Dr Enitan Badru was until recently, a commissioner in Lagos State when he resigned to contest the Lagos Island 1 Constituency seat in the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC). In this interview, he speaks on his inspiration for the contest, his plans for the constituency and assesses the opposition to his party’s dominance of the polity by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Excerpts:
BY Gbenga Oke
What propelled your aspiration for this contest?
The principal reason why I am going to the House is because I feel many things are not right. Take domestic violence for an example, there is so much domestic violence in this country and I have not heard a legislator talk about it.
There is so much child abuse all over this country and I have not heard any legislation on it and coming from the ministry of youths and social development of Lagos State where I served as commissioner, my eyes were opened to a lot of these things.
Some buses should be built having people with disability in mind, right now they aren’t making life difficult for these people. These are so many things to deal with and these are the major reasons I am going to the House.
What is your political experience?
I have been in it for some time. During the 1993 elections, I was a member of the Social Democratic Party, (SDP), I have been a local government chairman, party chairman at the local government level, I was a national delegate during the Abiola/Kingibe nomination convention, I was in the PRIMOSE group. So I have been in it for some time.
What is your view on the postponement of the elections?
Well, I believe Jega means well and he has always been saying it and also said it at the National Assembly that he is ready for the elections and he is prepared to conduct the elections but he is not the one to guard the materials to where they are going to be used and we must agree these are very sensitive materials.
Sensitive materials
It is just like the Governor of Central Bank trying to transport money from one state to the other or a branch manager trying to transfer money from his branch to the head office and the police say they cannot offer him security. If he is not a mad man, will he agree for the money to be taken? That on its own is a recipe for chaos. Jega is ready for the elections but the security apparatus in the country are not ready to provide security, so the buck stops at the table of the Commander-in-Chief.
Do you agree with insinuations that the postponement was a PDP agenda to weaken the opposition?
I can tell you that what they have seen in the APC is a moving train and I can tell you that God is a wonderful God if you keep praying and if you have faith.
Babangida said something, he said the first fundamental mistake Jonathan made was to fight Rotimi Amaechi , he said he should have found a way to manage him. They fought Amaechi to standstill until Amaechi withdrew and that one drew a battle line and APC saw that and they offered themselves. So whether you like or not, that was where it started from and they started going round to talk to the disgruntled governors and APC was able to capture five. That was the game changer. How many states gave Jonathan the biggest votes he had in 2011, Lagos, Rivers. These states we are talking about are gone to the opposition today.
Phantom votes
Right now the reverse will be the case.
Secondly, those phantom votes in the South-East and South-South will be divided; it will not be 100 percent like what we had in 2011 elections. This time around, it cannot be so. First, it is a card reader and secondly it is PVC. Nobody will use hand to write anything, the card reader will tell you how many people were accredited and how many voted.
So the rigging machine will not work and that is why they are clamoring that the card reader should not be used but Jega has said the card reader will be used. I can tell you that APC is a moving train and nobody can stop.
Also, the postponement got a lot of independents angry. And it is unfortunate that President Jonathan is feigning ignorance of the shift, you are the chief security officer. That means you are saying you are not in control, he is incriminating himself. So they have run out of lies and they see a moving train coming, they are scared.
Whether they postpone it or not, the day the election holds, PDP will lose. Look at Obasanjo now, he is sending a message. Obasanjo could be a mad man but he is sending a message. Tearing the card is nothing but he is trying to send a message, they say the words of our elders are the words of wisdom.
This government has failed in several ways. The last time they asked graduates to come and write the Nigeria Immigration test, you swindled them by collecting money from them and nobody has said anything about it till today.
And you say you don’t know about it and you have not sanctioned anybody, the employment they did not get, some people died and the minister is still there campaigning for this failed government.
For how long will this continue and unfortunately, their hate campaign against Buhari is backfiring. So it’s a moving train and not even PDP can stop it.
BY Gbenga Oke
What propelled your aspiration for this contest?
The principal reason why I am going to the House is because I feel many things are not right. Take domestic violence for an example, there is so much domestic violence in this country and I have not heard a legislator talk about it.
There is so much child abuse all over this country and I have not heard any legislation on it and coming from the ministry of youths and social development of Lagos State where I served as commissioner, my eyes were opened to a lot of these things.
Some buses should be built having people with disability in mind, right now they aren’t making life difficult for these people. These are so many things to deal with and these are the major reasons I am going to the House.
What is your political experience?
•Badru: I believe Jega means well
What is your view on the postponement of the elections?
Well, I believe Jega means well and he has always been saying it and also said it at the National Assembly that he is ready for the elections and he is prepared to conduct the elections but he is not the one to guard the materials to where they are going to be used and we must agree these are very sensitive materials.
Sensitive materials
It is just like the Governor of Central Bank trying to transport money from one state to the other or a branch manager trying to transfer money from his branch to the head office and the police say they cannot offer him security. If he is not a mad man, will he agree for the money to be taken? That on its own is a recipe for chaos. Jega is ready for the elections but the security apparatus in the country are not ready to provide security, so the buck stops at the table of the Commander-in-Chief.
Do you agree with insinuations that the postponement was a PDP agenda to weaken the opposition?
I can tell you that what they have seen in the APC is a moving train and I can tell you that God is a wonderful God if you keep praying and if you have faith.
Babangida said something, he said the first fundamental mistake Jonathan made was to fight Rotimi Amaechi , he said he should have found a way to manage him. They fought Amaechi to standstill until Amaechi withdrew and that one drew a battle line and APC saw that and they offered themselves. So whether you like or not, that was where it started from and they started going round to talk to the disgruntled governors and APC was able to capture five. That was the game changer. How many states gave Jonathan the biggest votes he had in 2011, Lagos, Rivers. These states we are talking about are gone to the opposition today.
Phantom votes
Right now the reverse will be the case.
Secondly, those phantom votes in the South-East and South-South will be divided; it will not be 100 percent like what we had in 2011 elections. This time around, it cannot be so. First, it is a card reader and secondly it is PVC. Nobody will use hand to write anything, the card reader will tell you how many people were accredited and how many voted.
So the rigging machine will not work and that is why they are clamoring that the card reader should not be used but Jega has said the card reader will be used. I can tell you that APC is a moving train and nobody can stop.
Also, the postponement got a lot of independents angry. And it is unfortunate that President Jonathan is feigning ignorance of the shift, you are the chief security officer. That means you are saying you are not in control, he is incriminating himself. So they have run out of lies and they see a moving train coming, they are scared.
Whether they postpone it or not, the day the election holds, PDP will lose. Look at Obasanjo now, he is sending a message. Obasanjo could be a mad man but he is sending a message. Tearing the card is nothing but he is trying to send a message, they say the words of our elders are the words of wisdom.
This government has failed in several ways. The last time they asked graduates to come and write the Nigeria Immigration test, you swindled them by collecting money from them and nobody has said anything about it till today.
And you say you don’t know about it and you have not sanctioned anybody, the employment they did not get, some people died and the minister is still there campaigning for this failed government.
For how long will this continue and unfortunately, their hate campaign against Buhari is backfiring. So it’s a moving train and not even PDP can stop it.
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