Iheanacho Nwosu, Abuja
Mr. Akin Osuntokun served as Political Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. In this interview, the former Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the refusal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to cede its chairmanship to the south-west will hurt in the 2019 elections. Osuntokun who is currently the Director, Media and Communication of the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo-led National Coalition, claimed that the nation is a bad shape.
You have been quiet over recent political happenings. Is it an acceptance of the state of affairs?
No, I have been talking. In fact I had interviews with some journalists on the state of the nation. I don’t know where people got their optimism that President Buhari would do magic. He told Muslims to vote for Muslim and that kind of context emphasised his shortcomings.
But no one has been able to provide evidence…
It was at an event in Sokoto State. He said they should vote for someone who will defend their faith. Did he also deny what he said about Boko Haram? It was in the context of his bitterness with Obasanjo. In fact, it was the bitterness that made him to mount the pulpit.
But President Jonathan’s people also said that Christians should vote for Christians. Why did people not complain?
I don’t believe in the concept of Christian justifying why they should vote for their person. Jonathan has gone and he has failed for whatever reason. So let us apply the same yardstick to President Muhammadu Buhari. We should hold him responsible for some of the things happening in the country.
If President Buhari is alleged to have supported Boko Haram, has he not also fought the insurgency single-mindedly since he took over?
I don’t know the full story of Boko Haram. But look at what he is doing with the Fulani herdsmen menace. They are murdering people recklessly. Is it not suspicious? Even when they are killing people, he seems to be condoning it. As we speak, he has not visited victims of family in Benue. He has been trying to minimise the enormity of what the Fulani herdsmen are doing. That is why the allegations against him are credible. If he was somebody who was known to be nationalistic before now, it would have been difficult for things to stick on him. Rather than changing the narrative, he is even confirming it. Look at the security architecture of the country; when in the history of the country have we ever heard that all the security heads of the country came from a particular region?
Some people have also justified that we are having the worst challenges from that part of the country…
So are you saying that no other Nigerian can do the job other than those who come from the north? If that is the case, why don’t we allow state police? If you are saying that it is one people from an area who can do the job effectively, then let us apply it all round. Or is he the only president Nigeria has ever had? Did Obasanjo need to bring people from the south-west to be in charge of security agencies to attack OPC? What kind of injustice is that? Or did Jonathan employ people from the south-south to head security agencies? This kind of argument is gross and lame. You cannot be talking about national unity and you are appointing your own people. That means he does not trust others. On what basis did he measure trust? It takes two to tango. He needs to reach out to other tribes. This kind of attitude alienates people. People react to love and hate. If you show love to people, they will show you love. If you show hate, same will you get. I am not from Benue. But look at what the Fulani are doing to them. Look at the governor. He was somebody who was dedicated to the APC before. He has been turned into a radical now. That is when you will know the extent of what we are talking about. Can that kind of person respect the party again? It is a sad commentary.
What is your take on the Obasanjo’s letter to Buhari?
One thing you must understand is that Obasanjo is no more running the day-to-day affairs of the country. He does not have the power to have anything done in this country. I cannot direct myself to Buhari. Whether you agree with Obasanjo or not, he has spoken. By the way, what has he said that Nigerians have not said? He just echoed the sentiment in Nigeria. We have no decision to take on Obasanjo because he is now a private citizen. But as far as Nigeria is concerned, which you and I are citizens, and our welfare is at stake, the one who is responsible is President Buhari. So, I am yet to see any Nigerian president that would do better than Obasanjo. I am not saying that he was a fantastic president. But I have not seen any president who is better than him. He dealt with OPC and instructed any person parading himself as a member to be shot on sight. Is he not a Yoruba man? Do you think it didn’t cost him? But that is leadership? There is no basis for comparing the two of them. Has President Buhari done that with the Fulani herdsmen? Obasanjo’s presidency was like a national rainbow. On a daily basis, you see people from different tribes on the dining table with him discussing national issues. He fostered the spirit of brotherhood.
Is it not ironical, Buhari that hasn’t done well according to some Nigerians, gets African Union’s award on the fight against corruption?
I have no issue with AU giving President Buhari an award. Look at the way he is handling the issue of Ibrahim Magu and the senate. As we speak, Ibrahim Magu has not been confirmed because somebody who works for Buhari also said that he is not clean. He has not been confirmed as the chairman of the commission and he is still there because he works for Buhari. Is that how a government should be? Is it me or Obasanjo who created that? The Attorney-General of the country wrote to the senate not to probe a fugitive, Maina, after the debacle of smuggling in. There was a mess all over the place. The man absconded. The senate wanted to take over the matter, AGF went to court to stop it. If you need the AU to make up your mind, that is up to you.
Obasanjo also said that Nigerians should not support PDP, that the party is as bad as APC. Do you agree?
The opposition party is always their ideal government. Because it would promise you what the government in power is not doing correctly. So any opposition party is an ideal one because it has not been tested. PDP has been scandalised especially during President Jonathan’s government. Most of the scandals are their fault. The final nail on the coffin of PDP was the mismanagement of the national convention. You call yourself a national party, yet you cannot handle an assignment properly. Especially in Nigeria, we are so much into the federal character. The higher you grow as a national party, the higher the chances of winning elections. That is why it is in the constitution- how power should be distributed to reflect the mandate of the party. The south-west has not held the position of the national chairman. There is an assumption that the presidential candidate will come from the north and former president, Jonathan came from the south-south, the south-east has held the position of the national chairmanship several times. The logic is so elementary that they should have known what to do. If you need to strengthen your competitive power, you need to strengthen yourself in all the zones. Rather than doing that, they deliberately weakened themselves in the south-west zone. Even those who are not in PDP felt offended.
But some argued that it was the south-west that caused it, by refusing to unite. What is your take?
If that is the case, why didn’t they leave it exclusively for the people of the south-west? That kind of argument is being mischievous. It is a self-defeating argument.
But do you think that decision is likely to hurt the party in the next general election?
That is what I am saying. The party had an opportunity of grounding itself in the south-west, but the leaders botched it. As of the time they did that, APC was desperately unpopular in the south-west. The party would have posed itself as an alternative. These are some of the things that baffle me. I was a political adviser to the president. That was more of a political strategist. So I am speaking from that point of view. Forget whether I like PDP or not. We need to look at the strategy in place to inform this kind of behaviour. It is an indication that those who are managing the party do not know what they are doing. Or they don’t really care if the PDP is viable. Maybe it is sufficient for them for the party to be in charge of the south-east and south-south.
But how will the idea of coalition recommended by Obasanjo affect the party?
The coalition would be a harvest of all Nigerians who disagree or agree with Obasanjo that President Buhari should not be re-elected. We don’t even know if he is going to seek re-election. It is just the first coalition. The second is the presentation of a candidate of higher standards that we have had before. We know their capabilities and shortcomings. So, using that as a basic will now help us to look at attributes of the person that would be presented to become the president next year. We don’t want to sell ourselves a dummy again, because people who canvassed for Buhari are now disappointed. I know him in a way many Nigerians do not know him. It was my duty as the director of publicity in 2003 for Obasanjo’s re-election to have an adequate knowledge of his politics. And again, I studied political science.
So I was in a unique position to plot a political strategy. In addition to that, it is the evidence he churned out on a regular basis. Hear what he said before he became the presidential candidate of APC about Boko Haram. He was one of those who almost foisted the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The APC came up with a committee on true federalism, advocating state police and resource control which were what the National Conference recommended, but the APC government rejected it. Were you surprised?
I am not. It is part of effort to distract the polity. It is a gimmick. They think with that they would be popular. It is not at this stage, because if we were serious about restructuring, it is not now when everything is in disarray. Some people see it as suspicious. There is nothing in President Buhari that tells me that he will support restructuring.
Will it still be best for the south-west to support the PDP even in its bitterness and what is the best strategy the party can adopt?
There is no other option other than that. More than any other zone, the south-west should see the coalition as God sent. And that is where I am at the moment. And I can also tell you that you can take the word literally. If you know the kind of people who are behind it, you will be pleasantly surprised.
Rest assured that there is no part of this country that is not supporting it. Take that from me. The coalition is almost unstoppable.