PDP hasn’t met expectations of Nigerians –Bamanga Tukur
•Says party must be reformedFrom TAIWO AMODU, Abuja
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
•Says party must be reformedFrom TAIWO AMODU, Abuja
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
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Chairman African Business Round Table, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, is a chieftain of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP). An aspirant for the position of the chairman of the party, Tukur is worried that the PDP has degenerated into a party of anything goes. He noted that only the institutionalization of party discipline, party supremacy would help to retrieve the party from the abyss it has sunk and endear it to the Nigerian electorate.
Excerpts:
Excerpts:
You have always expressed concern over the state of affairs in your party. Is that why you are in the race for leadership of the party?
I am one of the founders of PDP, I knew the philosophy of PDP, I knew the principle, which should be guiding the working of the party. We should have a level playing field, whereby the members of that big political party will have the freedom to pursue their own aspirations, because party is the aggregate of the wishes of the members. It is a platform; it is on that we convinced people to come and register and be party members. If you don’t know, I am one of the founders, we didn’t form this party, just in that my office thinking what the party should do.
We made a research, we went to villages, to look at government, to states to really sensitize people, because we need to establish democracy. People come to parties, because they believe that if they come together, their voices matter and together they can aspire, together they can get what they believe is their right under that platform.
So, first of all, to put our manifesto, we went around, asking our people what do you usually want, if you want to join a party? Some said, if only they can do the roads to link up the main road, so that when we produce our farm produce, we stop putting them on our heads - we need vehicles to come, but because there are no access roads. Some said, the road to schools is very far and you people said we should send our children to school, but they cannot walk the miles, so we need to bring the schools nearer.
Some would tell you, our wives used to wake up very, very early in order to go and fetch water to drink for breakfast—if only we can get boreholes. Some people in Nigeria, they don’t even understand that this can be a problem. These are the ones, first of all, we sensitize.
Of course, if we go higher, local government, the states, they start telling you, ‘oh, we really want to fix the pipes, we want jobs, we want secondary schools, we need a university’—these are levels. We aggregate that and took note that all centers on the socio-economic well being of the people. There is equally the security of lives and property; they want to be secured, so they need to make sure that they cannot be robbed when they go and sell their wares. These are fundamentals.
So, if you enter covenant with the people and they accept your philosophy and manifesto and they answer you by electing you, they expect you to perform. People wondered when PDP came, look at how we took almost the entire country but what happened? We knew what we told them, we made a covenant. Now, it is the lack of delivery.
First of all, in allowing them to rule through consultations, so that the chairman of the ward, or the local government would remain accountable to them. If you cut the party supremacy, the party that gives you the ticket then you destroy it. Now, I can tell you the reason why I am offering myself back, because already I found out that the house we built is reducing.
I am one of the founders of PDP, I knew the philosophy of PDP, I knew the principle, which should be guiding the working of the party. We should have a level playing field, whereby the members of that big political party will have the freedom to pursue their own aspirations, because party is the aggregate of the wishes of the members. It is a platform; it is on that we convinced people to come and register and be party members. If you don’t know, I am one of the founders, we didn’t form this party, just in that my office thinking what the party should do.
We made a research, we went to villages, to look at government, to states to really sensitize people, because we need to establish democracy. People come to parties, because they believe that if they come together, their voices matter and together they can aspire, together they can get what they believe is their right under that platform.
So, first of all, to put our manifesto, we went around, asking our people what do you usually want, if you want to join a party? Some said, if only they can do the roads to link up the main road, so that when we produce our farm produce, we stop putting them on our heads - we need vehicles to come, but because there are no access roads. Some said, the road to schools is very far and you people said we should send our children to school, but they cannot walk the miles, so we need to bring the schools nearer.
Some would tell you, our wives used to wake up very, very early in order to go and fetch water to drink for breakfast—if only we can get boreholes. Some people in Nigeria, they don’t even understand that this can be a problem. These are the ones, first of all, we sensitize.
Of course, if we go higher, local government, the states, they start telling you, ‘oh, we really want to fix the pipes, we want jobs, we want secondary schools, we need a university’—these are levels. We aggregate that and took note that all centers on the socio-economic well being of the people. There is equally the security of lives and property; they want to be secured, so they need to make sure that they cannot be robbed when they go and sell their wares. These are fundamentals.
So, if you enter covenant with the people and they accept your philosophy and manifesto and they answer you by electing you, they expect you to perform. People wondered when PDP came, look at how we took almost the entire country but what happened? We knew what we told them, we made a covenant. Now, it is the lack of delivery.
First of all, in allowing them to rule through consultations, so that the chairman of the ward, or the local government would remain accountable to them. If you cut the party supremacy, the party that gives you the ticket then you destroy it. Now, I can tell you the reason why I am offering myself back, because already I found out that the house we built is reducing.
Collapsing?
No, it isn’t collapsing. It is reducing, people are leaving, PDP has got a lot of problems. If you don’t identify and accept that there is a problem, then you are… because PDP needs those who founded it to come back. Many of us left and that was the right thing to do, because this party believe you me, is really going bad, but one day it will be the party that will lead our continent to the United States of Africa; that’s my dream, but it may not be Bamanga Tukur, or even my time but believe you me these are the kind of thing you people should continue preaching.
Let people understand that we aren’t only thinking of today, we help to shape tomorrow. We would like to see what our yesterday did which conditions our today to understand how we must move forward.
These are issues, why I felt it is very, necessary for those of us who knew what went wrong and we should be able to come out and say, let us now come back again. We say, it is a party of inclusiveness, why exclude? Party of consensus, why impose? So, party of meritocracy, with a level playing platform, so don’t disturb. The government works on the basis of its own promises - it is a covenant really and the party is so important and that’s why it is a party. Let the people decide, if it is democracy you want, the people decide. When the people decide, you act. If you cannot, then you show reason why. Build the trust; it is the party that must build the trusts between the state actors and the people who are members of that party. It is the party leadership that will make sure that, that trust exists, maintained and it is sustained and nurtured.
No, it isn’t collapsing. It is reducing, people are leaving, PDP has got a lot of problems. If you don’t identify and accept that there is a problem, then you are… because PDP needs those who founded it to come back. Many of us left and that was the right thing to do, because this party believe you me, is really going bad, but one day it will be the party that will lead our continent to the United States of Africa; that’s my dream, but it may not be Bamanga Tukur, or even my time but believe you me these are the kind of thing you people should continue preaching.
Let people understand that we aren’t only thinking of today, we help to shape tomorrow. We would like to see what our yesterday did which conditions our today to understand how we must move forward.
These are issues, why I felt it is very, necessary for those of us who knew what went wrong and we should be able to come out and say, let us now come back again. We say, it is a party of inclusiveness, why exclude? Party of consensus, why impose? So, party of meritocracy, with a level playing platform, so don’t disturb. The government works on the basis of its own promises - it is a covenant really and the party is so important and that’s why it is a party. Let the people decide, if it is democracy you want, the people decide. When the people decide, you act. If you cannot, then you show reason why. Build the trust; it is the party that must build the trusts between the state actors and the people who are members of that party. It is the party leadership that will make sure that, that trust exists, maintained and it is sustained and nurtured.
You have said the house you people built is reducing. Why is it reducing? Is it because PDP has failed the covenant it has with the people?
They have failed to deliver, what they are supposed to deliver! Why do you think somebody today will leave a party he built and go to another party? The people who left and won elections, in certain platform they are members of the PDP. So, if they can leave a party, which they formed and go and enter another party and still win elections, why? Simple. If you ask them, it is because there is lack of consultations , lack of consensus, imposition, rather than elections. If you do that, there will be problem. Any party, any human organization, there will be problem! Anybody who tells you PDP has no problem is deceiving you, but you cannot say, because there is problem you give up. I want to make sure that we don’t fail.
They have failed to deliver, what they are supposed to deliver! Why do you think somebody today will leave a party he built and go to another party? The people who left and won elections, in certain platform they are members of the PDP. So, if they can leave a party, which they formed and go and enter another party and still win elections, why? Simple. If you ask them, it is because there is lack of consultations , lack of consensus, imposition, rather than elections. If you do that, there will be problem. Any party, any human organization, there will be problem! Anybody who tells you PDP has no problem is deceiving you, but you cannot say, because there is problem you give up. I want to make sure that we don’t fail.
Talking about social contract, would you say, PDP, at every level has really observed the party manifesto in the breach?
In all ramifications, everybody knows that. Look at the number of cases in the court, even after elections. Why? So, it means that there are some loopholes, we want to correct. At 76, you think I want to put problems on my head? I am staying back, I must otherwise, history will judge me harshly, sitting down and seeing something so
good, for the interest of our nation just abandoned, because some people refused to stand up. So, if something isn’t going right, stand up and correct it; have the courage to say so.
Having observed these over the years, because we know your pedigree: in government, in business you will agree with me that the past chairmen of PDP, they were always tied to the apron strings of the President – if you look back, virtually all of them left in humiliating circumstances, apart from Dr Ahmadu Ali that finished his tenure. Now, if you look at that scenario, why do you want to fish in troubled waters?
I am talking about party, I am talking about elections, I am not talking about offering myself to Mr. President. Please, I am offering myself to the Nigerian nation, to our party, the PDP, to save our party in dire need of reformation and I am prepared to stand up for it. It isn’t for Mr. President, I don’t need that, when we were forming the party there was no Mr. President. So, I believe, if they decided to take me, then they know me by the philosophy I stand for: the philosophy of party supremacy, for level playing field, for democracy.
We know you as an independent minded person, but past PDP national chairmen, the moment they wanted to assert their authority, they fell out with Mr. President. You will want to assert yourself, but there are so many forces in PDP that wouldn’t allow. Audu Ogbeh wanted to be independent and we knew what happened.
Well, you see, we reach our bridges, before we cross them. As far as I am concerned, I have an open mind, what I want to do, I say so — if they give me, they will see, how I go about it. My track record is very clear in this country – what I have done from my civil service days, my public service days, my business days – it is all there for all to see.
In all ramifications, everybody knows that. Look at the number of cases in the court, even after elections. Why? So, it means that there are some loopholes, we want to correct. At 76, you think I want to put problems on my head? I am staying back, I must otherwise, history will judge me harshly, sitting down and seeing something so
good, for the interest of our nation just abandoned, because some people refused to stand up. So, if something isn’t going right, stand up and correct it; have the courage to say so.
Having observed these over the years, because we know your pedigree: in government, in business you will agree with me that the past chairmen of PDP, they were always tied to the apron strings of the President – if you look back, virtually all of them left in humiliating circumstances, apart from Dr Ahmadu Ali that finished his tenure. Now, if you look at that scenario, why do you want to fish in troubled waters?
I am talking about party, I am talking about elections, I am not talking about offering myself to Mr. President. Please, I am offering myself to the Nigerian nation, to our party, the PDP, to save our party in dire need of reformation and I am prepared to stand up for it. It isn’t for Mr. President, I don’t need that, when we were forming the party there was no Mr. President. So, I believe, if they decided to take me, then they know me by the philosophy I stand for: the philosophy of party supremacy, for level playing field, for democracy.
We know you as an independent minded person, but past PDP national chairmen, the moment they wanted to assert their authority, they fell out with Mr. President. You will want to assert yourself, but there are so many forces in PDP that wouldn’t allow. Audu Ogbeh wanted to be independent and we knew what happened.
Well, you see, we reach our bridges, before we cross them. As far as I am concerned, I have an open mind, what I want to do, I say so — if they give me, they will see, how I go about it. My track record is very clear in this country – what I have done from my civil service days, my public service days, my business days – it is all there for all to see.
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