- PDP Chieftain, Prince DIRAN ODEYEMI Explains
I want you to share your thoughts on the state of the PDP today and politics in Nigeria. Everybody is talking about the PDP being dead, but somehow you are still a bona fide member of the PDP. And you are a proud member. What explains your optimism? What has made you stay on in PDP.
Yes, I just have this belief that Politics is not a Vocation, it’s an interest. If you have the interest of serving the people or serving humanity, you can do it anywhere you are.
It’s not by changing political party. Even playing the role of Opposition is enough work on its own. You should be proud of the Principles you stand for.
If you are in Government and I’m in the opposition, I have a role to play. I have to monitor you and ensure that you are doing the right thing for the masses. If we are in government, I just must ensure that we do the right thing, so that even when people criticise, we still have an explanation to say these are the reasons why we did certain things.
So, I don’t believe in changing political parties. The person who brought me into Politics is late Alao Akala, though I have interests, I have an idea, I played it at student union level, I was the majority leader of the student representative in Melanby Hall in the UI. I was instrumental to many student union presidents that emerged in the UN.
So the interest has always been there. Even as a journalist, I have always participated. I was the Chairman of the Correspondent chapel and I participated in a lot of elections that ensured we have a chairman of the union, even at the national level.
So coming into open politics, I would say the person who brought me in was late Alao Akala. And he did that when I was in London, by inviting me to come and be his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy. And not coming from Oyo State, everybody knows I’m an indigene of Osun State.
A proud prince from Obokun, from the Obokun Local Government. So for that opportunity to have come, I took it wholeheartedly. I want to believe that that was my incursion into politics.
The person who brought me into Politics at some point in time defected, that’s Governor Akala. He told me that he wanted to leave PDP and go to APP then or whatever. And we had a heart to heart talk.
I told him, Oga, you are very popular. Why not stay in this political party and continue to build it? You are known in this party. Going to another party will be like starting again.
He said, well, this is the only way he could contest as Governor. He went. At the end of the day, he came back to say, Diyan, Osisofun mi ooo. That is life.
And the other person that I work with, that I believe I have a relationship with is Senator Iyiola Omisore. He was a year my senior in secondary school. We are very, very close.
We are still close. We may have our differences politically, but internally and because of the childhood relationship that we had, that friendship will always be there.
So when he wanted to leave, I went with him, during his gubernatorial campaign. I was his Spokesperson. I was instrumental to the establishment of his radio station.
That is a Crown FM. But when he defected and left PDP, I told him, I am not leaving PDP. And now in the Osun State, I can say that the Governor did not defect out of his own volition.
He defected because of the fact that if he did not do that, he would not be a candidate of any political party. And that was the belief of APC thinking they could hide under, not represented by a political party.
If we have an Independent candidate in our Constitution, I would be bold to say that Adeleke will win elections every day. He has the name, he has the character, and he is so loved by the people. So, his going into a Accord Party does not take me out of PDP.
I am still in PDP because I believe we are in a quagmire now. We are in a deep mess and crisis. But after all these, we will come back stronger as a political party.
How do you feel looking at the PDP the way it is now? Did you see it coming? Was it something you knew would happen like this or it came as a surprise?
No, I saw it coming. I was the national officer of the party at the point in time. I was the Deputy National Publicity Secretary.
So I integrated myself into the internal politics going on at the national level. I saw it coming because, number one, I saw the Ego of the leadership. I’m bigger than you, nobody can discipline me.
And I saw the violation of the Constitution that binded all of us together. And I saw the personal ambition, the desperation of some people. Where you have these 3 things, which I categorise as ERA: Ego, Rascality, and Ambition, it is not easy to have Peace.
So I saw it coming. And many people don’t understand why people like me believe that Wike was cheated. I have sympathy for Wike and I supported the G5 on Principle.
Let me put it this way. When Atiku, Tambuwa, Bukola Saraki, all of them left the PDP during the Jonathan era, it was Wike who believed that this party will not die. It was Wike. And he stood by the party, personally, with his resources, everything. I was a National Officer then. Of course, politicians do have calculations.
His calculation was, after 8 years of Buhari in office, you are not likely to present another Northerner to come and be the president. So definitely the presidency is coming to the South, let me prepare myself.
That was what he did. So, when they left the party, Wike was taking care of the party. And he was instrumental to virtually all the national officers that were elected.
He was taking care of the party, financially. When Atiku and his group came back, the first person they were able to get to their side was Sekondus, the National Chairman of the party. When they got him to their side, they had a kind of a plan to skim out Wike.
So, unfortunately, Secondus, who was installed by Wike, his person was one of the first persons used against him. I want to be quoted. Please don’t hide anything because I know what I am saying.
Wike started the problem by setting up a committee to look into where the presidency will come from. Whereas you don’t need such a committee, we already know by convention that after Buhari is the South. Politically and logistically, that’s how it should be.
But because he wanted Atiku, and they had this agreement with Atiku, he now set up a Committee headed by Gov. Bala. Bala’s Committee sat down and announced that the presidency can come from anywhere in the country, even after 8 years of Buhari. That was the beginning of the crisis.
So when they did that, Wike still continued. Time for the convention came, and we were all in Abuja.
Atiku saw logic, he saw sense in their demand. And assured them that it was going to make sure that Ayu resigned. But when he got back to his group, he couldn’t control the group Somebody who could not control a group now wants to control Nigeria. That is where some of us believe that Atiku is not even fit to be the president of this country because if you cannot control just a small group of people and put your foot down, this is what will cause me an election. You sit down, you do this, you do that, then where is it? So the gang now said, whatever is going to happen, if you are going to fail. Let us fail together, if you are going to win Let us win together, Ayu is not resigning So Wike & Co said, ok, if that is what you want, we will form ourselves and be against you. That was the begining G5 and I agree with them. At the end of the day, we lost. In Yorubaland, when a child falls down, he looks forward. But when an adult falls down, he looks backward. Looking back is a kind of a review, why did I fall down? Why did I get myself into this mess? PDP did not do that. What they did is just to continue from that mistake. Almost immediately, Atiku started planning again that he will become the president. And he started using this Abraham Lincoln strategy or whatever example. He said, yeah, it is still possible, so he started again. It was at that point that Wike now said, well, if it is battle to finish, I am equally ready. And the crisis started coming from that. Until the president, who was looking for somebody that will help him destabilise PDP embrace Wike. Wike was looking for power to take revenge on PDP. So the whole thing now fell on PDP. And that is why we are on the ground. But I still believe that everything has time. No condition is permanent. This condition is not going to be permanent. As soon as the President wins his second term, that is if he is able to win it, as soon as the explosion happens there is implosion now in the APC. People are moving in It will explode. As soon as that explosion happens. People will scatter everywhere and be looking for a where again to find peace. They will have no choice but to come back to PDP. That is my belief. So the PDP, I foresee, I know the beginning. And I know why we are still on it. But I still believe the crisis will be over soon.
