Nigerians ‘ll speak out if Buhari’s probe is vindictive

In this interview, Senator Patrick Osakwe who spent twelve years at the national Assembly representing Delta North Senatorial District speaks on a wide range of issues including the decision by the Buhari administration to probe the Jonathan administration. He says the PDP has learnt its lessons from the defeat at the polls and would bounce back to relevance after the next four years. Excerpts:

Osakwe

Whatlessons do you think the PDP should learn from its defeat?

To be in government for 16 years is not a tea party. It takes so much to hang onto power for sixteen years. What has happened is just a lesson to everybody that nothing is permanent and the lesson it will afford to anybody who is serious is to go back to the drawing board and I have no doubt in my mind that our party will bounce back if they can put the house in order and identify those problems that caused the failure. Once that is done, the party stands a chance of bouncing back.

You also have to appreciate the fact that this is democracy and it is democracy at play. It means that the party that won worked hard as an opposition party for sixteen years. The mere fact that an opposition party took power from an incumbent shows that democracy is at play and it portends very positive development for us as a party because it has taught us a lesson and we will go back to the drawing board and work ourselves back to power.

Accepting the result

As the leader of the party, the former president accepted the result in good faith and there is no reason why any other person should not accept the result. By accepting the result, the president set a record which in my understanding means that nobody should lose election tomorrow and think of going to court. The president demonstrated that he is a democrat and people should learn from it.

What in your opinion did the PDP do wrong?

I was more concerned with what the PDP was doing in my state so if you ask me what the party was doing in other states, I may not be able to answer that. I was the deputy chairman of the campaign organisation in Delta State and I was fully involved in Delta State and I thought other states were doing the same too. We worked hard and delivered Delta State.

What did you do differently that made the difference in Delta?

We set a goal for ourselves such that even after we lost at the national level, it did not affect Delta State. Some things must have worked in concert for us. Firstly, we had a good, sellable candidate. The candidate was very prepared and at home with all the people of the state which made our job very simple.

Do you agree that the failure of the PDP to respect the zoning arrangement was responsible was its defeat at the polls?

Let us not cry over spilled milk. The damage has been done.

For the first time, Delta North produced the governor of the state. What does this portend for your state?

The election of a candidate from Delta North has confirmed the agreement that no one senatorial district will have the capacity to monopolise the governorship seat of Delta State. It started in 1999 when Governor James Ibori spent eight years in office. He was from Delta Central. After him, it moved to the South and now to the North. After the north, logically it will move to Delta Central. What this means is that the politics of Delta State has been defined. What it means now is that the zones must bring a marketable candidate. The opposition party is getting stronger by the day so it is no longer business as usual. In those days, once you are a PDP candidate, you can go home and sleep. It can never be like that again.

What is your reaction to President Buhari’s stance on probing some actions of the Jonathan administration?

It depends on what he wants to probe. They are the government in power and when they start their probe, Nigerians will monitor it closely and if the probe amounts to witch hunting, Nigerians will speak out. There is no way a new government will just come and sit down. They will do something or pretend to do something that will make Nigerians think they are performing. It is only when the probe becomes personal and vindictive that that should raise alarm. The probe should not be narrowed to members of the PDP because once you are elected as president; you are no longer a party person. You are a leader of the country. Both those who voted for you and those who did not vote for you, you are responsible for them. If the probe goes beyond where it should go, I am sure Nigerians will speak out.