Alhaji Muhammad Alkali Imam emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno state under controversial circumstances. In this interview with some journalists, he spoke on his emergence as the PDP ticket bearer and his plans to unseat the All Progressives Congress (APC) government in the north-east state. Excerpts: Your emergence as the PDP governorship flag bearer in Borno state generated controversy. What are you doing to win the confidence of those aggrieved by the processes that produced you? A lot of the issues that arose in the processes of my nomination were exaggerated. We had a situation where our own opponents in another political party were the ones crying over a perceived wrong. While those of us in the PDP know that the situation is far from the way that it is being projected. I have the highest regards for Alhaji Gambo Lawan, who was first named before the change of mind by our leaders. You know perhaps that because of our situation back home, we opted for consensus as the option to pick our candidates. Nine of us indicated interest in the governorship. We were given the opportunity to pick from amongst us on our own. But we were unable to do so. At various stages, attempts were made to pick one out of the nine, until we had to take the matter to the Presidential Villa. A mock primary was conducted where I came top with fifteen votes. In the wisdom of our leader after due consultations, he announced Gambo Lawan. Initially, we all accepted and congratulated him. I was amongst the first to identify with him and even accepted to be the Director General (DG) of his campaign organization. I had by then accepted the Senatorial seat which was given to me out of the magnanimity of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff. But as a Muslim, I believe God ultimately decides who does what at a particular time. I was asked to come and become the nominee, after further consultations were said to have been made by our leaders. I immediately reached out to my elder brother, Gambo Lawan, who has nothing against me or my candidature. I have visited all major stakeholders of the party as I did when I was given the senate seat to thank them for their support and seek for their blessings. It is natural that some people might feel hurt by the decision. But I believe it is God’s prerogative. We should not question it. I have been interacting with everybody in the party and beyond since my announcement. I only read about the dissents to it from some sections of the press. As a people and as a party, we have no problems. We can collectively resolve the matter. Those who beat the drums of war from outside should desist forthwith. Our leaders are on top of the situation. I am doing my best to see that no one buys into the plot being hatched from outside to divide us. We are not going into the election as a divided house. We are going into the election as a party that is determined to win. The people have demonstrated their willingness to vote us in. If there is no controversy as you have suggested, why is the matter dragging on up to the courts? The matter, being taken to court, is an orchestration of this same group that is not comfortable with my candidature, given my popularity. But I do not think it will be necessary to go to court. It is a matter between brothers. There are more amicable ways we can resolve it. Like I said earlier, those sounding the alarm are not even members of our party. We know their antics to cause unnecessary delays in our campaigns so that they can reap from it. The truth is that you cannot win elections by tricks. The votes will make the decision. There is no need overheating an already volatile environment through unnecessary bickering. Even if we do not agree, the PDP has effective machinery for internal resolution of issues. We shall have to exhaust that, if necessary, before we take our differences outside. The PDP has survived worse crises than those arising from the choice of candidates. There is no threat to our plans whatsoever. We are going into the elections to win. We hope to do so without any form of distraction. I enjoy a lot of support from my elder brother, Gambo Lawan. Nobody has the right to push him into distracting me. The Adamawa state governor has called for the postponement of elections in his state due to insurgency. With a similar situation in Borno State, do you think it is possible to have elections in your state? I think it is a question which should be directed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or the security agencies to say whether it will hold or not. As for me, it is logical if I say I prefer it holds given that my chances of winning are bright. But the issue is not even about winning. It is more of what can one do if elected. It is a question of what have we done or failed to do to create a conducive atmosphere for free and fair elections and for peace to prevail in all circumstances. We have been told it will hold and we are making preparations to participate and win. We pray that there is no further breach of peace so that our people can return to their homes for the elections to hold. Sincerely, these are my prayers beyond anything else. You were alleged to be renting crowd every time you come to Borno State. How would you react to this? How much would I be paying the people that often come out to receive me? You will agree with me that only government may have the financial capacity to hire crowds. If you have seen my two most recent outings, you will be convinced that I am fully on ground and the mammoth crowd is a reflection of the mood of the state and the desire of the people for change. The people are tired of being taken for a ride. They deserve a government they can call their own. I am a grassroots politician and that is where the bulk of my support comes from. I am overwhelmed. I have vowed that if given the opportunity, I owe these people a deal of gratitude and I pledge to take everybody along. What would you be doing differently if elected as governor of Borno state? I want you to understand that it is when situation like this one in Borno arises that the sense of patriotism in one is awakened. I know that it is not going to be a tea party. But we are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. Let me state here that it is because of the degeneration in our values, the sorry state of our infrastructure, the lack of vision to correct things and most importantly, the departure of peace from our shores that we seek to come to the rescue. We have not come to amass wealth, because we have seen wealth right from childhood. We have not come to demonstrate crude power because we have known power long ago. We are not coming to deceive, because it is ungodly. We have come to rescue our people from the clutches of fear, tears, blood and hopelessness. Those, who hope to govern when there is relative comfort often, do not have much to offer. I want to assure you that, it does not require magic to turn things around. As a matter of fact, some of the problems are self-inflicted. So, what we need to do is to stop inflicting problems on ourselves. I have come with a seven-point manifesto, which if religiously implemented, Borno shall rise from the ashes of this madness and become the pride of its people and the nation. My first priority is to expand the frontiers of collaboration in seeking for the solution to this mindless bloodletting. I intend to first stop paying lip services to the collaborative efforts of the Federal and State Government and explore avenues for genuine consultations that will engender a lasting peace and promote healthy inter- governmental synergy in ending the crisis and sustaining the peace. Once peace is achieved, then other things would naturally fall in place. How would you rate the performance of Governor Kashim Shettima-led government? You do not expect me to give it a pass mark, in the face of the reality we face. You see the truth needs to be told now before it gets too late. You will agree with me that there is disconnect between the government and our teaming masses, given that the government has a chosen creed of people it patronizes. This is a government to which promises mean nothing and pledges do not have to be fulfilled. This is a government which took over at a time all our citizens were comfortable in their localities.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:08:15 +0000
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