Buhari must show interest in resolving APC crisis – Idi Hong
Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong served as a minister of foreign affairs as well as that of health under the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. In this interview, Dr. Hong who was a staunch member of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, (PDP), gives reasons why
After the 2015 general elections in which you lost the bid to go to the Senate not much has been heard about you. What is your current political stance?
Actually I sometimes ask myself the same question as to where do I belong politically? But after the 2015 general elections,I and some of my supporters and leaders decided that we should support the government of the day and the party in power to achieve its goals because the essence of all political engagements and aspirations is for development. There is no reason why you should continue to think of being in political opposition because there may be something valuable that you may add to what is on ground. So we decided as a group to go and support the All Progressives Congress, (APC), particularly at Adamawa State level because the state is far behind in terms of development.
Do you think APC is doing well, especially in Adamawa State?
There are so many dimensions to assess progress; physical development like roads and drainages in town particularly in the state capital there have been remarkable improvements to that effect. But there are other concerns such as youth empowerment, employment as well as women empowerment. I have personally raised concerns over these areas for a very long time because apart from physical development, human capital development is equally important, health and job creation. These are areas that are lacking in the state but on the whole I would like to say so far, so good.
The PDP has been accused of being responsible for the problems in the country. But just one year into power, the APC appears to be a divided house. Are you comfortable with the happenings?
I am not very happy with developments within the APC. I am seeing a replica of what led to the degeneration and fall of the PDP happening even faster in the APC. I think there is a need for leaders of the APC to quickly build confidence. Otherwise,they are going down and their fall would even be worse and faster. This is because the very fabric of the APC is being questioned and a lot of issues are being raised while the major stakeholders are at cut-throat with one another. Insinuations and lack of trust has become the order in the party and this raises very serious concerns. The leaders of the party, particularly the President has to rise to the occasion and bring everybody on board.
What do you think is fundamentally wrong with the APC?
I think it has to do with relationship management. The expression of internal democracy is also being challenged as well as patronage which is part of political arrangements all over the world. The APC needs to quickly address those issues. No political arrangement anywhere survives without patronage. So those people who helped the party should be considered very quickly and those who have contributed significantly should be given very favorable dispositions.Not that their aspirations should be satisfied all the time but there should be a close linkage between them, the government and the party. There is a need for serious consultations so that every stakeholder is carried along in order to feel a sense of belonging. The governors too have to be very active in building relationships with their people and avoid the winner takes all syndrome. It is not healthy for them.
What do you make of the rift between the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu and the national chairman, John Oyegun, especially in the aftermath of the Ondo governorship primaries?
I don’t know the details of what really transpired but whatever it is, I must say that it not a healthy development. As leaders of the party, they are really doing great disservice to the country. If there is serious crisis in the governing party, the government itself would not survive. There would be no time for development, progress and governance. The time would be taken completely for crisis management and damage control. So, whoever is causing this crisis in the APC, particularly among the major stakeholders, is doing great disservice to the country, to the President and indeed to democracy. As far as I am concerned, whatever the grouse is should be managed carefully and with respect. They should also guard their statements. Anybody who is causing crisis within the part is the greatest enemy of this country. It is not healthy because at the end of the day the party will be fragmented while the President’s time will be taken trying to manage the crisis. Consequently there would be no unity in the party and in government. Therefore, I would like to say that Asiwaju, we all know his contributions in the party and in the country but he should be very patient as a leader. Whether anyone likes it or not he is a major stakeholder in the coming of this government and he should be so respected. His opinion should be consulted and the party leaders; particularly the national chairman should be careful because he is the one in the glass house.
Many, including Tinubu, have called for the resignation of the national chairman of the APC. Do you think this is the right thing for him to do?
Ahead of the 2019 general elections, what are your fears for the APC?
My fear is that the APC may have to go back to the drawing board because they are losing time. The more a lot of discordant tunes come out, the more their members lose confidence and start looking for new arrangements. Permutations are already growing and let me tell you this is what the opposition wants. They are praying to high heavens about what is happening in the APC because that is the only way they will survive very quickly. So, if the APC wants to maintain and remain in government they have no other solution than putting its house in order. Keep your old friends and court for new friends. Don’t throw away your old friends because you want to make new friends. Those new friends have no stake in the arrangement like your old friends. This is the only solution. Otherwise the history of the PDP is there for them to see.
Specifically what kind of intervention are you expecting from the President in resolving the crisis?
This posture he is taking as if he is not interested in what is happening in the party is wrong. If the party sinks, the country would also sink with it. He has to be careful and interested in what is happening within the party just as he is interested in what is happening in government. He should not just close his eyes and think that there are some people managing the crisis. No! The President must be involved in running the party not the way and manner he is behaving as if he has no business with the party. The party is the platform that brought him and he will still need it either for himself or somebody else because it is his intention and wish that even if he is not going to be President again, let his party continue winning. The APC must know that the PDP is not dead; it is just a slumbered child who can wake up and reorganize to pose a challenge to the APC.