Bulama: APC Will Not Face Crisis Due to Convention

Waziri Bulama, an architect and former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chairman of Polytechnics Governing Council Chairmen, speaks on governance, herders/farmers clashes, and restructuring in this interview with select journalists including Akinwale Adedayo. Excerpts:

Even as the former National Secretary of the APC, you have played an important role in the Buhari political story. Would you say he left this country better than he found it?

I can confidently state that President Muhammadu Buhari has left Nigeria a better place than he found it in 2015. The primary responsibility of government is to maintain stability and continuity, as well as to prevent chaos and the breakdown of law and order. That is any government’s primary responsibility. What President Buhari encountered in 2015, and why Nigerians rejected the PDP administration and voted for him, was widespread insecurity in the Niger Delta and the North-east. Many territories were under the control of the government at the time. Second, the Nigerian economy was literally paralyzed because the government was bankrupt. It wasn’t even paying salaries or making purchases. Both federal and state employees were not paid. Nigerians lost faith in that government and voted for President Muhammadu Buhari because he is known as a man of integrity and for his prudence and frugality in the management of national resources.

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He went to work, ensuring that peace and security were restored in the Niger Delta, where oil production and other economic activities had been restored. Through his efforts, Nigerian security forces were able to liberate and reclaim territories controlled by Boko Haram in the north-east, and as of today, all organized crime under Boko Haram and ISWAP has been neutralized, with thousands surrendering every day. People are returning to their farms and business transactions now that the peace has been restored.

Third, President Muhammadu Buhari has successfully pulled the Nigerian economy out of recession twice. He has been able to ensure that the government has enough funds to pay salaries at the national, state, and local levels. There is a reasonable level of economic stability. Other things he has been able to stabilize include the energy and fuel supply; petrol, gas, and other fuel oils were in short supply before he came to power. People were buying in gallons all over the country, and in our cities, long lines of four, five, six, or ten hours were common. Fuel is now widely available at reasonable prices throughout Nigeria, saving time and ensuring the smooth operation of business and transportation activities. As a result of these factors, Nigeria was almost in chaos and stagnation in 2014 and 2015. Today, he has been able to fund a reflationary budget for the past four or five years, as well as introduce many iconic policies such as the Economic Recovery and Growth Programmes and massive infrastructure investment across the country.

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The country is more peaceful, and the economy is more stable. People are going about their daily lives. Nigeria’s image has improved dramatically on a global scale. President Muhammadu Buhari is well-liked in West Africa and across the African continent. He is also widely respected around the world. He has risen to prominence in international decision-making circles. He influenced the emergence of OPEC’s leadership, Dr. Barkindo. He was able to influence the appointment of Dr. Adesina to the African Development Bank, Amina Mohammed to the United Nations’ Deputy Director General, and Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to the World Trade Organization’s Director General. He has been able to influence many others around the world, so Nigeria’s image as a global citizen has gotten a huge boost under President Muhammadu Buhari. Our relationships with all of the major global players, including Europe, America, Asia, and China, have skyrocketed. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, investments and collaboration with all of these international bodies and countries have grown. So, in all fairness, Nigeria is far better off today than President Muhammadu Buhari found it in 2015.

Even within the country, large investments are increasing. Private refineries are coming online, and local refineries are undergoing major renovations. Many local investors, including Dangote, Olam, BUA, Skipper, and other large corporations, are making large investments in the country as a show of confidence in the economy under President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership. He has brought back stability, order, and the rule of law. He has also been able to ensure that all of the country’s regulatory institutions are operational because he gives them free rein. Just two weeks ago, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics reported that the Second Quarter (Q2) growth recorded this year is five point one (5.1 percent), which was a significant achievement under President Muhammadu Buhari, and we expect this positive growth to continue and spread to other sectors of the economy.

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Do you think the APC has done well under President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership?

Yes, the indices used to determine whether a party has done well or poorly can be found in party unity. For the time being, the party is united. Every member admires and respects President Muhammadu Buhari as a leader. First and foremost, the fact that we have remained united in such a diverse country as Nigeria is a major accomplishment. Second, the fact that under our administration, we have been able to achieve all of the deliverables outlined in our party’s manifesto, which have a positive impact on the lives of Nigerians, is an accomplishment. Third, the fact that many Nigerians from other political parties, big players such as Governors, Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, former Governors, and other top political figures are joining our party is a huge accomplishment. Fourth, in our recent effort at new membership registration, the number of our registered members has increased from around sixteen million to around forty million, indicating that the party, APC, is doing well under President Muhammadu Buhari. We are all in this together. We are growing and becoming more powerful.

What about the rumors that your upcoming National Convention will be the end of the party due to a conflict of interest among top politicians in the pool?

Of course, we are currently united; we are strong; and we are growing. Yes, there are clearly internal interests and contestations for people wishing to run for positions or for various posts within the party. However, we have seen no indication that these contestations or ambitions will lead to a crisis for this party. Let me tell you, the party’s members are all on the same page. We all respond to the name, APC. We all respect our party’s leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is a rallying figure in the party and has a lot of influence over the party and its decisions. As a result, we have no reason to fear that we will witness any serious crises in the future simply because of convention or divergent interests.

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Is it true that there was a zoning agreement in APC, whether written or informal, as was the norm in PDP?

If there had been a zoning agreement, it would have been known. One thing is clear: this is a party based on trust. A party in which leaders from across the country came together consciously to dissolve their respective parties in order to merge into one; the APC. The APC has emerged as a national, progressive political party with a broad base. All of these different parties and leaders decided to dissolve identity-based politics – parties based on region, religion, or ethnicity. This is a monumental and historic achievement in Nigerian political history. As a result, in the APC, we are all one. We don’t consider ourselves to be from this or that region. From either this or that religion. We are a progressive family that came together as equals to form this party to serve Nigeria, and our records show that we have worked to serve the entire country – all of its regions, religions, and zones. As a result, decisions in the APC are made as a family. The APC’s leaders are men of honor, known for their self-sacrifice. Going forward, every decision we make in the APC regarding how to zone positions will, of course, be based on our history of sacrifice for the nation in order to ensure that we treat one another in trust, as brothers, friends, and family in order to continue to implement the APC manifesto. For me, this is my response to the question of whether or not there was zoning, but we clearly have a history because without the formation of this party as a broad-based national platform, we would not have received votes from all parts of the country to reflect the desired constitutional spread to win the presidency. We would always remember the APC’s history and how national unity led to our victory in the center.

What was your personal contribution as a former National Secretary to all that the party and this administration have accomplished?

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My individual contributions are numerous. I was present at every turn and junction where important decisions were made in the last few years. I was the defunct CPC’s Director of Strategy, where we managed the Presidential Elections, and after the elections, I became a member of the defunct CPC’s National Executive Committee. We wrote a proposal (Way Forward for the CPC), a blueprint for the CPC to chart its political future, in which we proposed the formation of a broad-based national platform in collaboration with like-minded patriotic Nigerians from all parts of the country.