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Monday(28/9/2009)
'Opposition is in shambles... who will fight PDP?' |
MR. Mark Jacob, former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and erstwhile Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Kaduna State, spoke to SAXONE AKHAINE in Kaduna. Excerpts:
THE electoral reform promised by President Yar'Adua is yet to be carried out. Can there be reforms before the 2011 election?
I believe that the electoral system require some input. I also believe that the President meant well when he said that electoral reform will be one of his cardinal objectives and I hold it strongly that this is possible before 2011. We can have a new electoral law before the next election. As long as people are serious and dedicated to their duty, the process of law making can take a very short time. There are areas that do not require constitutional amendment, while there are areas that require constitutional amendment. The most important aspect is what Nigerians expect and having in detail what the electoral reform will look like. I think the President scored a pass mark in setting up that committee headed by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais to look at the details, collate all the information and make it into one report. It reduces the scope of work and I sure believe that the content of that report can easily be compressed into what will make for a good electoral law for the country especially those areas that does not require constitutional amendment.
Prof. Maurice Iwu, INEC Chairman recently raised alarm that the 2011 election is threatened by the lack of an enabling law. What do you think about that?
I don't really understand what he meant by that.
That the law to guide the election ought to have been ready by now...
If you want an election to be truly transparent, the issues that should be considered are not complicated. First, make sure that there a voter's register that is authentic, that people's votes count; that exactly the votes the electorate has cast is what the man who is going to declare the result will declare. All these don't require any long term planning. Agreed that the logistics need to be put in place but it is not really about law making or about the existence of detailed laws; but the will and desire by the operators of the system to make it work. I believe that in Nigeria, we have a collection of people who are interested in genuine and fair election and we can do this thing once we decide that we are going to do it. The law as it can be amended to make for those things that are fundamental. Make sure that we have a credible voters register and that when you go to Ward A, you don't find the register of ward B. These are issues that can be corrected without necessarily looking for a new law. The existing law makes provision for such things to be taken care of. I believe that once there is a will, Nigerians will make things work.
If things continue the way they are in the ruling PDP, do you think the party will do well in the 2011 elections?
Any state that does not manage its crisis properly will suffer for it. Nigerians are becoming more enlightened by the day and becoming more interested in their rights and not just the privileges. We no longer have the situation where you can compel people to vote for you whether they like it or not or you can vote for them by proxy. There are people in Nigeria today who will insist that their votes must count. I want to think that the number is growing by the day by virtue of political education and the growth in the system, which I think is coming as a result of the sustenance of democratic structures. We need to sustain democracy. I believe that with time, these things will be shifted and will get to the real sense of democracy. The system will be cleaned up and we will get to the true sense of democracy that we are aiming at. But I say very strongly that we have been inundated with crisis here and there within the PDP. It is not new. It is either somebody wants to become chairman or secretary, somebody wants to contest election or wants to bring down someone and take the position. These things are normal, but like I said, it is how you manage these crises that matters. Kano state for instance has been unable to recover from the crisis encountered after 1999 and that former stronghold of the PDP was suddenly taken over by the ANPP without any struggle.
Go to Anambra, it is the same situation, go to Imo, the same. I was at the party executive at the national level and I know that the PDP lost some of these elections not because the party was not on ground or not popular; but largely because the operators of the system did not manage the crisis of who should be the candidate and who should not be. It is the same situation we are now having in Anambra again. Those who have bought and returned the form in Anambra as at yesterday (Tuesday, September 15, 2009) are 35 for one governorship seat for one party. So, you can see that the failure to manage such things gives birth to this plurality of candidates. I know that one of the things we encountered even when the PDP challenged the elections in Anambra was that there were people who were challenging the nomination of the PDP candidate. That was after the elections. The operators of the system need to manage the system towards peace and amicable resolution of the crisis. Crisis are natural occurrence in any human endeavor, particularly in politics where the interest are largely personal and people are just interested in occupying offices. You are bound to have crisis, but how you manage them; whether you are matured in the handling, whether you are dispassionate, lay down your personal interest and allow the larger interest of the community to over ride yours matters a lot.
Aside the crisis in the PDP, the Nigerian nation is at a standstill at the moment, nothing is moving. Don't you think this is an indication that the PDP is losing grip and that this might work against them in 2011?
I don't absolutely believe that nothing is working. There are a few things that are working, but we must admit that there are apparent failures here and there. But again, when you talk of 2011, which else will take it from the PDP? Who is the opposition when everybody is decamping to the PDP? Even those who are not in PDP in their states are doing the same thing that the PDP states are doing? There is nothing unique; there is nothing you can point at like what you have during the Shagari era when you could say this is a PRP era pursuing this agenda. You go to Edo, with due respect to the Comrade governor, the reports coming in are not in any way different from any other PDP state. You go to Borno where you have ANPP, I am not sure that you will have any remarkable difference from what you have in any other state. So, who is going to take over from the PDP in 2011? They do not exist. The opposition has shown that they have virtually surrendered and most of them have closed their offices. In APGA, the crisis going on right now between the two factional leaders with everybody announcing them as national chairman with only one governor, what will happen if they have up to five governors? Truly, there is no viable opposition that can give the PDP any serious fight by 2011.
People see your recent remarks in the media as an extension of seeming political feud between former Governor Makarfi and his successor incumbent Governor Sambo. As a close associate of the former governor could you speak on the seeming feud between both politicians?
I will say I was not aware of the feud until I read the statements of Umar Gana, Husseini Jallo and the PDP chairman in the state in the media. Until then, I was not aware that there was a feud between the two. It was Umar Gana who was not part of the machineries that brought the present governor into office because he was not part of the campaign at all. He came back after the elections and he is now speaking for this government that he was not part of. He has repeatedly said that between Namadi Sambo and Makarfi, it is a fight to finish and that they will never settle. I read it with fear because I didn't know when they started fighting. Then the PDP state chairman also made a statement that Makarfi has been causing trouble in the state and that they are going to deal with him and that he should come out and face them in the 2011 election so that they can stripe him naked and show the world that he is actually powerless and nothing in the state. I read that one also with very serious caution. Husseini Jallo was the one who said the most unprintable things, which I don't want to repeat. It is from these snippets that some of us got to know that there is something in between. I spoke about equitable sharing of state resources and state power and for God sake, I don't need any Makarfi to educate me on that or instigate me to say that. I am a player of this game and I know that the reward of politics is not in heaven, but here. When you sow in politics, you reap it here. If you don't reap it here, you have lost. I followed the present governor round the state and he said in my local government that any area or section of the state that gives him the lion share of votes will get the lion share of appointments and projects. He used the commercial language like your vote is like your shares in this company. When the dividends will come, it will go to those who put in more shares. If you go to the ministry of water resources for example, one project alone in Zaria is costing N15 billion and when you go to my own side of the state, the entire boreholes, both ongoing and completed in the area is not up to N1 billion. So, why should anybody feel that he is being fair to me? When elections come, he will not go there, I will be the one to go and the people will confront me. These are the issues and Makarfi does not need to tell me to raise my voice on this. He does not even know what it is because he does not live there and has no family there. The common man, whether in Soba or in Zonkwa should be able to enjoy minimally. I am not saying that the project in Zaria should not be done. In fact, I am very happy that the project is being done and that the water problem in Zaria will be solved. If they are going to resolve the water crisis in Zaria, it is a good thing because we have many federal institutions in Zaria and if there is a water scheme that will take care of that problem, I will be happy. But what I am saying is that there is enough money to do that and build a similar thing in Manchok, Kafanchan or Zonkwa. I also made it clear that we have an existing water system that was built a long time ago with sponsorship from the World Bank. It flows from Manchok and serves Kaura and Zangon Kataf local government and can also serve Ja'maa local government. That thing is not being utilized till today because of lack of power to generate and pump the power. The pipes have been laid and the machines are working perfectly well. During Makarfi's tenure, an arrangement was made for diesel to be supplied to the plant so that water can be pumped to the local government. Everything is in place there except for power supply and nobody has bothered about it. Instead of taking care of that, they are going to sink boreholes that will break down after one year and you say we should not talk. When we talk, you say we are Makarfi boys. What has Makarfi got to do with water supply to my village? Do I need to be a friend to Makarfi to know what is good for me? People should address the real issues.
Would you say that during the Makarfi era, resources were equitably distributed compared to Namadi Sambo administration?
If you have been in Kaduna, you will know that there was a time some people called him Joseph. They were abusing him because, for the first time, somebody was paying attention to the Southern Kaduna interest. I cannot speak for him, but when the truth comes, we speak it. I was a part of a group called Club 12 and we were good at analyzing projects when the budget of the state is announced. We look at where all these projects are going and we condemned him where necessary and gave him pass mark where necessary. Of course, it is not a 50-50 ratio; but I can say that for the first time in over 18 years, somebody bothered to open up the interior, send electricity to the interior of Southern Kaduna; give us Chiefdoms that people have been craving for before we were born. Somebody bothered to say talk to me and I will talk to you. We were condemning Makarfi, but he never shut us up. We used to condemn even the quality of road projects in our area. When we talk today, it is not saying that Makarfi was 100 perfect or that he never faulted. He had his areas of failure and we never failed to point them out. He had his areas of passes and we gave it to him. Makarfi won our heart in many areas and we expected that this governor who was brought in single handedly by Makarfi would follow his footsteps and improve on those things he stated. Our side of the state is the most patient and most docile. If you give us a small chunk of these things, we will allow you to take the rest and that is what Makarfi did. He knew that we are not vicious people and not ungrateful people. Show us good spirit and a good heart and relate with us as human being, as partners in this game and then engage us in the things you are doing. I am saying it clearly that we don't have the same scenario today and people are not addressing the difference. That is why they run to say Makarfi boys or Namadi boys. By the way, who are the Namadi boys? Is it Senator Musa Bello? He was a governorship candidate of Action Congress (AC) and lost the primaries when Namadi was contesting the primaries in PDP. So, when did he become the champion? You became governor and threw away all the people that worked for you and take the people that have been against the PDP. Things cannot work when you are doing that.
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