*Says the party needs re-positioning

By Jide Ajani, Deputy Editor

In this interview with Gambo Lawan, aspirant for the position of national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he exudes an uncommon confidence about the possibility of winning the election to the position.
For Lawan, he believes his organizational abilities are more than enough to earn him the position.
On the issue of godfatherism as a factor that would determine who eventually becomes the PDP national chairman, Lawan’s sense of pride came alive: First of all, the Almighty God is my godfather. I believe in the democratic process and I believe in and rely on the membership of our party.  I am known to the membership of our party across the nation.  I believe I have the age, experience and capacity to run this party. The issue is not about godfathers or godfatherism; it is about the individual who is in the race.  As far as I am concerned, my belief is that God gives power and takes power and it is only through God, and not through anybody, that I can get what I am looking for.
This is the first in a series that would bring the views of all the contestants for the PDP national chairmanship position.Excerpts:

You are one of those positioning for the chairmanship of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP. What informed your decision and what are you offering your party?

My decision to throw my hat in the ring for the position was a product of a long period of self-interrogation and strong conviction which I had after a voyage: that I can help rebuild and reposition the party to, once more, begin to enjoy the confidence and trust of the majority of people, including the members and leaders of the party who have become distraught at the internal wrangling that fractured the cohesion and harmony in the party and caused a collateral damage to our structures in some states prelude to the 2011 general elections.

I have embarked on nationwide consultations with critical stakeholders in our party and their responses arising from my interactions with them have further bolstered my aspiration.  None  of the people I discussed with expressed any doubt about my capacity to lead the party.  I have done it before. I have experience in party administration, therefore, I am not new to the nitty-gritty of the assignment I aspire to take up.

I sincerely hope for a level play field in our forthcoming national convention.  I believe in true principles  of democracy; I believe in ensuring that party members do have the opportunity to contest  for any position within the party and achieve it without having to be imposed or anointed by anybody other than the process that has been laid down which is our congresses and convention.  I believe in a party that is built on unity and harmony; I believe that once the process of democracy is allowed to take its course, party members will have a sense of belonging; they can freely aspire for any position and once it is the decision of party members that they are elected at the primaries, they will be allowed to take up positions. I want to see a party that is free of internal wrangling or a party that is free of interference by outsiders.

*Gambo Lawal

Are you aware that you are embarking on this enterprise in the face of the shambolism of imposing candidates for elections, something which your party is very notorious for?

I believe that value should be added to the party leadership or administration. That is why I have come into the race to see how we will put an end to what you just referred to as “shambolism.”  I will, in concert with all well-meaning members and leaders of the party, bring integrity into the administrative and democratic processes within the party.

I will, indeed, ensure that our party is a truly democratic party. I had, as I said earlier, ran a national political party before now and I am poised to replicate and even do better in bringing about a utilitarian leadership that will rekindle a sense of belonging and part ownership of the party in the minds of members and leaders alike.

The contributions I made as National Chairman of Grassroots Democratic Movement, GDM, to the growth of the democratic process adorn the pages of our history books and other forms of documentation. I was committed to ensuring democratic process from the outset of my chairmanship to my last minute in office. I will still want to channel more of that commitment into building a new PDP on the grounds or foundation of truth, sincerity and honesty so that we can have a party where everybody will have a sense of belonging.

How would you ensure that there is internal democracy in your party?

I have been part of PDP administration from 1999 till date and I have participated in all activities of our party.  There is no doubt that the party has come a long way in terms of managing successes that it has recorded in the successive elections.  For a mega party like ours with disparate elements, what is required to stabilise it is the capacity to be fair and just to all members.

We must recommit ourselves to do the right things.  Democratic due process must be encouraged and there must be respect for the wishes and aspiration of every party member.  If we say ours is a democratic party, we must embrace the true principles of democracy and abhor autocracy or the variants of it.  Democracy is about popular participation.

We are the biggest party on the African continent.  And, as the biggest party, we must manage the huge potentialities and tension that come with our sheer size.  There is always tension when members scramble for positions in the party or the tickets of the party to contest for public offices.  We must allow them to go through the democratic due process of election.  We should not impose anyone or give undue advantage to one over the other.

The process must be transparent and must accord with democratic ethos.  Once that happens, it would not be difficult for losers to accept the outcome of the process.  This will deepen internal democracy.  You saw how transparent the presidential primary that produced President Goodluck Jonathan was. It was not difficult for the opponents to accept defeat.  We shall provide the enabling environment for the expression of party members’ wishes and aspirations.  We will make a change and I believe that with honesty, good leadership and sincerity, we can achieve that.  We will see to it that things are now being put in the right position. As a loyal party member, all this time, we have watched our party derailed; but we must change the situation.

Derailed? That is an admission that things derailed?

Sincerely, there is no perfect process or entity.  It is only God that is perfect.  Nevertheless, I said to myself that I must give the National Chair a shot so that I can give this party a true political administration where freedom is real, where peoples’ rights would be protected, where people will be allowed to achieve their wishes and aspirations.  I believe I will make a change; I believe that with honesty, good leadership and sincerity, I believe that we can achieve that.

How do you intend to run this race without the influence of some powerful forces or godfathers?  Or do you have them already backing your aspiration?

First of all, the Almighty God is my godfather. I believe in the democratic process and I believe in and rely on the membership of our party.  I am known to the membership of our party nationide.  I believe I have the age, experience and capacity to run this party. The issue is not about godfathers or godfatherism; it is about the individual who is in the race.  As far as I am concerned, my belief is that God gives power and takes power and it is only through God, and not through anybody, that I can get what I am looking for.

Are you not worried about the fact that the opposition All Nigeria Peoples party, ANPP, controls your state (Borno) may be a setback to your aspiration?

We have not been winning election from 1999 to 2007 in Borno State; but now, in 2011, you can see that we have two senators; we defeated a sitting governor (Modu Ali Sherrif); that shows PDP is deeply rooted in Borno, and to tell you more, the governorship election is not completely lost yet; we won it, but, unfortunately, because of some electoral concoctions, it was taken away, but we are following due process of law to get it back  and, very soon, by the grace of God, you will see that Borno will become a PDP state.

Now, what edge do you have over the others who are jostling for the position of National Chair?
First, I don’t know whether others are coming up but from the ones mentioned so far, I think I have the cutting edge of being opportune to have experience in party administration, having presided over a national political party in the recent past. I have the energy; I am young and I have been a party man throughout my life.

I actually started as a councillor and rose to become the national chairman of a political party. I have been keenly interested and participated in all processes leading to the emergence of presidents, national chairmen, the executives and so on. So, I have come a long way; I have mastered everything and, if you like, you can call me a field marshal in party politics. That is the game I know better than anything in the world, and I assure you that I will change the face of PDP. I will do my best to deliver.

*Lawal

So, in essence, are you saying you are not, in any way, intimidated by the presence of some older politicians in the race?

I respect them all.  They are my fathers. Can you recollect the kind of political game and scheming by Dr. Umaru Dikko, who was one of the strongest men in those National Party of Nigeria,NPN, years? We, the youngmen of those days, we always saw them as messiahs of our time but you know that he joined the party that I presided over as national chair; the rest is history. The issue is not about big man or small man, older politician or younger politician; the issue is whether one has the capacity to meet his own people and that I have.

What specific challenges do you intend to come and address urgently; what dreams do you want to fulfill?
First, we want to set in motion a process that will lead to genuine reconciliation in the party and ensure that all members have a sense of belonging. We will mount vigorous efforts to ensure that we bring back all the aggrieved people who left the party. We will give them full support and understanding and assure them that their interest will be protected.

We will ensure the practice of true internal democracy where everybody will have equal protection and opportunity for participation in the democratic process within our party.  We will make sure that those that emerge as candidates in our primaries are actually those who get the majority support of the people. We will make sure that once they clinch that ticket, nobody will stop them.  We will give this guarantee.  We will build a party where nobody will impose a candidate on the people.

There will be a democratic process where all members will get that fair treatment. By doing that, our members will feel comfortably assured of their destiny in the party.  Aspirants in the party will get to know that they can only lose election if the people do not elect them. This way, there will be peace in the party and members will commit their energy and resources to go for election.

As I said before, once we have genuine reconciliation and adhere to democratic processes, even those who lose elections will take it in good faith; the system will work properly and everybody will be happy.  This is our new dream: we want to see a PDP that is devoid of wrangling internally. We want to see a party that is united, strong, believe in one another with members believing in their leaders because we are going to build confidence in them; we are going to ensure that the leadership of the party will instill confidence in them and protect them.

And, talking about genuine reconciliation, we are going to put in place a process of genuine reconciliation; we are going to continue from where Dr. Alex Ekwueme Reconciliation Committee stopped; we are going to pacify all aggrieved members of the party and give them confidence that this is the leadership that will protect their interests and will protect them on any position they want to go into.