‘Opposition cannot regain power without internal reforms’ 

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, in this interview with MUYIWA ADEYEMI, shed light on the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, the role of its present and past beneficiaries, and the difficulties in opposition parties merging to challenge the ruling APC in 2027.

There are fears that Nigeria is gravitating towards one-party State, do you share the same concerns?
People talk about this a lot, some whisper it, some say it loudly around the opposition parties, and some interpret the movement of some stakeholders in the opposition parties to All Progressives Congress (APC) to mean that Nigeria is moving towards that direction. Some also look at the way the major opposition parties are being administered or projected to express that view.
 
But I have a fairly balanced opinion on it. One, opposition parties, PDP, Labour Party (LP), and all others cannot refuse to invest in themselves, review their own processes, clean up their own acts, determine and recast the ideological differentiation between them and others, destabilise their own organisation with excessive litigations, pretend as if while the ruling party is busy struggling with the fundamentals of the economy, that the worst from the opposition is that they will do nothing for themselves, with themselves, and they come screaming Nigeria is going into a one-party state.
 
On the other hand, there is this often mentioned assumption – without evidence – that it is the people in the Villa that are destabilising the opposition through the backdoor. I do not buy that.
  
I believe that members of the opposition are not kids, nor incapable of knowing what is in their own best interest. What is beginning to look like Nigeria is going into a one-party state, if you ask me, must be the fear that they cannot win the next election. Even that fear is excessively exaggerated and unfounded.
  
There are 93 million registered voters in this country as of the last count, with about 87 million who collected their PVCs. The ruling APC that won the election or allocated 8.7 million votes cannot give the impression that there are not enough numbers to strengthen the opposition. Invariably, what I am saying is that if Nigeria is going into a one-party state, it will simply be because we have not accepted the idea that the contest for power, either at the national or sub-national level, is truly a contest of both sides.

You said there is need for the like minds to come together as a credible opposition, can we view your recent meeting with the likes of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Hamza Al Mustapha, with the national chairman of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Musa Gabam, in Abuja, as a step to achieve your desire?
Yes, you can. It is not as if there is a settled position on the platform. No. It is just that there is a great belief that for this democracy to be sustained, we must not yield to the laziness of doing it the way we have always done it and expect different results.
  
If they are too weak to get it done by themselves, then there is nothing wrong with us having conversations, meetings and greetings. And hopefully, since it is becoming real that the rumour making the rounds that some parties are even already in bed with the ruling party, then they do not even desire to participate in the next election. People are now thinking of the next step to take.

What are the issues discussed at the meeting?
We talked about what we can do to sustain this democracy. What else can be done to make sure that our country has stability? How do we ensure that the country does not sit down on its tribal fault lines? How do we start to make sure that we remind ourselves of the creed of nationalism so that new nationalists can begin to stand up?
 
And I remember saying to them in that meeting that, look, I am a man who usually accepts the reality of today. Today’s reality is that President Bola Tinubu is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and that his first term is guaranteed until 2027, God willing. And it is his right, as it has become tradition for the right of first refusal of his party, that I am more about the morning after. We must also be clear that the generation of men that have been running elections for decades are becoming aged now. So, even if we don’t do anything, we must begin to plan succession.

During that meeting, were you able to reach conclusions on some of the posers raised about the state of affairs in the country?
Well, within the context of what you are asking, we did not try to make it that type of meeting. It is subsequently that we will now begin to settle to the serious business of how we proceed from here.
  
I don’t believe in confusion or saying I am leaving my party. But I also don’t believe that this country should not be well administered. As you have to know, whatever 200 people are doing in a meeting, even if it is for the purpose of the presidency, they must be discussing one person. It is just one chair. And that one chair can only be occupied by one person at a time. So, how do we then design a political engagement for a population like Nigeria that can accommodate more people, that can give people a better sense of belonging, that can communicate to the citizens that, no, your leaders are one. They are trying to be fair, doing the great hard work, ensuring that your country, our country, can be the best version of itself.
 
That when we say we are in opposition, it does not mean that our only work is to be harvesting and putting negativity all around our country to the extent of even trying to degrade our country in the midst of a comity of nations.
 
If we want to build the best nation in the world, it starts from us believing that our nation can be great. Yes, if we have issues with what the government of the day is doing, we should be firmly placing it on the table, but not in a manner that can give anybody the impression that all we want to do is to hate our country or even hate the leader that is there now. In the real sense of the word, power, authority and position, everything comes from God, and we are people of the books who believe in God.

PDP has been infiltrated and if the situation in the party remains like this till next year, will you still remain loyal to it?
Since 1999, I have held many positions in the party and I have tried my best to make the opposition strong and I will continue to be in politics to make things better for our country. But I am at my wit’s end. My umbilical cord is not buried in that party.
  
I’ve offered that we should reform it, and I’ve been offering it as a big voice. I’ve even said, let me, because I suspect that they don’t even know how far they need to go in the reformation effort, offered to serve as national chairman of the party, if only they know what is good for them, so that we can bring on board people with better ideas.

I’ve told people it’s not a political party. It’s just a platform for us to re-engage and review the whole process. I’m not interested in changing the picture on the wall of either a governor or a president. That’s not my interest.
  
My interest is for us to be inching closer to the Nigerian dream that all Nigerians have in their heart; that our country can be great. I have no apology to turn that to them. I’m from the South-West, if you even look at the politics of our state, you will notice that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to be able to do much there, even with our party.

Some leaders of opposition parties have been coming together to discuss. Nigerians have seen former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi discussing, so also you, el-Rufai and SDP national chairman. Is it possible for the opposition leaders to form an alliance or merger and sacrifice their personal interests when the time comes?
There are three things going on simultaneously. There’s a group of people canvassing for a generational change. That all the older ones should go and sit down.
 
There’s another group of people who even believe that they want the Southern belt, which is the Yoruba side of it, to complete their eight years, so that they can continue the eight years for the North. Before now, there’s another group of people who are even saying that, let us come together first, then we will begin to decide who will drive the vehicle or mount the horse at a later date.