Former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan not to succumb to the blackmail of the North and other groups asking him not to contest the 2015 election. As such, he urged the North to wait till 2019 before struggling to take over the leadership of the country even as he vouched that the president did not sign any agreement with any individual or group not to seek a second term in office. While describing those making the claims as being peddlers of falsehood, Babatope who is a top chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisted that there was never a time Jonathan entered into such an agreement with anybody.“These people are just blackmailing Jonathan. Since they have been making the claims, why have they not been bold enough to come out with any written document or agreement where Jonathan made such commitment?”, he asked. The PDP Board of Trustees member further stated that it was unfortunate that those making such claims were responsible members of the society.
The PDP chieftain, who spoke to TUNDE THOMAS in Lagos, also expressed his views on other national issues including the Boko Haram insurgency and ongoing national conference, among others. Excerpts:
The present state of insecurity in Nigeria has become a source of concern especially with the recent Nyanya bomb blast in Abuja, and the abduction of over 200 school girls in Chibok, how best do you think the problem can be solved?
What is happening in the country today is very unfortunate. The Boko Haram menace is becoming another thing. But I’m still puzzled as to what exactly Boko Haram sect members want. What do they want? I also want to talk about the genesis of the problem. All I can remember is that sometime ago, a group of important and eminent people from the North before the 2011 general elections gave a threat that Nigeria would be made ungovernable if President Goodluck Jonathan win the election, but Jonathan won the polls.
I believe that what is happening now is an offshoot of that statement made by these eminent people that Nigeria would be made ungovernable if Jonathan should win the elections.
I still believe that the northern politicians should rally the Federal Government in order to ensure that something is done about the Boko Haram. The situation is getting out of hand.
Imagine the innocent civil servants, school children, and travellers killed. In Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states, imagine the number of people that have already been killed. Boko Haram is becoming monstrous.
The situation is getting out of hand, and this is why something has to be done, and this is why everybody that have human conscience must be concerned.
I want to appeal to my fellow brother politicians in the North to rise above partisan politics, and join hands with government to tackle Boko Haram menace.
If the northern politicians want us to join them in effort to tackle the problem, we will willingly join them. We are not fighting war, yet it seems as if we are in a war situation. But it is unfortunate that Nigeria and Nigerians are now being subjected to acts of terrorism by people who have not told us what actually they want.
The other time there was a meeting. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and some Boko Haram members as part of the peace efforts, but unfortunately about four days later, the man who welcomed Obasanjo was killed. We don’t know what the Boko Haram people want.
Do they want an Islamic Republic of Nigeria? But if this is what they want they should be bold and courageous to come out and talk about their desire. But what everybody should realise is that today President Goodluck Jonathan is Nigeria’s president by popular acclamation through the votes, and, therefore, nobody can just sit down and demand his removal. He was elected as president by Nigerians and, therefore, we should allow him to work.
In fairness to Jonathan on several occasions, he has called for dialogue. Honestly, I pity Jonathan. However, I want to make an appeal through this medium to all those behind Boko Haram to kindly in the name of Allah the Most Merciful One to stop the carnage. They should stop killing innocent people. Let’s move Nigeria forward. We have never been seen to have been in this kind of situation in this country. I think the whole situation has now got to a point where we have to call for a halt.
Some people have stated that the Boko Haram attack may be a ploy to discourage Jonathan from seeking re-election in 2015, how do you view this?
Are we now saying because of what is happening, that Jonathan should not seek re-election in 2015? I don’t think so. I’m a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and also a member of the party’s Board of Trustees. Not only that, I have considerable knowledge of this country, but I can say that Jonathan’s re-election has not got anything to do with these acts of terrorism by Boko Haram. He is entitled to seek re-election. He is entitled to two terms in office.
The first time he became acting President of Nigeria when late President Yar’Adua died was an abnormal situation. You can’t count that as one term for him. Therefore, the young man is free to seek re-election for a second term, and he has shown sufficient example that he wants to rule Nigeria with the consent of all. Let us allow him to go and contest if he is seeking a second term, and let Nigerians assess him.
My fellow politicians in the North should kindly wait for Jonathan to conclude his term, and wait until 2019. I can assure you that if the North can exercise patience, the presidency would come to the region in 2019. But again, when I cast my mind back, there was this allegation that a particular governor in this country started Boko Haram. I don’t want to mention names, but I want to appeal to this governor who is a friend of mine to join hands with the Federal Government and others who are trying to resolve this problem. The insurgency by the Boko Haram has led to many deaths. We can’t afford further bloodshed.
Everybody should come onboard to ensure that we have peace and unity, and that we have joy in being Nigerians.
If some people are against Jonathan, they should seek his removal through the ballot box, and again it is the Nigerian voters who have the ultimate say. Everybody knows in this country that one regime that has shown terrific interest in having an unfettered electorate is the regime of Jonathan.
All previous elections in this country have been subjected to crude manipulation. But since Jonathan came on board, except one wants to offend God, the opposition parties have been winning elections, and nobody has ever disturbed them.
APGA won elections in Anambra State, Labour Party won elections in Ondo State while Adams Oshiomhole of APC won elections in Edo State.
INEC boss, Professor Attahiru Jega, has been doing a yeoman’s job, and this has been possible because he has been operating under conducive atmosphere that allows him to do his best. I, therefore, want to categorically state here that people should stop giving useless ultimatums to Jonathan.
As an insider and also as a member of PDP Board of Trustees, how true is it that President Jonathan promised to serve only a term in office?
It is not true. Jonathan never made such a promise. Nobody has ever come out with any document to show that this is the document Jonathan signed to serve for only one term. If those making these claims are so sure of their facts, let them come out with their documents. If they are so sure of what they are saying, let them come out with the documents they have. As long as they can’t produce any document, it means they are only trying to blackmail Jonathan. It is unfortunate that many of those people blackmailing Jonathan are responsible people. These are people that have tremendous reputation, but why are they resorting to blackmail over 2015?
Even if Jonathan made such a promise, and it is verbal, it can’t hold. I’m a lawyer, if there is a written document or agreement where Jonathan put his biro to paper and wrote that he will serve only a term in office, then it becomes debatable. But believe me, the legal point we should emphasize has been given in a recent judgment by a court in Abuja that Jonathan can’t be stopped from contesting for a second term, and 99 per cent of PDP members are saying that he should go for a second term because it is his constitutional right to do so. Why must there be an exception in Jonathan’s case? I want to say this, if Yar’Adua had not died, he would have been running his second term.
But unfortunately, Yar’Adua died, and nature didn’t permit a vacuum so also the constitution. This is why Jonathan stepped in. Jonathan was loyal to Yar’Adua when he was alive. He didn’t do anything to rock the boat when he was the Vice President to Yar’Adua. The two of them worked together in harmony. Even when Yar’Adua was sick, some elements were humiliating and raining insults on Jonathan. So, the North must not deny Jonathan a second term, if we do so on mere rabble-rousing and mere blackmail, God will not be happy with us.
What is your assessment of the ongoing national conference since it began sitting?
The confab is a very important tool in our quest to move forward as a nation, particularly coming after the end of Nigeria’s centenary celebrations.
So far so good, there has been nothing unusual about the deliberations at the confab. As for what some people would regard as controversies are normal controversies in politics. We must pray for the success of the confab. Nigerians at the conference must fashion out the way forward for us. They must cement our unity as a country.
I was a member of the National Political Conference set up by Obasanjo’s government in 2005. I was also a member of Justice Belgore Committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to do a review of all the previous national conferences we have had in Nigeria, and I ask myself whether it is not better for me to be supporting the conference from outside rather than being a delegate, and this is why I have been praying fervently that this conference should succeed because it is in the best interest of Nigeria for the conference to succeed. The success of the conference will mark the beginning of a new century of alliance and unity in the country. We must all support the conference.
The issue of no-go areas has been generating some controversies, especially over claims being made by some people that if no-go areas are not imposed that the confab may come up with some recommendations capable of leading to the break-up of the country, what do you have to say on this?
For those who are saying that or expressing such fears, I want to ask them a question, let them name a country where you have got a national conference, and the national conference has recommended the break-up of that country. Let them name one. I was a reporter for the Nigerian Tribune. I covered the National Conference held by Republic of Benin.
The conference was presided over by a Roman Catholic Bishop, De Souza. Most members of the conference were gunning for the head of Matthew Kerekou, but at the end of the conference, Kerekou came back to power.
There is a document I’m preparing now which, in fact, will educate Nigerians about what happened in Republic of Benin when they had a national conference there. If they can’t mention any country where constitutional conference had recommended the break-up of that country, then they should not wish such for Nigeria.
A no-go area for the conference is that they should not break up Nigeria. They don’t need to be told. Why must you break up the country?
There is no doubt that we have problems in Nigeria, but we must surmount the problems. Break-up is not the answer to our problems. When we had Nigeria-Biafra war, I was pro-Biafra. At that time those of us that were pro-Biafra were not doing it because we didn’t want Nigeria to break up. We were doing it because we wanted to correct the socio-political imbalances in the country.
Before we had Biafra, it was almost impossible for any person from any other part of the country except the North to aspire to be the leader of the country.
There was a time in this country when a particular group of people in the North, not the entire North, believe that Nigeria was an extension of their private family compound, but the situation has changed now. We now have a situation where Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan both from the South have been Presidents. The presidency will later go back to the North. We should all join hands to promote peace and unity in this country.
How would you react to the rising cases of corruption in the country?
Nigerians should not be in a hurry to crucify President Goodluck Jonathan. He has been trying his best to tackle the problem. As a respecter for the rule of law, we should not expect Jonathan to tamper or interfere with the work of the Judiciary or the EFCC or ICPC. The President has been trying his best to enthrone good governance. He is a quiet achiever. Nigerians should give him all the support he needs to succeed.
The Sun.
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