The Senator disclosed this among other national issues in an interview with Atek’ojo Samson Usman in his office at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Excerpts:
How would you assess the performance of Independent National Electoral Commission in the last general election that produced General Muhammad Buhari as President-elect and also making the All Progressives Congress a ruling party?
Actually, there was great improvement in the planning and prosecution of elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), under the chairmanship of Professor Attahiru Jega. From what has happened in those elections, I think there is hope that Nigeria is moving forward and bringing about better ways of doing things. The innovation of Card Reader in accreditation of elections has removed lots of irregularities inherent in elections, to know who actually voted. Even though, it has not removed irregularities completely, with time everything will be taken care of.
What is your feeling now that the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the general election roundly?
Well, nobody wants to be a failure. Everybody wants to win and that I won this election on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), I’m quite happy. We also feel challenged because nobody is going to sleep in trying to ensure that we cause a necessary change. We wanted a change of government not only a ruling party, but a change in ways of doing things, so we are not going to rest on our oars till there is a change of doing things in this country.
You have been a Senator in the last four years and luckily, you are coming back though on the platform of All Progressives Congress, how will you appraise your performance in the last four years?
In the last four years at the Senate, I contributed quite a lot and I could remember vividly that I raptly contributed to national issues of security concern borne out of my experience and understanding of the country. Now that I’m back not as a first timer, it will afford me opportunity the more to contribute to national interest because of the knowledge and experiences of offices along with reasonable intellectual context that I have. I think it was a rewarding kind of experience in the last four years.
The recent victory of All Progressive Congress has brought about gale of defections, thus making the nation somewhat a one party state. Doesn’t this development portend danger for democracy that needs robust opposition?
It was like that in 1999 when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was the ruling party. Every other party trooped into it because the PDP won 28 states out of 36. That is what will happen now. Once a party becomes a ruling party, many people start identifying with it because not many Nigerians play politics of ideology or politics of principles, but eventually when the party starts implementing its policies, programmes and manifesto, those who do not belong will begin to fall by the way. So I don’t think it is anything that anybody should worry about.
This is the first time an opposition party is taking over governance, how will you describe people’s response towards this change and to what extent will this deepen democracy in Nigeria?
It has gone to deepen democracy tremendously. In the past everybody thought that the opposition wanted to take the benefits of democracy because they were not in government, but gradually when good governance was being preached day after day, people began to see the difference between good governance and bad governance. They knew that when the opposition talks about changing government, it is not about taking over the affairs of governance for the reward of being an opposition, but actually to cause change in the lives of the people and people embraced this because they knew that it is necessary at this time of the day, especially that opposition itself was maturing day by day by putting better and better candidates, more and more mature people, more and more experienced people and they also learnt to work as a team rather than separate opposition party and when they amalgamated into one, they became a formidable force to reckon with. Moreso, the ruling party (PDP) presented a wonderful opportunity for them to be defeated by leaving a lot of things undone and for taking things for granted. So that is the way it is this time.
You were once a Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), how do you intend to bring your experience to bear so as to guide the All Progressives Congress from making the mistakes of your former party?
Judging from when I left the Peoples Democratic Party, it should be clear to you that I am a very patient person. I stayed and advised PDP for a very long time and at a point, it became very clear that it was not possible for the PDP to heed to advice. People that were controlling PDP would not take to advice and that was why I left them. Some of the people that were controlling PDP at a time were those who joined the party midway, who placed value on their personal interest and what they would gain in the guise of national interest. But, I will certainly work very hard within the fold of All Progressives Congress to ensure that that the party does not fail. I do believe that APC respects internal democracy and those things that make a party very strong.
Not only that the APC won at the Presidential polls, but at the National Assembly. How do you see leadership challenges at the National Assembly here?
There are enough members of the All Progressive Congress who have been at the National Assembly for a very long time who have learnt the art and science of law making. They also have the experience. I think they have taken cognizance of the pitfalls of the failed leaders of the current administration and they will do better. I don’t see much challenges, rather I see better coordination of affairs at the National Assembly.
