If PDP had picked northerner as candidate, result might be different –Sen Arise

Senator Ayo Arise, was a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP). In this interview, he expresses the opinion that had a popular northerner been of­fered the PDP presidential ticket, the result of the just concluded general election might have been different. On the crisis rocking his state, Ekiti, the Oye Ekiti-born politician take a critical look at it had gives a verdict that the state Governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose has committed treason by driving 19 lawmakers out of the state.

He speaks on other issues of national interest. Excerpts:

Blame game has trailed PDP’s poor performance in the just concluded general elections. In your opinion, what factors were responsible?

Well, too many factors were respon­sible. First, people got tired of the party, having ruled for about 16 years. So, the fact that people were now hungry for something different actually helped the APC.

One of the most important factors was the way the PDP handled the primaries to the respective offices and the idea of some people, believing that we can do anything and get away with it, offended many party members who lost the party tickets. And because they felt they were not given equal opportunities to run for office, they weren’t totally happy and weren’t even willing to vote for the party.

So, the party structure, the working committee rested on its oars, believing that it would be business as usual and that an incumbent, should or can never lose in our kind of dispensation. More so, when you have the likes of some of them who don’t believe in the electoral process, they believe in just writing figures, making pronouncements and that would be it. All those games gave confidence to the party people and even at that, the president tried in the last three weeks of that election to reach out, to work very hard, but the damage had already been done.

When you look at some of us in the PDP, I have always said that the only reason I remained in PDP was because of Jonathan and anytime that he wasn’t in the ballot, I would be out because, I have no business at all with the charac­ter, Ayo Fayose.

We aren’t the same people, we don’t have the same character, he just happens to be somebody who has the capacity for deception that is unparalleled. He has been able to hoodwink the Ekiti people, particularly the teachers, the civil servants, the Okada riders association, the road transport people—he has been able to find his way into deceiving these people so much so that whatever he tells them, they believe. So, those of us who understands, we know him and we are never deceived and I don’t see anything beyond his capacity.

For me, I tolerated him, because of one person: Mr President and unfortu­nately, Jonathan imposed him against the wish of other aspirants.

I followed Jonathan, because he estab­lished a federal university in my home town and why it was spectacular, was because the governor then didn’t want the university there and Mr. president stood his ground.

That’s why I continue to show him my appreciation.

But having said that, the party struc­ture never really accorded me recogni­tion though I served the party, because I worked for them with all sincerity. I discovered that many things weren’t right.

Can you speak in specific terms?

First, for me as one of the senators that ran for election in 2011 and didn’t win, one of the very few that didn’t have any form of government patron­age, none at all. I wasn’t even looking for that because I felt not that everybody would get something. But when it came to nominating people in the campaign committees, I discovered that my name wasn’t even there.

I looked again, I started spending my money for the party, paid people to pro­mote the projects of President Jonathan. I did that; I don’t earn income from gov­ernment. I knew that for all practical purposes, the APC was ahead of PDP in terms of the posters, in terms of opin­ions in social gathering. I remember at a time I was speaking with the CEO of a bank and I was trying to enumerate Jonathan’s achievements, but he told me, “look, Ayo, we want another per­son! Even if he would disappoint us, we want him for another four years!!’’

Did you say it was because of Jonathan you stayed back in the party?

Yes.

Don’t you think the result would have been different, if PDP had denied him presidential ticket?

Well, that’s now very subjective, because when you look at it, the incum­bent president has the paraphernalia of office, has the money, has the structure, has everything to ensure that he gives a good account at any election. That’s why most people said, ok, he is an incumbent, let him be. He flies around in government jet, government money. Another person would have had to use his own money to hire aircraft, and be spending money in this expensive busi­ness.

So, it is difficult to say whether another person would have given us a better result. That’s quite possible, if we had somebody that has some status in the north. May be it could have been possible for PDP to retain the office, be­cause when you look at it critically the bulk of the votes came in from the north and of course, you have seen the result. If we had picked somebody from the north, the traditional stronghold of the PDP, they would have still have impres­sive show in south-east and south-south and maybe not so impressive show in the south-west, but the north would have been probably divided into 40:60 which would have given PDP and edge. But these are scenario, we never could have known what would happen. But if in retrospect, people are counting, the mindset is that Jonathan had done two terms-he finished Yar’Adua’s term and he has done anothe one.

Now that APC is in power, it is impor­tant that we all learn from the experi­ence of the PDP and I believe, strongly, that there must be a strong opposition. I think the PDP lost because they weren’t used to strong opposition. In the future, I believe that the APC would learn from this experience and every step it takes would be in the best interest of the nation, because government has really moved to the people and all it needs is to strengthen that mileage with the people.

Would you blame the party dis­mal performance on the national working committee under Mu’azu or the Presidency, because there has been agitation that the national chairman of the party should resign?

Well, let us look at it this way. The President, at least won in his home state and the chairman of the party, if he hasn’t been able to add value, if he lost so dismally in his home state, all he needs to do is just resign his posi­tion, because he is adding no value. You don’t blame President Jonathan for everything . Blunders were committed, everywhere, but I have looked at it the buck stops on his table. If they don’t give him the correct evaluation from the field, that’s the failure of those who were responsible for giving him feedback, updating him on the development.

So, anyway you look at it, if you look at the president, he is the president and every other person works for him, even the party structure. The chairman of the party relies on the president for direc­tion. But my own grouse with Mu’azu is that he lost his state.

So, what is he still doing there? Be­cause the president is leaving on May 29, Muazu should resign. He doesn’t have to wait for anybody to drive him from the place because he has failed the party. But that is their business in PDP. I have looked at it, I gave my all to the party and I believe that this time, I follow my conscience. I came in from AC and those I will consider my friends are in APC. The likes of Segun Oni is there, Niyi Adebayo is there, Mammora is there. I can begin to name them. So, I know all the people and these are people I normally relate with all the time I was in PDP, myself and Segun Oni were talking, seeing ourselves.

So, you were doing anti-party, while in PDP?

No, by greeting my friends! If that is anti-party, then I think we still have a long way to go. We are very close; we weren’t discussing politics, we discuss each other’s progress, see our families. It isn’t a relationship of yesterday. I moved to PDP, because I was short­changed in AD in the primary against Dr Fayemi and I moved alongside 12 other governorship aspirants, we were all in AC and we made PDP strong in Ekiti and I can assure you that at least, 70% of that force is moving to APC. I don’t want to continue to answer questions from people about Fayose’s conduct.

What is your take on the unsa­voury development in Ekiti State?

Well, I think it is still the failure of the government. It is part of the fact that we are essentially very violent. If we say we have a constitution and somebody has shut out, continue to make sure that some people don’t enter their states. First of all, he has denied them freedom of movement. That’s an offence with the fact that they are a constituted author­ity. Don’t forget, there are three arms of government: the executive, the legisla­ture and the judiciary. In Ekiti, the leg­islative arm has been driven out by the governor. That I will consider, without mincing words, a treasonable felony.

Now, everybody is looking at what is going on. We believe we must continue to surface dress issues. The man has offended our Constitution. So, whether he goes and blocks roads by police or tout, it is only an irresponsible government that will not be able to implement letters and spirit of the Constitution.

I don’t know the role, the work the police is doing. This man will not allow an arm of government to sit and people are looking and saying, “oh, the guy is tough!’’ So, when something else hap­pens tomorrow, with this glaring abuse of the Constitution, who do we cry to? Because we would have condoned such in the past and by the time we start condoning such, then there is a bigger problem lurking in the corner. For me, Fayose isn’t bigger than Ekiti State; he needs to be punished for his actions.

But some people see his predic­ament as political persecution.

The problem isn’t persecution. Those people saying it is persecution didn’t talk to him when he threw 19 assembly people out of the state; when he passed a budget with seven people. When he appointed the Speaker from his seven lawmakers!

They didn’t call it persecution. It is the dearth of knowledge that is worrying those people. The fact that they don’t understand even their own right. The constitution is the constitution and that is what we need to respect. Well, Ekiti people voted for Ayo Fayose but they will not do the work for him.

His own character will do the work for him. So, if they continue, to believe that he can be gangster on governor seat and some people are hailing him, that isn’t the position of average Ekiti person. It just the façade that he is build­ing, he will go and pick people from motor parks and they will be making noise. Anybody that gives out N10,000 in Ekiti you will see a mammoth crowd there. It doesn’t mean that he is popular, he was misbehaving when he came the first time, he was removed. And when he won now the few times we spoke he said he was going to change and I told him that he should just be thanking God for giving him a second chance. It is a rare opportunity. The best you can do is to be fair to all manner of men.

He is an orator who has combined the deceptive character inherent in him with his oratory prowess to con the people of Ekiti, those fighting for him. There are laws and rules that govern a nation and if you don’t put them in place, a governor can come, refuse to pay salary and put all the money in his pocket. He can decide to be the only contractor in the state, he can decide to do anything that he wants but where you have checks and balances, there is the guiding principle for mankind. That’s why there is the Constitution, whether written or unwritten. You cannot rule as a dictator, there must be checks and bal­ances and according to the Constitution, there must be a house that will make law, approve your budget, regulate what you can spend. You cannot be the sole person to determine what you want to do. So, for me whatever befalls Fayose, he is responsible for it. Nobody other than himself, because anybody that has an opinion, outside Fayose’s opinion is his enemy. He wants to rule over idiots, we will not allow him to turn Ekiti to banana republic.

But what is the way forward? Fayose is adamant, the lawmak­ers are resilient?

Well, everything lies in the hands of government. I don’t know the business of the police there, because they are by law supposed to protect the judiciary as well as the legislative arm and the executive. So, if the police are truly do­ing what they are supposed to do, those people would enter, they will be pro­tected and perform their normal duties and be escorted to their homes. Anybody that wants to harass them, they know how to disperse them.

If it were the government house that was held to ransom, what would hap­pen?

If people had gone to gather in Fay­ose’s office, and they wouldn’t allow him to enter, what would the police have done? It is a question they must answer, because there is no arm that is suppos­edly superior to another. A day will come when a president would come and sack the national assembly. When small things like this happen, and nobody is reacting, it becomes a problem in future. We mustn’t tolerate gangsterism .