Let’s have electoral reform and then... - Akinfenwa

Mojisoluwa AkinfenwaChieftain of Yoruba socio-cultural organisation Afenifere and National Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa, recently spoke with Yekini Jimoh at Offa, Kwara State, on the way forward for Yoruba and other national issues. Excerpts:

With the demise of Chief Abraham Adesanya, the Yoruba are saying there is a vacuum to be filed. As one of the elderly ones being looked up to in Yorubaland, who do you think the cap fits?

It is not easy to say readily. You know leaders are not elected; you don’t spend money to be elected a leader. It is not how much money or how much wealth you have that can make you a leader, but your performance, behaviour, cultural attitude and background, contribution to the country, the sacrifice you have made and several other things you have made would qualify and single you out of many to become a leader.

All these qualities are in some people and one of them would emerge at the appropriate time. I can not say that so and so person would be the leader of the Yoruba or Afenifere for now. The leader to fill the gap created by the demise of Abraham Adesanya will emerge. You know Adesanya succeeded Pa Adekunle Ajasin without any rancour; it’s the same way the leader to fill the gap would emerge.

How do you think there would be unity among the Yoruba now that the leader is dead?
I think at a point, we will come together, but not immediately now that Papa Adesanya is dead. Soon, we will come together.

How do you assess President Umaru Yar’Adua’s government?
I have said this several times. He has spent one year in government and I have not seen one concrete achievement I can point to. Our children are running all over the places, I have not seen one programme that would better the lives of our children. No employment programme; millions of youths are not employed. If he can embark on a programme that would get our youths employed and if he gradually implements such programme, many people, including myself, would praise him.

Take power supply for instance, the supply of power in this country has been so poor for very many years now. During the era of Obasanjo, we were permanently in darkness.

People are not feeling the impact of the government. Is he going to use another year for preparation? And by the time election is at hand, he would not have time to attend to other things other than preparations for re-election. If truly he wants to rule this country and deliver the dividends of democracy to the electorate, he should start now.

During the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) days, we had our programme such as free education, creation of employment, free healthcare and so on clearly spelt out. The very month we got into power, we started implementing our programmes because we had already planned ahead. It is not when you get there that you would be preparing a blueprint and it is not a thing that you can do overnight; it would take some time. So, you have to plan ahead.

That was why UPN government, in every state we controlled, was able to provide free education, roads and hospitals even at grassroots level. But today, look at the road from Osogbo to Ilorin; it is a death trap; it is very terrible. This is a major road leading two states together; it should not be so. I am very sure that such bad roads are all over the country.

There have been talks that the PDP would rule the country for long. What do you think opposition parties can do to take over leadership from the PDP?
Elections in Nigeria’s politics are cash and carry. Once you have the money, you would rig the election and win. But as long as Nigerians allow themselves to be bribed during elections, Nigeria would continue to suffer under the yoke of bad government. It is Nigerians that can decide and not the opposition parties. The opposition have very little to do. If during the election, the likes of Obasanjo, Ahmadu Ali and Yar’Adua did not perpetrate rigging, thousand of Maurice Iwu cannot effect rigging. Afterall, Iwu was not the one that purchased cutlasses, guns and other weapons for thugs to disrupt election; it was done by the political class.

Did Iwu give money to voters to influence pattern of vote? Was that not done by the political class? Until the political class in this country decides to hold free and fair election, we would continue to suffer and the common man would continue to lament. We must take our destiny by our own hands; Nigerians must take their destiny by their own hands. It is not the opposition, but the political class has to change. We Nigerians should not be used. Not until this happens that we can have free and fair election in Nigeria and there would be progress in this country.

We observed that the voice of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in recent time seems to have become quiet on volatile issues; what is responsible for this?
It depends on what you consider to be volatile issues. We don’t just talk on issues that are not necessary; we talk on issues that affect Nigerians. For instance, we know that this government is not performing well and it is not up to standard and we keep on telling the world that this government is not the type of government that Nigerians are looking for. But when you talk of the Action Congress (AC), I want to tell you that everything that is not worth commenting on is what they talk about. We in the AD do not share the same ideology with the AC; we believe that when issues that are very important are raised, we should strive hard to attend to them effectively.

Do you mean we cannot compare the AD to the AC?
They are two different political parties. Actually, we were together initially; many of AC members defected from the AD. I want to tell you that the moment they defected, they changed in ideology; they changed in philosophy. They went and joined those who don’t share the same ideology with the AD. And you will discover that the way they make their comments is quite different from the AD’s way. At times, they say things that common sense would not accept. We don’t believe in that, we believe that whatever we say should be based on facts. That is the difference between the AD and the AC.

In 1999, AD won five states and it came second in the general election. Today, it does not control a single state. What are you doing to improve on the performance of the party?
AD has no control of any state now, but it has the control of the mind of the people and that is what is important. The day the people are allowed to elect leaders of their choice, you would see the effect of the AD and you would be able to see the love people have for the party. What we are after and what we are pursuing now; our own focus is how to ensure that the electoral reform which the present government is embarking upon is successful. If the reform is successful, I want to assure you that the AD would come back, not only to get its former territories, but also more states.

In the 1999 general election, we had councilors in Kano State and other Northern states. And for us to get that, we deserved it. But because of election malpractices then, we were unable to get more than that. We were supposed to have more than that because people had identified with our political party’s manifesto which is people-oriented.

Now, the moment we succeed in having good electoral process, that is when you would know the popularity rating of every political party in this country. You see what is happening now where courts have upturned some results of the recently-conducted elections. That is to show you that the declaration made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not match the verdict of the people. That is why I am saying that for us to come back, we need to have good electoral reform

process. Without this reform, it would be difficult for any party, even the AC which claims to have all the charisma to fight the PDP. Our main objective is that all political parties should come together so that we can have good electoral system that would ensure that whatever happens, the decision of the people would eventually prevail.