A national chairmanship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Saliu Mustapha, who is from Kwara State, states that he will not accept any form of imposition of candidate on the party if he emerges as the chairman of the party. In this interview with DAVID LAWANI, he explains that popular candidates should emerge based on merits

What is your assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after nearly seven years in office?
For me, 100 per cent he has done well especially if you look at where we are coming from. And the circumstances we met on the ground. For me, I feel he has done well. Don’t forget, I have been with him and I have struggled with him for his emergence right from the days of ANPP when he first contested against President Olusegun Obasanjo.

So, when you have the history of where we are coming from, and what the country had gone through, you will appreciate what he has done so far.

And the level at which he has been able to stabilize the country. If you remember, the defeated administration of the PDP era, the country was at a precipice. We were almost comparing ourselves to Venezuela when we think we will start queuing for essential commodities than we expected. Sometimes, I tell people, it is going to be eight years journey by the grace of God. So, far it is about six to seven years now.

You cannot start correcting and trying to compare the gains viz-a-viz what the other administration recorded in 16 years. We must give it to him. He has done well. We must also give it to APC as a party. At least the country is moving forward. There are infrastructures. Look at the roads, second Niger Bridge anchor Borrowers Programme that the farmers are now getting the direct impact. Look at the social welfare being directed by the office of the Vice President which is still under President Muhammadu Buhari.

So, you must give it to him. And APC because this administration has done well. All of these are verifiable facts. Although have said new challenges have emerged. Like looking at insecurity. And the economy not many people will agree that the economy is doing well. We have also seen disharmony among secessionist groups and agitations across parts of the country.

Don’t you think these could be a result of the administration’s slow approach to governance?
Sometimes, maybe we need to get people to speak more on these issues so that when we mention our achievements people will not be in doubt. Don’t forget, before now it was an era of bomb explosions everywhere, but today, do you hear of anything like that? Even in Abuja, we experience the Suleja and United Nations building bombing even your colleague ThisDay media house also experienced the bombing. And today you don’t have all that. Insecurity is not the making of this administration. These are things we met and we are trying to curtail, and it is a global trend.

That is why I always preach to people to be patriotic enough to understand that there are certain areas and situations that we must not play politics with. Insecurity is one of them. All over the world, there is insecurity with different phases depending on how you perceive it. But here we try to play politics with it. Even in the United States and Britain, we have seen it happening. In terms of economic hardship, there is a global hardship. No food for a lazy man. You must work hard. You must be creative. And that is why you must give it to this administration. We have been able to especially the farmers, there is a lot of intervention from this administration on how to improve on the farming industry and that is one of the easiest ways to make money. Nigeria with over 200 million population, we are underutilising our agricultural sector.

And that is why this presents administration about a week ago, you saw the president launching the rice pyramids. A lot of people have not seen anything like that. Some of the photos they saw about the rice pyramids, they didn’t think it exist. Now they have seen it so they believed things like this can happen.

If you emerge as the chairman of the party, how are you going to handle the overbearing influence of the governors who are so powerful?
It is a very simple task. You see, everything depends on your manner of approach to issues. The governors are crucial and an integral part of any party. They are leaders and governors of their states. And don’t forget we are in a peculiar democratic experience. What happens in Oyo state might not happen in Sokoto State. We all have different peculiarities. One of the key ingredients to manage a party like the APC where you have various interests, both in terms of ethnicity, gender equality is consultations. By the time you give room for proper consultation, you give people a sense of belonging, that is having an all-inclusive agenda, and you try to be fair. There should be free and fair elections.

No imposition of candidates. Popular candidates should emerge based on merits. And you carry people along. More importantly, you don’t seat there and say because I am the chairman today, I decide everything. You must consult and carry your colleagues along. Deploy a teamwork approach to issues and invite stakeholders for regular consultations. You will be able to trash issues based on the information and you are proactive towards certain issues. Politics is about inclusiveness. And when you don’t carry people along, they are bound to suspect you even before they start raising issues. As human beings, we have that phobia for one another. But when you are open to people, and you can carry them along, you let them see what you are doing and what the party is doing too. And don’t forget, we have a manifesto. We have a constitution. These are things that must be done.

Let it be a binding document and let it work. At that time, nobody will accuse you of your agenda. Because the main thing in a political party is delivering on your promises to the electorates. Giving them dividends of democracy. And then you try to institutionalize the party. I am here to see a political party in the country that stands on its own as an institution. We don’t have it. And over the years some of us have gone for different workshops and training by the NDI. They keep on inviting us. We have learned a lot from them. It is time for us to now domesticate it on our own based on our peculiarities. By the time you have this done, the party will now be proud of you if you can institutionalize it. Take, for instance, I don’t think we have an archive where you have a record of the successes of APC promoted by the party. Then you can document the person that spearheaded that policy. When you have all this, you can develop research, strategic, and planning departments. You work ahead of time.

Today electioneering is becoming digitalised. As a party, we must be able to look at the future and start planning on how we need to educate our members. And also work on an advanced electioneering system. As a party, you have to work to achieve your achievements and what you intend to do. And how you intend to help checkmate and give an account of your members first before the general public. If today, God made me the chairman of APC, I will promote an agenda whereas a party we will hold our elected representatives to account for their stewardship so that we will know we have also given Nigerians the best. Not before Nigerians will start dictating or start questioning our achievements. Or let us even call ourselves to order. And say look, young man. You have been voted for this. You are not doing what you have been voted for. So, we don’t go to the poll in four years, and we start receiving bad responses.

Are you not worried that your idea might not go down well with your party considering they are just interested in winning elections?
It is very easy. I told you, it is about consultations. These are ideas that I have and they are going to be subject to good scrutiny. I want to be the leader of a party not just for the title. But for me, it is a call for service. So, I am there to serve the people. And in serving them, you must listen and also take to their advice and opinion. When you can have inclusiveness agenda, people can give ideas and listen to you. It is not a sign of a witness. Some mistakes consultations as a sign of weakness but not at all.

If elected as chairman, I will want to enthrone discipline. So, people will know political parties are not just free entrance and free exit. You don’t come into a party and you don’t want to obey the laws. The terms of conditions that are binding us and we will just fold our alms while you rock the boat. There must be party discipline. And that brings me to party supremacy such that we will be able to achieve promises.

How can you enforce discipline and supremacy at the same time?
Our major strategy will be how to sustain governance. And it is when you are able to win that election, you will have the victory of implementing good governance and that programne you have been preaching about during the electioneering year. You cannot give what you don’t have.

Looking at the numbers of aspirants, would you prefer the consensus mode, and if that is the case do you think you stand a chance?
I am a party man to the core. And I will support 100% anything that will make APC victorious at the end of the day. Because that is when our ideas, beliefs, and our agenda for the country can be transformed. Without having APC as a unified, strong, and united party. And to deliver and sustain the gains already recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Fighting individual battles is not my preoccupation. For me, whatever will give us victory, at the end of the day, in a legitimate way, I am 100% for it.

The women in your party have said they will no longer play second fiddle. How will that play out?
Internal strategies on how you manage issues in your family are key. Women and the youth are an integral part of your party. And they are stakeholders too in the APC family. So, carrying them along won’t be an issue. The most important thing is giving them a sense of belonging.

Degree war of offices

Giving them that inclusiveness. Like the younger generations, the youth, from all statistics now, it shows that 75 to 80 per cent of total votes cast in the country belong to them. Do you want to ignore their wishes and presence at the party? Or do you want to ignore policies that will enhance their productivity? So these are some of the things I intend to promote. Try and also see that we try to improve upon their welfare, wellbeing is taken care of.

We must ensure that policies are formulated through the party to promote, for example, these technical or vocational studies that you can help to promote through your government to see that the younger generations are gainfully employed. They can become masters of their own without having to work for somebody for the next 20 years within a year or two of apprenticeship.

So, that they can be employers of labour. The women wing, for me no law says you must subject the women folks to the back. Sometimes, you even have better representation from them. Don’t forget, we are all born of a woman. So, if anybody realizes that then you will remember your mum at home then you must promote the women folks.