ANPP presidential ticket: Delegates to decide between Tofa and I –Gov Shekarau
Governor Ibrahim Shekarau
You have not been heard since the election of new national leaders of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) at its Abuja convention last month. How would you describe the event?
My comment on the convention of the ANPP held in Abuja is that so far so good; it is a very clear indication that the party is on its path towards reconsolidating itself; it is conveying a message of maturity; it is conveying a message of oneness as a family. There is nothing wrong when there are vacancies in a given democratic system and people come out to aspire. Most people thought we will be at the convention and there will be crisis and some were even thinking that the party was dead. They thought there was not going to be anything beyond Kano, Borno, Yobe but it was a big pleasant disappointment to a number of people who do not wish the ANPP well. They saw the turn out, every state was there with its delegates, the voting for the chairman was conducted and all other positions were returned unopposed which is an indication of peace in the party.
But there were reports that you were not happy that your candidate, Harry Akande, lost to Ogbunnaya Onu.
I think that is not true. You see, if you take the state by state record of the votes, obviously nobody will expect that my own state will vote against my interest. Above 340 delegates all voted in favour of Dr Ogbonnaya Onu who is currently the chairman of the party. So, I think for anybody to say I am not happy with the outcome, it will be totally untrue. It is correct to say that before we went for the convention, there were about six or seven aspirants for the chairmanship position and naturally, we all had our own choices and we were campaigning for different candidates. But on getting to the convention, which is a usual thing, and two days to it, we, leaders of the party and the candidates went round, comparing notes, talking to one another and so on. So you can imagine that six candidates withdrew and only one out of the seven said he still wanted to try his luck. That was Chief Harry Akande who is also an elder of the party, a very respected leader of the party and nobody is blaming him for wanting to exercise his constitutional right which he did. He got as much as almost 1500 votes which I think is a clear indication of his popularity. If anybody can secure as many as 1500 votes of a given delegates of a few thousands, even though he was defeated by a margin of over 2000 votes, it was a clear indication that he has some weight. So, on the whole, I am happy about the outcome of the convention, the voting from my state was in support of what we directed or guided our delegates or agreed with our delegates. So I think I have no cause to complain, Ogbunnaya Onu was a product of a consensus by all of us and this is why the result appears to be what it is today.
How would you also react to reports that there was a misunderstanding between you and the other two ANPP governors of Borno and Yobe?
I think it is a wrong perception of what was happening. It was not that there was any disagreement. You see as I said, about seven of the candidates for the chairmanship of the party went round campaigning. I was supporting Harry Akande, Governor of Borno was supporting another candidate and we all agreed, which is nothing new in any democratic process. Some people saw it as an outright disagreement, of cause we disagreed on who should lead the party and we all had our reasons. Out of seven contestants, I felt X should be and Governor of Borno felt Y should be. But on getting to the convention, we started comparing notes with our colleagues, with our delegates and states representatives which culminated into a consensus candidate; so eventually, the person I was supporting did not succeed. The person he was supporting did also not succeed; we were all checked out by the consensus that we arrived at. You can see we went to the convention very harmoniously, all of us were happy, we jointly participated, we had a series of meetings between ourselves before the convention. You may agree to abandon your choice and probably have some understanding and then move forward. So it wasn’t purely as if we had any disagreement.
Many thought that Akande’s defeat might affect your presidential ambition…
No; it wouldn’t at all; it has nothing to do with that. As I said, it is a matter of understanding, a candidate in his own personality is not the party but members of the party who by constitution, have the right to decide what happens. So as I said, all the delegates who participated listened to us and we are in support of the consensus candidate. Kano alone was strong enough to tilt the table but we decided to leave with that. Since after the elections, we have spoken with the candidate who lost, Chief Harry Akande and we have been talking to each other. He has not left the party. He has received the defeat in good faith. He is still a loyal party member, a loyal elder in the party and I don’t think he will ever leave the party and this will have no bearing, whatsoever on my presidential aspiration by the Grace of God.Cont’d from page 6
Not long after your declaration for president, another presidential aspirant also from Kano, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, was equally in Abuja to declare his ambition for the nation’s top job; so how would you slug it out with him?
Alhaji Bashir Tofa is an elder statesman and an elder brother to me. We have agreed to pursue our aspirations and allow the system to sort things out. Before I made my declaration, I wrote an official letter to Bashir in his position as chairman of the ANPP Elders’ Committee in Kano State. I went to him personally and discussed it. I told him what informed my decision and why I want to be there. He prayed for me and wished me well. After a couple of weeks, I learnt that he was also into the race. I called him and assured him of my prayers. I wished him all the best that he wishes himself and we still interact very harmoniously. As far as I am concerned and as far as Alhaji Bashir is concerned too, both of us are into this aspiration of the presidential race with open minds and if by any chance, before the convention or primary election, we are able to sort ourselves out, then fine. If we are not, we allow the delegates to decide and we have all agreed between ourselves that whoever wins will support the other. So, even though we seem to come from the same state, so far, I have not heard of any aspirant in the ANPP apart from the two of us. If by the end of the day only two of us are contesting and it means going for the primary election, I assure that we will go in there as brothers, as colleagues with mutual respect and allow the delegates to decide. Both of us have the understanding that whoever wins will support the other.
Again, another ANPP elder from the state Alhaji Ammani Inuwa, was in the media when you were in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj to allege that he and other prominent ANPP members from the state were not co-opted in the formal declaration of your intention to run for president. What really is the problem?
I heard about it. I also listened to the cassette. I must say I was surprised that he said so. I know I have written to every senior member of this party. Ammani is a very respected elder of this party and I wrote to all of them. In fact, I wrote to all elders of all parties not only my party. For example, I wrote to Mr. President, I wrote to the vice president, I wrote to all ministers, all senators, all Rep members, all state assembly members across the parties, so if I can write to even opposition parties leaders to notify them and solicit their support and prayer, it will be very ridiculous to say that I have not written to my own party members. I have written to all, it could be that Alhaji Ammani has not received his own letter and because I hadn’t the time to go and see each of them individually, but I have written him.
Now coming to the Kano guber race; are you still insisting on Salihu Sagir Takai as your candidate?
The word insisting, I think, is not the right word. I am not insisting but my choice is still Salihu Sagir Takai. From day one, I said my choice was a response to the numerous three year call on me to identify within the party whom I think should contest the governorship and come after me. And after working on my own assessment with what I believe between me and my God is the right thing. I came up with the choice of Salihu Sagir Takai and I made it clear to the party that it was just my choice and that every other candidate is free to contest, including my deputy. When I told my deputy my choice and he said he was still interested, I said go ahead and we are still relating very well. Nothing has changed; we still live harmoniously; we work together in spite of his aspiration. I said go on with your aspiration, it is not me who will decide who takes after me, it is the responsibility of the delegates and the decision of the party primaries.
I am not insisting on any particular person. I have said this is my choice and it is left for the people to decide and even all those supporting different candidates, we are working harmoniously with them. I am aware even in my cabinet there are some commissioners who are supporting Takai, some are supporting my deputy, some Kabiru Gaya, some are supporting other candidates all over the place and so it is with people holding all other positions; local government chairmen, House of Assembly members and so on. A very good example I may give you is that if you take Gwale and Albasu local governments, these are local governments where their leaders were not elected officials but caretaker appointed people. They are there at my own instance. If tomorrow I announce that chairmen of Gwale and Albasu are removed, so be it. The two of them are not with me in Takai’s support and I allowed them to go ahead.
There is a committee set up by some Kano ANPP members called Concerned ANPP Citizens headed by Alhaji Mutari Kwaru. Only last week, the committee addressed a press conference calling on you and Emir of Kano to prevail on the Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Kankarofi, to resign and join the guber race. What is your understanding of this scenario?
It’s part of democracy. Ibrahim Kankarofi is a citizen of Kano. He is a citizen of Nigeria and at the moment. He is a full-fledged civil servant. He has not retired. So, he still has the choice. We have made a pronouncement giving a deadline of 30th of this month [September] that any government appointee or civil servant who wants to contest any election to make up his mind. If Ibrahim Kankarofi decides to contest and between now and Thursday, he puts in his retirement and join the race. I think I have no problem with that. He is free to join the race, I was a civil servant, I retired and joined politics. Little did I know that I will go into the governorship contest and win. So, if anybody is wishing anyone to come in and contest, I have certainly no quarrel with that. It is the same thing with other candidates who have expressed themselves. I wish all of them well. There is none of the aspirant I believe does not have the capacity to lead us. Even though I said this is my choice that does not mean all other people in Kano cannot do it. I got the opportunity to lead Kano not because I was the best of all people. I know there are people out there when given the opportunity, will do better but God has not given them the opportunity. So, in the same spirit, whoever is there, whether still in the service or outside the service, I think it is entirely left to Ibrahim Kankarofi based on his consultations whether he is going in or not. He told me about it, sought my advice and this was what I told him. I said go and pray and consult your immediate elders and associates. Whatever they advise you on, please go ahead. We are not stopping anybody and we are not against anybody. Some will even ask why we issued a press release disassociating myself from Kankarofi’s contest.
Many in Kano saw the unceremonious exit last month of Senator Mohammed Bello from ANPP to the PDP as a minus to your party because he is representing Kano Central Senatorial District at the Senate? What is your own opinion on this development?
It was most unfortunate and we felt bad about it because losing a party member to the level of a senator is a big loss. We felt very bad that somebody of his standing will leave the party that gave him the ticket. I am yet to discuss with him. When he left, I was away on leave to Saudi Arabia but I did send him a text message praying for him. I said I prayed his leaving will turn out to be blessing for him and will also turn out to be a blessing for us too and I wished him well wherever he finds himself. I also advised him to remain his good self, be upright and be peaceful and depend on what Allah has destined for him. He replied thanking me and wishing that we shall find time to talk. We are still friends, we still talk, he has his reason for going back to the PDP. As he left for the PDP; we are having more people coming to the ANPP so I think it’s okay. The only thing as I have said before, is it amounts to moral bankruptcy for one to be elected under a given party and then he decamps to another party while he is still occupying the same position into which he was elected under a platform of that party. I think it is most unfair to those who voted for him. I wish him all the best and we expect a lot of this between now and the election time; people going in and out of parties.
Just last week, one of the PDP governorship aspirants in Kano Alhaji Mohammed Abacha, left the party to join the CPC. But many wonder why the CPC instead of the ruling ANPP which has all the structures on ground.
I heard about the speculations that Mohammed Abacha has left the PDP and joined the CPC. I was also surprised but I am yet to talk with him or anybody close to him. So, I really wonder what is the wisdom of decamping to a party that has no base at all; a party that has no representation anywhere. But maybe he has his reasons. He probably thought his ambition will be better served in the CPC. But you see, if Mohammed were to ask me to give some counselling to him, I would have advised him that he should have gone in as a member of a given political party. Participating in the process of democracy is probably more important than occupying a governor’s seat. I am not saying he cannot be a governor. He can even be the president of Nigeria tomorrow, but I think jumping into an arena that is new is not easy. Some may argue that after all I left the civil service and joined politics and I became a governor but I think anybody who knows my antecedents, with all sense of humility, will know that politics has not been new to me.
I was into active trade unionism. I was a state secretary of principals of secondary schools. I was state president. I was national vice president. I was national president for ten years running. I was contesting elections from one position to another. I think if I were to counsel Mohammed. I would have advised him to come into the political arena, know more of management of people’s affairs, know more of interaction with people’s affairs, understand the character and nature of people in terms of managing them and managing public resources, not your personal resources. But I wish him all the best wherever he finds himself.
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