Shehu Gabam is the national secretary, Social Democratic Party (SDP). In this interview with OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, the former chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), speaks on why he left the main opposition party and his decision to pitch tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) ahead of the 2019 general election. Excerpts:
What informed your decision to join the SDP having participated in the reconciliation process after the PDP National Convention?
First, I must say that the choice of the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson as chairman of the reconciliation committee was apt. He is a very dedicated and committed man who loves his party. He is very sincere and forthright. He took up the role with absolute commitment and determination to see if something could be done about the friction in party which was obvious and deep. In fairness to him, we did interface with him. He knew the grievances beforehand.
They were not new to him. What we said before the Convention were facts. The press covered all the fundamental issues that we raised, warning that there will be consequences if the Convention was short of the required standard. We had said so before at the aborted Convention which resulted in the parallel Convention in Abuja. There were consequences which led to the birth of the national caretaker committee. So last December’s Convention was absolutely developed to be a rigging Convention. What happened at the Convention ground was against the rules of a proper Convention. It was a mark of complex by people who felt defeated already so they had to manipulate and shortchange the core values that are known for the conduct of convention in any political party.
We had stated that this Convention must be transparent. There must be a show of remorse, a departure from the old ways of doing things. We provided leadership for 16years and we couldn’t conduct a Convention that will elect principal officers of the party through due process and the laws that established the Convention. You can imagine serving governors going around distributing Unity List at the venue of the Convention and they knew that international community was watching.
We all knew the European Union had urged for free and fair elections. They knew that we had a ruling government in place that we were hoping to defeat. They knew we were defeated because of rascality, arrogance, disregard for rules and regulations. They also knew that after we lost the 2015 election, a committee was established and headed by the Deputy Senate President, who went round the county to find out why we actually lost election. The committee went round the six geopolitical zones on a fact-finding mission. The report was brought back to the party, the National Executive Committee (NEC) approved it. I was an eyewitness and participant. Thereafter, as if that was not enough another committee was constituted called strategic committee and inter-party affairs headed by Professor Jerry Gana. I participated in three committees. I was over-stretched and we generated the best ideas and advise on how the system can be restructured. People on the committee came and worked voluntarily, nobody gave us a dime.
We invested our time and resources to make sure we gave the party the best that any human can give. Our recommendations on how to remodel and restructure the party were well accepted. The NEC also approved it. But again it was jettisoned. At the Convention, there was no single semblance that everything that was generated by the committees was imbibed.
There was no sign of remorse. PDP wasn’t built by people who were shortsighted. It was built by great visionary leaders and politicians who during the dark days of military regime damned the consequences and formed a formidable national party. I am happy that what they did gave this country democratic stability for 16 years. It revolutionised the political space and sparked massive technological and infrastructural development. But, of course, along the line some rascality manifested in the party.
People assumed office and felt nobody could talk to them, the abuse of the party became entrenched. The basic structure of the party was abandoned by so-called contact men from outside the party structure. If you remember we had parallel structures by late Sunday Awoniyi. We even had a parallel office opened at Jabi. That was when the whole crisis started. We had subsequent ones. Not too long ago, we saw great personalities of the party move out to join the APC as a result of impunity. Yet, with all this consequences, and all the fact findings we did, collected and imputed in a document, some group of people still felt that they must have their way…
Does that mean you did not accept the reconciliation process at any time?
It is not about accepting the reconciliation, it’s about the facts. I have told you that Dickson is one of the gifts PDP has. He is a very committed member of the party, forthright and courageous, but have they given him the opportunity? He started the reconciliation but from nowhere they went to constitute another reconciliation committee, ignoring or forgetting there is an existing one. They reconstituted a reconciliation committee, perhaps to debase him despite his being a governor. If you don’t want him to do the job why then did you give him the job. If you make him a chairman of reconciliation committee hands-off and allow him to do his job. There are some of us that are above board we have seen this thing right from our childhood. And we have learnt to be honest and sincere with ourselves. When we were building PDP we built it with absolute sincerity and commitment to this nation, no other factor was considered. The enhancement of Nigeria’s protection of lives and property, the participation of every minute tribe in this country were the ideals behind PDP. We wanted a viable country, we didn’t factor in individuals or parochial interests, otherwise the founding fathers will say they should be the first beneficiaries of whatever slot that comes to the party. A typical example is the sacrifice that was made by the Late Alex Ekwueme. But when he died, the party was reminded even to go and condole the family. What kind of people are we? Are we normal human beings? The answer is no. I was not a liability to PDP rather PDP was a liability to me. I have invested my time and resources to build this party I fought Ali Sheriff because of my commitment to PDP. I was not benefiting anything from the party. I wasn’t given any federal appointment or contract. I challenge anybody to go and check. But because I was youngest founding father of the party, the youngest in the midst of G-7, I felt this is my family home.
Having fought for this party from the onset as one of the young founding fathers, how does it feel to be edged out of the party by two governors?
They didn’t edge me out of the party. I have to tell myself the bitter truth. I am a politician; I didn’t join politics because I am a blind person, or because I have no vision or ambition. As young as I am I have my own ambition. I want to reach the peak of my career like any other person. And if you belong to a movement that retards development of vision, I have no business being there. It is not a religious organisation. It is not a church or a mosque.
So what you are saying is that you have explored all the avenues for reconciliation in PDP?
We have explored all of avenues to redeem PDP, and I am saying all avenues as documented. We have appeared in all media organizations in the world trying to defend this party at all cost, not at the cost of the party but at our own. There is no media programme in which I defended PDP that I was paid for. I did it simply because I love the party passionately. I am more of an investor in PDP than most of them. Perhaps, only the founding fathers of the party have made more investments in PDP than me. If I was looking for money I would have gone to APC. But I am a disciplined person. We were trained to build institutions. If you build institutions, you may not benefit from it immediately but future generations will benefit from it. Those who built PDP are not benefiting from it today. Those benefiting are not founders of the party. So if the founders didn’t sacrifice for the party where would we be by now? Who would have restored democracy back to the system?
Are you saying PDP is irredeemable?
Yes, PDP is irredeemable. You can quote me anywhere. There is no one with capacity to redeem PDP right now. The people that have the capacity to do so have all left. And I can tell you that we are some of those who have the capacity. We have the capacity to deal with any issue with any individual. I am not reducing anybody but I can tell you that if at this material time the political colossus like Professor Jerry Gana, who is the custodian of the power and oratory the party, who has ideas flowing like water and a commitment to defend the party at all cost, has left the party then it tells a lot. Another political juggernaut, Professor Tunde Adeniran, took the PDP to the South-west. Can you have one person that can replace him in the PDP today? None, I challenge any person in PDP. Who is that person that has the commitment and acumen of Adeniran in the PDP? So it is not about personal or parochial issues but personal interest. The country is tearing apart politically and we need a rescue team. And we have come as a rescue team to salvage the country.
Are you worried by the interpretations arising from your defection such that some people feel because your candidate lost out at the convention, you then decided to leave the party?
These are infantile interpretations. I didn’t steal or commit any crime. I can’t be worried about people’s perception. I am worried about who I am as a human being. God made me who I am. We put them in offices. I have not gone to any governor or minister to beg for any favour throughout my life, even when we formed the party. I have never done that. I am a principled person. I stand by what I believe in. It is God that gives and takes power. What is critical for any citizen or politician is to do something that will protect the system, don’t be part of a group that will undermine the system because you don’t know who will come in. The successor generation of the party derailed. The younger generations betrayed the older generations in the PDP because there were no tutoring systems. People who didn’t know the core values of PDP came into the party. They didn’t know the core fundamentals of the party so they came in with greed and selfish ambition which are the things that derailed the party. Part of what affected the PDP convention was presidential ambition of aspirants.
What do you mean by presidential ambition of aspirants?
Everybody was positioning to have the structure of the party at the Convention. They all wanted to be president, including those that can’t even mention that they want to be president. Some people mortgaged the Convention because they want to be president.
So why did you choose the SDP?
In 1999, when the country was stranded, a group of few people came together and decided to dare the consequences of the military regime and they started a movement that led to the formation of a political party. That party was formed and it rescued Nigeria. Three political parties, PDP, AD and APP (later ANPP) were formed. Nigeria was provided with options. Because PDP has better programmes that accommodated all shades of opinions, PDP was accepted. Today we have similar circumstances. APC is in dilemma and PDP is down on its knees. So there is need for a platform that can rescue the country once again. And simply because we don’t want to be accused of being over ambitious or looking for money, we decided not to go to APC.
We decided to look for a platform that will be acceptable to all Nigerians. We didn’t say we will go and register our own party. We have all it takes to register a political party. But we decided to put the nation and the people first. So we looked at all the political parties, read through their manifestos and programmes. We also looked at their history, credibility and experience. Luckily enough, SDP was still in existence. Unfortunately NRC has gone under. But in the course of our research, it is on record that no registered party in the history of Nigeria got massive votes from all Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion, like the SDP.
We also saw that the party produced a President and Vice President from the same religion which is unique in the history of Nigeria. Nigerians didn’t look at the religious and ethnic dichotomy or parochial and sectional issues when it voted for the party. The party had built capacity, policies and programmes that were accepted by all diversities. Everybody felt a sense of belonging in that party. And we asked ourselves some very salient questions like can we rig this party? Can we remodel it? Can we discuss with the leadership of the party? Were the former managers of the party willing to accept this need to rejig the party? To all these questions the answer is yes. So we went into open consultations. The discussions were wonderful. I must thank Chief Olu Falae. He is one of the few rare nationalists that we can find today, somebody that is willing to step down and leave his position in the interest of the party. We have never found him resistant at all.
The entire structure of SDP was willing to step down for experienced and competent people to come into the party and move it forward. It is very rare to find them in any political party. So we must thank them for putting the country first. They could have said no after seeing the powerful people that are coming into the party and insisted on continuing to run the party. But they conceded to superior issues. You hardly find this. So, I thank Olu Falae and his team for providing leadership and that sense of nationalism.
