Re: Jonathan is still learning, he 'll do better if reelected -- Bafarawa

TWO-time governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru
> Bafarawa, arguably, belongs to the echelon of
> vastly experienced politicians. At the dawn of the

> Fourth Republic, he joined the All People’s Party
> (APP), which later became All Nigeria Peoples
> Party (ANPP) and now APC. He was elected
> governor in 1999 and re-elected in 2003 on the
> banner of the APP. He ran for the presidency in
> 2007 on the plank of the Democratic People’s
> Party (DPP) he helped to found. In this interview
> with select journalists in his Sokoto residence,
> shortly after being welcomed into the PDP by
> President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders of
> the party, he shares his thoughts on his mission,
> vision and ability to deliver in the PDP. Excerpts:
> BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
> What prompted your defection to the PDP?
> Joining PDP was not my decision it was the
> decision of my people.
> In joining PDP, we are looking for a change for the
> better. I was in the opposition to protest against
> injustices being done to my people and ensure that
> justice is done. I was not in the opposition just for
> the sake of being in the opposition. All I was trying
> to do was to make sure that things were done the
> right way because in the constitution of any party,
> there must be internal democracy.
> On whether the enlarged PDP will welcome his
> ideas.
> Yes! The PDP is a national party. In the last 16
> years I have been opposing the party but when I
> decided with my people to join PDP, automatically,
> they started giving us the same treatment like
> those that founded the party unlike other political
> parties that will meet the owner and take it away
> and give it to a new member. So, when you sit
> down and compare the two, you can see that PDP
> is more national than any other political party in
> the country.
> On the day I joined the PDP, I went to Abuja with
> my people to see the national chairman and he
> told us that we were all equal. And look at what
> has been happening since then — there have been
> signs of togetherness, unity and brotherliness.
> Look at the caliber of people that came to Sokoto
> to celebrate with me and my people and accept us
> into the party. The president, vice president, senate
> president, national chairman and members of the
> NEC, serving governors, and even former chairmen
> of the party were all here to welcome us into the
> party. So, you can see the difference within two
> weeks.
> On whether he has regrets for not joining the
> ruling party earlier.
> Not at all! I have no regrets because I am fighting
> injustice. I’m not in politics for the sake of my
> personal interest. I am in politics to advance the
> cause of my people positively.
> When my people saw that there is injustice in the
> APC, they made up their mind that we should leave
> and join PDP. It was their decision and I cannot
> say no to their decision. That is why we found
> ourselves in the PDP. Therefore, I’m not regretting
> anything.
> But now, I have joined PDP and they have seen
> justice done to me. That’s all I’m looking for —
> equal treatment. So, I don’t have anything to
> quarrel about, I am comfortable and I want to work
> for the party.
> On allegations that he left the APC, which he
> helped to form because the leadership took the
> party structure from him and gave it to Governor
> Wamakko.
> We are not quarreling with anybody in APC. All we
> are saying is, let us follow the rules of the game. If
> you are playing a game and there is no rule to
> guide it, then there is a problem. And as a leader, I
> cannot just be dragging myself when I know that I
> am leading millions of people. If I know that things
> are not being done well and I continue to be
> dragged into the ship and I know that the ship is
> going to sink on us, then there is a problem.
> Therefore, my people decided that we have to
> change and we changed. That is what is expected
> of a leader and that is why we joined the PDP. I
> only hearkened to the wish of my people.
> On what he thinks APC has lost with his departure.
> I don’t think I’m the right person to comment on
> what they have lost or not lost with our leaving for
> the PDP. As far as I am concerned, if I was of any
> value to them, I don’t think they could have
> afforded to lose me. May be they did not know my
> value or because I’m no longer occupying the seat
> of governor where I can award contract or release
> money to do whatever I was asked to do, they felt
> that instead of going for me, they should go for a
> governor who has money to dish out.
> While speaking at the podium, you said that you
> are not joining PDP to pursue any political position
> but for the interest of your people…
> Of course, yes.
> What if your people ask you to go and represent
> them in the Senate?
> There is something that my people will ask me to
> do and I will do it. They asked me to move to PDP,
> I went because it is going to affect everyone of us.
> But if they ask me to go to the Senate and I
> accepted to go, then I’m selfish. I have ruled the
> state for eight years; the whole constituencies were
> my constituency.
> Governor for eight years
> So, if I come back again after eight years to go for
> Senate, I won’t be fair to myself and the young
> ones whom I think I should give a chance to rise. I
> cannot be a governor for eight years and come
> back to go and represent one third of my state in
> Abuja.
> His take on the re-election ambition of President
> Goodluck Jonathan.
> If he wants to re-contest and the PDP gives him
> the ticket as the presidential candidate of the party,
> I will definitely work for him. In fact, whoever
> emerges as the flag bearer of our party, I will work
> for the person.
> His assessment of President Jonathan’s
> performance in the last four years.
> My assessment of President Jonathan’s
> performance in office will be different from
> anybody’s assessment because I was once in
> office as governor. Sometimes it is not the leader
> that is weak but those who are giving him support.
> If someone had people who are not qualified to
> help him in the running of affairs, he will not
> succeed even if he has a great vision. The
> leadership of our great country is not a one-man
> show; it is a collective responsibility. So, for
> anybody in government to succeed, you must have
> people who are capable and knowledgeable to help
> you do the job.
> So, I don’t assess Jonathan as a failure because
> he needs to be assisted. Nigeria’s problems are
> not for one person to tackle; it’s a collective
> responsibility. That’s why we are now in PDP.
> Process of learning
> If I could not see him when I was in another party,
> now as a member of the PDP, I have the right to
> advise him because his failure is my failure while
> his success is my success.
> Jonathan is still in the process of learning; he had
> experience as deputy governor, governor and vice
> president. Being a governor of Bayelsa is different
> from being the president of the country. Within the
> last four years, he has gained a lot of experience.
> If he goes for a second term, I believe he will do
> better than he did in the last four years.
> On how President Jonathan can succeed.
> If Mr. President wants to aspire for a second term,
> I believe he has a vision. His first coming was not
> as president but as vice president. Therefore, the
> vision of his government is the vision of his boss.
> Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, if the party
> leadership is doing its job as it ought to,
> everybody will succeed because the manifesto of
> any political party is the working material that is
> supposed guide Mr. President or the governors.
> And who is going to supervise them? It is the
> party leadership. So, if the president or any
> governor fails, it is not the person that has failed
> but the leadership of the party.
> His take on the rising tension in the country ahead
> of the 2015 election.
> I speak from my background as a Moslem because
> in the Quran, there is a verse which says that
> nobody gives power but God and He gives it to
> anybody he wishes and He can take it from
> anybody any time he wishes to take it back. So, if
> I say that in 2015 something is going to happen,
> I’m doubting that and also going contrary to my
> religion because no matter what, nobody gives
> power but God. So, all the threats about what will
> happen in 2015 if certain things do not happen, are
> just rubbish. To me, only God gives power.
> Let me give examples: former President Obasanjo
> was in prison; he was looking for his freedom and
> did not expect to be president. But look at how
> God took him out from prison and made him the
> president of Nigeria for good eight years. God gave
> him power but it had a limit. By time he wanted to
> go back for a third term, he had the money, he
> also had the power but it didn’t work. Look at how
> Yar’Adua came from nowhere.
> He was thinking of how to finish his second term
> as governor and go and take care of his health but
> he found himself in Aso Rock. Jonathan was not
> thinking of ruling this country but he is the one
> governing Nigeria today.
> So, for us to start writing and shouting about 2015
> is just a waste of time as God has already made
> His decision regarding 2015 and nobody can
> change it. So, whether you are a northerner or
> southerner, Christian or Moslem you cannot
> change it.