INTERVIEW
Ambassador Wilberforce Juta is one of those seeking the chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview, he goes back in time and connects with the present about why the party needs him at a time like this.
Why did you venture into politics?
I began taking interest in politics when I was a child. When we were in primary school, we were very fond of the Peoples’ Republican Party (PRP) and, most times, we ran around working for the ‘talakawa’ or PRP. When I grew up and went to secondary school, we were still a part of whatever the political party was doing. Also, when I was in the university, I had an affinity for politics, but I was a democrat. I was quite positively inclined to the political views of the late President Robert Kennedy and, when he was killed, I was grieved beyond words. When I returned to Nigeria, I taught for some time as the principal of a secondary school. In 1978, when politics came back after the military regime, I joined the GNPP as a gubernatorial contestant. I narrowly lost to the late Barde (who went on to become the governor) and I was taken as his running mate. In early 1983, I took over from Barde as the second civilian governor of the new Gongola State, until the end of 1983, when the GNPP lost to MPN and Bamanga Tukur took over as governor. I handed over to Tukur on October 1, 1983 and, on December 1, the coup which brought Buhari and Idiagbon to power took place. Their coming brought a lot of trouble for all politicians of all kinds. We were all put in chains and clamped in prison, early in 1984. I was detained in Yola for 14 weeks, before we were moved to Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, where we were from February to early March, before we were scattered all over. I ended up at the Kaduna Prison, where I spent two years. Finally, we were released in 1993, the same year in which I became the coordinator of the Abiola/ Kingibe campaign. Abiola’s campaign was launched in my house in Yola and, in the end, we won, but it was annulled for whatever reason. We did not give up; we continued to campaign and, when Abdulsalami Abubakar lifted the ban on politics in 1998, we all converged on Abuja [same year], where we formed a strong political party which most Nigerians will belong to. That was how the G-34 members formed the People Democratic Party (PDP), with the party’s first headquarters in Bolingo Hotel & Towers. In August, that year, PDP was launched as a party, with its first chairman being Alex Ekwueme. The chairmanship of the party was zoned to the North and, thus, Chief Solomon Daushep Lar became its first chairman. As the presidential election drew closer, we nominated Obasanjo as the party’s flag-bearer in our party primary in Jos. I was made the first national vice-chairman for the North-east.That was how the PDP came into power and stayed there for 16 years. I was posted to the Zimbabwe as the Nigerian High Commissioner [1999-2003] and, when I returned, was posted to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), until 2009 when I retired.
So many have left the PDP; why did you remain?
There were so many reasons why so many left. No matter how good, human beings have got their frailties, ups and downs. I follow philosophies, not people. So, if people are wrong, I watch them. For those who want to lead the PDP, I always say: “If the PDP will survive in their hands, let them take over.” As it is now, I am ready to come and join hands with those who want to help the party go further. I do not believe in jumping from one party to the other in search of whatever it is that makes people jump so. I am a PDP member; I know the philosophy of the party, I believe in the party’s vision and I abide by it.
How can you believe in your party’s vision, when many, even political analysts, have concluded that Nigerian parties lack any real philosophy?
No, that is not true. One thing about us, Nigerians is that we are good in crafting laws and constitutions, but do not do any better in implementing these laws. I believe that our parties have philosophies, but those who fly the flags of these parties do not abide or represent these philosophies. It is just like saying that ‘politics is a dirty game’. Politics is not dirty; the people who play it are [the ones who make it so]. Look at it; if you believe in a political party, why run away when the [party loses an election?] That alone says all about your belief in the party’s philosophy. We have had Gemade Barnabas, Solomon Lar, Ahmadu Ali, Audu Ogbe and a number of others who have passed through the party, but the party is still there.
You are one of a number of politicians who want to be national chairman of the PDP. Why do you think you can help such a ‘wounded’, disorganised party at this time?
Granted, the PDP to a hit during the last presidential election and she has been dragged in the mud by the current administration, but that, notwithstanding, we cannot abandon the party. The party needs me to bring back her aggrieved back into her fold, build morale again and bring back that feeling of family and give her the sense of direction she needs for her future endeavours.
How do you hope to do this?
We must take our census again, by beginning a re-registration of party members. We need to know how many have left, why they left, how we can replace them [if they do not want to return] and update the party’s register in the light of these. We will, then, get the people involved. The party needs money to run and it is the members of the party who will take that responsibility. In many countries, political parties depend on its members’ goodwill and the dues they pay, the cost of membership cards. This is the only way we can fortify our ranks, pay workers at the party secretariat and, as a result, help the party succeed. If we need to get back where we were [and we will], we must begin to work towards that now. I believe that if we must produce credible leaders tomorrow; leaders who will be vetted and trusted by the polity and people who will work for the people, we must begin now. Yes, we have been dragged in the mud after the presidential election loss last year, but we must not despair. We will return the party’s glory. True, our politics today, unlike when Obasanjo was in power, is the winner-takes-all brand of politics. Back when the PDP was in power, politics was participatory. We did it for a reason; to give everyone, both the ruling and the opposition a sense of belonging. I will begin by bringing about healing, reconciliation and rejuvenation of the party. The PDP is strategising for 2019 and it will begin now. Best of all, we will begin with internal democracy which some mercenaries who came into the party did not care about, before imposing people on the citizenry. Power belongs to the people and the party, under my leadership, will guarantee that.
-Leadership
