VIRTUALLY all the state chapters of the PDP in the South-West are going through one fiorm of crisis or another. What do you think is the problem?
There are no serious problems per se. It is the manner of politics, but I think we need to get our acts together and move forward. We must unite now in the overall interest of the country. Another four years for the present Federal Government won’t be in the interest of Nigerians. Therefore, all of us in the PDP must sink our differences, forget the past so that we can team with other well-meaning Nigerians to rescue the ship of the country. We must do way with all forms of imposition, illegal activities and overbearing attitudes. I have told the national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, that he has talked the talk and that he must walk the talk.
There is no way there won’t be frictions or crisis in the South-West PDP you have mentioned, because of an awkward system that threw up some people to lead. Nonetheless, we need to cooperate for peace and unity to prevail not just in the interest of the party but also for the country. People must forgo their individual personal ambitions, because if the present crop of leaders of the country had done well, we would still have to go back and learn more useful lessons. But, we have since learnt in a bitter way, given what is going on in the country. This is more than an enough bitter experience for Nigerians.
A number of South-West PDP stakeholders did not attend zonal meeting held in Lagos on Wednesday in Lagos, fueling speculations about widening gulf among the leaders…..
No, the meeting went well as far as I am concerned. But I think that it is just too bad for a party that has just lost an election to witness the kind of crisis that attended its national convention when all kinds of characters came out wanting to be the PDP national chairman. Imagine someone, who has no tangible and tangible record of managing any organisation, wanting to manage a big party like the PD!. One of such persons even said he wanted to be the national secretary of the party. There must be discipline and respect.
Against the background of all these observations, what do you think should be the way forward for South-West PDP, as the election year approaches?
There is no problem that is unsurmountable. We just need to follow the rules. Don’t start creating the impression that you constitute a law to yourself. The PDP national leaders have promised that they would remain honest and that whatever is done at all levels would be respected. They have promised that the will of the party members will prevail. We should give them that benefit of doubt. I know that all the crisis in the Osun State PDP, that all infighting is all because of personal ambitions. People must be ready to bury such ambitions, at least for the sake of our nation and indeed, our people. That’s my position and I don’t think the challenges are too overwhelming such that we cannot resolve among ourselves. If I wasn’t going to contest for the office of national chairman, there were some contestants who I should have told to go and sit down somewhere. What do you know about party prganisation and administration? So, the national chairman has pleaded that we should put an end to all forms of infighting and schism. We should forget all that happened in the past; he said there were mistakes in the past. So, let’s take him for his words and move forward as a country. We must not allow history to repeat itself. What God has ordained will always come to pass. It was in that spirit that I said ‘let’s move forward.’ This is the only political party that is national in its outlook; all the other parties are mere contraptions. We need to talk frankly to ourselves; there must be order. In heaven, there is order; even in hell, there would be order. Where there is no order, there will be anarchy. Even in the animal Kingdom, there is order and respect. We must get together and work together, otherwise there nothing somebody like me is still looking for.
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