Posted by By CHIDI OBINECHE on
Marverick politician, Senator Arthur Nzeribe says should President Olusegun Obasanjo make up his mind to go for a third term in office, he will back him all the way.
Marverick politician, Senator Arthur Nzeribe says should President Olusegun Obasanjo make up his mind to go for a third term in office, he will back him all the way.
Nzeribe, who had in the past backed similar schemes by General Ibrahim Babaginda (rtd) and the late General Sani Abacha, described the venture as very possible.
Nzeribe spoke to Daily Sun in Abuja. He said Obasanjo deserves a third term based on his numerous achievements.
He, however, declined to say who he will support between Babaginda and Obasanjo should both decide to go for the presidential seat in 2007.
Nzeribe who has just floated a pressure group known as 'Imo Platform", said he will not run for governorship of the state, but will deploy the platform as a vehicle for relevance and influence within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .
He spoke on other national issues.
Sir, looking at the political climate, there is a lot of excitement in the National Assembly and the polity about 2007. Are there other things to 2007 that we don't know?
I think primarily, it is mostly 2007. We are just about a year away from the real politics. There will be primaries and the convention. So, things should hot up.
You said things should hot up, but looking around now, we don't have candidates at the national level to run.
What is responsible for that?
I think, we have people who have interest, whether you take them serious or not is your own conjecture. I know that Marwa has made his interest clear that he is going to run, he has said so, I have read it in the newspapers so many times. I know that Orji Uzor Kalu, from Abia State has been shouting for one year that he wants to run, so you can't say that people have not told you that they are going to run.
But there are some big masquerades like IBB and Atiku being rumoured for a long time that they will run but till now, they have not come out openly to say so.
Well, the judgement is there, the timing is there and we must not pre-judge them. We must let them tell us that they want to run and they have not told us, so far……
The alleged third term project of the present administration. If it is true, will you support it sir?
Yes, I will support it.
Why?
It will take me the whole night to discuss this matter with you. I will support it because a third term is not immoral, it is quite moral. It is legitimate. As you said, if it becomes true, this means Obasanjo wants it and Obasanjo is entitled to have an ambition. There are many reasons why it is possible. So we leave it at that for now, but yes I will support it.
That means, he must have done very well in the last six years. What is it that he want to do that he couldn't do within eight years?
Two years ago, we never knew that Obasanjo will introduce the reforms he has now. He has done the confab. For the first four years of his rule, he was adamant that there should be no conference, sovereign or not, now he has turned 180 degrees and has done a confab which we all hear that it is a success. Four years ago, nobody knew that the debt relief he was being harassed and insulted for junketing round the world, will succeed. But look at the result, four years ago, nobody knew about the political and economic reforms, he is introducing now, but then look at the consequences. So the litany of what he has done in the positive side can go on and on.
If IBB whom you supported for the extension of his tenure at that time, now wants to come, between him and Obasanjo's third term, where will you put your hat?
This is an unfair question, you are hitting me below the belt. Both men have not said they want to run. Obasanjo has not said so. Even though I say I support the third term bid for him, on the other hand, Babangida has not said that he is going to run, so your question is a bit premature.
Back to Imo State, there are some alignment of political forces in the state now and political watchers are saying that Senator Ararume's group is taking firm control of the politics, the machinery of that state. Can you comment on this.
How did you assess that?
We were all given cards like any other person and let's not go into how you know that they have taken firm control because it cannot be established. But nobody can deny that Ararume and his organisation are making quite an impact. I admire the young man for his guts. His courage for dashing out so early and running a race at the moment where he is the only runner. For all those who are murmuring that they want to be governor of Imo State, nobody has come out to make their intention as clearly as Aranume has done, and not only has he said that he wants to be governor of Imo State, he is working hard to achieve that objective. I doff my hat to him for that. Now, as for having a total grip or not, I think that we are playing with words, but the simple truth is that he is on ground and he is working. It is as simple as that.
You recently floated a group, Imo Platform, what is the motive behind the group?
Well, the essence of the group is that we are a pressure group inside PDP, we want to be relevant, we want to be able to have an influence, to have a say in what happens to Imo politics. I will say for want of a better way of describing it, we want the Imo Platform to be the same as the PDM was in PDP and before then, the SDP. You understand what I mean?
It has no political objective for you? Maybe to run as the governor of the state?
No, I don't need Imo Platform to run for governorship. I have told you precisely what the Imo Platform is all about.
Should Alamieyeseigha be impeached for bringing the image of Nigeria to disrepute?
Hypothetical question, he has not been tried and convicted.
But some money was found on him?
That is why he is going to be tried because of the money found on him
How do you look at the leadership of the National Assembly, especially the Senate?
They are doing very well. Our new, young and dynamic Senate president is doing very well.
In comparative terms, would you prefer him to Wabara?
Another unfair question. Sometimes, this comparism would be like comparing cheese and butter you know, they both have their own styles, but I will rather go with Nnamani's style than Wabara. This does not mean I am condemning Senator Wabara.
On the situation in the country, the constant rift between the National Assembly and the executive arm of government. Although, it has reduced substantially, it is still there especially, whenever the budget comes in. What lasting solution can you proffer?
This thing you call problem is the dynamism of democracy. You cannot expect a complete harmony between the legislature and executive, you cannot expect a love situation with someone who is trying to monitor you, who is trying to discipline you. It is their job to monitor how the nation's money is appropriated, how it is spent you know. In the process of doing this, you are going to ask awkward questions, human beings as a whole don't like being discipline but its our responsibility to force them to be disciplined on how they spend our money. So, you cannot eliminate the so- called fiction, so long as someone is acting as a policeman or a watch dog, the person you are policing or watching is bound to feel aggrieved.
What is your relationship with Obasanjo?
I am his senator, he is my president. On the personal level, I will say cordial, very cordial. I'm privileged that I can pick up my phone and call the president and I will get an audience. What else do you expect?
What is your political future beyond 2007?
That one is in the hands of God, I will wait and see.
What do you mean by the hands of God, 2007 is just by the corner and we expect that you are not tired yet
You know this business is like a century. A week in this business is like a century. I have had experience first time where people were persuaded to run for governorship of their states just a week to the election and they ran and won. I know people who were in the field for six/seven years lobbying, building organisation to run election, being active, spending money and yet they didn't even come near the primary polls. So in as much as one year is not too far, it would be too long, so we leave it in the hands of God in the time being.
In your political career spanning over two decades, you have always been in the law making body, you have never been in the executive arm. Is it by sheer preference or by 2007, you will now want to complete your career in politics by going into the executive arm?
Well, you are asking me directly if I want to run for government, I am too old a fox to be gotten that way. Remember that age is a factor. By 2007 or next year when the primaries will start I will be 68 nearing 69, so the Nzeribe you knew 20 years ago is not the same man you are talking to today. Things change, I will wait, I will bid my time and see what happens on the field, then I'll decide what to do.
Now that you are about rounding off your career in politics, what particular memories would you leave behind or legacies that people, researchers, historians, political scientists can read and say look, this is
Senator Nzeribe's contribution to Nigerian politics?
Well, first of all, I have not told you that I am about to round off my position politically, unless you are forcing me to go on retirement, but the answer to your question is that I will like to leave the legacy that there was a man who never sat on the fence, I have a position on every national matter that concerns me or the country. I like to see it as it is objectively, whether it is a public idea or not, I am more interested in the legacy and the democratic nature of what I believe in. I will like to be remembered as one man who was not afraid to do what is right.