IBB’s memoir: Unsung hero was Nwosu who defied all odds to count the votes – Owokoniran

Rahman Owokoniran, frontline politician, former commissioner of works in Lagos State is the current South-West secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he spoke of Ibrahim Babangida’s memoir and the state of PDP in the south west. Excerpts:

In the last few years, we have seen some PDP state chapters engulfed in crisis, what is the South West zonal exco doing about this?

Most states in the South West zone would rather want the national to handle their affairs, rather than the zonal executive that is the problem.

So, most of them, it’s not that Southwest is not intervening, but, even when Southwest is able to resolve this problem, those who believe that they had a short end of the stick, will still continue.

For example, like Ogun that you mentioned, they are part of the effort and we tried to bring them together, but they were stubborn about it. People who don’t have people on the ground they want to claim ownership. So, at the end of the day, they have to concede that, look, go for congress. So, when they went for congress, they lost. So, those you saw or you think that this is that, it’s because they lost out. So, they would rather leave and for me, my position is that; if we want democracy, let’s have democracy. Over the years, we’ve tried the situation, let’s share it for them.

It didn’t work. When you constitute yourself into two, three groups, and say, okay, these are the number of offices, share it among the three, at the end of the day, when we want to go for the general election, one will say, because they didn’t choose my own person, I’m not going to support the party’s candidate.

The other one, because you’ve benefited easily from the offices. So, they’ll pull a substantial number of the people you need, they’ll pull them away. They won’t give that support again. Let them go to congress, whoever wins, let them win.

I find out that those who win, if they are serious about winning the election, majority of the people you want to really woo, they are out there. They are not in the party. Once the messages are good, the candidates are good, you stand a lot more to benefit than waiting for some unserious elements.

And, these days, the opposition party, or the ruling party, have perfected the act of infiltration. Most of those people who are angry at election time, they have been paid to continue to divide, to give the impression that the party is dividing. So, that’s what you see. So, you are saying infiltration from other parties? Yes. Just like what Atiku and every vice said, the opposition party has been taken over, they have been killed by the ruling party.

What is happening in Lagos, when is the congress coming up in the South West?

Till March, after the election, when we do the inauguration of the new executive, but, basically, we are returning most of the officers.

Meaning you would still be in office till March?

Oh, yes. I’m still in the office till March. I was the one standing in, even for the chairman, since last year, October, September. I’ve been standing in, I’ve been acting. He was ill? Yes. He’s not fine, till now? Well, he’s fine, according to him, but he has not resumed office.

What is happening in Lagos PDP? We have not seen the chairman for some time?

Well, you know the circumstance of our state congress the last time. Our former chairman, national chairman, was not patient to handle the situation he met. He was just out of, I would say, frustration on his own account, because he did not start with the congress from the beginning.

At the time he resumed office, we were ready to do our state congress. That congress did not produce the executive members there. Only three positions were counted before they left.

There was an election for all the offices, but on the spot, only three offices were counted.

So, definitely, all the other offices, some of them did not even contest, they did not even have forms. Some of our officers today did not even purchase forms they were just picked to fill the places. So, that was what happened, but instead of Ayu to be patient in resolving the issues in Lagos? He was angry with the leadership in Lagos. And he just decided, look, let them give it to only one group. And once that one got it, he just handpicked. Most of the people who benefited from those offices, they’ve left for APC today. And even Ayu that did it, is he still a member of the PDP? So, we suffered tremendously because of bad decisions. So, the current Lagos PDP chairman, Philip Aivoji, well, he would have still been the chairman because his votes were counted. But I tell you, the votes counted. The election was supposed to be consensus and consensus was almost there until something just happened. And the umpire said, well, if you are not going to agree with this consensus, I mean, if people are arguing about one or two offices, what you are supposed to do is to revisit it on the floor. But he said, look, if people are not agreeing with this, I’m going to go for election. So, he now went for election. More than half of the delegates had gone home. So, who are the voters?

But why couldn’t he have stepped down if he cannot function?

He would not agree with you that he is not working.

What about the peace committee that was set up last year?

That committee is still working. It’s just not gone far enough. The committee was set up, and it’s still working. But the problem is they have not gone far enough. Why? Because they are relying on the national for certain information and if those ones are not forthcoming, of course, it will take a while. That’s why it is dragging, but the committee is still on.

What is your take on IBB’s book and the revelations?

For me, I thought, yes, perhaps his conscience is not giving him a rest on the matter. Otherwise, I think this issue of Abiola should have been allowed to rest. He didn’t have to go there again because he’s not giving us anything new. We all knew Abiola won the election. Buhari has come to confirm that. This is what he should have done long ago. But Buari has done it, for him to come around and say it, for me it appears that his conscience will not allow him to rest.

But having said that, I believe that he did more damage to the military institution by saying all those other things, because the Supreme Military Council was meant to take a decision on all matters, which is final. He was only the face of that council. My own take of what he was saying about Abacha and the others was that, it was as if there was no council, because that council was supposed to be running the affairs of this state. And whatever decision of the council was, what he was to implement. But if you now come around and tell us that there is this smaller group that is powerful and that, where does that leave the military council?

Where does it leave them? So, you’re saying that, to me, you’re saying that you didn’t have a decision. You’re saying that the military didn’t have it, didn’t have it in mind to leave which power to the civilians. And because of that, you, as a Maradona, was now trying to go around it, to deceive, to dribble the people, to make believe that you are doing something when you are ultimately not going to hand over. And I say that because I believe that what he thought he was doing, he did not believe the result would turn out the way it did. They were not expecting Abiola to win the election. They thought it was Tofa that would win the election. And if Tofa had won that election, they would have untwisted Tofa to step down, because Abiola was not going to agree. And once Abiola threw up that crisis, they expected Abiola not to agree directly. They defeated Tofa, if Tofa should have won. And it would have been easier; the annulment would have been easier if Tofa had won. You know the North would not, would not have a nightmare over that issue. They would not fight it, because for the Abiola’s case, it became a regional or a tribal thing. But if the North cancels another Northern victory, it is easier managed, that’s what they were looking forward to, but it didn’t happen that way. So, my own takeaway is that they were not ready to hand over the government. At that point, that was what I could deduce. What he was saying is that the military was not ready to handover. How could you, as the leader of the military, say you cannot take the bullet for anyone? What are you doing there?

When you organize a coup, are you not expecting to take a bullet? When you are the captain of the ship, are you not expecting that a bullet will come to you? Of course, those are excuses.

He was ready to take, that’s why he took that responsibility. But what he didn’t know, or what he found out later, was those people he was mentioning, they skimmed him out.

In the course of their not wanting to hand over power, he thought he would continue to rule. That’s why he made the statement, step aside. He said; he was stepping aside.

Ultimately, he knew Abacha was ambitious, but he was the one to hand over to Abacha. But there are other younger ones too, that were also ambitious, that they didn’t want Abacha.

Like somebody said, it would take just a signature to remove Abacha, or to retire Abacha. If you knew Abacha was so powerful, so influential, why didn’t you dismiss Abacha? Even when he was going, he could have taken Abacha away. He left him there. He left him back. So that tells you that he is, he said he was afraid for his life. That tells you, all those he was afraid of before his life, he has to tell you something. He has to give you a reason for his action. But the real problem was that he was outplayed by Abacha. Probably his annoyance with Abacha is why he is saying all that about Abacha. Because, like you said, we had a military council. The council, Abacha was part of, that took a decision. How can you say you are afraid to implement it with Abacha there? How many people have you sacked, even who are members of the council? You could have sacked Abacha, but you didn’t. He said because he had the ears of the Emirs of the North. Is it not the same Emirs that are sacking every day? They are removing from, Abacha came, there removed some Emirs.

Would you say annulling that election actually brought us to where we are today?

Yes. The political, what has happened, the events that have happened since that moment and the kind of politicians who have taken over power may not have. Well, the fact that it’s free and fairest carries a major role in the way the government will have been successful. It will have been a true government of the people. I will tell you my experience during the primaries. You know that in 1993 I was part of the electioneering process, Abiola won that primary election because of the overwhelming vote of the Easterners. They were convinced and dedicated to the fact that this is our country. Every one of us must have a chance. Must be given their right of place. They went all out. They must have contributed about 85%, if not more, of the vote that gave Abiola victory.

And I tell you, even the Southwest, I’m sure we managed to have 50, 55%. Because most of the people, I won’t mention their names, benefited from the lot today, they said they were angry with Abiola because of Obafemi Awolowo.

That he was never a follower of Awolowo, they didn’t support him. Most of those who supported him now, are not anywhere near power.

And those ones, why? They were the progressives, working with the Northern Progressive Elements, led by Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and they were the people who negotiated their aid. Unless you vote Abiola as the president, then we might as well be tagged as slaves. I can’t but remember the role of the last unsung hero of our democracy late Professor Humphrey Nwosu. But for him, there would have been no election result to be declared.

While president Babangida refused to take a bullet to declare victory for the winner, Humphrey defied all odds against stopping the continuation of the counting of votes until there was an election result declared. He was mercilessly beaten and arrested for a period of time. I praise and honor his courage in the face of terror.