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Chila: Wike, others should overcome clash of ego, work for party’s victory

By Leo Sobechi
12 September 2022   |   2:42 am
Dr. Abraham Chila, the Leader of Ward2Ward4Atiku in Benue State, in this interview with LEO SOBECHI, describes what is happening with the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Ortom should face Benue’s domestic challenges

Dr. Abraham Chila, the Leader of Ward2Ward4Atiku in Benue State, in this interview with LEO SOBECHI, describes what is happening with the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a mere clash of ego, stressing that those calling for Ayu’s exit want to trash due process and procedure.

 
As a critical stakeholder, what is your impression about the forthcoming general election in 2023?
I think Nigerians generally have very high expectations about the forthcoming general elections. We really need to see this as a make or mar situation for Nigeria. Nigeria has to get it right. INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) has to get it right.

Chila

    
I must say that I am impressed with INEC because they have taken the necessary steps to make the elections as transparent as possible as was seen in Ekiti and Osun. The civil societies also have lived up to expectations and I think we are going to have better and more credible elections come 2023.
 
If you can say that about INEC, are you satisfied with the manner in which the APC and PDP presidential candidates emerged, particularly the nature of their primaries?

I can only speak for my party the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party). I can’t speak for the APC (All Progressives Congress), and as we all know, democracy is about processes and procedures.
     
PDP followed the process and procedure to the letter and I saw a free and fair and to a large extent, credible process. You know the very distinguished former Senate President Dr. David Mark chaired it. And we saw the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. So, I am very satisfied and I think Nigerians will vote massively for Atiku Abubakar.
 
But each of these main political parties has issues in them. Between the Muslim-Muslim ticket of APC and the obvious crisis in PDP, which do you think poses a greater problem to the country’s democracy and national unity?

Very short: The Muslim-Muslim ticket. The APC has never been sensitive to the yearnings of Nigerians. You know they have failed. They told us many lies and today they have failed. That is why they still went ahead to produce a Muslim-Muslim candidate against the overwhelming opposition from Nigerians.

   
My party, PDP; doesn’t have crisis. When you talk about crisis, you are talking about factions and several factions. There are no factions in PDP. It is just about ego. We are talking about a man who lost fair and square, a man who proclaimed at the venue of the special convention that he will support whoever emerges. So, it beats my imagination today that some camps are coming up to support him and cause these minor headaches for our party.
 
But, by and large, there are no crises in the party, the party is bigger than anybody, it is bigger than Governor Wike and as I said, we don’t have crises in the party.
 
Is there any of the presidential candidates that inspires confidence in his ability to rebuild the economy and secure the country?
Yes of course, Atiku Abubakar. He has seen and done it all. You know, in 1999 Nigeria was coming under military rule and he inspired a lot of confidence. He chaired the Economic Team and brought in big names like Dr (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Nasir El-Rufai, among others.
    
We saw what happened, we got Paris debt relief and so on and so forth, the introduction of GSM (Global System for Mobile) communication. Nigeria was made a destination for the international community. So, he has the experience, he has the temperament and the capacity to inspire and lead us out of this mess we have found ourselves in now.

Since you said there is no crisis but a clash of ego in PDP, how far do you think the friction will affect the fortunes of the party during the presidential election?

Not at all. Like I still maintain, it is just one person. PDP has several governors, but it is just one person and it is about his ego. We all saw how he lost clean and fair at the convention.

For us as a family, if you have a problem with a child who is behaving erratically, you will try and calm the child down, you don’t send him away. That is what we are doing as a political party. It is not a crisis per se.
   
Even in Rivers State, there are PDP members who are not happy with his behaviour. So, essentially, it is just one man’s camp. Here was a fellow who rejected the vice presidential slot, today he is coming back to say no and is making demands on the party.

  
It is just a minor problem, a minor challenge, which I think the presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has shown a lot of maturities, by playing along, to try and see how we will contain this tantrum being thrown by this former presidential aspirant and his camp. So, it is not a major problem for us to lose sleep about. The PDP will certainly have the day come 2023.

If you say the problem in PDP is just about one person, the last time we checked, the governor of your state Governor Samuel Ortom, has taken sides; how do you feel about his political preferences?

It is troubling really because I have tremendous respect for the governor. He is not just my governor, he is also my in-law, and one I have the utmost respect for.
   
But, the most unfortunate thing is this; there was a process that followed the laid down procedure. If they felt Atiku Abubakar was not supposed to take part in the process, they should have demonstrated by not going ahead or withdrawing. But, they still went ahead and didn’t complain. They didn’t try to crumble but went ahead with the entire procedure.

  
The whole world saw Atiku Abubakar emerge, he was there as part of the selection team, so why turn around now and cry when you were part of the process? Was Ortom not part of the zoning committee? Why turn around and side with one particular fellow who still went ahead with the process?
   
Nobody is complaining about the process; nobody is quarrelling with the outcome. In politics there are intrigues, and people are allowed to form alliances. So, it was within Governor Tambuwal’s prerogative to support whoever he wanted. You don’t blame him for that, you don’t blame a man for contesting, simply because he comes from the South, West, North or even the middle belt.
    
So, for me, it is very very unfortunate that my governor is reinforcing this whole shenanigan by the Rivers State governor. We respect the Rivers State governor, he has promoted the Tiv culture and all of that, but it is time to put a stop to this distraction.
   
It does not serve the party in any way, it is just about his personal ego and the governor of Benue State should concentrate more on the problems he has at home. My governor needs to be reminded that all politics is local. He may be a champion out there, but at home, our people are seeing things differently.
    
Benue people are disillusioned and they are not happy that he has time to be gallivanting for petty politics of who gets what. He ought to concentrate his attention on addressing domestic issues rather than dancing to the whims and caprices of Governor Wike, simply because he has been there for him.
   
He is the executive governor of Benue State and he was voted to govern the state and not to hop around with his Rivers State counterpart, with all due respect to him.
 
But, do you know whether Ortom is having a positive influence on Wike?
Well, I wouldn’t say that. I think birds of the same feather flock together, so I can’t really explain whatever influence they have on each other. I think they are best of friends; I can’t really say.
   
But, what I know is that the influence they are having on our party, the impression they are giving people about our party, that our party has a crisis, is wrong.  There is no crisis in PDP. For goodness sake, if you want Ayu out, there is a process to follow. There is a procedure to achieve that, but you don’t just sit down and begin to make demands.
   
Democracy is not about demands, it is about the process, give and take. Like I said it is about procedures that take into consideration the interest of others and the entire party structure. We can’t just begin to stand up and behave as if everything is all about one person.
   
Today, somebody will stand up and make demands. Look at Bode George; he is also making demands in Lagos. He hasn’t settled in Lagos yet; he doesn’t know what happens in Lagos State. But, today, they all want Dr Ayu out.
    
There was a process. Ayu didn’t just emerge, he followed the process. So, you don’t just come and sit down and make demands, thereby making caricatures of the whole process. It is funny when people come on national television and say we are making these demands, forgetting that there is a process to everything in a democracy.

How do you think PDP can best solve these little challenges?
Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue and harmonisation of interests. Every politics is local and that is about the diversity of interests. I do hope that for the sake of the Rivers State people, Governor Wike would be looking at the overall interest of the Rivers people and not just his own political survival. He has a tall profile already.

    
Governor Wike has a lot to give to the party. His experience as a loyal and consistent party man is worthy of commendation. He has been faithful to the party because he has never left the party since 1999. So, we are not going to say he is not important at the party, but he should concentrate.
   
When we win the election he could be the Secretary of the Federal Government. There are lots of roles in which he could serve the country, and people like him, who speak truth to power are in high demand. This is the time when we need such courage the most, not this distraction. It is really unnecessary and it should be handled as a family matter.

What can you say about the current security challenges in the country?
Well, that is the most unfortunate of all. I hope President Muhammadu Buhari wakes up and places a call to President Jonathan to apologise to him personally. They said all manner of things about Jonathan. That he was weak, that he was this, that he was that. Today, a former General, who was prided to be one of the best in the country, who had a record of excellence, has shown that all of that was a mere façade, all lies.
    
Today, the insecurity is worse that you can’t even travel on our roads. In some parts of the country, you need to know the days to travel. On certain days, you can’t travel, this is most unfortunate. There is no synergy among the armed forces, there is no synergy among the security agencies. We don’t know who is in charge.

     
The security problem can only be solved by a determined Commander-in-Chief, who will give his Generals matching orders and they will know what to do, knowing the consequences of failure, not people who just go around lamenting that they are disappointed and nothing is done.
    
There is no consequence for failure right now in Nigeria; monies are voted and we don’t know what is being done with it, Generals are becoming rich by the day, while soldiers and troops lack ammunition. In this age and time, when modern equipment should be used in fighting banditry, our soldiers are still trekking to the bush. And to crown it up, these bandits are not invisible. They go on the popular ‘okada’ (motorbikes).
   
So, it is for us in the PDP, that when Atiku Abubakar becomes the President, we know he has the will and capacity and the menace will be tackled. Soldiers will be properly equipped and well funded, as well as given the marching orders to get rid of these miscreants. We all love this country.
 
Is this issue of banditry and insurgency too big for Nigeria to contain?
Not that much. I can tell you for sure that some of the security agents are in cahoots with some of the bandits. The bandits are not ghosts; they are not coming from outer space. If you don’t fund your military if you don’t equip your security agencies if you don’t give them the right gear, if you don’t give them the right mindset, they won’t give you 100 per cent.
    
I won’t go after criminals when I know that they have superior firepower and I have children at home. I am not going to give my best. Look at the way our barracks are funded, it is just a simple issue, it is not something that cannot be handled. It can be handled, but with the right mentality, with the right ideas and with the right persons in charge.

But kidnap for ransom has become a lucrative criminal enterprise, with the extent it has gone, can it be completely stamped out?
At one point, we thought that kidnapping in Niger Delta will not end. Also, at that point, we thought the Niger Delta militancy will not end. But, with the right blend of leadership and mindset, all of that came to an end. So, as I still say today, it is all about the right leadership.
   
When you have the right security agencies, when security personnel are promoted as at when due, when they are recruited not based on I know somebody, but based on the determination to serve the country, then you will get results. What we have today is appalling; it is because the leadership has failed.

Do you think insecurity can stop next year’s election?
No, it can’t and it will be unfortunate for anyone to think that it can stop next year’s election. Perhaps it is a ploy by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) not to go after the bandits to give an impression that insecurity is pervasive so that they can perpetuate themselves in power. But it won’t work, next year’s election will still hold and we will see the emergence of Atiku Abubakar.

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