We don’t believe in party politics in PDP – Unongo

BY PETER DURU
Second Republic Minister of Steel and elder statesman, Wantaregh Paul
Unongo is the deputy chairman and spokesman of the Northern Elders'
Forum. In this interview he spoke on the position of the North on the
2015 election and other nagging national issues. Excerpts:
Lookingback on the anniversary of theJune 12, 1993 presidential
election, would you say Nigeria's democracy hasdeveloped, particularly
in the area of credible elections?
Paul Unongo
I think the people who said Abiola wonthe freest election in the
history of thiscountry were either talking with their tongues in cheek
or they are secessionists or they are people that have vested interest
because I don't know what was free about an election that was held
under the military.
And while we slept and deceived ourselves that we had a system that
was democratic, I knew that the military had given us some kind of
aphrodisiac. We fell asleep while they were implementing a programme
thatwas a deliberate institutionalization ofa political system in
Nigeria. They were testing it out, and it has worked up till today.
Democraticsystem
Those who see any serious difference between that election and what
we have today in our so called14-year democratic system are just
jokers because there is no single difference, it's the same military
system that we are practising today.
So, as far I am concerned, Nigerians slept while the military in
uniform perfected a system which they wantedto impose on Nigeria. And
the military system had this simple thing of protecting the interests
of the moneyed men of Nigeria beginning with the military who made
huge sums of money and wealth.
They also allowed a few civilians to make same. And they formed
themselves into the most formidable political alliance, pretending
and deceiving us.
They have formed political parties thatwere aimed at protecting the
perceived interest of this most powerful clique that has continued to
waste our energy and resources and ruin Nigeria up till today.
I submit humbly that the same system we are practising today may have
been the same system that produced Abiola. Take note that the system
didn't produce him with due consideration for the feelings of human
beings, that is the system that subsists today.
That was the system that produced Abiola, that was the system that
produced Jonathan, that was the system that produced Obasanjo who was
part of the people that produced the system.
So, I don't see anything excitingly different between Abiola's
election, Jonathan's election and Obasanjo's election.
They practiced a system that is institutionalized. Nigerians have done
nothing about what has been imposedon them.
If that is the case, when do you think we will have true democracy?
True democracy implies transparency, it implies respect for human
dignity, it implies proper election when one vote is one vote, two
votes is two votes, when a person beats you with one, it's one.
But today, my governors who run the fate of this country; they allowed
a camera to record the thing they called an election.
They voted and talked friendly. And the returning officer counted so
that they can show us how transparent they were. The man compiled and
sorted the votes for the two candidates; he said this is Jonah Jang,
this is Amaechi and then he went on.
These are the votes for Jonah Jang, these are the votes Amaechi got.
Everybody was watching. These are the chief executives that are
supposedto drive, institutionalize and solidify the democratic
process.
Amaechi got 19 votes, Jonah Jang, 16. Not a single person complained,
no fight, nothing. Everybody was happy. But they tried to say 16 is
greater than 19 and they wanted us to stand behindthem.
Our heads of government, 35 of them ruling Nigeria could not believe
that 16 has always been lower than 19? Are they not jokers?
You think this will not fall back on you and your country? What are
you teaching our children? So, I don't see any difference to what has
happened to Abiola and what has happened now.
Abiola claimed he won, Babangida, who produced the system together
with his friends the Obasanjos said no,you didn't win.
Okay, Amaechi felt 19 was greater than 16, he claimed that he won.
They said, we sack you, we want to show you that16 is greater than 19.
But this crisis is within your party…
Yes, they don't believe in party politicsin PDP. When we formed the
PDP, we had ideological orientation in our heads.
Quote me correctly, when we formed the PDP, it was a liberal
democratic party. PDP was Peoples Democratic Party. It was supposed to
be based on the principles of liberal democracy.
Do you see the emerging mega opposition party snatching power fromthe
PDP in 2015?I don't think, because I have no confidence. Are they
different from thepeople in PDP? They are the same people who are
going round trying to wrest power from these people; but the question
is, if they wrest this power, are they likely to be committedto the
ordinary people? Are they goingto give us freedom or will they do the
same thing by muzzling everybody?
Do you support the call on President Jonathan to re-contest in 2015?
No, I don't just support people. You would have asked, is Mr President
implementing my programme and would I help him to improve? No, no, no.
They want the president to hear that I support him, so that they will
send money to me.
I cannot sell my conscience by telling him in advance that I'm going
to support him when I don't know his programme. I like some of the
things he's doing and I don't like some of the things he's doing.
I belong to an organization known as Northern Elders Forum, we are a
political organization, we want peace, stability and the progress of
Nigeria, particularly, northern Nigeria because the stability of
northern Nigeria is the stability of Nigeria as a whole because of its
huge land mass.
If there is peace in the North, if there isstability in the North
which is two-third of Nigeria, there will be peace and stability in
the rest of Nigeria.
So, I am loyal to the Northern Elders Forum, I am the deputy leader,
I'm the spokesman, whatever decision that is taken by the NEF as to
whom we should support as the president of Nigeria, we know that
person will win.
We feel the North has not been treated well and we have statistics
right from the time Obasanjo became president of Nigeria.
Structuralallocations
We are talking about structural allocations. Perhaps, when you see
them and abstract them and juxtapose them with the time of the
various presidents, perhaps you will feel more angry during Obasanjo's
time. Perhaps,you will say Jonathan has tried, I don't know. But we
will do that exercise when it comes to supporting anybody.
The Northern Elders Forum recently met with the President on the
securitysituation in country. What was the outcome?
We've been advising the President. In Nigeria, everything is secret,
they don't take Nigerians into confidence.
We of the Northern Elders Forum are very worried that security of
Nigerians was so threatened that living in this country became too
precarious and people who were too scared were taking off from
Nigeria.
We understood that. We have taken steps to bring this situation back to normal.
Together, we believe that if we contribute our quota we will solve the
problems. So, we stayed and wrote copious suggestions to Mr President.
In fairness to Mr. President, he granted us audience when the thing
became too much and he saw us face-to-face and discovered that he paid
hirelings that always hang around power corridors who were all bunch
of northerners who were floating the idea that Boko Haram don't want
him as a Christian. I particularly told him to be very far away from
them.
By constitution, Mr. President swore to protect every Nigerian and the
territorial integrity of Nigeria and this thing whether it is his
political opponents that created them is completely immaterial.
The thing was threatening our finances as almost everywhere was
running out of control. We told Mr. President, this is a very serious
situation, don't look at Boko Haram it's a multi faceted problem that
you have at hand; the approaches should be multi faceted.
He agreed. Our position is that Mr President swore by constitution to
protect us and give us security in our country and proceeded to swear
to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
If anybody comes and starts appropriating some parts of Nigeria and
planning and telling people that he is going to declare this part of
Nigeria, part of Chad, part of Niger and part of Mali as whatever, he
should blast that person to hell.
So, we are not opposed to Mr. President declaring a state of emergency.