Haba, Nigerian politicians! Societies that fail to learn from their history are doomed to make the same mistakes. Please, please, we must place the national interest of the polity above our blinkered and narcissistic drive for power. This last minute attempt at political maneuvering to form an alliance is an act of desperation. It is somewhat reminiscent of the political confusion and madness to control power in the 1964-1965 elections by our political actors (of the NPC, NCNC and AG mainly). Indeed, the political problems in the country that led to the formation of the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) and Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) are superbly chronicled in Uzoigwe (Visions of Nationhood: Prelude to the Nigerian Civil War, pp. 35-63); Falola and Heaton (A History of Nigeria, pp. 169-172); Osaghae (Nigeria Since Independence: Crippled Giant, pp. 45-47), and other sources. I lived through this turbulent period as a young lad and saw the disastrous consequences the activities of these alliances created for Nigeria. The country is just now gradually recovering from the trauma of that problematic politics (of the past). For the good of the country, the opposition parties should join forces in future elections, but not this one of 2011.
Ike Udogu
On 4/14/2011 5:15 AM, Mobolaji ALUKO wrote:
Dear All:
The history of failed alliances, even mergers, in Nigeria's political firmament is a recurringly sad one. The present one between ACN and CPC - which talks have been going on since September 2010 - is no different.
The amusing thing is that different people at the same table adduce different reasons for the same event, sometimes of course at differentstages of the negotiations. The truth is always embedded somewhere in the chaff.
Quite interesting....read very carefully below the compendium because there are a lot of lies, half-truths, subterfuges and propaganda in the political minefield ofNigeria. Who is saying what for who(m) is often difficult, if not impossible, to decipher. Who is enemy or friend sometimes depends on the weather.
Bottom-line? Presidential campaign ends today Thursday. Let's all go into Saturday April 16, and let the chips fall where they may. May the best candidate win in the free, fair and credible presidential election. [Amen] and whoever wins wins: no need to demonize any one that the Nigerian people choose.
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
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For the record: Why ACN/CPC negotiation failed
By Pat Utomi April 13, 2011For several months, strenuous attempts were made by some of us deeply convinced of the need for change in the National leadership, to bring the major opposition parties together ahead of the 2011 General Elections which is now underway. All...... kinds of obstacles were installed on the path of these noble efforts. The most formidable of these obstacles was the attitude of some key persons themselves, within the leadership of the opposition parties who failed to put the National Interest above their personal selfish interests.
What has transpired in the past three days of negotiations between the CPC and ACN with Mallam Shekarau of the ANPP waiting eagerly on the wings somewhere in Abuja, to join a possible last minute opposition alliance could all have taken place weeks ago in peace with all details carefully ironed out if my candid advise had been heeded!
General Muhammadu Buhari is hugely popular in North West Nigeria in particular and I dare say in the whole of Northern Nigeria in general. There are elements in other parts of Nigeria who admire the strength of character of this political crusader. But this popularity which attracts mammoth hysterical crowds at the mere appearance of the man in Northern Nigerian locations particularly, cannot be translated to political victory at the polls without adequate political organization to back it up. The CPC is new and has not got the capacity to provide the necessary political structure across the vast territory of Nigeria to cope with the technical demands and complications of a National contest. It was therefore in their best interest to seek a merger or alliance to assist their Presidential candidate. Key advisers to the General preferred to play the proverbial ostrich.
Faced with the stack reality a few days ago some eminent leaders played what I would consider, a laudable role to provide a platform upon which the alliance between CPC and ACN could be brokered. The outcome of the National Assembly elections presents a clear picture of the strength of the two parties. Without a doubt the ACN is stronger and more on the ground across the country than the CPC. ACN controls four States at the moment. ACN delegation at the negotiations considered their party as the senior partner but that notwithstanding they were prepared to cede the position of the Presidency to Gen Buhari of the CPC. In return the ACN demanded the Vice Presidency which was as had been basically proposed during the negotiations prior to filing of candidates to INEC. To achieve this the CPC vice presidential candidate would have to step down. This would be a necessary sacrifice by the CPC in the same manner that both Nuhu Ribadu and Fola Adeola the Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates of the ACN have to step down in the plan.
Unfortunately, inspite of the fact that the CPC agreed to this fundamental aspect of the arrangement and promised to bring to the meeting Tuesday night a letter of resignation from Pastor Bakare. they failed to produce the letter at the crucial meeting and asked for some additional time which was granted. Time was ticking away and it became clearly they were unable to convince the Pastor to sign such a letter. The ACN needed some time to educate their supporters that they should vote for the CPC logo this week end. The ACN leaders particularly in South West Nigeria were now worried over the risk they would be taking of convincing the vast majority of illiterate voters this week end to vote for a strange new logo and switch them to the broom logo next week end for the very equally important Governorship and State Assembly elections. They decided to pull out of the arrangement.
The opposition I dare say has failed!!!
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PM NEWSApril 13, 2011
ACN TERMINATES MERGER TALKS
The last-minute talks in Abuja between the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, to forge an alliance and produce a single presidential candidate to confront incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, in Saturday's presidential election, have collapsed.
Chairman of the ACN, Chief Bisi Akande formally this afternoon announced the termination of the merger talks at a press conference in Abuja. The announcement must have offered some relief to the PDP as its candidate gets set to confront his weakened rivals in Saturday's presidential election.
"We regret to announce that such talks have not led to any such alliance,"; said Bisi Akande, chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria party, which is strong in Nigeria's southwest, where the economic capital Lagos is located.
"In the overall interest of the parties involved, our democracy as well as our country, it is better for each of the parties to go into the presidential election on its own platform."
Akande said the situation could change if Saturday's election results in a runoff.
His party had held talks with ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change, which has made inroads in the north. Buhari was seen as the main challenger to Jonathan before the parliamentary poll last week. But the Action Congress proved to be stronger party than the CPC, coming a distant second to the PDP and winning seats in more geographical areas than the CPC and the other opposition party, the All Nigeria People's Party.The ACN's presidential candidate is Nuhu Ribadu, the former head of Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The hopelessness of the discussions became clear last night when the two presidential candidates, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of the ACN and General Muhammadu Buhari of the CPC, refused to step down for each other. Pressure was mounted on Ribadu, being the younger candidate, to step down for Buhari, 69, running for the presidency for the third time, since 2003.
Both presidential candidates are presently trailing President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP in national polls conducted by various bodies in the country and going by the results of the parliamentary elections. The large support enjoyed by the ruling PDP across the country was reflected in the results of the National Assembly election held last Saturday where the party won 59 senatorial seats out of the 91 seats declared so far. ACN won in 13 senatorial districts across the country while the CPC won six.
The talks which continued this morning could not produce a consensus candidate as the parties maintained their hardline positions.
''All is not going well'', said a top ACN source close to the talks.''Nothing concrete is on the table'', he added.
Sources at the meeting revealed that attempts to persuade the much older Buhari to step down for the younger Ribadu met a brickwall. Representatives of the CPC were said to have refused to continue with the meeting when it became clear that the ACN candidate will not step down. The ACN is also refusing to buy the alliance idea on the grounds of inadequacy of time to market a new candidacy to their supporters.
P.M.NEWS gathered that earlier deliberations by the parties at the meeting had concluded that the party which performed best during the National Assembly elections will produce the presidential candidate while the other will then tell its supporters to vote for the consensus candidate.
In this case, ACN which had more National Assembly members than Buhari's CPC was expected to produce the consensus candidate but representatives of Buhari reportedly backpedaled, insisting that the retired general should be the consensus candidate because he still has broad support in the North despite his party's dismal performance during the National Assembly elections last Saturday.
The ACN representatives, it was learnt, were unhappy with the turn of events and decided that the parties should test their strength on the political turf.
Sources have explained why the alliance talks floundered, blaming it on the insincerity of the CPC leadership.
Our sources recalled how Buhari abandoned ACN after discussing with the party throughout 2005, to contest the 2007 elections on the platform of the All Nigeria People's Party, ANPP.
ACN resumed discussion again with Buhari in October 2010 ahead of the present elections after Buhari was said to have personally visited Chief Akande at his Ogudu home in Lagos to discuss the need to work together.
As a result of this, ACN leadership set up a three-man committee comprising Eng. Rauf Aregbesola, Governor of Osun State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State and former Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Niyi Adebayo to iron out areas of agreement with General Buhari's team.
The committee submitted its report on the 25th of October only to later discover to its amazement that the Buhari team had entered into an agreement with the International Centre for Reconstruction and Development, ICRD, a.k.a Save Nigeria Group and have resolved that the CPC will produce the President while SNG will produce the Vice President in an agreement that was witnessed and signed by Dr. Almajiri Geidam and Aminu Bello Masari for CPC and Dr. Gbolahan B. Bakare and Yinka Odumakin for SNG.
On 14 December, 2010, ACN leadership sent a letter to the National Chairman of CPC, Prince Tony Momoh and copied Buhari. The letter reads: "You will recall the visit of General Muhammadu Buhari to my house (Chief Akande) in Lagos sometime in September this year (2010). This necessitated the need for the two parties to come together under a common platform for the purpose of 2011 general elections. The most recent of these efforts was the ACN Otunba Niyi Adebayo-led team and CPC Hon. Aminu Masari-led team, which had its first meeting in Abuja on Tuesday October, 5, 2010.
"Since then, not much has happened. To be sure, for the last two months now, we have not heard from you. Recently, we have read so much on this important issue on the pages of newspapers only. This is, to say the least, intriguing, particularly now that General Muhammadu Buhari has declared his presidential bid under the CPC.
"Considering that there is hardly any time left, given the INEC timetable and the statutory requirement for any form of fusion of the parties, Nigerians cannot continue to wait forever. Therefore, if by the 31st of December, 2010 we do not hear further from you, it will be safe for us to conclude that you are no longer interested in pursuing these talks to logical conclusion."
Despite the collapse of the alliance, Buhari has declared that he would still win the presidential poll without the support of the ACN.
Speaking with P.M.NEWS this morning through his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Buhari alleged that the PDP rigged last Saturday's polls and that things would be different this time around.
According to Odumakin, despite the fact that the CPC won inside Aso Rock, the PDP went to the remote areas to rig the elections in several areas across the country.
"Our chances are bright. We have massive support from the people. The PDP won last Saturday because they manipulated the results of the elections to suit their purposes.
"With or without the alliance with the ACN, the trend of next Saturday's election will be different," he said.
P.M.NEWS also gathered this morning that following the collapse of the talks between the CPC and ACN, President Goodluck Jonathan has initiated a rapproachement with the leaders of ACN to shore up his support in the Southwest region which is now firmly under ACN control.
Jonathan, P.M.NEWS gathered, met with the leadership of the ACN in Abuja yesterday to solicit their support. At the meeting were former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; the incumbent, Babatunde Fashola and other leaders of the ACN.
A top source in ACN told P.M.NEWS this morning: "Our leaders are meeting with Jonathan to see whether the party could support the president to win the presidential election on Saturday.
"Whatever be the case, by tomorrow, everything must be over and we should know the area we are heading to," he stated.
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TRIBUNE
No alliance with CPC - ACN chairman •Denies Tinubu's alleged deal with JonathanThursday, 14 April 2011
AHEAD of Saturday's presidential election, the much touted possible alliance between the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at
the poll has finally collapsed.
National chairman of the ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, on Wednesday, lamented that all efforts to either forge an alliance or merge with the CPC had failed, as the leadership of the CPC was foot-dragging on the negotiations.
Chief Akande, who confirmed that the ACN had been receiving several overtures and representations from the PDP presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, through political associates, friends, traditional rulers and other well-meaning Nigerians, lamented that the ACN could not work with the PDP because of ideological barriers.
He said: "We have ideological barrier with the PDP, that is why we cannot work together. But we in ACN believe in the ideology of the CPC and we have respect for its leadership; so, we are ready to form alliance with the party or merge with it to fight the PDP but unfortunately, there has not been any pact with them because they are not forthcoming."
According to Chief Akande, "it is true that President Jonathan has been reaching out to us in the ACN in recent times, through our friends, political associates, traditional rulers and other well-meaning Nigerians, but we cannot work with him because of the company he keeps in the PDP. We like him as a person and we have a lot of respect for him."
According to Chief Akande, "the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), wishes to inform all its teeming supporters as well as all Nigerians that there is no alliance between the party and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), ahead of Saturday's presidential election.
"While it is true that representatives of both parties have engaged in talks aimed at forging an alliance that could dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the clueless party that has frittered away the huge opportunities that could have transformed our great country in the past 12 years, we regret to announce that such talks have not led to any alliance," he lamented.
Consequently, he said, "we, as a party that believes in democratic values, have, therefore, decided that in the overall interest of the parties involved, our democracy, as well as our country, it is better for each of the parties to go into the presidential election on its own platform."
He, however, said that if at the end of the election on Saturday there was no clear winner, the ACN would take a decision on which way to go in the overall interest of all Nigerians.
Chief Akande also debunked speculations that a chieftain of the ACN, Senator Bola Tinubu, had a secret deal with President Jonathan on the presidential election, saying "this is not true. I have been with Senator Tinubu since Monday. We have been attending meetings together; there was no time he went to meet with President Jonathan. He never boarded any presidential jet as reported in the media."
Chief Akande recalled how the presidential candidate of the CPC, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), in 2006 suddenly abandoned then Action Congress (AC) after being in robust discussion with the party throughout 2005 to contest the 2007 election on the ticket of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
Again, he said the party resumed discussions with Buhari in October 2010 over the 2011 elections, after he (Buhari) personally visited him (Akande) at his Ogudu Lagos home on the need to work together.
As a result of this, the ACN leadership set up a three-man committee made up of Mr Rauf Aregbesola, now governor of Osun State; Dr Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State governor and former governor of Ekiti State, Mr Niyi Adebayo, to iron out areas of agreement with Buhari's team.
The committee submitted its report on October 25, only to later discover that the Buhari team had entered into an agreement with the International Centre for Reconstruction and Development (ICRD), also known as Save Nigeria Group and had resolved that the CPC would produce the president while SNG would produce the vice-president in an agreement that was witnessed and signed by Dr Almajiri Geidam and Aminu Bello Masari for theCPC and Dr Gbolahan B. Bakare and Yinka Odumakin for the SNG.
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NBF
Apr 14, 2011
How ACN, CPC alliance talks collapsed
By Niyi Odebode and Olusola FabiyiThursday, 14 Apr 2011
L–R: National Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; and National Secretary, Senator Lawan Shuaibu, at a news conference on the collapse of the ACN, and Congress for Progressive Change alliance talks in Abuja… on Wednesday.
The Action Congress of Nigeria on Wednesday confirmed that its alliance talks with the Congress for Progressive Change had collapsed.
Although the ACN blamed the development on the CPC, findings by THE PUNCH revealed that the direct and indirect roles played by three core members of the Northern Political Leaders Forum — Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar— in the talks hastened the collapse.
The talks which started last year were aimed at dislodging the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the presidential election on Saturday.
Investigations by our correspondents showed that the ACN leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and governors elected on the platform of the party, particularly had expressed reservation over the involvement of Babangida in the talks.
Tinubu and the governors were said to have reasoned that Babangida, who annulled the June 12 presidential poll, should not be involved in the emergence of any candidate seeking votes in the South-West.
Besides IBB's involvement, the ACN leaders thought that the party would be signing its death warrant if it failed to field a candidate in the presidential poll.It was gathered that at a meeting, which started at 5pm on Tuesday and ended at 2am on Wednesday, Tinubu and the governors prevailed on the ACN presidential candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, not to step down for his CPC counterpart, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)
Babangida; Abubakar; a former Vice-President and Gusau, an ex-National Security Adviser, were said to have prevailed on Buhari to revive the alliance talks with the ACN.
The NPLF leaders, investigations showed, reasoned that with the results of the National Assembly elections in the South-West, Buhari would need the support of the ACN.
A top member of the CPC, who pleaded anonymity, said the NPLF leaders initiated a series of meetings involving Buhari and Ribadu.
During the last of the meetings in Abuja on Tuesday, Babangida and other NPLF leaders pleaded with Ribadu to step down.
They were said to have told him that he could still contest the presidency in future because he is younger than Buhari.
But Ribadu, it was learnt, said that he could not unilaterally step down without consulting his party.
He was also said to have told the NPLF leaders to ask Buhari to step down because the ACN performed better than the CPC in the National Assembly elections.Besides the meeting with Buhari and Ribadu, investigations showed that NPLF had a separate meeting with the CPC presidential candidate.
At the meeting, Babangida and others asked Buhari to urge his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, to withdraw from the presidential poll so that Tinubu could replace him.
But at the meeting involving the ACN leaders, Buhari and the NPLF, the plans of the Northern leaders fell apart.
It was gathered that Tinubu and the ACN governors were not happy with the involvement of Babangida in the negotiation.
A top member of the CPC, said, "They reason that Babangida has not atoned for his sin of annulling the June 12 presidential election won by Chief Abiola. If he is campaign for himself or anybody, he must first apologise to the people of South-West, who is seeking his votes."
The ACN leaders were said to have insisted that it would be suicidal for the party not have a presidential candidate.
They warned that they should not make the mistake made by the Alliance for Democracy in 2003, when it did not field any presidential candidate, but supported former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
It was also learnt that Buhari could not persuade his running mate to withdraw from the race.
After the meeting, the leadership of the ACN on Wednesday addressed a press conference, where they blamed the CPC for the collapse.
ACN's National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, said with the development, the ACN would contest the election on its own.
He said, ''The ACN wishes to inform all its teeming supporters as well as all Nigerians that there is no alliance between the party and the CPC ahead of Saturday's presidential election.
''We, as a party that believes in democratic values have, therefore, decided that, in the overall interest of the parties involved, our democracy as well as our country, it is better for each of the parties to go into the presidential election on its own platform."
Akande, a former governor of Osun State, stated that the ACN, which it said was attracted to the CPC leadership, believed in the merger of the two parties.
He , however, explained that a relationship between the two parties could not be ruled out in the event of a presidential rerun.
The ACN chairman also dismissed reports that President Goodluck Jonathan met with one of the parties topshots.
He said, ''The talks seem to be frustrated at least not from us. We believed in the merger.
"We are attracted to the leadership of the CPC and if it was possible, we would still have an alliance. But the CPC had not been reaching out to us.
"They have not been responding respectively. We don't want it to appear like we are not confident of ourselves.
We cannot wait again. We need to get our people into the field in preparation for Saturday's election."
He, however, assured that ''if at the end of the election on Saturday there is no clear winner, we would make a decision on which way to go, in the over riding interest of all Nigerians.''
Asked if it was true that the party had been insisting that the alliance must produce Ribadu as the presidential candidate, he replied, "No."
But the former governor added that the ACN had wanted its performance at the National Assembly polls to count for it during the failed talks.
Before the conference, Akande had ruled out the possibility of the ACN asking its supporters to vote for Jonathan on Saturday.
He described the President as a good man who found himself in a bad party.
Akande said, " "We will not be comfortable to tell our supporters to vote for the PDP, which is a very bad party. The President is a good man, he belongs to a wrong political party."
He also said that Jonathan sent some eminent Nigerians, including traditional rulers to the leadership of the ACN on the need to support him.
Akande also denied media reports that Tinubu was flown to Abuja in a presidential jet to meet the President.
"Tinubu did not visit the President; he did not ride in any presidential jet," he said.
When contacted over the collapse of the alliance talks, Buhari's spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumaki, said "this is not the time for reckless comments."
He said, "Leadership requires maturity.. We are not rushing to make any unguarded comments that will jeopardise efforts of well meaning Nigerians to see that we deliver."
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SR
ACN, CPC Alliance Talks Has Not Collapsed, Says Buhari,
Written By Godwin Ijediogor & Samson Ezea12 FEBRUARY 2011
FORMER military Head of State and Presidential candidate of Congress For Progressive Change (CPC) Alhaji Muhammed Buhari yesterday said the alliance talks between his party and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) had not collapsed.
In an interview with The Guardian in Abuja yesterday, Buhari said he was disappointed over the statement credited to the national chairman of ACN Chief Bisi Akande that the alliance talk between his party and ACN had collapsed and that he Buhari was responsible for it.
[PHOTO: Buhari, CPC Flag bearer for Nigeria 2011 polls]
"The alliance talk has not collapsed. I believe both ACN and CPC tried their best, but we worked against time and certain principles. Firstly, there was move by AC before it changed to ACN that I should join AC and I would get the ticket. That time, they didn't know that we had gone very far with our application to register CPC. Eventually, when the registration came after 11 months and 18 days, I formally left ANPP and joined the CPC. And initially, as expected, most of my energies and those who did the work of liaising for the registration pushed to get the CPC on ground. I still maintain that the alliance has not collapsed.
"There will be no confusion, there are two parties and if we agree at whatever level and I believe with effective communication and sensitization, there will be no confusion. It is possible to tell our supporters on how to vote because each party will maintain her logo.
"The ideal thing would have been to field one presidential candidate, but that didn't happen. We had our convention earlier on and I was elected and ratified as the presidential candidate of our party. That time we were still talking with AC, if they had wanted me to be the flag bearer of the alliance as suggested earlier before they became ACN, they wouldn't have produced a presidential candidate again.
"I could recall that in 2007, six political parties did their congresses and primaries, but didn't field any presidential candidate having adopted me as their presidential candidate. It is not such a big deal. Even now, there are some political parties under the umbrella of CNN led by Alhaji Balarabe Musa. They have met and adopted me as their presidential candidate and have passed the message across their supporters and members. Maybe because ACN is older than CPC, that is why people are so concerned, but the possibility of having alliance with ACN before the election is very possible," Buhari said.
On the choice of Pastor Tunde Bakare as his running mate in the forthcoming presidential election, the former military head of state said it was informed by Bakare's performance as the leader of the Save Nigeria Group.Bakare came to political limelight when he convened the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) rally and mobilised Nigerians from different parts of the country to protest at the peak of the late President Umaru Musa Yar Adua's health crisis that nearly threw the country into constitutional crisis due to selfish interest of some people.
Stressing that he was given to identifying with any person or group who showed commitment to Nigeria's cause, Buhari said: "Bakare is committed and courageous. What else do I need for somebody to be my right hand man? That is the best qualification any Nigerian can have."
He said Bakare had a lot of political value. "What do you mean by political value? This time around Nigerians will know what political value is and I don't know how you define it. What Nigerians need now is a patriotic and committed leader, somebody that is courageous enough to speak out. This is what we have in Pastor Tunde Bakare," Buhari said.
He also said that he was not satisfied with the way the Federal government had been handling the security crisis rocking the country ahead of the elections.
"If you could recall the Jos crisis started in 1991 and by the last one, so many lives had been lost. How many committees government since then and none of their reports had set up and recommendations have seen the light of the day. That is corruption. How can one allow his citizens to be killing one another and destroying properties for more than ten years? And you failed to effectively stop it," Buhari said.
He said he refused to amass wealth or steal public fund while in office because he did not want to have anything he could not account for in life.
"I was a hungry man like anybody and I like money. But I have always said it to my close associates and have continued to say it that I don't want to have anything I cannot account for," Buharis declared. "Up till today, I don't want to have anything that I will be embarrassed because I cannot account how I got it. That is why I tried to keep away, not only from public fund but from other people's fund."
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LEADERSHIP
Buhari Opens Up: Why CPC / ACN Alliance FailedSATURDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2011 05:32 .
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) needs no introduction as he is a household name. There have been several reports as to reasons why the much-publicized alliance between the CPC and ACN failed. In this interview, 'The General' tells in plain language why the alliance was botched, just as he says elites who are afraid of a Buhari presidency are free to flee.
What lessons have you learnt in politics against the backdrop of the ANPP which was your former party and the manner they treated you?
Do you know what? The decision to withdraw the case from court was not taken by the appropriate organs of the party saddled with that responsibility.The decision to join the so -called government of national unity or unity government was not taken by the appropriate organs of the party saddled with that responsibility.
Even the people to be appointed into that government, the decision ought to have been taken by the party's National Working Committee (NWC), and, more importantly, by its National Executive Committee (NEC). None of the party's constitutionally-recognized arms took part in taking those decisions. So, what would I be doing in such a party? It was total anarchy. That is why I had to leave. We then formed the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
But, ACN was very hopeful that it would get you on board; that, too, did not work. Are we not dealing with a difficult man here?
ACN, even when it was just AC, we were talking and there was indeed, hope. Yes, AC was thinking of even giving me the party's presidential ticket.But, here we were, after getting a political party registered, I felt that the least we could do was to get the structure of CPC to be on ground first.
There was no way I could have gotten a political party registered and then I would dump it the next moment because another political party had dangled its presidential ticket before me. That was never going to be the case and I do not have any regrets about that.
People seem to forget the custom of loyalty. The custom of loyalty is a two-way thing. It has to go both ways. Your party chairman explained last week that there was nothing strange in the position you took by sticking to your CPC for the presidential ticket.
There are people who insist that you are just too rigid, that there are certain approaches that you could adopt in achieving the same objectives without being seen to have compromised. Why are you so rigid?
Well, I will try to answer you with what happened in ACN. When I didn't accept AC's ticket after registering CPC and making them understand that I was a party to the registration of CPC, the least I could do was to see that the party should be on the ground. And, if you believe that loyalty is a two- way thing, then you wouldn't blame me for that.
They kept saying that they had the structures, that their party was more firmly rooted and that they would mobilize more easily. Yes, I agree. But, we, too, in CPC, were already building our structures gradually and we were also mobilizing massively. Okay, initially, we said we could go into an alliance; a sort of working alliance for the presidential election. The arrangement was such that we would provide the presidential candidate and they would provide the vice-presidential candidate. But, that did not work.
But, why?
That was because we had our congresses and we came out with a presidential candidate. We offered that they could have the vice- presidential slot and then we could discuss how to fill the other offices. But, then, again, this took a long time. January 15 was beginning to get too close. And, I needed to nominate a vice-presidential candidate.
But, then, again, you would wonder, since we had our own presidential primary before they had their own, if they wanted to make any sacrifice, they wouldn't have had their own presidential candidate too.
Why, since the alliance talks were not really conclusive?
The truth was that they didn't need to do that if they needed to make sacrifice based on the on-going talks about the possibility of an alliance. In any case, the reason is that you cannot have two presidential candidates in an alliance. That is not how it is done, it would never work. You would recall that in 2006, six parties, PAC, NAP, NCP, PRP, PSP and DPA did their primaries and conventions and adopted me. So, it is not something unique that ACN would have done to come into an alliance with us. There was nothing new in that. And, when you include ANPP, then you'll end up with seven political parties. There was nothing unique in that had ACN adopted me if it was about good faith. We could have won that election but Nigerians know how that election went. PDP stole the election.
Some people say a General Muhammadu Buhari becoming President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria would spell doom for a section of the elite. There are even talks that some people would just head for exile. How do you react to that?
Well, it would appear that individuals are free to live wherever they choose to live and live comfortably. Individuals are also very free to leave the country if they so choose, especially since they would be able to afford it. Those of us who are sentenced to live in Nigeria will continue to live in this country because for us, we do not have any other country than this and we would not leave the country and go and seek comfort in another country. Well, if people would feel unsafe, they can leave the country. We would continue here.
Is there no possibility of a possible witch-hunt; some people may be afraid based on past deeds…
If people feel unsafe to live under some leadership in Nigeria because of what they have done or because of some atrocities they have committed in the past and, therefore, would not feel safe to live under some type of leadership in the country, then maybe they are using their sixth sense.
Some people say the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is not doing enough to fight corruption.
How would you tackle the issue of corruption?
One of the things that CPC would do is to strengthen the institutions.
We already have the police. In CPC, we have said that security and prosperity will bring stability. We have been harping on these three things before. If we empower the police, they will do their work very well.
There are too many boards or commissions handling this or handling that.We would look at the ones that would still be relevant to strengthen the police.We will make the military more efficient by training and re-training and also by providing equipment and machinery. In EFCC, there are volumes of representations which they cannot cover because of inadequate manpower or lack of resources. We would do our best to strengthen the institutions by managing resources judiciously.
We have financial regulations in every department and every ministry and, in every state and they have to work.
There must be a proper accounting of public funds in all the three tiers of government and what is lacking is that judicious use of public funds. This is the aim of CPC.
People say you are a good man and that you mean well...
(Cuts in) Thank you very much.
The question then is: You would not be in every ministry or every government department or agency to properly monitor these things. So, how much confidence would you have in your men because you gave an instance of politicians attempting to highjack elective tickets even in CPC?
The laws and regulations on accountability in all these places you have talked about are not lacking at all. People just choose to do what they like. People just refuse to respect the laws of the country.What CPC would do is to ensure that there is a proper and judicious use of the country's resources for the good of the people. The laws are there.
You look like a man too much in a hurry and when you interface your person with the slow wheel of democracy, especially recognising that CPC may not have an absolute majority in the National Assembly, how would you tackle the challenges of achieving results within this context?
Let me answer your question like this: You remember when Obama went to Ghana, he said what Africa needs are strong institutions and not strong people.In the case of Nigeria, I dare to say that we are unique. We need strong people to create those institutions and strengthen those institutions for effectiveness.
The truth is that, without a strong and clean leadership in the country, Nigeria cannot be stabilized.The other side of the coin is that you may not even be able to strengthen the institutions if you are not strong and firm as a leader.
Followership and leadership: Which one should come first?
Look, Nigerians cannot be taken for granted any more. As a state governor, you cannot be stealing state funds and then you expect the people to fall in line and be disciplined. It will never work. Everybody responsible for some part of the treasury would also be pocketing the money because they know what the governor is doing. If the president of the country is spending monies outside the approved budget or acts outside the approved regulations from the Office of the Accountant-General, Nigerians would rise against such a person and would not even obey such a leader and they'll do whatever they like. That is why we have had this mess on ground since 1999.
The infrastructure we met, we refused to build new ones and even the ones on ground were not being properly maintained. Don't forget, we used to have four functional refineries in this country with more than 480,000 bpd capacity.
We had more than 20 depots. I don't know how many pumping stations. We had more than 3,500 km length of pipelines. In 12 years, the PDP government could not maintain them and instead we are importing petroleum products at world market prices, something that we produce in this country!
This is the height of corruption, by killing the petroleum industry which the country depends on. Why can't we refine our own crude and sell in our own country? Instead, we give people contracts to import products and sell to Nigerians at world prices.
You chose as your running-mate, a Christian. Would I be right to say you are gradually coming to terms with the realities of the Nigerian polity by not being too rigid and picking not just a Christian, but a pastor as your running-mate?
It all started with the problem of the late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who was then ill. Some people wanted to capitalise on that to create political crises and unconstitutionality and Pastor Bakare came all the way to Abuja to tell the people a piece of his mind that people needed to be careful and not plunge Nigeria into needless crises. He was determined.
At the same time, I made two appearances publicly and I also sent a message across to say that the constitution was very clear on succession plan.
From the National Democratic Movement (NDM), I signed a letter, counter-signed by Atiku Abubakar and we went to the National Assembly. That was where our interests conjoined. From that time I realised I had met a patriot because our focus was purely Nigeria at that time and you could see the determination. So, when this opportunity came, I just knew that I had no better choice other than Pastor Bakare.
Finally on the issue of consensus, you turned it down because in the beginning you had problems with the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF). What transpired?
Look, even in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where they had their problem of zoning, that issue of consensus was tenuous. It was even said to be a northern consensus but in that same North, some leadership of the North-Central did not believe in it. I always said it and I mean it; it was mainly a PDP affair. They should go and deal with it since it is their problem.
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PUNCH
Why alliance talks with CPC failed —ACNBy Niyi Odebode, Mudiaga Affe and Ezra IjiomaThursday, 3 Feb 2011
The Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Bisi Akande, has explained why alliance talks between the ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change collapsed.
Akande, in January 28, 2011 letter to the CPC National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, recalled that the ACN was ready to adopt the name and logo of the All Nigeria Peoples Party when the CPC presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was in the ANPP.
"The circumstance, precisely the urgent need to salvage the country from the cruel hands of the Peoples Democratic Party, gave birth to the National Democratic Movement," he stated. The ACN chairman said Buhari left the NDM "to start building the CPC from the scratch."
He added, "It is absolutely clear to us in the leadership of our party that the majority of our members, whose views we must respect, no longer see a merger as possible before the 2011 elections. There are too many technical hurdles in our way."
Also, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement on Wednesday, said, "The main reason the alliance failed was the recalcitrance and unbending attitude of the CPC. We invited Buhari to run for the presidency on the platform of our party.
"That means we were willing to even sacrifice our own candidate for the good of all, but the CPC insisted that not only must the alliance field Buhari, he must run on the platform of the CPC. We thought this demand was quite unreasonable, considering the pedigree of the ACN. Yes, CPC may be a popular party but it is largely untested.
"On the other hand, ACN is not only popular but it is well tested. We have four state governors, many senators and House of Representatives members, a huge number in the state houses of assembly and many council chairmen. Going into the April elections, we have a Plus 3 Advantage, in that three of our governors will not contest and two will remain in office till 2014!"
He regretted that CPC leaders wanted the ACN to concede the presidency and lose its identity under the alliance.
"Of course, we rejected that demand, which will be akin to committing political suicide. It was difficult enough having to explain to our members why we are offering to sacrifice our own presidential candidate for Buhari.
"To even assure Buhari, who is apparently smarting from the backstabbing he suffered from his former party, ANPP, we said if and when he wins the presidency, we can go to congress and change the name, logo and other identities of the ACN to reflect the new reality brought forth by the alliance.
"Again the CPC refused. We were left wondering whether indeed the people in the CPC believe in their candidate and want him to become President. Well, we can tell Nigerians that we have made the biggest sacrifice by offering to bring Buhari on board at the expense of our own candidate - just to save Nigeria from the stranglehold of the PDP. The offer we made to him was a great risk," he explained.
He also advised the PDP not to gloat over the failed alliance talks.
He said, "It is a mark of the idleness of the folks in charge of the PDP that they will resort to issuing a statement over the problems with the alliance between two opposition parties. From Kwara to Ogun, Kogi to Oyo, the PDP is in a big mess, having been unable to organise successful primaries."
Meanwhile, the Secretary of the CPC Contact and Mobilisation Committee, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has assured that the talks will continue.
He said, "It was the Electoral Act that caused the confusion. According to the Electoral Act, parties can only merge about 90 days or three months before the elections. The merger would have been concluded a long time ago. So the cooperation is still ongoing."
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DAILY INDEPENDENT
LAST UPDATED AT Wed Sep, 01 2010
Why our alliance talks with Buhari failed, by ACN
By Obiora Ifoh (Abuja) and Daniel Kanu (Lagos)
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on Wednesday provided insight on its futile alliance talks with Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
It also disclosed talking with former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, but said he has not joined the party yet.
ACN National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, made the disclosures when he led a delegation to the corporate headquarters of Independent Newspapers Limited (INL) in Lagos.
Others on the entourage were Uche Onyeagocha, Abubakar Magaji, Hafsat Mohammed, and Hauwa Baba Ahmed, former newscaster with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Mohammed confirmed that ACN has been trying to persuade Ribadu to join the party, and if he joins, there are guidelines on how to contest election on its platform.He took a dig at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who "did not believe in federalism but in military structure, who had a hidden agenda to destroy democracy.
"Obasanjo never believed in federalism and so he destabilised all political parties and by extension the opposition."
Mohammed said ACN was hoping for a deal with Buhari in order to have a formidable opposition to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but the idea was scuttled by Buhari who wanted a loose alliance and demanded key positions for CPC officials.
He maintained that it was wrong for Buhari to insist on being a senior partner when the CPC does not have any elected representative.
His words: "Our position was that AC (Action Congress, the old party name) was ready to allow its platform to be used, that we could change our name to anyone we agreed upon, but that they should not tamper with the broom on the logo.
"We said we were ready to dissolve all our structures, our executives, from the national to the wards, to incorporate everybody.
"But we got a report that was shocking, in which Buhari had maintained that the CPC was not ready to merge with anybody, that CPC will be interested in a loose alliance, that people in their different parties should contest every election where they are strong, and when it comes to Presidential election we can all merge.
"We said it has never worked. The only way is for us to have a common platform."
According to Mohammed, ACN reminded the CPC that it does not have a single Councillor yet, whereas ACN has two Governors, four Senators, about 30 members of the House of Representatives, which means that it is odd for CPC to want to be the senior partner in the alliance.
"Buhari said the Chairman of the party as well as other key positions will come from the CPC. To us, that is wrong." However, CPC National Publicity Secretary, Dennis Aghanya, explained in a statement that the talks are still going on and about 36 other parties are also in alliance plans with the CPC.
''Talks are still going on with our party and the ACN on possible ways we can work together and win the forthcoming 2011 general election.
"At our last meeting held in Lagos by the representatives of both sides, the discussion did not break down as earlier reported in some dailies.
"Each side made its position known and we agreed to report back to the leaders of our various political parties," Aghanya said.
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