‘Obasanjo Started PDP Crisis with Third Term Agenda’

Abu King Shuluwa

Interview

In this interview with George Okoh, Abu King Shuluwa, a founding member of Peoples Democratic Party and a stakeholder in the Peoples Democratic Movement, sheds light on some of the hot button issues in the country. Excerpts:

What can you make of the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party?

I am speaking on this issue because I am a founding member of PDP. I was there when it all began as PDM to PDP. I was the one that launched PDP in Benue. I gathered people like Ekwueme, Solomon Lar and they all came here. I was also instrumental to the launching of the party in all the local government areas of the state. So, if I say I do not know anything about PDP today that means I do not want to say anything but I know so much. PDP today is not what we conceived in 1998. When the idea of the party was mooted, it was to bring everybody on board, all Nigerians irrespective of tribe, age or religion.

The policies we intended then were for the benefit of the masses. We wanted PDP to be truly democratic and so we named it Peoples Democratic Party. Unfortunately, today, most of the people in the party are not members of PDP. Founders of the party have been kicked out and it has been hijacked by other people; how this happened I do not

know. The party is being run by few persons like the chairman who was not elected at the convention of 2011 just like every other member of that Working Committee.

However, the rest of the members of the committee were told to resign, and that led to a special convention. It was expected also that the chairman should have resigned. So, you singled out the chairman? That is discrimination! That is very undemocratic! The issue of breakup is sentiment. If there is crisis in PDP, what should bother us is whether the party has the resolution mechanism to solve the problem. We should look at that else the whole party will fall apart. The party can only disintegrate if we do not have the mechanism to resolve those identified issues.

On the day of convention some of the founding members of the party left the venue because they were not satisfied with what happened and formed a parallel party. That they did not go to any other party means they have left a room for the crisis to be resolved. So we cannot say that there is a break in PDP. I agree that there is crisis in the party. If we are unable to solve the problem in PDP and there are over 52 political parties in the country, then other political parties will solve the problem of the country. We should not look at PDP as a government but as a party just like other political parties in Nigeria. If PDP breaks, it does not mean that Nigeria will break. The individuals that form the party can either resolve their problems or move to another party and still the country will remain. The country is bigger than the party.

You are an ardent supporter of Atiku, who is the arrowhead of the new PDP as well as PDM. Are you a member of the new PDP?

The fact that I and Atiku are in the same party, does not mean that wherever he goes, I must also go. But let me say this, you should have asked the question in a different way than associating me with Atiku. If Atiku had called me and said all those who are not satisfied with what is happening should go with me, I would have left because I was not satisfied with what happened; it is high level of discrimination. Imagine the deputy chairman was removed because he is an associate of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State. They should have allowed the people to contest so that we will elect them. That was not done. If you are a democrat, you will not be happy with what is going on.

Would you say this present crisis in the party is targeted at the agitation for Northern presidency in 2015?

When we had the 2011 convention which produced Bamanga Tukur with his team, at that time, nobody went to court until when it was discovered that there were some persons who were not in support of some persons, and the manipulation started. Some persons who came from the South-west were removed and eventually went to INEC to disqualify everybody. How can you run a party like that? So it could be because of 2015.

There are allegations of a plot by the break-away PDP scheming to take advantage of the crisis to join PDM?

Atiku has said that he is still a member of PDP. As far I am concerned, I am a member of PDM. I was the architect also of that name. As a matter of fact, when we met to give a name in 1994, at that time Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'Adua was still alive, we were camped in Kure Hotel in Garki, close to NUJ office; that was our secretariat. We were four- myself, Borishade and one Kabiru, two of them later became ministers except I and one other man from Adamawa. We were the secretariat of PDM and the late private secretary to Obasanjo was our computer operator. So when Abacha came and said we should form association, I came up with the name Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

It was then that the late Shehu Yar'Adua now reminded me that we were told to form an association and not a party. And we had to remove 'party' and replaced it with 'movement'. So we were operating as PDM hoping that when the right time comes, we will just remove the 'M' and replace with 'P'. When Abacha asked us to form association, there was fear. We wanted to join forces with CNC and register as one party. We met in late Saraki's house in Lagos. I and Gemade were there.

But they beat us to it and registered as CNC and left us out but we filed application for the name we wanted but was not registered so PDM died and we found ourselves in different parties, like Democratic Party of Nigeria; Atiku went to UNCP and some went to grassroots and Centre Party respectively- all PDM members were spread in these parties.

When Abdulsalam came and said political parties could be formed, we all came back. We brought back the name we wanted and it became PDP. Anenih who is the chairman, Board of Trustees of PDP is a member of PDM. He wants it to remain as a pressure group so that he can corner it and some people did not want it and quickly registered

it as PDP. So now it is left for individual members of PDM who are in other parties to come back to PDM. So it is good to know the cause of the crisis, before you can talk.
Sir, your party is synonymous with consensus election. How democratic is this?

I am not in the class of those who support consensus. Some of us are against imposition of candidate. We want things done democratically. If there is election and anyone is qualified, he should go to the field.

What does Benue stand to lose if PDP eventually breaks up?

Benue people are much concerned with what is happening at the center. We want the problem solved. We do not want a divided PDP. Whichever side that wins, Benue will be there. The way forward is simply to look at all that is happening- it is tied to 2015 and the manipulation starts now. My fear is that somebody like Obasanjo may hijack one side because he is the cause of the crisis from the beginning.

Starting with his third term agenda and if you look at the majority of the people who are  dissatisfied except Atiku, the secretary of the splinter group, the chairman Abubakar Kawu Barrage, Jigawa State  Governor Lamido, Amaechi and Nyako are all in Obasanjo's camp. My advice is that they should not allow other people to hijack what has been built. The impasse is to correct an anomaly.

Similarly, Tukur, Anenih and Clark should conduct themselves properly. These three people are the ones causing confusion in the PDP. Jonathan is not a bad person but he does not understand what is going on. Benue will lose nothing if PDP breaks up. What has PDP at the center done for Benue? If there is no PDP in Benue State, the people will go to other parties and take over.

The Arewa consultative Forum, ACF has been claiming to speak on behalf of the North, are you satisfied with the activities of the forum?

When one hears Clark comparing the South-south which is just a geo- political zone to the whole North, it is annoying that an Ijaw man who is a minority in the south does not care that there are minorities in the North. I will be a very foolish and stupid man to follow an Ijaw man on this. When an Ijaw man shares the resources of the country, he gives to the Hausa Fulani man; he will never give it to the minority in the North. He does so because he wants the majority to support him. They are coming with religious sentiments.
We have been living together as one. When you hear Clark say we supported the North and so the South should be supported in turn, I laugh. Who are you the South? Kano alone is bigger than the South. When you hear people like Jerry Gana talking about the North and the worst is Ameh Ebute and Onoja who cannot face David Mark talking about the North central and middle belt, since when have they started speaking on behalf of Benue? When it is good for them, they make a lot of noise. I call them sycophants; they may not like that.