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By Olakunle Olafioye
The National President, Arewa United Consultative Forum (AUCF), Alhaji Shuaibu Ado Dansudu, has advised the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, to emulate former President Goodluck Jonathan by jettisoning the idea of challenging the outcome of the February 25, presidential poll in court and accept defeat.
Dansudu, who expressed his opinion in this interview, gave the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, a pass mark for the conduct of the elections.
Although he conceded that no election can be perfect, Dansudu said that the 2023 presidential poll would remain a reference point for credible, free and fair election in the history of elections in the country.
Dansudu also suggested what members of the 10th National Assembly should consider in their choice of the leadership of the incoming federal lawmakers.
He speaks more on other issues of national significance. Excerpt:
Reactions have continued to trail INEC’s handling of the February 25, presidential election. How would you assess INEC’s performance at that poll?
The presidential election is one of the few near perfect elections in the history of this country. It can be likened to the June 12, 1993 election in some respect. But the edge which the February 25 poll has over the June 12 election is that there was no money to influence people’s choice this time around. So, it’s safe to say that people voted based on their conviction and confidence in the ability and capacity of the people they voted for during the election. Concerning the controversy over INEC’s non-deployment of BVAS as expected, it must be said that no system is perfect. Even in the United States, which is adjudged the mother of modern democracy, elections are not totally devoid of hitches. Notwithstanding, however, the election still ranks as one of the best we have witnessed in this country. The uproar over the exercise is this much because attempts by some people to perpetrate electoral misconducts did not succeed. I commend the INEC chairman for a job well-done. One major indication that the election was free and fair is the fact that APC lost Lagos to Labour Party. There is no way a state like Lagos would have gone to LP if the election was rigged. If the election was not free and fair there was no way APC would have also lost in Kano, a state it controls.
Some analysts are of the opinion that the outcome of the presidential election has conspicuously shown that Nigeria is deeply divided along religious and ethnic lines. What does this suggest to you about the unity of Nigeria?
We know those who came out to play ethnic and religious cards in the election. We knew their motive before now. But they needed to have known that religious sentiment would not secure electoral victory for anybody in this country because Nigerians are wise enough to know that there is no way a particular religion can dominate any government in Nigeria; every Nigerian knows that whatever imbalance any election may throw up in the choice of the presidential candidate and the running mate will be redressed and corrected with appointive positions at the appropriate time.
Don’t you think that APC’s decision to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket was responsible for the way religious sentiment was played up during the election?
No one should accuse Asiwaju Tinubu of playing politics of religion because of his choice of running mate. The goal of anyone vying for any political position is to emerge victorious. And as a candidate in any election, your choice of running mate will be based on who you believe can help you win the election. Asiwaju only considered the electoral value of his running mate, but not his religious leaning. If there is any politician who has been fair to Christians and Christianity in this country, it is Asiwaju. His wife is a Christian likewise some of his children. His political protégés are mostly Christians. For instance, the governor of Lagos State is a Christian; two of the three senators from the state are Christians. The Lagos State Chairman of APC is also a Christian. So, his decision to run with Muslim/Muslim ticket is an act of political expediency. Politics is about advantage; so whatever one knows will confer extra advantage on his political ambition should be embraced provided it does not violate the constitution of the land. Asiwaju’ s victory at the poll is a confirmation that Nigerians are not averse to his choice of running mate. The noise over same faith ticket was a creation of his political opponents. In Nigeria, it is only when politics is involved that we play up religious card.
Apart from flying the same faith ticket, Tinubu’s opponents also campaigned vigorously against him based on his age and alleged ill-health. And if you would recall, President Buhari at a point admitted that he would have done much better had he come to power when he was much younger. Considering the age of the president-elect, what are your fears?
Age is just a number. Nigerians are more concerned about capacity and experience and these are what stand Tinubu out. American President is much older than Tinubu yet Americans voted massively for him because they looked beyond his age and focused more on his ability and capacity. We have had much younger presidents without any spectacular contribution to the nation. And on the issue of health, it is only God who can decide and decree man’s fate. We have seen people who battled ill-health for a very long time and whose families had given up on, but who bounced back to life while those we considered and adjudged to be healthy died in shocking and surprising manner.
The jostling for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly has begun in earnest. What kind of leadership do you expect in the coming administration?
My appeal to the incoming National Assembly members is that they should give consideration to people who will work hand in hand with the executive arm. I am not saying we should make the National Assembly a rubber stamp or zombie, but a National Assembly leadership that will not become a cog in the wheel of our progress as a nation. When the relationship between the executive and legislative arms is cordial we are bound to record more and faster progress than when their relationship is not cordial. We cannot afford to have a National Assembly that will slow us down again.
The issue of naira redesign and the attendant scarcity is one major issue that has generated so much controversy. What is your take on this policy?
The policy definitely has both its advantage and disadvantage. In the area of insecurity, the policy, to a very large extent, has helped to stem the incidence of kidnappings because the kidnappers now know that there is no way their victims can get money to pay ransom. Similarly, all the money they had accumulated through their nefarious and inhuman activities have been reduced to ordinary papers. They are now back to square one. On the other hand, it pains me to see the way the masses have been made to suffer due to the effect of the policy. Whatever good intention the policy may have, I believe everything is wrong with the timing. It ought to have come at the early stage of the current tenure of Mr President.
Atiku and Obi are in court challenging the outcome of the presidential election. What do you make of this?
That is the trend in the nation’s political system. There are hardly elections whose outcomes are not challenged. But in my own opinion I see their decision to challenge Asiwaju’s victory as an exercise in futility. Tinubu’s victory is incontrovertible; no court will upturn his victory. Those in court are just wasting their time. Atiku and Obi should toe the path of honour like Jonathan by conceding defeat and allow us to move on.
