11:08 PM
MAJOR-General Lawrence Onoja is a former military
governor of Plateau and Katsina States and was
Principal Staff Officer to Gen. Sanni Abacha. He is
presently president of the Alumni Association of the
National Institute and chairman, Strategic
Mobilization Committee of the Arewa Consultative
Forum(ACF). In this interview, he speaks on issues
concerning the 2015 presidential election, power
shift and the position of the Middle-Belt.
Excerpts:
BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN, POLITICAL EDITOR
You were out of PDP for some time and now you are
back in the PDP, why are you back?
As of today, I have not officially decamped from ACN
to PDP yet. But technically, I am almost in PDP now
because I am working for the second term of Mr.
President and obviously he would want me to be in
the same party with him.
But the actual ceremony of receiving me in the PDP
has not been done. So as at today I am still a
member of the ACN. And then because of my
position as president of the Alumni Association of
the National Institute, I am not allowed to be very
visible in political parties but as a citizen, I have a
right to belong to a political party.
But I cannot contest any election as long as I am
president of the institute. And I cannot accept any
visible position from any political party. But our
constitution in Kuru allows us to be partners with
any government and advise that government in
terms of policy formulation.
Lawrence Onoja
But the opposition believes that it has better
democratic credentials to upstage the PDP?
It is very doubtful. The approach they are taking
now, insulting the president and individuals, if they
take that approach they will not be an effective
opposition to upstage the PDP. What I expect them
to do at this point is that if they have any criticism
they should direct it at the PDP as a party, not Mr.
President as a person. And they should show
Nigerians their own credentials and what they can
do to improve the situation.
Showing their credentials
Not descending low to call Mr. President all sorts of
names. If they continue then I am afraid they will
not be able to come near PDP in any election at all.
One other issue in the PDP is power shift to the
North. Don't you think it is ripe time to return power
to that zone?
Every group has a right to ask for power but I
believe power is not given that way. You work for it. I
want to let you know categorically here that it is not
yet time for power to shift to the North. Mr.
President has not done his second term.
All the other Presidents were given opportunity to
do their second terms and Mr. President by virtue of
the fact that he is a minority like me, it would be
unfair and injustice to stop him from doing his
second term. If he finishes his second term in 2019,
then other areas or blocks can now begin to agitate
for power shift.
I think it is only fair to allow Mr.
President do his second term.
But we understand that the power shift is a
Northern agenda and you are from the North?
There is a misconception. The North of the sixties
when Sarduana was alive is no long the same North
today. Let me correct that misconception, I am from
Middle Belt which is a geographical reality today. I
am an active member of Congress for Equality and
Change which is a non political association. I am also
a member of Middle Belt Forum. So, if you say I am
from the North, and you are referring to the old
North yes, I am from the North, but now, the middle
belt is a geographical reality and I am a member of
the middle belt. I am not from the core North.
You said Mr. President should be allowed to go for
second term, but people will ask whether it is a
question of second term or performance?
I believe Mr. President is doing well. This is my own
opinion. Anybody has right to express his or her own
opinion. I believe Mr. President is doing well. Look at
the situation, those who have been there before
what is extra ordinary in their performance that Mr.
President has not done. The President is
rehabilitating the railway system which everybody is
yearning for and they are very grateful. The power
situation has improved. Look at the steps he took to
restore security in some parts of the North.
Those steps are welcomed by me and they are very
adequate now. While the military are doing what
they are trained for, there is a committee on
amnesty trying to appeal to those who are
belligerent in the North. With time I am sure these
things will yield peace and peace is already coming
back to the North. We will still have pockets of these
militants who will be resisting but after some time
with the appeals being made by many Nigerians,
and the amnesty committee working, day and night
to ensure they attract them.
The governor of Borno is already rehabilitating the
children of the militants. The military there in Borno
are even trying to embark on winning of hearts and
minds of the people through pamphlets, through
propaganda. So with time what Mr. President has
put in place will yield results.
Agitators for power shift to the North are pinning
down Mr. President to an alleged agreement which
says he is going to run for one term. They also
claimed that when he went to Ethiopia, he said he
was going to do one term. They claim that what they
are looking at is his honour and integrity of a leader
over his words?
I am not privy to any agreement. I do not know if
any agreement was signed. And I don't think Mr.
President signed any agreement with anybody. This
is politics. Why there is unpredictability in political
events always is because you have the mind as an
individual to change your mind if you do anything
depending on the situation.
Laying claim to power
All I am saying is that he should be allowed to do his
second term before any group can lay claim to
power. I am not privy to any agreement he had with
anybody.
Do you mean Northern elders like Prof. Ango
Abdullahi do not represent your view on power shift?
There could be anger in certain parts of the North.
But there is no anger against Jonathan in my own
Middle Belt part of the North. Every group has the
fundamental right to agitate for power. The groups
that are talking, the Northern Elders, Arewa, they
are not political parties. They are socio-political cum
cultural associations. So they probably cannot install
a president.
At best they are talking of supporting a candidate
from the North. You don't blame me for saying that
my own people support Jonathan. This is because
assuming the power comes to the North today
would you tell them to concede power to the Idoma
people where I come from because I am a minority
in the North and Jonathan is a minority form South
South. Why don't you allow him finish his second
term then after that any other group can now begin
to agitate for power.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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