Nigeria falling into hands of its enemies - Adamu
Senator Abdullahi Adamu chairs the Senate committee on solid minerals and is one of the national leaders of the APC. In this interview, Adamu speaks on the current spate of insecurity arguing that the country may be heading for the brinks. Excerpts:
The initial momentum the APC came with after the merger seems to be waning, what is happening?
I believe that anybody who is working in the inner circle of the APC must have heard of these talks. But those who are working know that that is not the case and we want all interested parties to understand that the APC is undergoing a process that no Nigerian political party under this dispensation has gone through what we are now doing.
Most of the parties started from previous organizations and had structures that they fell back on, but the APC is a completely new outfit. It is an aggregation of all the opposition parties which are called the legacy parties.
In the last 18 years, this is the only party that is genuinely involved in very important steps for the birth of a party, satisfying the requirement of the registration, ward congresses, local government and states congresses. Even the PDP which was registered in August 1998 till date has no authentic membership register.
We are doing what no party had done before in Nigerian democracy. If we didn’t do this we would have gone wrong. Whereas other parties are concerned with who is going to be their candidates for various posts, we are trying to be sure that the mechanics and structure of what makes APC political organization are being
There has to be peace to ensure that general elections are held in conducive environment and the signs that are on ground today are threatening and are real. I dare say with every sense of responsibility and patriotism that we are falling into the hands of our enemies
established.
So, anybody who has any ambition can only come when the party is anchored with the structures in place, then you can put your interest on top.
The APC is conducting state congresses with crisis in many of the states, is it not vindication of those who have earlier said APC is a bubble that will one day bust?
Those who don’t understand the workings of democracy say so. It is expected in any genuine democracy that there must be fractions and disagreements over certain things. As recently as four years ago in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party had its congress and two brothers from the same mother and father were fighting for the leadership of the LP. There were hues and cries. In the end the younger brother won and everything ended there.
We expect magic sometimes, but we are dealing with human beings not goods, and the fact that people can air their views is healthy for democracy and by so doing, we are deepening democracy and that is what other political parties are not able to do including the ruling party.
Are you saying the APC will sustain the momentum?
The APC is here to stay. The APC is setting up a system that will ensure its strength tomorrow and it may take us a little while, but we have made up our minds to do it in the interest of democracy and the APC itself. We have no fear whatsoever. It is the absence of noise in democracy that is harmful.
Some say the crises in APC are engineered by moles planted by the government. What is your view?
Once you have more than two people, there is bound to be noise. Let’s not be pretentious about this. Remember the American election of November 2000 when Al Gore tried to succeed Bill Clinton while George Bush Jnr was the Republican candidate. With all the popularity and goodwill of Clinton, he couldn’t help Al Gore to win. America has been in democracy for over 200 years which is more than 100 years of our existence as a nation.
So let people not be unfair in judging us. We are just four months old. We are happy that these congresses are taking place and that people who may be dissatisfied with the outcome of some of the elections are voicing out.
Do you really see success for the APC next year?
By the grace of God, we are defeating the PDP. Write it, take it from me and after the elections you will come back and tell me that I said so.
What is your take on the rumors of APC mulling a Muslim-Muslim ticket?
That is rumors; I don’t talk on rumors. I don’t respond to that. I am not aware of that. It is not on the table. The party has not mentioned that at any if its meetings. These are stories that are built in by the PDP to create problem for the APC.
Many people fear that Nigeria is on the brink of collapse because of the insecurity that is ravaging the country, do you agree with such?
Honestly, that is more of concern to me than what is happening to the APC or what will happen in 2015, because there has to be Nigeria for us to be concerned with 2015.
There has to be peace to ensure that general elections are held in conducive environment and the signs that are on ground today are threatening and are real. I dare say with every sense of responsibility and patriotism that we are falling into the hands of our enemies.
We are not facing issues and taking them for what they are and giving them there true value and treating them the best we can. Instead, we just hire praise singers and hunt dogs. Anybody who says what is good to the government is an enemy of government. That is wrong.
Whenever there’s a new guy at the helm, they hurry there and propagate falsehood, while the reality of the situation is the opposite of what they say, and they make it impossible for the leader to listen to the right voice or accept what the opposition may say so that whatever is said can be given its rightful interpretation.
You move everywhere and see the law being broken with impunity and nobody is putting any check. Security is collapsing; you are not safe on the road, in your house, in your school, at night or during the day. This is not the Nigeria of our dream.
Tell me how do you say a state that is alive to its responsibilities to its citizens and its very fundamental duty of protecting lives and properties of its citizens can be at rest when within a week or two more than 400 lives were lost in Katsina and Zamfara.
There was a bomb in the FCT with 75 lives lost and over 100 hospitalized, and within 24 hours over 200 young girls were captured and there is no trace of them.
In the America we are copying, when one primary school was attacked and 11 children were killed, Obama had sleepless nights and since that time the issue of gun control legislation started in America. But here while these things were happening in 24 hours our own president was in Kano attending a political rally and dancing on stage on live television.
Are you saying that the president is not concerned about what is happening?
It is for you and Nigerians to judge not me to say it. But I am telling you what he did. You have got the sense of judgment too, Nigerians also got the same. Is it right?
But the government said that by canceling events like that, it will mean that the insurgents are stopping governance...
That is a fallacy. That is not the way to show that government is serious about fighting the insurgency. That is not the correct thing to do. You know it, everyone knows it, let’s not pretend about it, let’s call a spade a spade. We all have to move this country forward.
Look at the diversion called national conference. They are already fighting. It is happening when there is sitting National Assembly. The distortion in the membership of the conference is an issue. People are saying abolish local government. This is another effort to divert attention of the public.