We’ve a lot to do in APC to retain power beyond 2023 – Lukman
Salihu Lukman is the Director General (DG) of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF). He has written a 196-page book titled: “Power of Possibility and Politics of Change in Nigeria.” In this interview, he bares his mind on the content of the book, articula
What informed your decision to write the book, “Power of Possibility and Politics of Change in Nigeria”?
I think the account of the merger that led to the formation of the APC and some of the developments that have today come to define what our party represents, I believe need to be told in a way that presents the objective reality. There was no way the opposition parties would have succeeded in defeating the PDP at the federal level without the merger.
So what is the significance of this book to the APC, the opposition parties and on the whole the current political reality in the country?
In terms of the substance of the book, it has two broad categories. One part is the core party issues, while the other one is governance-related issues.
Under Bisi Akande, immediately after the APC emerged, there was a move to set up a membership database. But you can remember the Jonathan administration attacked the issue of membership database. They attacked it and said the APC was going to clone PVCs. So the APC needs to return to that. And after 2015, work on that has been almost suspended because part of the problem then was whether there would be direct or indirect primaries. Without a defined membership, you can’t do transparent and credible primaries. So the APC needs to return to that.
Another issue has to do with funding. As at today, almost every member of the APC is a free rider, just like every member of the PDP, because members don’t pay subscription. So we need to sort out that and define how members would pay; whether monthly, quarterly or annually so that everybody is contributing to the finances of the party, without that, you cannot address another critical party issue. That is you have an issue where party leaders don’t have condition of service. Without funding, you can’t address that. And it is the responsibility of party leaders to mobilise funding. If members pay subscription, it is party leaders that should collect it and ensure it is wellmanaged. And once you sort out the issue of funding, you can now begin to benchmark the condition of service of party leaders with the public service condition of service, because there is no reason why for instance, a member of the NWC should not be treated the same way as a minister. The challenge is that the NWC must put on ground a machinery to ensure that every member of the party pays his or her subscription to be able to achieve that. If you address the issue of condition of service, you will address a major issue, which is that party leaders are insubordinate to elected officials; which is not supposed to be. Public officials are supposed to be insurbordinated to party leaders.
Now, if party leaders are hungry and they depend on the elected officials, how can they control elected officials? These are the critical issues. As at today, there is no code of conduct in the APC or any other political party; on account of which people behave anyhow.
Another one is the issue of succession. As at today, no party in Nigeria has a framework for succession. What they do is last-minute decision; last-minute choice of who succeeds. So there should be a strategy on membership and how you widen space for membership participation in the party. These are some of the core party issues. The governancerelated issues are the question of fighting corruption. I think last year or 2017, there was a report of the United Nations (UN) in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). They released a report which showed the police and the judiciary were the most corrupt institutions in Nigeria. We need to really take steps because these are the institutions that should guarantee justice and strengthen the capacity of the nation. So if they are corrupt the way that report showed, then there is a problem. There are hard decisions that need to be taken. There is the need to rebuild the public service; not reform. The challenge is basically getting the public service to be as productive and efficient as any standard public service. And how do we do that? Since 1985, systematically, the functions of the public service are being taken away.
The APC is enmeshed in crises with its key leaders throwing tantrums at one another. What do you make of this?
I am arguing that for the APC to continue to run on that power of possibility, it must begin to commit itself to resolving internal conflicts.
Are you invariably saying that the crises in the APC are about 2023?
The crises started even before the 2019 elections. Politics is about leadership. We are done with 2019, everybody is looking at 2023. But these crises started before 2019. Individuals being what they are, we can only become opportunistic and ride on the back of existing crises to promote our narrow interests. And that is where it is the function of leaders to
APC leaders are divided over the issue of power shift in 2023. Some say the presidential ticket of the party must be allotted to the South while others argue that for the APC to retain power in 2023, the party must still field its presidential candidate from the North. What is your impression about this?
If you remember, in 2013, 2014, the argument was that PDP’s zoning formula was jettisoned. But that was not what delivered the APC. What delivered APC was the fact that there was a transparent presidential primary. There were Buhari, Kwankwaso, Atiku and others. The entire country was watching and Buhari emerged. That was the selling point. And that is why I am emphasising on the role of the leadership of the party, and especially the NWC. I earlier told you about succession plan. If you don’t strengthen your rules, it will not augur well. So those who are arguing on whether the North should produce a presidential candidate or the South should produce a candidate are doing so based on particular interests. They are not doing so because of a strategy to promote and allow Nigerians to support such a candidate.
If you go to the epilogue of the book, you will see what will make the APC a party of change. We have politicians they only think about the people when elections are around the corner.
What are the weak points of APC?
What will the APC do to continue to reinvent itself? I think that is the issue. What the APC needs to do is that we went into an election, we came out and our leaders are fighting, they are still fighting. And you can call that one of the major weaknesses. Let me tell you the major weakness of not just the APC but other political parties in Nigeria. Our parties have not been able to develop structures for conflict resolution. And I am arguing in the book that the major requirement for APC to continue to run on that power of possibility is for it to begin to commit itself to resolving conflicts.