By Henry Umoru

Mallam Adamu Bello hails from Numan, Adamawa State.  He is one of the politicians vying for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.  A former minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for over six years during former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Bello, in this interview, bares his mind on plans for the party, problems of the PDP, the need for internal democracy and the way forward.

You are a technocrat and Nigeria’s political terrain appears very rough, what do you intend to bring to this political terrain that is not there already?

Well, the political terrain is very rough and politicians are looked at as people who are rough and work with the motto that the end justifies the means. I think that should not be the case and that is why I feel that I should go into politics. To help refine it, to help make it appear that people who are honourable, sincere, principled. Politics is very important because those who control political parties actually control the government because political parties are formed to seek power and to utilize it.

So if we say that politics is not for technocrats or it is not for people who are principled but is for those who can mount the podium and say nasty things about their opponents, those of us who are technocrats should stay out of it that would not bring change to the political landscape. So I decided to join the race for the leadership of the PDP and by the Grace of God I will be the chairman of the party and influence change. We must encourage people to go into politics, to play politics in a very clean way.

You are not new to boardroom politics, what are bringing into party politics from boardroom politics?
I have served on the board of at least 10 companies. I had the privilege to be part of the nine-man committee that transformed the Lagos Stock Exchange to Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1977. I was perhaps the first northerner to be authorized to deal in securities as a stockbroker. Later on, I served in the council as a member.

Then I was in the board of Habib Bank [now Keystone] for many years and later became the managing director. Very interestingly, five years after I left Habib Bank, I went on to become the Chairman of the company which tells you the kind of manager I was. I was appreciated long after I left and in 1992 when after leaving Habib Bank, they named their training institute after me, Adamu Bello Training Center. I was 43 when I retired, but yet they named the institute after me.

So I have this boardroom politics experience which I intend to bring into the political landscape so that we do it also in politics; the ability to build consensus. I will recall many years ago, in 1984 or so, there was a very heated debate on an issue on the board of Habib Bank and one of the members moved for a vote. But General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, who was the chairman of the board, told Chief M.K.O Abiola [now late], who was a director in the bank, that as long as he remains the chairman, there will be no voting, it shall have to be consensus.

One thing I learnt from that was how to build consensus from divisive issues in the boardrooms; how to take care of the interests of others. And we need to bring this into politics. Not that people are expelled from the party or that people walk away from the party, no. We need to build consensus, bringing in people into the party rather than sending people out.

ADAMU BELLO

How would you address the challenges of internal democracy, true reconciliation and party discipline in the PDP?
You see the issue is that of leadership. Sometimes we do things to achieve our immediate selfish goals. The absence of internal democracy in the party is because someone is bending the rules. So long as there is transparency, the rules are known. So long as you do it right even if you are under tremendous pressure.

I put greater blame on those who lead the party, those who bend the rules because there is pressure on them rather than on those who put the pressure on them. I believe those who put the pressure on you, you should be able to resist it and explain to them.

They may be angry with you in the short term but in the long term, you will see that that issue of non existence of internal democracy will disappear. Absence of party discipline emanates simply because the internal democracy collapses. Once people feel that they have not received justice that is what normally brings indiscipline. Lack of discipline emanates because of four reasons: one lack of justice.  Secondly, lack of firmness by the leadership of the party in particular. The party leadership has the responsibility to resist pressures from politicians.

You are no doubt one of the late comers in the race for PDP chairmanship, at what point did you make up your mind to contest and what level of consultation did you do before you took the decision to run?

Yes, I have been consulting. I have consulted for quite some time. My consultation is yielding good results.
There have been various committees on reconciliation in PDP and their reports and recommendations are yet to be implemented. What would you do as a chairman of the party to these reports and recommendations?

I will find all the reports and consider them as resources at my disposal. I have to sit back, look at these reports closely, marry them and see what impact time has done to them, things which have been overtaken by events. We will see what best we can do to implement them. If they are already implemented, we will see what kind of adjustments that are needed. These things are dynamic. With respect to party dynamics, the party is the parent of the executive as well as the legislative arm of government.

If you are president, you are president because you are a member of a party. If you are governor, you are governor because you are a member of a party. The same applies to the senators and members of the House of Representatives. So actually, the party is the parent of all those in the leadership position. Even the person who is chairman of the party is chairman because he is a member of the party, so there is the supremacy of the party.

As the chairman of the party, you are the father of the party. You ensure that everyone is treated well. All the children of the party should be treated well. Now, when you talk about usurping the powers of the party by governors and so on and so forth, that’s when I talk about firmness and justice.

If a state chairman resists a governor when the governor wants to impose someone on the party based on facts that are just, I tell you that the governor is going to do nothing, absolutely nothing. The governor may feel aggrieved that very night that is done. But what is wrong is that today, the governor calls you to do something that is wrong and you agree to do it. Tomorrow he calls you and you say no it is unjust.

The governor will feel offended and say that you are growing wings and they have to be clipped. But if it is an issue of principle and you are just, very few people fight justice and even if they do, they will not triumph for long. Justice will always triumph over injustice. People have to be firm and straightforward. You must be prepared to say what you believe in but you must say it with a measure of decorum to ensure that the leader is still the leader.

If you become the chairman of the party, how are you going to manage the various power blocs in the country without compromising the party’s integrity?

Well, like I said earlier, the political officials are all children of the party. If given the headship of the party, automatically I find myself in a position to manage the various groups. As I said, there is nothing like justice.  My strategy will be to be a fair and listening chairman who understands the dynamics of the system and who has the experience of how the system works. I am a technocrat who is well schooled in the art of PDP establishment.

How will you relate with President Jonathan if you become the party chairman?
The President is the leader of the party and he has great vision for this country. As chairman, I will help him to realise the transformation agenda and provide strong party support for him in pushing through his plans and programmes for Nigerians. I will strongly support him because I truly believe in his leadership.