BY LINUS CHIBUIKE
DIRECTOR-GENERAL, Progressive Governors’ Forum, Salihu Moh. Lukman, has advised the leadership of the All Progressives Congress against admitting former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode into the party, as being speculated, saying that such a move would mean the ruling party could open its doors wide for leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, or Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Progressive Governors Forum is a forum of governors elected on the platform of the APC.
The DG specifically said accepting Fani-Kayode as a member of the APC in its ongoing registration and revalidation exercise would amount to rewarding scandalous behaviour.
He made his position on the speculated planned defection of the former minister from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC known in a statement he issued on Tuesday, titled, “APC: Reminder about Our Values”.
Pictures of the former minister with the Chairman of the National Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State; and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, had appeared on social media platforms, which sparked reports of his planned defection.
Lukman noted that the elementary rule of decency would require the APC leaders to put a distance between themselves and Fani-Kayode, who he accused of fabricating stories and spreading distorted information about the party.
He said he could confidently argue that President Muhammadu Buhari would not approve such “deranged possibility”, but that it was important to caution that such consideration would be stretching the trust of party members beyond acceptable limits.
According to the DG, not even Fani-Kayode’s ward leaders should be associated with him except for reasons of family ties.
He said, “For our leaders to associate themselves with Mr Fani-Kayode, is simply rewarding scandalous behaviour. Mr Fani-Kayode has fabricated stories, distorted, insulted and damaged information about our party and our leaders. The elementary rule of decency would require some good distance between our leaders and such a person.
“Not even the Ward leaders where he is located should be associated with him except for reasons of family ties. By the way, the Caretaker Committee of our party should avoid a situation whereby it takes a decision on issues that are very weighty without consultations.
“On no account should anyone with the kind of baggage of Mr Fani-Kayode be invited to join the party without clearance from a statutory structure of the party? In this particular instance, the National Caucus should be the clearinghouse.”
He added, “Around the late evening of Monday, February 8, 2021, Nigerian media, especially social media, became alive with photos of our National Chairman, HE Mai Mala Buni and our Kogi State Governor, HE Yahaya Bello, in the company of Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, a notable leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The speculation is that Mr Fani-Kayode is on his way to joining the APC. The verdict in most media platforms is quite disturbing, but justifiably so, if the news about Mr Fani-Kayode joining the APC is true.”
The PGF boss argued that, for APC leaders to be meeting with Fani-Kayode in such a compromising way, suggesting that he might be on his way to joining the party, clearly indicated that either those saddled with the responsibility of advising them had failed or had been completely cut off.
He asked, “How can a person who just a few days, if not a few hours ago, wrote to one of our leaders and derogatorily and condescendingly condemned his political prospects of emerging as the Presidential candidate of our party, be given such a high-level reception?
“Assuming the open letter to our National Leader, which is all over our media at the time of such reception, wasn’t offensive, what of the open letter he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari last year?”
He said, “Besides the open letters, what abusive language has he not used against our party and our leaders? Most of these are unprintable. A typical example of the kind of abuses he spat on our leaders and our party can be demonstrated with his response to a tweet by Mr Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Buhari on Information, last May 2020.
“Mr Adesina argued that President Buhari’s emergence as President saved the country. Responding, Mr Fani-Kayode said: ‘Not so my friend. The emergence of Buhari in 2015 annihilated Nigeria and plunged her into darkness, death and destruction. He came to steal, kill and destroy and for the last disastrous 5 years, that is all he has done.
“Compared to most of Mr Fani-Kayode’s barrages of insults on APC and its leaders, this would appear to be very civil. Most Nigerians, both APC members and non-APC members would appear to be in agreement that any association between APC and its leadership with Mr Fani-Kayode is indicative of the problem of values.”
Lukman said without being academic in any way, the issue of values was basically about the qualities of people and the vision they held.
He noted, “What kind of people are we aspiring to attract into our party? Do we want to reduce our party into one in which everybody is welcome? Can we for instance in any way or form contemplate having a Nnamdi Kanu or Abubakar Shekau as a member? If that were to be the case, why don’t we just have INEC register IPOB and Boko Haram as political parties and allow them to field candidates for elections?
“We may be tempted to argue that Mr Fani-Kayode is not Nnamdi Kanu or Abubakar Shekau. It is however difficult to fathom what qualifies him to be associated with our leaders at that high level? At this rate, one day, Nigerians will just wake and see some of our leaders presenting Mr Fani-Kayode to President Buhari as a new member of our party.
“Although we can confidently argue that President Buhari will not approve such deranged possibility, it is important to caution that such consideration will be stretching the trust of party members beyond acceptable limits.
“Although issues of values in politics easily gets compromised, as Mr Barack Obama, former President of the United States cautioned in the book The Audacity of Hope – Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, it is important to appeal to our leaders to moderate their consideration in terms of who they associate with, especially if it will lead to an invitation to joining the APC.
“Mr. Obama in particular noted ‘the fact that the practice of modern politics itself seems to be value-free. Politics (and political commentary) not only allows but often rewards behaviour that we would normally think of as scandalous: fabricating stories, distorting the obvious meaning of what other people say, insulting or generally questioning their motives, poking through their personal affairs in search of damaging information.’
“APC emerged with a commitment to social democracy. Social democracy is about the values of collective justice and individual freedom where everyone’s basic needs are fulfilled. This, among others, upholds respect for the dignity of the individual party members. We need to appeal to all our leaders, especially the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee and all the thirteen members to always remember that they are entrusted with the responsibility they have today to democratise our party.”
“They are not Sole Administrators. To democratise will require more meetings and consultations. Their actions should reflect decisions taken at meetings or at least from wider consultations,” the DG declared.
