HomeNewsPoliticsBusiness » EntertainmentSportsFeatures » EditorialOpinionColumnistLawTravel & TourismArtmore » Latest News I’m a necessary virus in PDP, Tukur tells Lamido Home » Politics » PDP crisis a conspiracy against Jonathan – Nwangwa PDP crisis a conspiracy against Jonathan – Nwangwa 1 share Chief Charles Nwangwa is a chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State. In 2011, he contested for a seat in House of Representatives under the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In this interview with WALE ABIODUN, he opens up on various national issues including President Jonathan’s administration, crisis in PDP and the emergence of APC. He states that the crisis that engulfed the PDP is a conspiracy against President Jonathan’s 2015 ambition. What is your assessment of Nigeria political development so far? It is unfortunate that at 53 Nigeria is still a state. We are not a nation yet. I don’t think what Nigeria is today is the dream of our founding fathers. The problem is not the making of President Goodluck Jonathan. It is something he met on the ground. We need to go back and do something to give this country a proper footing. What do you mean that Nigeria is a state and not a nation? A state is a geo-political entity with marked boundary and a member of the international organisation. It is a geographical expression. You can be a nation and not a state, and a state can become a nation. For instance we have the Palestinian nation; they are a nation but not a state. Then we have the Jewish nation which metamorphosed into the nation of Israel. The people of a nation see themselves as one. They may be in different locations but they have the common destiny, they think alike, they have the common goals. When they see their flag, they know, and they see themselves as one. There are countries that have been able to build themselves into a nation, like Ghana. Ghana is a nation, they are not one particular person, there are different ethnic groups in Ghana, but they see themselves as a Ghanaian nation. But in Nigeria you are first of all a Yoruba man, an Ibo man or Hausa man before being a Nigerian. What we have is Ibo nation, Yoruba nation, Fulani nation, the Efik nation, the Nupe nation, the Igala nation and so on. That is why you don’t feel comfortable building your house in a place like Aba, if you are not from there, or in Maiduguri. Because something tells you this place is not my place. But if you are a nation, anywhere you are, you are comfortable and be proud of it. You are not bothered on where an industry is sited. In Nigeria today, you find that an industry that is suited for Abeokuta might be found in Sokoto. It is like that because there are other primordial considerations and not in the interest of Nigeria. Some stakeholders are saying that Nigeria’s problem is leadership, what is your view on this? We have only been having rulers, not leaders. Without having a nation, you cannot have the true leader. There was a great Yoruba leader, who was late Obafemi Awolowo. There was also a great Igbo leader, who was late Odumegwu Ojukwu. It would be recalled that Ojukwu used his father’s resources to champion the cause. He sacrificed all what the father had. Just imagine if what Awolowo did to Yoruba nation is translated into a whole Nigeria, or if what Ahmadu Bello did to Hausa-Fulani is translated into a whole Nigeria, don’t you know where Nigeria would have been? So, we never had a real general leader for a whole Nigeria. It is true we never had a leader. How do you think a national leader can emerge? The only way we can have a true general leader in Nigeria, is through a radical approach. Look at Goodluck Jonathan; just because he is a minority, nobody gives chance to the president. Look at people saying openly that they will make country ungovernable for him and they are living to their words. Look at the walk-out they did, you find out it is the northern thing. Look at Amaechi, the case of Amaechi is like a drowning man who wants to claw at something. He knows he does not belong there. He knows the north doesn’t want him there; they only want his material thing. At the end of the day the chicken will come to roost. Just imagine, could he have done that to Buhari or Atiku? How can a true leader emerge? It will be very difficult unless we agree to go on dialogue. What is your view on President Jonathan’s move to convene national dialogue? The problem of this country is that everybody shies away from the truth. Everybody is afraid to say the truth. The real problem of this country is that the northerners gave themselves the majority, so in everything they take the lion share. And they become the decision maker to the detriment of other geo-political zones in the country. You can’t really change anything. Look at the other day, because they put somebody as the head of National Population Commission, they are scared that the man might do a proper census and disadvantage them, they started discrediting him, telling the president to remove him. They lord over every sector, anything they don’t have access to determine, they want to scatter it. Why must power go back to the north by all means? They were in government for many years, but unfortunately if you go to the north there is nothing to show for it. What do they want to do with the power again? We have to restructure this country. If we want to be true federation, the east should have equal number of states with the west and north. In a federation, no particular part of the country should be above the other. Confederation would have been better for this country. Each region develops at its own pace. We just need to talk and decide how this country will be. For instance, when I wrote JAMB, I scored 275, I was not given admission; somebody that scored 120 was admitted. Even the independence of this country was delayed because of the northerners. All these things do not augur well for this country. How can the imbalances be corrected? The national assembly will not do anything, even when the national assembly wants to do something; the north has the majority, rightly or wrongly. If you want to redress they won’t allow it. The only thing is through national conference where every ethnic group will be allowed and be given equal representation and then we decide whether this country will continue or not. Or we can decide to be a confederation. Now that you are in PDP, what should your supporters expect from you in 2015? My supporters should expect a vibrant politician. There has been an improvement on what we are doing and the people want effective representation and also they want dividends of democracy. So far we are not doing badly. As a notable politician in Abia State, what is your political ideology and beliefs? I believe in welfarism and working for the people. I believe in using the resources in the interest of the people. I also believe in promoting the interest of the masses. I am against ineptitude and corruption. I want a situation where people will be carried along. I want everybody to have equal access to qualitative education. I believe that one should think less of himself. I came to realise that the major reason why politicians loot and amass so much wealth is because they are not always contented with their present position. For instance a councillor wants to be a local government chairman, a councillor wants to be a member of House of Assembly, when he gets to House of Assembly, and he wants to amass wealth to contest for House of Representatives. When he gets there, he wants money to return for second term and third term if possible. From there he wants to amass wealth to become a Senator. From there he wants to amass wealth to become the Governor. When he becomes governor, he wants to amass wealth to contest for presidency or Vice Presidency. He becomes the vice president, he wants to be president. As president he wants to be there forever, he wants to amass enough wealth to be able to influence things in his favour. You discover that selfishness and desire for perpetuity cause corruption in the land. And all these vices affect the masses. For me, I am contented with what God has done for me. What is your view on the current crisis in PDP leadership? What is happening is a conspiracy to disallow President Jonathan to enjoy his constitutional right to contest for second term in 2015. We have people who do not want to work in the interest of Jonathan. Our brothers in the north have to know that the only thing that is permanent is change. Dynasty must change, that is history. What is happening is dynamism of life. The whole gamut is that Mr. A and B want to be president in 2015 but let me tell you that President Jonathan is not a fool. The only thing is that he is an intelligent wise man, who has the spirit of God. He does not like disgracing people. He is the president, he has enormous power. All his adversaries should know that a president is a president. He is there by divine providence, he is there by the will of God, and nobody can do anything. What is your view on the emergence of All Progressives Congress (APC)? APC, PDM and all of them are not anything new. We have had that kind of alliance before. APC is a marriage of strange bedfellows and definitely, it is going to crumble. APC is not a problem of PDP, the only problem of PDP is internal. The problem of PDP involves the members not outsiders. But I can assure you that majority of Nigerians like President Goodluck Jonathan and he will get the second term. As the national assembly is planning to review the constitution, what are the areas you want them to look into critically in the interest of the people in your constituency? This country needs to be restructured. In a situation where one side is made minority and other one is made majority. That has been the problem of Nigeria. If we don’t look at it we can’t make any headway. It is very difficult to amend the constitution. Anything you want to do that is not in the interest of the north, they will not support it and they constitute majority. Anything that is not to their favour will be blocked. That is why it is impossible for a new state to be created by a democratically elected national assembly operating under the 1999 constitution. Are you calling for national dialogue or conference? The forces that are benefiting from the imbalance will not allow the conference to see the light of the day. So, what is the way out? The way out is that there must be a political will.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:51:49 +0000
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