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•Atiku, Obi should support Tinubu to build new Nigeria
The National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Alhaji Abdullahi Bode Bodejo has hailed the presidential and National Assembly election, describing it as very peaceful and credible.
In an interview with VINCENT KALU, Bodejo called on the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and that of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi to join hands with the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to build a new Nigeria.
What is your view on the presidential and National Assembly elections of February 25, 2023?
The election was very peaceful and credible to those who love Nigeria. The process was very transparent. I’m hundred per cent satisfied with the outcome of the election.
Why are you satisfied with its outcome?
If the election was not free and fair, there was no way that an opposition party would defeat the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos State, where he was in control. If it was not credible there was no magic that would see the Labour Party winning Nasarawa State. The security agencies didn’t tamper with the conduct of the election; everyone conducted himself orderly. This is the more reason that you see some of the small parties that had not won any seat in the National Assembly before were able to win few seats. This is the more reason I said that there were no irregularities in the election.
But, some people complained that the elections were rigged and you saw Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and some people protesting at Abuja?
Who rigged the election against Atiku? What evidence does he have that the election was rigged? If they wanted to rig election, Tinubu has the capacity to do that to the extent that the Labour Party would exist only in name in that state. However, the constitution of Nigeria gives anybody the right to peaceful protest. So, Atiku has the right to protest within the confines of the law. To me, those people following him were just doing physical exercises, maybe, based on medial reasons or else there was no need for the protest. I think some of the protesters were looking for avenue to trek based on medical advice or others were mobilised to join them because of hunger. I still hold that the election was not rigged.
But some foreign countries and international observers said the election was flawed?
Those people don’t have Nigeria’s interest at heart; they are cunning people, always looking for reasons to blame the country. Were they everywhere in the country? They just stayed in one place and came up with whatever they are saying. I think they have candidate or were interested in one of the candidates: that is why they are talking like that. Well, they have the right to say anything, but I still maintain that the election was very credible.
We saw how political giants were humiliated at their homes. In Nasarawa State, the APC chairman and former governor, Abduallahi Adamu was defeated in his polling unit; Labour Party also defeated the governor. In Kaduna, PDP defeated El-Rufai, and many others. What have you to say over this development?
This lays credence to my position that the election was not rigged. If it were rigged, a sitting governor would not fold his hands and allow an unknown party to win his state. Everybody knows that Abdullahi Adamu is the national chairman of the APC. Since I was a very young man, I have known him and nobody has defeated him in his constituency and the state. He was a governor for eight years and later a senator, where he was before he emerged as the party chairman, but this time because the election was free and fair, that was why you have the upset. Former governor of Nasarawa State, Al-Makura is a serving senator but see what happened to him; he was defeated. That is why I advise the losers not go and waste their time. Let them wait for another four years if they are interested to contest any election. I said it before that Atiku was not going to win the election.
Why did you say that Atiku wouldn’t win the election?
Every politician knows how to organise his people, to make contact with people at the grassroots, which he did not do.
But he did well in the core North – Sokoto, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Taraba, and Kaduna. Why couldn’t he have won?
Yes, he did well, but did he win the election? If you did well in a state, APC did better in other states. So, the person that did better than others won the election. If you say a person did well and he didn’t win the election, it means that the person didn’t do well.
Nobody even considered Labour Party to even win a state, but it surprised many by winning about 12 states. What does it tell of our political development?
I’m not happy with the Labour Party campaigns. Peter Obi was going to churches asking them to vote for him and the pastors were jumping up and down, shouting ‘ vote for Obi, vote Obi’. All the people that voted for him were Christians. If it were not free and fair election, he couldn’t have won those places.
You were saying that Labour Party won states populated by Christians, if it were so, couldn’t Obi have won Ekiti, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Rives and Bayelsa states?
These states you have mentioned did well by not voting him because they understood the country and the politics of the country. Those states are very wise and they didn’t want to go one side.
Some Christians protested against the same faith ticket of the APC presidential candidate, but you hailed it. Will you support Christian- Christian ticket?
This one is a repetition. You should know that Christian – Christian ticket has ruled this country before. Since Nigeria started there has been same faith ticket of both the Christians and Muslims.
When did Nigeria have same Christian faith ticket?
In the past, since Nigeria started.
But from history, after independence, it has been Muslim –Christian ticket or Christian –Muslim ticket?
This time around if Tinubu was from Sokoto and Shettima from Borno, I cannot follow them because they are from the same region and they cannot rule Nigeria. But in this case, Tinubu is from Lagos and Shettima is from Borno. You cannot come and tell me not to support them because they are both Muslims. Note, the only problem was if both of them were from the same region, but this time, they are not. One is Yoruba and the other is Kanuri. So that balances the country; I don’t see any issue in both of them coming from the same religion. Yes, they are of the same faith, but are not from the same region or tribe. The issue would have been both of them coming from the same place. Religion is not an issue, but it is where they are coming, their tribe that should be of consideration.
Before the election, you said that your group, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore had endorsed the APC presidential candidate, Tinubu instead of Atiku, your fellow Fulani, but APC lost in most of the Hausa-Fulani states. In Kano, Kwankwaso defeated Tinubu. Does it mean that your group was not all that strong as you boasted?
Go and check the result of Kano. Hausa- Fulani are everywhere in Kano. Kwankwaso is only struggling to produce the next Kano State governor, and the candidate is a very good person. Our people have interest in that man.
But Atiku defeated the candidate you endorsed in Sokoto, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Adamawa and Taraba, your state, which still suggests that your group is not on ground?
Up till now, nobody knows the direction of the APC in Taraba State. Nobody knows the direction of the party in the state because of the problem they have.
APC also lost in Gombe?
We shouldn’t place emphasis on the places that APC lost, but we should concentrate on the places where the party won. If you check, the places the APC won are Fulani areas. For Kaduna that they lost, do you know how many ethnic groups there are in that state? There are so many tribes in that state and Fulani is one of them, and even if we all have voted, the party might not have won.
From the result, it seems that Hausa-Fulani preferred Atiku to Tinubu, as he won in most of the states in the core North, in spite of your endorsement of the APC candidate?
If there is anyone who has won the election, it is Tinubu. He has won the election whether Atiku won him here and there is no more an issue. Tinubu is the president-elect and he has been issued with the certificate of return. Whether he didn’t win widely in the core North, or not, but he won the election. It is not for me to go and begin to calculate or know who and who voted for him or didn’t vote for him. That one is immaterial; the issue is that he has been declared winner, and won the election without rigging.
Is it after Tinubu has been sworn in that you take your group’s agenda to him?
Yes, after he is settled down following his swearing in that we will present to him our agenda, what we want him to do for our group. He is a well-organised man; he would pay attention to us.
Atiku and Obi have gone to court to challenge the result of the election. What is your position on this?
It is a civilised way of doing things instead of staging protest marches here and there. Since they are in court, it is for them to prove their cases, but to me, they won’t go far because the election was credible. Going to court is normal. Buhari went to court three times he lost the election and he won the fourth attempt. Maybe that may be the pattern. Since Atiku has contested three times and lost, and has gone to the court for the third time, he may win his fourth attempt to be the president. I implore both Atiku and Obi to rally support for Tinubu to build a new Nigeria. They should know that in a contest like this, one candidate is bound to win and Tinubu has won.
