Date: 2013-12-17

Gentlemen of the press, we welcome you to this press address which is going to focus on the state of affairs of our great party APC, and how not to allow democracy to perish. We appreciate your response to our short notice and we want to assure you that it has renewed our strength and commitment in our belief that we jointly have a duty to protect our democracy.

Today we live in colliding world – one, the world of freedom and the other, the world of reaction. The first is the world of democracies in which government is of the people, by the people and for the people, the second is the world of dictatorships. These two worlds are now engaged in a struggle for survival. But in a democratic society, free men have a rendezvous with destiny. They face an unparallel opportunity to demonstrate anew the superiority of a way of life in which all men have dignity and integrity as equals. The tragedy in this conflict becomes very glaring when those who seek to destroy democracy appear fighting for legitimate aims while its defenders are pictured as repressive reactionaries.

As member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in Kwara State, we are particularly touched by the love and affection that the people of our dear state have demonstrated in the last few years and we consider this enthusiasm not only as a mark of support for our party but as a clarion call for positive change in Kwara state.

In every modern democratic state, political parties have become the chief instrument for mobilising consent and enforcing responsibility for public policies. Political parties differ from pressure groups even where the party represents one special interest. The pressure group does not nominate its own candidate. The political party by contrast seek to control the government. Therefore a political party must not only appeal to the organised pressure group, the general body of voters and those outside, it must also have regard for equilibrium of interests. Party systems are a function of many factors including the economic, social structure of society and basic political and cultural values.

Gentlemen of the press, our democracy is not about isolation or division but more about our values and in defence of our democracy, we must show that our values are stronger, better and more just and we must show that we are even handed and fair. The Nigerian constitution though is very explicit about its guarantee of the right to association and free expression, the brevity of that principle was not unintentional. And only democracy provides and allows conflicts to be resolved by rational arguments rather than coercion.
Unfolding political events in the last two months within the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which led to the defection of the G7 Governors to the APC has become an issue of great concern to us in Kwara state because of our peculiar political experience. It has become pertinent for us here to state that while we welcome Senator Bukola Saraki and his members into the party he should not receive any privilege in his entry into the party. He should be allowed to establish himself and compete for his position and establish any popularity he has in the party. We are glad that the APC is now considered nationwide as a formidable, attractive party and strong enough to the rebel governors in their battle for survival. And this probably may constitute an added advantage in our collective struggle to liberate our country.

Although we are yet to confirm or be fully briefed by the national headquarters of our party that Senator Saraki has been given a lifeline by handing over the APC structure in Kwara to him, but to this effect we have already written an official letter to the national headquarters of our party detailing our position on the issue. Again we want to state unequivocally that the tragedy in this contraption if true can be unimaginable. It then translates to mean that our national leaders were either not circumspect in this arrangement or that they lost lose sight of what our party stand to achieve against the short term benefits that Senator Saraki may constitute. We should not becloud the fact that some of these governors have no electoral value more so that their elevation to their present status was as a result of the PDP rigging machine.

Geography has made Kwara state a peculiar case. The struggle of Kwara people is to end the over 40 years of tyranny and hegemony of the
Sarakis and the opposition victory which was stolen in the 2011 election was a clear manifestation of the people of Kwara's will to make a clean break from the past. The struggles of over 40 years have been clearly defined.
Regrettably as it is in Kwara state, if the alleged decision to cede the party structure to Senator Saraki were true, then this no doubt will only signal the demise of the party in the state because if APC is about change, favouring a rejected 40 year old hegemony is clearly not what the party stands for. The lack of acceptance of Saraki by the people of Kwara state runs very deep. Our leaders should understand that our people who have for long been deprived of their heritage will never accept the dominance of Saraki once again in our party. Besides, most members of the opposition parties who coalesced into APC in the state comprise elements with historical opposition to the Saraki political dynasty. These people have spent several years nurturing an opposition platform to route the dynasty and the APC present them a formidable alternative to realise their dream.

What is more worrisome in this scenario is the fact that our own Lai Mohammed who is a son of the soil and who is one of the national leaders of the party and who we believe is familiar with the political history of our state appeared instrumental in trading away our party along with our numerous supporters in the state for some selfish gains. We believe that even if some of the national leaders of party like, the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari and a host of others lose sight of the peculiarity of our state in the merger arrangement, we strongly feel that Lai Mohammed was in a good position to educate them well enough about our political history. This attitude did not surprise us because long before now we have monitored his body language and discovered that rather than chart a more progressive course in our struggle, he elected to pursue some inordinate interests which are always at variance with what our party stand for. When was the first and last time that he ever canvassed the need for good governance in the state in the last ten years of PDP administration in Kwara? We cannot continue to enumerate his sins but most notable and which baffled our supporters and members was when our 4-man fact finding delegation met with him during his recent visit to the state on the recent merger arrangement. His response was not only shocking but embarrassing. He informed our delegation that already the party's structure which we laboured hard to build had been ceded to Saraki and his group and that there is nothing anybody could do except what Saraki wishes for our people. He added that any aggrieved member has a choice of either leaving the party or accept the arrangement.

We do not intend to dwell on this much here as a special disciplinary committee has been set up to investigate the issue and recommend appropriate sanctions and after which our decisions would be made known to the national headquarters of the party. We cannot continue to condone arrogance, disrespect and double deal by one man no matter how highly placed in our party. An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Just over the weekend you probably may have heard the announcement over the radio and television our decision to appoint an 8-man Interim Executive Committee to oversee the affairs of our party. This became necessary for the advancement of our party in the state.

Gentlemen, this is our stand. We are not against this defection. What we are against is our party's leadership collective resolve to cede the party machinery to the hands of Saraki and their cronies with their penchant to jump from one party to another without any qualms.

Democracy is a way of life that involves freedom to make choices and leaders don't lead a life of leisure. They take responsibility for others. Our people have unfortunately lived through some tumultuous decades of human history and we are not prepared to once again mortgage the interest of our people. We salute our people for their perseverance, patient and tolerance. Destiny has brought us to this pregnant moment. Our grief will not turn to anger as we are proudly convinced that between freedom and fear, justice and cruelty God would never be neutral. Progressive politics is the choice of the people. We thank you and God bless.

Rev Bunmi Olusona
Kwara State APC Interim Chairman