Chief Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA was the flag bearer of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN in the 2012 gubernatorial election in Ondo State. In this interview, he speaks on the profile of the candidate the APC would need to overcome in the in the forthcoming presidential election, the preparations of the election management body among other sundry issues. Excerpts:
By Bartholomew Madukwe
How do you see the situation in Borno State where despite emergency rule, more than 200 girls were kidnapped? Is Nigeria safe?
I do not know where Nigeria is going to. Whether we like it or not, we do not have government that knows what it is doing. The PDP government does not know its right from its left; that is why you can see the Chibok girls being kidnapped for over six months.
It is because PDP government does not know what it is doing at all. We are talking about Nigeria. Even if the girls were being taken from one state to another, and they are being moved in the 36 states, the government by now should have reached them. Talk less of being within Sambisa forest and the government cannot reach them.
We are not taking the security of our peoples’ lives and property serious, and the PDP is not. Before the Chibok girls were kidnapped there was emergency rule, so the governors were no longer in charge of security. So they were kidnapped when the security of the state was under the control of the PDP Federal Government.
Acceptance of failure
They should accept the responsibility, they should accept their failure and apologise to Nigerians. And if we are in a decent place, the government should have been out of place by now, for this failure.
What is actually wrong?
Everything is wrong. We do not have a government that has focus. The government we have today is lacking vision.
They do not know where they are going and that is the problem this country is having. We are just floating, we know not where we are going. That is the sad thing about Nigeria today.
Can we say that the people are satisfied about good governance? Has there been reduction in corruption? Do you have light today? They have budgeted billions to procure darkness. Energy is still not stable, industries are flying out of the country.
We are supposed to be the best in Africa because we have good weather and we are endowed with good human resources. So what will be our reason for remaining in this quagmire? Nigerians must brace up to put an end to this decadent status quo.
Who do you think should contest the Presidential election for APC- Buhari or Atiku?
When government stays too much in power without impacting on the people positively, I believe a time has come for change. That is minimum consideration why there must be a change.
You know Buhari’s record. I have spoken to several people and they clamour for change.
If Idiagbon were still alive, the people would have said they won’t mind asking Buhari and Idiagbon to come.
But since Idiagbon is not alive and Buhari is still alive, let any other person who has that commitment run with Buhari and we believe there will be a change.
Whether we like it or not, Nigeria today needs help. Corruption festers and nobody is bothered. Buhari, in his first tenure, tried to fight against corruption. Maybe he will be the one to change the country for good.
However, there is going to be a congress. So APC has not made its choice. But a number of us in APC, have looked at his popularity among the talakawas, the party might be better off if Buhari is lucky to win at the congress.
It is not that Atiku is not good but the party must certain of one thing. We will not and cannot match PDP naira for naira-kobo for kobo. We cannot match PDP with the power of incumbency which they are now using to their advantage. The only thing we need is somebody who has a strong support.
And a number of us said that for the interest of the party, let the person close to the heart of the talakawas be picked because they are in the majority.
By that person’s name alone APC can have votes that to the bewilderment of PDP in their history will be shocked. So we believe that such person should have a) national outlook.
But some people fear that Buhari being a retired army officer would take the country back to dictatorship?
Did Obasanjo take us back to dictatorship? No! And anyway, who says that with the institution that we already have in place can any individual just rule without respect for the laws? It is only when those ones become corrupt.
Life as a soldier
Moreover, Buhari has been off military for over 20 years. How many years has he lived as a soldier and how many years has he lived as a civilian that you will now think that it is the military that is guiding his decision now.
I believe that the man is ready for a democratic rule. He is as democratic as any other person.
As the 2015 elections draw closer, do you think the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set for a credible election?
I do not have confidence in INEC, my confidence is in the people. If the people are ready to stand by their votes and make sure that their votes are counted, there is nothing INEC can do. There is no amount of election petition that will put an end to impunity by INEC, the people must be able to confront them.
Source: Vanguard News
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