alams is a stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, he speaks on the succession puzzle in the state and other related issues.
Since 1999, no governor who served out their eight years in Plateau State has been able to install a successor. What is responsible for this?
There is much awareness in politics today. This is an era of accountability where you cannot just do whatever you like. People are watching and are ready to ask you basic questions at appropriate times. In the last government, I was the speaker of the state House of Assembly during Senator Jonah Jang administration as governor. We often commend ourselves because of the level of performance and we thought we were going to come back after eight years because of the performance on the ground. Sometimes, you have to go by what the people at the grass roots are telling you. Our inability to research to know what the people wanted and where they belonged caused a setback. You have to carry the people along and listen to them, once you can do this, the issue of succession would not be a problem. It is true that since the inception of this dispensation no incumbent has been able to bring a successor, but I want to say that we have not been able to do our research properly and listen to the people for direction or come up with what the people want.
Do you think the present administration can break the jinx?
It is left to those in government to know how to go about it. But if it is a performance that people will use as a parameter, the last administration did very well in the area of providing dividends of democracy to the people of Plateau State. Experience is the best teacher. If this administration can ask itself some fundamental questions and work on the answers, something different can happen. But you know very well that the PDP on the Plateau is also on their neck. The PDP feels it has been out of government for almost eight years and is making efforts to return to power in the state in 2023. I am sure the incumbent is not sleeping to bring a successor. It is not about what you have on the ground in most cases, but how well you make your research and come up with somebody that will be acceptable to the people.
It also depends on the state of the party, PDP is doing well in terms of crisis management than any other political party on the Plateau and that may be a problem for the party in government in the state. It may not be able to come up with somebody to succeed the incumbent. No party will be without hiccups, especially in an election period like this. But PDP is working seriously to overcome it. We are better than how we started last year. The absence of PDP in power for almost eight years will ginger the party to work as a team. Plateau people also want PDP back in government in 2023. I am sure even if we have lapses, they have forgiven us so that we can come on the board again.
Lack of succession is attributed to what some people called underdevelopment of Plateau State. Do you subscribe to this?
PDP performed well while in power, but was unable to put a successor which can be attributed to a lack of adequate planning and calculation. Sometimes you discovered that even if you do it well, you still have your itches. But as far as I am concerned, we did well even though we are out of office. If somebody had done so much and people said we need a word to give you, it is better to comply. Sometimes, performance is not the only parameter but doing what the people want.
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