CHIEF AMBASSADOR ANDREW NANYAH DAMAN IS THE CHAIRMAN OF ACTION DEMOCRATIC PARTY (ADP) PLATEAU STATE CHAPTER. HE SPOKE EXCLUSIVELY TO AfricanDRUM MAGAZINE, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE REGISTRATION OF THE PARTY BY THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), ON VARIOUS ISSUES RANGING FROM THE PROSPECT OF HIS NEW PARTY TO LUKEWARM ATTITUDE OF LEADERS AND ELDERS OF THE MIDDLE BELT REGION; AGITATIONS AND CALL FOR RESTRUCTURING AS WELL AS ASSESSMENT OF THE APC GOVERNMENT.
- EXCERPTS...
Monday 10th July, 2017
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| Chief Nanyah |
Congratulations sir over the registration of your party, the Action Democratic Party by the INEC.
Thank you very much.
So, how do you feel now that your party has been registered?
Well, to God be the glory for the registration of Action Democratic Party, Nigeria’s Mega Party; one of the five newly registered political parties that has brought the total number of registered political parties in Nigeria to 45. We are very grateful to God. We thank God and also the people of Nigeria for putting pressure on INEC to finally register the 5 political parties. Initially, INEC was reluctant or hesitated in registering the new political parties and it was said that INEC’s reluctance was as a result of pressure from the APC government that the ADP shouldn’t be registered because of the massive support ADP has gotten from Nigerians. So, we thank God that finally, we are now registered.
What does the registration of ADP portends to the people of Plateau State in particular and Nigeria in general?
The registration of ADP which is also known as the Nigerian Mega Party means freedom to Nigeria; it means good governance to Nigeria; it means the era of money bags politics is gone because even those who don’t have money can pursue their political ambitions in the ADP where the emergence of credible and popular candidates for elective positions is done by Option A4 through direct congresses and primaries; it means that Nigerians would now have a deepened democratic process because with the ADP, everything is people oriented and the party is youth driven.
As a policy, the party has allotted about 50% of all elective and appointed positions to the youth and women. Again, the party stands on the principles of the supremacy of it. The party also runs all inclusive governance. So, with all these lofty ideals, I believe the ADP would definitely change things for the better. The ADP is going to rebuild Nigeria from the havoc caused by other political parties before today. Security and industrialization are guaranteed under the ADP; true agricultural revolution is guaranteed by the ADP. The ADP is poised to give succour to the improvised Nigerians. Today, Nigerians are living as second class citizens in their country. So, with the ADP, Nigerians should expect good governance and sporadic socio-economic development.
There is this rumour making rounds that the ADP is a branch of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). What is your take on this?
The branches in the PDP are the ones owned by Sheriff and Makarfi factions.... (laughter). The ADP is a new political party which went through the normal process of registration. It has a different manifesto and ideology from the PDP. It has different leadership structure. We don’t have anything in common.
The ADP stands for the ADP and it is the Nigerian Mega Party. So, we have no affiliation with any other political party. But our advise has always been that the PDP and the APC should dumped their parties and join the ADP, which is the winning team because of their inherent crises and because Nigerians are also tired of the two political parties.
The PDP has been there for sixteen years and the APC has been in government for two years but the havoc the APC has caused has taken us 20 years back and there is no guarantee that they can make things right in the next 2 years. As a matter of fact, the APC has more problems than the PDP. Nigerians have never had bad time as this time. Every aspect of our national life is in its doldrums. Our economy is in its lowest ebb. Infrastructures are in shambles; our currency (the naira) continues to emaciate; the purchasing power of Nigerians is weak owing to the galloping inflation. Crime rate is on the increase, our children are out of schools, and there is starvation in the land. As a matter of fact, life is meaningless for the ordinary Nigerian. This is how the APC has rewarded Nigerians for voting it into power and ....cuts...
Sir, the APC has placed all the problems in the country at the door step of the PDP adding that they hadn’t the knowledge of the enormity of these problems until they came to power.
Well, that is a challenge to the PDP. However, speaking as a Nigerian and a stakeholder, that statement is rubbish. That statement is an insult on our sensibility. How can the APC put the blame of the mirage of problems bedevilling our country to the previous government? How much was the dollar when the APC took over? How much was a measure of Garri when they took over? The claim by the APC to me is a confirmation of the current popular saying by observers that the APC came and bulldozed itself to position of authority on the crest of lies.
Based on what the APC is saying, I will say that Nigerian were duped because the APC during their campaigns, gave Nigerians the impression that they had the solutions to all our problems and it was on the basis of that, that they were elected but for the APC to now claim it was not aware of the problem in Nigeria is nothing but “419”. The APC government is fake but thank God, Nigerians have since realized that and have already expressed their desire to utilize the ADP to change the fake change.
Sir, of a fact, a lot of stealing occurred during the 16 years of the PDP government as evident in recent revelations and if you put together the alleged stolen funds, is enough to run down any economy, don’t you think so?
I really hope that the PDP would react to this because it is an indictment on the party. However, my reaction to this as earlier, is hinged on my position as a citizen of this country and a stakeholder.
Let me tell you, the APC is a bunch of confused people. They were not ready for power. Before 2015, they developed this dangerous and destructive criticism against the immediate past government. They never envisaged their lies and wicked propaganda would not yield them any meaningful result. But the Supreme Almighty who knows how to deal with the wicked, and the arrogance, decided to allow things worked their way and the reality is now dawn on them. Instead of them to be humbled and apologize to Nigerians, they quickly decide, in their usual dubious characteristics to pass the blame to the last administration.
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| ADP supporters |
To me, this is the highest form of irresponsibility by any government, because leadership goes with responsibility. How can the APC convince any right thinking Nigerian that Muhammadu Buhari, the architect of the so-called Change Mantra, who has been in active politics since the advent of this democratic dispensation in 1999 and contested for the presidency four consecutive times, before he finally won had no prior knowledge of the enormity of problems facing the country? It means the APC had no blue print before they came to power.
The APC is a bunch of noise makers. Remember all the noise they were making? We would bring an end to power problems in Nigeria in 2 years; we will equip our hospitals; we would feed our children in schools; we would make the naira equal to the American dollar etc, etc. Tell me one promise the APC government has fulfilled.
Governor Simon Bako Lalong recently sacked the Management Committee Members in the 17 Local Government Councils of the State. If Local Government election is conducted in the State, how sure is your party of making meaningful impact?
As a political party, we have already made our position very clear with regards to the Local Government elections. Information at our disposal indicates that Lalong is planning to continue with his style of impunity and gross abuse of the Constitution of Nigeria by constituting another illegal committee members for the Local Governments. That would not be accepted by the people of Plateau State.
Why is it that Lalong, who came to power through democratic means, has denied the people at the grassroots who constitute the majority same treatment? Why is Lalong afraid of conducting Local Government elections? The answer is simple: to avoid being disgrace. Indeed, if he conducts the elections, we would defeat him. I am assuring you that if Local Government elections are conducted in Plateau State today, we are confident of winning a minimum of 11 Local Government Councils out of the 17. We learnt that they are very much aware of their unpopularity and have decided to rig the elections in the event it is conducted, but that would be their greatest undoing. Plateau people are wiser now and have taken upon themselves to resist acts of imposition.
If Lalong tries that, it will be met with stiff resistance. We would adopt every civilized and legal means to reject any form of imposition. You see, the APC is a total failure. The APC government is the worst since independence. The party bulldozed itself into power through lies and deceit and they are shamelessly continuing in that manner because nature has made it such that if you obtain something through lies and your heart becomes so hardened that you are not willing to ask forgiveness, then you continue to live on lies upon lies as a survival strategy. That is what is happening to the APC. But the people have since realized that they have been deceived and are ready to make genuine Change. You can fool people sometime but it is not possible to continue fooling the people all the time.
APC game is up and they know that. So, we are ever ready for any election and as I said earlier, ADP is poised to win all the elections in Plateau State in particular and Nigeria at large. As a matter of fact, we are looking beyond local government election. You see, before the registration of ADP by INEC, the party had already put in place structures across the country. We already had in place EXCOs from national down to unit levels across the country. So, this is to tell the people of Plateau State that we have been set before now. Just as I said in a different forum, I dare the Governor to conduct Local Government elections tomorrow and he would be shocked at the performance of the ADP. We are fully prepared for the elections because we already have in place our Chairmanship and Councillorship aspirants across the 17 Local Governments on ground.
The APC through its failure has already campaigned for us. They do not have anything to show in form of achievement either in the State or at the Local Government level. All they know and have been doing is telling lies, we would do this; we would do that. Nigerians are tired of hearing ‘we would do’; Nigerians want to hear, ‘we have done’. We are tired of celebration of intensions because that is what the APC is doing today. For instance, in Plateau State, we heard the APC government said ‘we would revive the JIB; we would revive the Bottling Company in Barkin Ladi; we would revive the fertilizer blending plant in Bokkos’ but as I speak, fertilizer is bought from outside the State and taken to Bokkos and repackage for sale.
We also learnt that what they make at the Barkin Ladi Bottling Company is pure water. It is shameful. Pure water business is for small scale business people. This is the kind of business that can be set up by Councillors in Local Governments. So, it is surprising to hear the Governor celebrating the establishment of pure water business in Barkin Ladi. We are calling on the Governor not to mention this outside Plateau State so that people should not laugh at us.
Observers are of the opinion that the fine manifesto of the ADP is just paper work and that the leaders of the party are the same old politicians who cannot offer anything different and meaningful to the people.
What is it that your party intends to do to differentiate it from other political parties that have governed this country if you are given the mandate to lead Nigerians?
As I told you earlier, the ADP is quite different from other political parties because our constitution is far better than all other political parties we have in Nigeria. Because, the drafters of the ADP Constitution and manifesto had to go through all the constitutions and manifestos of other political parties and also looked up at the realities on ground before coming up with our constitution.
That is why today, even INEC is advising all other associations seeking registration with it to also include what the ADP has in its constitution such as the policy of Option A4 and factors that would ensure supremacy of the party. It is because of lack of party supremacy that we are having indiscipline in all other political parties which have also led to bad governance.
also want to tell you that over 90 percent of those holding positions in the ADP from National down to local government levels are new faces. These are new people in the game who want their names to be written in gold and so, you would agree with me that these people would work extra hard; they would do the right things because they are people of integrity and honesty who want to write their names on the marble of time. They are people who would not want the ADP to be like other political parties.
We all know what killed the PDP and the APC. It is imposition and impunity. So, if we do away with impunity and imposition, I assure you that the ADP would govern this country for a very long time. ADP is prepared to lead for a very long time because we would provide the kind of leadership that would win the heart of Nigerians. We know what others have done but failed and we would not allow ourselves to go the same way. As I said earlier, the ADP consists of people who don’t have dent in the records and are all hungry to give good governance to Nigerians and the masses in particular.
The purchase of vehicles by Governor Simon Bako Lalong to all the members of the National Assembly from Plateau state has received condemnations by many, however, Hon. Timothy Golu, Member Representing Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam in the National Assembly recently told the world that the new vehicles have raised the prestige of Plateau State and would help them immensely in carrying out their functions as National Assembly members. What would you say about this?
Well, to me, this is laughable for somebody who has been in the State House of Assembly for 4 years and 2 years in the National Assembly to say it is only now that the Governor has bought them vehicles that their prestige and that of the State is raised. That is uncharitable statement and no right thinking Nigerian would belief that story because it is only a greedy person that would make that kind of statement. Do you know how much money is Ehembe, the recently removed Member of the House of Representatives from Benue State is going to refund as salaries he collected? That man is going to refund about N450million, the salaries he collected in just 2 years.
Are you telling me that with that kind of money Golu could still not bought a car and raised his prestige and that of his State? Assuming each of the Parado Jeeps cost N50million as the Governor wants us to believe, don’t you think Golu could have bought 9 of such Jeeps and raised his prestige and that of the State 9 times? This is very unfortunate statement more so that it is coming from a journalist. If somebody else had said it would be understood but for Golu to say this is very shameful. It’s uncalled for; it is untenable and unconvincing. He can’t convince anybody with this. It only shows the level of greed and selfishness of our leaders.
The N500million that was used in buying vehicles for them would have created more than10 cottage industries such as tomatoes and potatoes processing companies and many other cottage industries where their constituents would have been engaged in the State. He should not tell us that because he is just trying to defend the indefensible. What he is saying cannot be defunded anywhere. As I said earlier, it only shows the level of greed and selfishness of our politicians and lack of sympathy for their constituents.
What is your take on the lukewarm attitude of Plateau Elders towards the State and their inability to comment on national issues?
It is not just Plateau elders. It is the problem of elders in the Middle Belt entirely. Last week, I attended a meeting of Middle Belt Leaders Conference in Abuja and this issue was raised. The youth in attendance raised the issue; that our elders in the region have not been up and down because they hardly speak on issues. We do not know whether they are afraid of the Northerners or other politicians because of appointment or what? To me, I feel the elders in Plateau State in particular and Middle Belt in general should be courageous to talk and defend Plateau State and the Middle Belt. They should not allow only the youths to be talking but they should comment on things that are being done to us that is not fair.
For instance, look at what is happening in the North-East, the core North has been shouting that their people have been killed. Meanwhile they are the people that have ignited the crisis in the region so as to get the presidency in 2015 which they have gotten. It is for this reason that the presidency is compensating them by channelling billions of naira to rebuild the zone but excluding Churches and other Christian Projects that were burnt during the crisis in the same zone.
It is the same thing here in Plateau State where houses and Churches were burnt, yet no individual is compensated but billions is being given to the North-East. This is happening because our leaders and elders are not shouting. It is the reason why we are always cheated; that is why we are always left out; that is why we are always used and dumped; that is why you hardly see Plateau people getting Federal appointments. You cannot find our people in meaningful ventures simply because our elders don’t talk.
They are scared because if they talk today, they would not be nominated for appointment tomorrow. You see how myopic our elders are? They are only looking at themselves and their children which is not good. Our leaders ought to fight for all to leave a good name so that unborn generation would be proud of them because they would have benefitted from the fruits of the fight of our elders and leaders. Remember in time past, Plateau State had about five members in the Armed Forces Ruling Council; we have a former Head of State and other prominent people, yet nobody can speak for Plateau State. It’s a pity.
There is agitation going on everywhere but Plateau people are not talking, people of the Middle Belt are not talking. But thank God, the day we had the meeting at Abuja, the elders articulated a position for the Middle Belt by demanding for 12 regions and 51 States. That is exactly what we want to hear. They should be shouting so that by tomorrow if everybody is going their separate ways, our position would have also been made clear. We can have many states in the Middle Belt and that is exactly what we want our elders to shout of.
Sir, talking about agitation, it seems, the call for restructuring and secession is rampant these days. The IPOD request for a sovereign State, the Arewa quit notice to Igbo in the North, the Oduduwa, the Niger Delta Avengers and now the Middle Belt call for its republic. Don’t you think Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb and what do you think is the way out?
Well, Nigeria is already sitting on a time bomb with these diverse agitations for separation. And I won’t blame the agitators because it is as a result of impunity; marginalization and imposition orchestrated by the leaders which have caused many ethnic nationalities feel alienated. The quit notice given by the Arewa Youths is uncalled for but since the far North is no longer willing to accommodate the Igbo, we in the Middle Belt would welcome them. However, we in the Middle Belt are also demanding for our republic too.
"I won’t blame the agitators because it is as a result of impunity; marginalization and imposition orchestrated by the leaders..."
The Arewa are calling for their republic, we in the Middle Belt are also calling for a republic. Let the South-West demand for Oduduwa republic; let the South-East continue to press for Biafra republic; let the South-South demand for their republic. As a matter of fact, we are all matured to go our separate ways but my position on this issue is that the separation should not be through violence. Yes, it shouldn’t be through violence. Let’s go our ways through a referendum. A referendum should be conducted so we can all speak our minds. Indeed, it has become obvious that we are no longer comfortable living together so, we should not deceive ourselves that we must live together, no, it shouldn’t be so. Let everyone find where their dignity will be respected.
"...it shouldn’t be through violence...Let’s go our ways through a referendum...so we can all speak our minds..."
We can’t claim to be one and all positions of authority are zoned to Muslim North while the Christians are getting nothing out of that arrangement. It’s not fair and we can’t continue to complain without anybody responding to our complain. So we should go our separate ways. We in the Middle Belt are comfortable. We can use our manpower and intellect to develop agriculture and build industries just like the Igbo. Before oil, there was tin. Before cotton, there was tin which was used to develop Nigeria. So, we are saying, enough is enough. Nobody is a slave to another person.
We are equally created by God so nobody should try to Lord it over others. The only thing that can stop these agitations is fairness and justice, without which there can be no peace. Imagine, we are the most educated but the far North have been using and dumping us. Just imagine, the far North wants to create another war and think that the military from the Middle Belt would go and fight for them again. It would not happen this time. We would tell our sons and daughters in the armed forces not to fight any war created by the far North. Whoever that creates a war should fight it himself. We are tired of shedding innocent blood. The Middle Belt is not ready to fight again. We want peace because we are peaceful people. We are tired of being used and dumped.
Your final word?
My final word is that everybody should join the Action Democratic Party because it is the Nigerian Mega Party and it is poised to give good governance. It would ensure rapid socio-economic development of Nigeria; it would rebuilt Nigeria and brings an end to all these agitations because fairness and justice will prevailed in the land. All the agitations is because people feel marginalised; people feel maligned; people feel relented and alienated and they have become dejected. So with the ADP, this country would be great again. It is only the ADP that would end these agitations because the agitations indicate a failure on the part of APC government in Nigeria. It is only the ADP that has genuine and all embracing programmes that would meet the yearnings of all the geo-political zones in Nigeria.
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