Saraki: Power Is With The People

What is your reaction to the rumpus going on in PDP between their senators and their governors?

The crisis between the state governors of the Peoples Democratic Party and their senators is an internal affair of their party and it shouldn’t have been allowed to affect the running of the upper chamber of the legislature. I sympathise with my colleagues from the PDP where they find themselves, but some of us had told many of them before now that this was going to happen. Some of us do things that people in this country don’t appreciate until after they have left the scene. I know, and you can go and check the record, personally what I did to prevent this kind of situation in 2011. I was the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum then.

The PDP went for delegates election and by the time they finished the exercise no senator was coming back. The late President Yar’Adua called me to talk to the governors to save the situation. I promptly moved in and summoned an emergency meeting of all the governors. We worked till very late practically begging some. I used my position, relationship and experience to get fine agreement with the governors at that time to see that one senator in each of the PDP states came back. One used one’s relationship with them and the respect they have for one and we got the deal. It was the deal that brought back some senators then. For example, it was the deal that brought back Senator Simon Ajibola from Kwara South. Before that delegates election, Ajibola had gone. He had done two terms and as far as people here were concerned, the thing should go to another part of the district. I now said, How can I be the chairman of governors’ forum who had told all my colleagues to bring back at least a senator that would not be able to do that in my own state. That was why I went to appeal to them in Kwara South to please allow Ajibola to come back based on that agreement. That is how Ajibola came back as a third term senator.

When this now cropped up again in the PDP, we knew that the leadership to implement that kind of deal was non-existent because it is about leadership. You can do the primaries many times, the governors will always get what they want. The only way you can change this is by discussion, appealing to them because the governors control the political structures in their states. But for the selfish interest of President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election he cannot look at the governors and tell them point blank what he wants. What I disagree with is that, because the issue pertains to PDP it is being made very important. I sympathise with their struggle, because in fairness I think it does help a bit. That again re-emphasises that every politics is local. You cannot sit in Abuja and not play your local politics back at home.

What is your reaction to the suggestion that there will not be election in 2015 in states under siege?

Honestly, everything is not about the issue of election. What is important as a government, we must not just accept the fact that we cannot restore law and order in certain parts of the country. As the biggest economy, most populated and big brother of Africa, we want to get used to the fact that some states are under siege and should we just accept this? There must be something wrong. The material and human resources are there.

There must be a something that is dampening the morale of our troops. As Jega said, even in war zones like Afghanistan, elections take place. So he has no any excuse not to hold elections in these states. One of the responsibilities of government is to secure life and property.

How prepared is the APC in Kwara State for the 2015 elections?

We are very well prepared. We are waiting for them to bring their candidates. After that I will be able to tell you more. Let them cross that bridge first but we are ready and going ahead to sell our party and candidates to Kwarans. In this trying time, it is not a time for trial and error. It is a time for tested hands and when the time comes Kwarans will compare and contrast the candidates. Politics is more than just abusing, which is the characteristic of Kwara PDP. For instance, we have ministers now that all they do is just to go on television to haul abuses on us, instead of focusing on the issues. I have not even heard the Minister of Planning talk about the economy or planning. All I hear is Saraki, Saraki and Saraki.

Again, that shows you the type of government we have. In the past, the kind of ministers we had in planning used to talk about planning; how Nigeria will move forward. Rather than making him the Minister of Planning, Jonathan should have made him Minister for Saraki or Minister for Special Duties in charge of Saraki. It shows the way this government thinks about everybody and the country. When you have an opportunity to be minister you must rise to the occasion. Maybe the man has not got the capacity. He should go into a debate on topical issues affecting the economy and not just talking about Saraki. After him Saraki will continue.

The minister should be an embarrassment to the federal government. We are talking about planning the future of the country looking at the infrastructural requirements, looking at the economy but he is pursuing mundane things which have nothing to do with the economy. Is that the type of minister that should come from Kwara State, or any state for that matter? It is shameful.