Strong chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party and former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido has lamented the challenges confronting the PDP but optimistic wresting power from President Bola Tinubu in 2027 is not impossible.
In this interview, Lamido painted a vivid picture of happenings on the political scene, particularly the fate of the PDP and the way forward for the opposition.
PDP crisis and the way forward for the opposition…
Why pick on PDP in isolation of the Nigerian factor? PDP is an institution run by the Nigerian people. So, why do you think PDP will be run differently? Tell me one institution that is working well in Nigeria today? So, why treat PDP in isolation?
It is a Nigerian thing, whatever is happening in PDP is happening everywhere: in government institutions, even newspapers organisations wherever you see Nigerians. So, PDP is a Nigerian phenomenon, and run by Nigerian people, not by angels from heaven and therefore, it is the same spirit. It is the same Nigerians, whether in APC or PDP. Even if you go APC, the people you find there are all PDP. So, let us look at it holistically. It has to do with the Nigerian spirit: our attitude, our behaviour, our culture as people. Are we disciplined? As a people, are we patriotic, are we patient, are we tolerant? So long as we lack discipline or patience, or tolerance or rule of law, there will be crisis whether in PDP or APC.
APC is there today because it has the capacity to make noise. Go and ask Salihu Lukman, former national vice chairman, North West, APC, ask him about the party. So PDP is just a reflection of the attitude of Nigerians, and the character of the Nigerians as a people. The question is, are the Nigerian people willing and ready to salvage the country? Is it about me, or about us? So, if it is about me alone, what do you expect?
On losing three elections back to back…
You are still talking about the mood of the moment. You don’t reflect on the past. You must look back and ask what is the source of the problem. If you see a raging fire, you must identify the source to be able to control the smoke out there. You are simply talking about symptoms, not the bigger picture. When you say PDP, in 1998 when it was formed, the main focus was to restore unity in Nigeria, to restore people’s confidence which was undermined by June 12 and a section of the country felt cheated and lost sense of belonging. So after the PDP came to power, the country was stabilized, as against the feeling of distrust. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from the southwest emerged as President even though they never liked him from his region.
What is happening now is that we failed to build on that stability. Unfortunately, today we are only reacting to the consequence of our own actions. Look at this government, all the governors and majority of the lawmakers are PDP, only a few are from Lagos axis but the majority of them are PDP, even the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, ( SGF) in Tinubu’s administration was from PDP! From Tinubu to Shettima, to the SGF are former governors, former Senators, up to the Senate President. So, is there any better team with a lot of experience to solve Nigeria’s problem than these team?
How helpless are PDP leaders against Wike?…
When your other half is paralyzed what do you do with it? Wike is our own creation, we made him. Where was Wike in 1999? Where was he? Somebody who was your own invention, who you thought you can develop, groom as a future leader now tell you that he is his own person now, what do you do? To me, Wike isn’t a factor . If Tinubu isn’t tolerating him, who is Wike? So, Wike is there today because the environment is there for him to manipulate and exploit. Simple! We are putting political expediency over national interest, Wike is being hyped by Tinubu to destroy PDP but destroying PDP is also destroying Tinubu!
What does Tinubu stands to lose if PDP is destroyed? Nigerians are saying Wike was actually planted to undermine PDP. Is that not to Tinubu’s advantage ahead 2027?
No, Wike wasn’t planted. He is PDP. Are you saying it was Tinubu who made him Special Adviser to Peter Odili or Chief of Staff to Amaechi? Are you saying it was Tinubu who made him governor of Rivers State? No! Wike was never planted. He is PDP but then that’s the Nigerian character that we have been talking about. But ultimately, he will become a political orphan to Tinubu and both of them are going to lose, because the entire arrangement is unholy, it is immoral, it is un-Nigerian. This issue of betrayal, undermining your party isn’t part of our culture. No matter how long he serves Tinubu, ultimately, both of them are going to lose, because the country is losing. So, Wike was never planted. He was simply identified, he is a willing character who lacks the morality and the good character and honour not to disown his own party. He has mortgaged his own party.
How can PDP win the next national elections?
It is a huge challenge. Are the Nigerian people willing? The issue of insecurity, of the economy, the poverty are all there. It isn’t about PDP, what is the opinion of the Nigerian people? People have been hired to destroy PDP but we are making every effort because right now we have people who are anti-PDP. You can imagine people like Ortom, (former Benue State Governor) saying our leader, Wike has said we will vote Tinubu in 2027! Imagine someone in PDP saying he is going to take a cue from Wike to vote Tinubu in 2027. People who are in PDP are also working for APC and Tinubu. So, it is a very very difficult thing. We are working hard to find people who share a similar concern because those in the party now in government are not on the same frequency with us.
If you have those in government who shared same frequency with us, we can confidently say, yes but it depends on who and who you can you identify and we are doing that.
We are working hard but it is a huge task. It is going to be difficult with Tinubu with his hold on the country, on the economy, and his daring audacity to say this is where I stand against Nigerian interest. It is something else.
Tinubu is very daring; he is his own creation, he is a self-made man, right from Chicago, what he went through on the streets. Look at how he was able to fight Alliance for Democracy, and Afenifere, won over them and fought Obasanjo, won over him and then at the APC Convention, Buhari was against him and he won Buhari! What are you talking about? Don’t underestimate a man like that, if you look at how he made it in life. He confronted all obstacles to get to where he is today, at the apex. There is no Nigerian like Tinubu who has been there on his own. Every established political arrangement, every institution, he demolished them. Now he is in charge; it isn’t going to be easy to deal with. With Tinubu, Nigeria is a fiefdom, Tinubu is the emperor. And if you watch him closely, he doesn’t care!
He paid the governors at the Convention. Prior to the Convention, he was in Abeokuta in Ogun State and boasted that it was his turn to rule Nigeria. And Buhari, very naive, he was watching. He never liked Tinubu. There was somebody he wanted, he didn’t even trust his own Vice – President, Professor Osinbajo, he wanted Ahmed Lawan but Buhari’s calculation was absurd. You have done eight years for the North and you wanted another Northerner for another eight years?! No. Maybe later but there are some dynamics which you can’t alter, not in Nigeria of today.
The President of Nigerian after being in office for eight years lacked the courage to push through his anointed choice. He was there at the Convention and Tinubu that he never liked, you never believed in emerged. Tinubu knows that his victory wasn’t from Buhari, therefore, he owes him nothing. He wasn’t the choice of Afenifere, Obasanjo never liked him, and he became President. So, all the other groups, including the governors they were all there and he won. He was determined to demolish all obstacles and he crushed them. So, what do you expect? You are here discussing PDP.
Has PDP resigned to fate; that Tinubu is unstoppable in 2027?
No. You know domestic cats feed on smaller chicken but one day the mother of the chicken stood up to the cat. Tinubu is that cat. What I am saying is this: even Pharaoh’s empire collapsed. So, no matter how daring you are, ultimately it won’t end well. So Tinubu today is somebody who has a grip over Nigeria, who holds obeisance to nobody in Nigeria, who believes that God made him and he made himself and he is now lording it over the Nigerian people and nobody can challenge him. He was adept at studying the system, manipulating it and he exploited it and he did it well. I wish he can use his sagacity, his hidden talent to help Nigeria’s development. It would have been wonderful. But he is using it negatively. He has everything but not for the development of Nigeria and it is affecting you, it is affecting me.
Speculation is rife out there that the bigwigs who lost out in APC and the PDP are discussing an alternative platform. Are you involved in the discussion?
You see, I am coming from the old order and I am very, very conservative and I have a leg in history. Today, if you mentioned Awolowo or Azikiwe, to this new generation, they are confused. They will tell you they don’t know them, they aren’t conversant with history and couldn’t have acquired their values.
When you ask me that question, you are simply reacting to the current event. Those who formed the APC, tell me their shared ideology? Tell me what Atiku, Saraki shared with Tinubu ideologically? Tell me what Amaechi, Murtala Nyako, Aliyu Wammako have in common with Buhari? People in PDP who walked into APC, tell me what they have in common with either Tinubu or Buhari? Nothing in common apart from the desperation to grab power and that’s why the whole thing is failing because the purpose wasn’t governance but to gain political power to their own advantage. That’s all.
So, if today we are trying to react, because of the failure of the government, it means our reaction isn’t sincere, it is not genuine. But however, if we have to forge, fine. But what do we have in common? If we are going to do any alliance, we must put Nigeria first. If we share a common commitment, and national interest, yes, we can forge an alliance. It must be driven by some moral forces but if the entire desire is just to grab power, no moral principle, it will end like APC. Whatever alliance must be about Nigeria first. I won’t be part of any special-purpose vehicle that will abandon Nigeria. I want something that will arise from genuine and sincere concern about Nigeria first. That should be our rallying point.
How would you rate Tinubu’s administration, after a year in office?
You see, morally speaking, I was in government, my party was in government, and then APC came to Nigerians and was demonising PDP and then pushed us out of government and now you are asking me to assess this administration, how do you think Nigerians will see my judgment? You see, we should be very, very objective. I was in government, we were removed and they took over and you asking me to assess them. So, I don’t think it is fair for me to do that. I am in the party that lost out to Tinubu and no matter what I say now it won’t be viewed as fair on Tinubu.
We heard from the grapevine that you were offered the Chairmanship seat of the PDP but you turned it down. Why?
Who offered me?
The party members who said they’ll only stay bay in the PDP if you would accept to lead the party. Why did you turn down the offer?
You see, I know some people in PDP who can’t stand Sule; they can’t stand me no matter what. You know that. There is also peer envy today in Nigeria. So to me, what I want you to know is that if I go there, I will go with my own kind of baggage. My baggage is what some people stand to hate. But I preferred David Mark because it was zoned to North Central and to me it is about maturity, consistency, exposure, experience, humility, commitment to the job. David Mark was my choice. I would have loved him to be there because as Chairman, he can command respect across the blocs. The governors would not see him as somebody they could challenge. That office needs someone with capacity, the skill. He can work with the governors and they will defer to him and vice versa. The other elements in the PDP would also support him and work with him.
I know that I am very, very temperamental. I may not be the best candidate because in a situation of crisis, you are looking for somebody who can be calm and tactical. Based on the zoning arrangement, the best person could have been David Mark.
So, why did he also decline?
I don’t know, he must have his own reasons. I appealed to him to make the sacrifice and we will be there for you but he told me, “Sule, I know my worries and my fears.” So, like me I knew my worries and I refused. But again, it was never zoned to my zone in the first instance. So, even if you put me there, I have my own baggage in terms of character and my own ways of doing things. I can be intolerant . I can be rude, unintentionally.
