Godwin Erhahon has remained one of the consistent political allies of President Muhammadu Buhari since 2002 – from ANPP, CPC to APC. He spoke to Assistant Editor (North), CHUKS EHIRIM, in Abuja, on the real reasons for the poor performance of the APC in the South South during the last general elections.
Having been in this struggle for Buhari’s presidency since 2003, how would you describe May 29, 2015?
It is a mission fulfilled, a dream realised and belief justified. That is the way I see it. So we are so happy. It is a prayer heard and approved by the Almighty God.
So many Nigerians would affirm that. But do you think Buhari has what it takes to meet the expectation of Nigerians?
I believe that the expectations are high because Nigerians know how reliable and dependable the Buhari leadership can be, because, first, I don’t think Nigeria has any record of any leader, whether past or present, who is as selfless as Buhari. So I believe that while he may not be able to meet the aspiration of all, what I know is that Buhari will rescue the poor from the stranglehold of the rich. I am sure of that because he doesn’t believe in oppression or cheating.
Since 2003, I have been a key stakeholder in this project. From the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to Congress for progressive Change (CPC), our events were nationwide because of my position in the body of states chairmen then.
So you find that everybody is eager to occupy one position or another. And very many of them who are so eager, as I know them, do not share in totality the philosophy and ideology of Buhari’s selflessness. Most of them just want appointment to go and make money. Therefore, such persons are sure to be disappointed when Buhari looks around and picks the people who he can trust to make the needed sacrifice.
In one of the meetings we held after the 2011 elections, I told Buhari: You don’t have money like all the other former heads of state, because you refused to steal, and even when you were given what may be called a dash, you don’t take, if they have some strings attached. The same thing with those of us who are your followers; we are also not rich. We are not able to fund our party from our own purse, because from day one, we refused to take from the ruling party.
Whether it is a gift or whatever, we shunned them. So we have been suffering from such self-denial, which to us is worth it because the interest of Nigeria is paramount. To that extent, for those who know Buhari, who are sincere and reasonable in their expectation, I am sure Buhari will be able to meet their expectations. But those who are selfish, surely, will be disappointed. What I can assure them is that, first, Buhari will not steal, and he will not allow anybody to steal. Anything that is not favourable to the interest of the poor, Buhari will not allow it to work. So all those who thrive on cheating the poor are going to be disappointed. Therefore, their own expectations may not be met. But I am sure that in other areas that are positive, yes, Buhari will do his best. And my appeal to Nigerians is, let us, for now, follow Buhari in his own philosophy.
I will even go as far as suggesting that institutions and his own crew in the State House (Aso Rock), the intellectuals that he would have there, should endeavour to commission or produce a study that could be called ‘Buharism’ to study who Buhari is and his philosophy, so that it could even be something people could learn, from the secondary schools, to know Buhari, why is he the way he is, and why people who know him talk about him the way they do. Let them tell us more about him, while we are expecting so much from him. Such subject or study or documentation is another thing that Nigerians should have in this first four years of Buhari’s presidency; otherwise a lot of things would have been lost by way of his ideology and philosophy as lesson to future generation.
The immediate past president said that if Buhari probes his regime alone, it will amount to witch-hunt; that the probe should include everybody. But some said that even when Buhari came the first time as military head of state, he only probed the government that he took over from. So what is your take, especially on the war against corruption debate?
First, I would not want this administration to allow the issue of probe to becloud its vision for Nigeria and weaken its drive for results. I surely will not advise that. The first thing I will suggest is that as soon as he settles down, he should call all those he knows had stolen Nigeria’s money, to, on their own, return whatever they can return. They should not wait to be caught or fished out. Then those who are able to respond, even if it is not reasonable enough, he can grant them some kind of amnesty. But those who believe that nothing will happen, that they will go with whatever they had stolen, even if it happens to be beyond this Jonathan’s regime, I don’t see anything wrong in such persons being probed, particularly if it is within this Fourth Republic.
There will be nothing wrong if there are serious issues that arise concerning fraud, graft or whatever. It will be important to probe, but, principally, he should ensure that all that have been stolen in the past five to six years, as much of it as could be recovered, are recovered. I say this because, tell me why today we are having this fuel crisis. Then tell us why government cannot pay workers’ salaries. And who really can explain why a government that could not pay workers’ salaries could afford to spend so much money on elections?
People stole money recklessly, believing that they were going to win the last elections; so when they win, Nigeria will continue the same way. Such persons cannot in any way run away from probe. But I sympathise with Jonathan because it is not his duty to tell us who to probe or where to start. It is the prerogative of Nigerians and their rulers. He is not going to dictate to the government that has taken over from him where and how it should probe.
Equally, some believe that there are a lot of people in his party who are equally corrupt. Will he have the courage to also visit the same treatment on such people?
I am very sure that if Buhari has a son or a brother or even a mother who stole public fund and this time around he is able to detect it, he will not spare such a person. So I want to assure Nigerians that the Buhari that I know, I have been with him since 2003, does not have any no-go area. He will not have any sacred cow in the area of probe and all that. Wherever there are thieves, people who have stolen public funds, I am sure Buhari will probe such persons, no matter how close they are to him.
Let’s look at the elections that held on March 28 and April 11. You are from the South South. There has been this speculation, especially among chieftains of the APC, that elections didn’t hold in South South and South East. What was it like campaigning for Buhari where you come from, when almost everybody there was saying that somebody from their own side should equally be allowed to go for a second term?
It wasn’t easy in the sense that it went beyond ethnic sentiment. There was also the religious sentiment, which was played very dangerously against us. I think, today, that one will also lead to a revolution in Christendom, in the sense that people said that God sent them to say this or that, that God had assured them that Buhari will never win. Any congregation that discovers that the leader was a mercenary, talking for those who gave him money, must surely deplete. There is no way you will find a large number of people in such places anymore. Then there was this tribal sentiment and hate campaigns against Buhari. In some areas, they really worked against us.
But let us again be realistic. In some areas, very many of our people in APC sold out. Delta State is number one.
How?
In Delta, most of our leaders worked for PDP. I have records of some persons from the grassroots in Delta, knowing my closeness to Buhari, wrote petitions to protest; how even senatorial candidates betrayed the party. Very many of them. Therefore, my appeal to the party, my advice to the President, is, please, in areas where the party performed so woefully, he should be careful in appointing people into positions. In so many areas, there were sell-outs. We were sold to PDP; there is no doubt about that. We had what is beyond double tragedy now or multiple problems; first ethnicity, then religion and again, for those of us in Edo, many of the leaders of APC, who are also very vocal, betrayed the party. May be because of my background as a journalist, I have my own way of gathering information. But because as a journalist I cannot play to the gallery; it is impossible. So whatever I see, I will voice out. If people are not ready to accept the truth and I cannot go to the press to say everything that I see, so I maintain some tactical silence.
But now that you have raised it, I will tell you that we had all these problems. Above all, there were sell-outs, to the extent that I can tell you that if Buhari had lost the presidential election, very many leaders in the South South and South East would have joined the PDP. Because of my background I have access to information from the PDP leaders.
They already know that there is nothing that can be done to convince me to leave the APC. Some of them would say that even if Buhari is jumping into fire, I would follow him. So it is a pity that that was what we had.
The section of our society which I commend most, are you, the media. I don’t want say “we” any longer because I am now a politician. I salute the courage of many of you. I have seen some of you who have been with us, some since 2003 and most consistently from 2007. I have seen many of you. In the last campaign, I am also aware that journalists who followed the other side made a lot of money. I know my master, I know my leader, Buhari; I know he had no money to give and he will always tell you, even if I have money, I will not give you in that manner that they are giving because I am not going into government to steal; I am going there to liberate all of you.
So with such very harsh economic situation and the hazard, all of you remained steadfast. Therefore, I will, through you, express our profound gratitude. I am not Buhari’s spokesman, but I can say confidently that he knows my own position among those who believe in him in the country, especially in the South South. Therefore, it won’t be out of place if I thank all of you on his behalf and also hope that someday the party leadership and the president himself will see the need to host you and honour you for what you have done.
It is important for journalists who suffered with us in the trenches to be acknowledged. It may not be possible to give money, but let them know that your contributions are appreciated.
