Dele Momodu, journalist and publisher is a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former presidential aspirant on the party’s platform. In this interview, he spoke on the state of opposition parties in Nigeria, the PDP crisis and what is hindering reconciliation from yielding the desired result. INIOBONG IWOK brings the excerpts:
PDP is imploding; what do you have to say about the crisis?
There is no question that we have a big crisis in PDP at the moment, you can look at it in two directions; one is internal and the other is external. There are people who lost the primary of 2023 and still sulking from it and are still at it and are inconsolable obviously. But the fact is that they have virtually moved to another party or either because they love PDP so much, they are unable to vacate the party. The other is that Nigeria is moving in the direction of one-party state. The ruling party is so scared of opposition that crisis has been orchestrated in the leading opposition parties, especially the PDP, LP and NNPP. It is obvious what is going on, everyone can see but how this would end, no one has a clue. We are just watching.
You don’t want to name the people who left the PDP and are causing problems now?
When I said people who lost elections, it started when Wike lost the presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar, it was hoped that he would be the running mate of Atiku, but that did not happen and I think that is where the problem started from. The crisis started the moment Wike lost the primary and his bid to be the vice president. When I say defect to the APC, I am not talking physically, I mean spiritually, he is within the APC, but he is yet to find the courage to join the APC because he knows, he would not yield the kind of power he has in the PDP right now and where his friends are holding sway. Also, he is encouraging them to put PDP under the way; I don’t know how long they would continue with this.
Is this not an indictment on the PDP competence; lack of direction and unity?
No, if you have a government that is yielding all its state powers against the opposition; what would you do? Wike would not be so powerful, if it does not have the backing of the government in power, everybody knows that. The tragedy for me is that as someone who joined others in fighting for civilian rule, I never anticipated a day where Nigeria would be under civilian administration which would make it very difficult for the opposition to thrive. I don’t have anything personal against Bola Tinubu, but am worried as a man who made a huge impact in pro-democracy activism, it is obvious that his cronies are misbehaving across the country and making it difficult for the opposition to thrive. I remember under President Olusegun Obasanjo; Tinubu became our star because he stood up to that government and spoke up and all of us supported him. He should just leave everything to God, he has achieved what Abiola could not achieve, what Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and what Olu Falae could not achieve. It is only God that gives power; so, don’t give up on that God that made you the president. Let others breath, don’t worry if God said you would do eight years, you would do eight years. I personally don’t have anything against anyone doing eight years, four years, as many as they can do, but let us have a semblance of democracy; it is important to me. I am not talking about the economy; I am talking about the democracy that we fought for.
Some people said that it was the zoning arrangement that brought PDP’s implosion. What is your take?
No, a lot of people failed to remember the past; our party presidential ticket was thrown open for everyone, that is why someone like me could get the presidential form. We were very close to Governor Wike, together with governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, if the party said everybody can run and you run you have to accept that decision.
Who is the national secretary of the party?
I am not a lawyer, there are legal tussles still going on in the matter, but my personal thought is that; if not for people who are deliberately causing trouble in the party, there is no need for Sam Anyanwu to still get the ticket of the party, because he got the ticket of the party to contest the governorship election in Imo. You cannot hold the ticket of the party and the national secretary at the same time, that does not make sense to me, but that is the situation to me.
Why can’t the party hold the NEC meeting?
Let me say that PDP is not the only party in crisis; the APC is the only party I know today that won election, but still behaving like an opposition party and blaming the immediate past president and they are in the same party. PDP is in crisis today, because the fear of PDP is the beginning of wisdom. They would do everything they can to bully the party and scatter PDP to the wing and that is happening already.
But recently Kwankwao said PDP is dead. Do you agree?
I don’t know if NNPP, LP is alive, but when people say PDP is dead, at least, some sympathetic undertakers at the national secretariat are still keeping the PDP alive. They would tell you that the NEC meeting would hold in October and that time would come they would shift it and another time would come they would find one funny excuse or the other, also to make sure that it does not hold. So, it is still the same undertakers in Abuja that are holding the PDP down. Other parties are facing the same issue, you can see the crisis in Labour, and you can see the crisis in NNPP. It is nothing new, but my appeal to President Bola Tinubu is; you are a pro-democracy person, allow other political parties to thrive, if they defeat you fine, if they can’t, fine. I believe so much in democracy, I believe the President has a right to contest again, if not let Nigerians decide. Look at what happened in America, Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden before and today he is back in office as President of America. In Ghana Dramani was kicked out before, today he is back. Sometimes, a woman has to test two husbands to know which one is better. People have tested PDP, let them test APC and judge, but I would be excited by a thriving democracy in Nigeria because Nigerians suffered so much for this democracy, it did not just come on a platter of gold.
People have said opposition is practically dead in Nigeria. Do you agree?
The President of Nigeria is the most powerful President in the world, not Donald Trump; people are already challenging Trump few days after assuming office, tell me who is able to challenge the President in office today?
Is that not the PDP work and other opposition parties?
Look at the National Assembly where you expect to find the opposition, everything is yes and yes. The judiciary is struggling to find its feet, at least they are trying now and we are happy that they are struggling to find their feet, the next level should be the legislature; the legislature should be able to challenge the President, but the reverse is the case. Like I said some days ago, it seems we have reached a dead end and only a miracle can bring us on the right track.
Your national chairman said recently, if you suspend Wike that is the end, it means PDP has given up. What is your take?
PDP has not given up, you know I’m a part time politician I can speak freely, and I would always speak freely, even under the military we spoke freely. The acting chairman knows why he is saying that, because he is part of that charade, that is why they are keeping him there. If he says, don’t suspend Wike, but Wike is only one man. When we were fighting the military, I never heard of Wike. I like him, I was watching his projects and I saluted and hailed him. I always say that he is a good guy, but when it comes to hunger management, insulting his enemy there is nobody Wike cannot insult. See the way he insulted Wabara and others, because he did not get what he wanted. But there is another day and he is a young man. If he is able to concentrate on the assignment given to him, today he is one of the most powerful ministers; he knows the job and knows how to deliver on projects. Let him concentrate on that. When Saraki, Atiku, and so many chieftains left the PDP, they were aggrieved, they did not destroy the party, if they had done, where would they return to? That is why many of us are sitting down and watching, the worst they can do is to spend eight years. Buhari ruled for eight years, can you believe APC is attacking him now? Is not about how long you stay in power it is how well. A lot of people are running to Tinubu because they lost out in their parties; they are running to where they can be holding the broom.
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