Why APC failed Nigerians – Ukandu

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Abia state, Alhaji Suleiman Ukandu, has admonished Nigerians to prioritize nation-building over ethnic and religious sentiments in politics.

He spoke following the recent public outcries and controversies surrounding the choice of former Borno state Governor, Senator Kashim Shettima as running mate by the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the forthcoming 2023 general election in Nigeria.

Alhaji Ukandu, who was the immediate past Commissioner of Lands and Survey in Abia state, in an exclusive interview with AFRIPOST on Saturday, maintained also that the current myriads of challenges bedeviling the country calls for the enthronement of responsive leadership at all levels of the state but regretted that the governing All Progressive Congress (APC) has done more harms on the genuine efforts of patriotic Nigerians to deepening the present democratic process, and towards enhancing economic and infrastructural growths and development in the country.

The prominent Abia Muslim leader said the maladministration by APC had vindicated the Peoples Democratic Party on the earlier alarm that APC assumed the leadership of the nation through conspiracy theory or tactics, and was never prepared to preside the governance of the nation.

He urged Nigerian electorates to look and rally round political parties with the fundamental principle of national integration, rather than heating up the polity with ethnic and religious sentiments, which he posited, do not augur well, and are unhealthy to the current democracy in Nigeria federation.

According to the former Umuahia North Local Government Area council chairman, “what we are talking about now is not pure religion, we are talking about religious politics, and politics has its own dynamics.

“I am not a member of APC, and I will not know what informed them their decision of the presidential candidate of APC going after Muslim/Muslims ticket. But being a Nigerian, and what is happening in Nigeria after the civil war, where we talked about issues of fundamental principles of National objective, that has to do with inclusiveness and proper national integration. And where all diverse opinions, diverse thinking, and diverse leanings, where ethnic or religion should be included to whatever being done in an entity, called Nigeria”.

Ukandu further posited, “in that circumstances, I don’t know what APC has in mind, and how they view the issue of the fundamental principle of national integration. Maybe, they did the Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket out of political expediency which I cannot phantom as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“The APC Muslim/Muslim ticket might have been done out of political expediency and calculation, which they feel they can win their own elections. Maybe, that is what informed their decision.

“But, I want to tell Nigerian people, APC is not the only political party in Nigeria, there are other parties that are in the country.”

He further added, “if you watch, PDP as a party has taken cognizance of the fundamental principles of national integration and the state directive principles which they signed in the constitution, to balance all ports, especially in this multi-faceted entity, called Nigeria.

“So, instead of raising dust, and creating tension, people should vote for the party that they feel has met this tendency, towards proper national integration of all Nigerians”.

On the assessment of the current condition of affairs in Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Ukandu opined, “It keeps on saying this same thing every day, each period of elections, every party in power will be described as a total failure. During the 2015 elections, we were told that PDP as a party, had totally failed, and Nigerians bought into it. They voted or elected another party. And if you can recall when that party got into power, I told you, they are not going to achieve anything.

“Because, most of these things are being done in calculation in the anatomy of power, and most of them are basically incubated in conspiracy theories. The problem we have in Nigeria today is not even who leads the country, because there is no time you will bring old wine and put in new wine, and it turns new, it will be contaminated.

“The question Nigerians need to ask themselves is why government is not working in Nigeria. That would help us understand that Nigeria needs to go back and begin to decipher. What are our fundamental problems? And I believe, our fundamental problem is the structure of this country. We need to restructure Nigeria in a way it can work. structural institutions of governance have not been strengthened. No government can make headway except when you strengthen the structural institutions of governance.

Continuing, He added, “Look at what’s happening in Nigeria if you are telling me that executive arm of government has totally failed. What happened to the legislature, what happened to the judiciary? Because we are practicing American system of governance that is predicated on separation of powers. And in that separation of power, there is checks and balances, where the executive plays a role, the legislature plays another and the judiciary plays their role too. And each of them has one instrument to checkmate each other.

“What we really need to do is to go back and think, and say, what are these fundamental problems that have made Nigeria an unworkable entity? If it is our inability to strengthen the structural institutions of governance, we look for a way to strengthen it.