Gundiri will regret moving to PDP - Namdas
Abdulrazak Namdas is former deputy governorship candidate to the ACN gubernatorial flagbearer in Adamawa State, Markus Gundiri. The latter recently defected to the PDP while Namdas chose to remain in the APC. He explains in this Interview why he is not le
How is the opposition faring in Adamawa?
If your party is not in power, you are like a political orphan being hunted and harassed daily by the ruling party. Our only succour in Adamawa during the time of Murtala Nyako when we were in the opposition was that, the opposition to his administration was more from the PDP elements from Adamawa who have been working to undermine him. He has been having a running battle with them, so that saves the opposition the trouble of being in a direct struggle with the governor. However that does not mean we are not doing what the opposition is supposed to do to keep the government in check.
What is your political background before contesting as running mate to Gundiri?
I contested for the House of Assembly seat, I was given a ticket to contest for the seat by the ACN. The party later realized that I am a grassroots politician with reasonable followers. I was then picked to become the running mate to Gundiri. We contested for the election in 2012. I was once a press secretary to Governor Boni Haruna before the time.
Gundiri recently defected from the APC to the PDP but you did not follow him. What happened?
It is just about choice, he might have felt that he will fare more in the PDP than in the APC, but only God knows what informed his decision to move to the PDP. I deliberately said he moved to the PDP because Engineer Markus Gundiri does not know PDP and he has never been in the PDP, but I know what PDP is and what it has been doing to even its most loyal members in the country. I know that one day he will regret joining them. I chose to remain in the APC because as a young politician and a progressive, I must identify myself with other progressives. Also I a young politician who has just started his political career, I will not be jumping from one party to another, that will not be healthy for my political future, jumping parties will portray me as an unprincipled politician. But if one is only looking for the elusive promises being made to Nigerians by the ruling party, he will be going after them, and when the PDP finishes with him, he will be thrown into political wilderness as others.
Gundiri defected after the APC reconciliation meeting in Adamawa. What went wrong?
You know if you agree on things, you must make sacrifices, political sacrifices are not easy to make but you have to make them. It is just like a truce in a conflict, you cannot get all what you want. All of us have made our own sacrifices to make things work, but you know these things are not personal, it is personal as well as collective, some people may feel that, they have made more sacrifices than the others. But if you set aside your personal ambition and do not allow it to blind you, everything will go well, but where one places his personal ambition above the collective one, there must be problems. Politics is all about choices and ambitions, however one must always be a principled person.
Other members of the APC are threatening to leave the party if not carried along by the governor. Are you aware of the development?
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said, you cannot dismiss such things in politics. It is part of it, democracy is all about what you believe in. Everybody has his own view of things. For me, I told you I will remain in APC. Honestly you cannot blame a person if he is fed up with what he perceives as an injustice. But one doesn’t have to always put sentiments and personal ambition to be the main determiners of the actions he takes. The congresses are coming and we will participate and our hope is that, a level playing field will be provided for all members of the party to realize their personal dreams to help others and the party. I want members of the APC in Adamawa to remember that we have come a long way in our struggles, therefore we should be patient enough to reap the benefits and transform Nigeria.
Your party is going for congresses soon, do you still nurse an ambition of contesting for a post in the party or for any elective position?
At the party level, I don’t have any ambition but I am consulting with my political associates and there is the possibility of contesting for election when the time comes but we leave the choice for God to decide. We will look at a suitable position for me to contest, we will then make it public for our people to know the post we are going for.
What is your view on the leadership style of the PDP?
The PDP is not being fair to Nigerians, what they are doing is not leadership but a form of rulership or civilian dictatorship which has been tormenting Nigerians for the past 15 years. What Nigerians always hear are stories of massive corruption, general insecurity leading to loss of lives in many parts of the country. Many people in Nigeria are struggling to feed their families. Even states are struggling to pay salaries while the PDP government is confused. There are so many problems in this country, we must all come together and liberate this country from the grips of the elements trying to destroy it. We are praying and working towards that with the coming of the APC and we will take this government by surprise through the ballot box come 2015.