Hon. Adamu Isa Bawa, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, in this interview by SAM NWAOKO, speaks on the security situation in the state, governance, the state of his party and sundry national issues.

How would you explain the state of security, insecurity in Nigeria as it relates to Kwara State? How do you see the state of security in Nigeria and Kwara State, in particular?

I want to start by limiting myself to where I live. I don’t want to make a general or blanket statement. Why I’m limiting myself to Kwara and why I’m particular and feeling concerned about what is happening today in Kwara is because I was privileged to serve in a government before now, and I know what it used to be. People know Kwara as a state of harmony. Harmony means a state that is peaceful, a state that people can come in and do their businesses, where investors can come. But that is not the Kwara that we see today. So, it is a source of concern for everybody in the state, except you don’t want to say the truth, except you want to play politics about it. So that is the situation. We are not happy because the primary purpose of being in government is to protect lives and property. Infrastructure, education, health and other services are secondary. The primary purpose of any government is to protect lives and property but is that the situation of things today in Kwara? No. When we were there, what was the situation? Kwara was peaceful. Even foreigners were here, to be specific. Farmers came from Zimbabwe to Kwara State to do their businesses. And, you know, before they can come to any state or any country, that state or that country must be peaceful and must be safe. So if we have done it in the past, and what we are seeing today is different, then it means something is wrong somewhere.

Are the state governors doing enough to push the federal government to tackle insecurity?

Some are doing very well. Some are not doing enough, especially the governor of Kwara State, who doubles as the chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF). We expect to see more in Kwara. But what we are seeing today in Kwara is the opposite of what we expect from somebody who is occupying that kind of office. As you speak today, the entire Kwara South district is being consumed by insecurity. Kwara North, where I come from, is also being consumed by insecurity. So, what are we saying? Even Kwara Central, some parts of Kwara Central is being affected by insecurity. Can we claim that Kwara is safe? If Kwara is not safe, then what is our governor doing? Where is our governor? Absent from his duty.

We saw what happened in Oyo State. Oyo State is where real governance is demonstrated. When the children and their teachers were kidnapped in Oyo State, it took the government less than 60 days to get the victims released. Whether it is the state government, whether it is the federal government, it is immaterial. What is important is something was done. What is important is that somebody was responsible for the action. It means that somebody is proactive. There was a massacre in Woro community, Kwara North district. It has never happened in any other state. Over 300 people were killed in one day. As we speak, about 176 are still in captivity. And nothing is being mentioned. It is not even on the front burner of our national discourse. Then what are we saying? Even in these local areas, in Kwara State – within the community, through the local vigilante, that are recruiting, not only recruiting, they are also contributing to form the local vigilante. Then what is the essence of security vote? That is the question everybody is asking.

To me, it is very, very unfortunate. Kwara did not bargain for this. We are not saying all this because we are in opposition, but because the state is bleeding, if we must say the truth.

What will your party do differently to address the security situation?

Like I said, we did it when we were in government. We did it in the past. So to do it differently will not be difficult for us. As a party, we are adequately prepared to take back the state; to restore the dignity of life and property in Kwara State. You’ve seen how we conducted our primary elections in the state as well as the primaries in all the other states. That is leadership. What do you say of the APC? Who are even in government? Even up till now, there is still crisis of who is a candidate and who is not a candidate. But the difference is, our issue is not the same.

Sir, how prepared is PDP to wrest power from the incumbent government. Are you on ground?

I will not say our strategy in the public. As a party, I know we are adequately prepared by the grace of God. We will do our best. And we know all our candidates: From the governorship, deputy-governorship even to the local government. All our senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates. I want to challenge you. Go to the field. Go to the streets and ask people. Today, is the APC on ground? Can you compare what is happening today to the campaign of propaganda they came in with in 2019? Can you compare it to what they did in 2023? There was no election. There was no campaign of any kind. What they used was money. But as a party, we knew what they did in the past. And we are adequately prepared by the grace of God to take back power in Kwara State come 2027.

Sir, may I know which one you belong in PDP factions. How do you plan to handle this problem in your party?

You see, this is what we have been saying every day, even at the national level, we are asking that journalists should be fair to us. As we speak today, we have only one PDP under the leadership of Abdulrahman Mohammed. He is the only legally recognised by INEC. As we speak, all the details of our candidates have been uploaded in the INEC portal – Legally constituted and validly conducted their national convention. Validly conducted their congresses, monitored and witnessed by INEC… So, if you are asking which faction you belong to, are you being fair to us? We have only one party. We have only one PDP.

There is Ladi Hassan, saying that he is also a PDP governorship candidate in Kwara aside your own Engineer Bolakale Kawu.

As far as I am concerned, that is a distraction. It is a distraction because he bought his form here. He bought his form here and I took them to Abuja. He subjected himself to Abdulrahman-led government screening committee. He paid to the state. He paid to me here. I gave him the form he bought here. And he participated in virtually all the processes. So, when somebody emerged, and you promised through all the meetings we had in the past that whoever the party eventually chooses is okay by all of you. You wrote and signed an undertaking. And one of you emerged. You are now going back to where there is nothing. As a party, we will not fall into that kind of cheap blackmail. We will not fall into that kind of cheap propaganda. We are focused. We are ready, by the grace of God.

A recent survey just said that about 77 percent of Nigerians have a high intention to participate in the 2027 general election. Do you see this manifesting?

Well, because people are well informed, people are ready to participate in the process this time. My only prayer is that INEC should not disappoint Nigerians. That is, INEC must play according to the rules and regulations that set the commission and are guiding the elections. If that is done, I can assure you, Nigerians are well prepared; Nigerians are ready to choose their own leaders.

If adequate security was provided, do you believe more people will come out to vote?

Yes. We have seen that happen even in the previous elections. Look at the numbers of people who are daily going out to register. It means they are interested and they are ready. Because people know that the best you can do for yourself is to participate in the process to make a change – a change that will better your life.

In your view, sir, do you believe politicians are the main sponsors of election violence in Nigeria?

I don’t believe that. It’s a combination of so many factors. So you don’t limit it to one group of people within the society because they are participants, and also because they are directly involved. It’s just like the case of what is happening today with security and banditry, because it’s a cartel. And it is a big business. And up till now, the Federal Government will not even come out to say these are the sponsors. Maybe because my community is affected, and as a community, we are not happy. In fact, our people invested so much in the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq government. But what they get today is nothing but disappointment. What they get today is nothing but agony.

The area of concern to me is, I’m from Kwara North, and today the entire Kwara North is in crisis. Our people cannot go to farm. Our people cannot go about their daily business, to look for their daily means of livelihood. And we have not seen the presence of the government at the state level. To me, the government has failed the poor people of Kwara North, especially Kaiama and Baruten. The government has failed us. And it is very unfortunate. It is very unfortunate if the party cannot go to Abuja to lobby, to try to see the president to discuss issues of insecurity in Kwara North. It is only when it comes to the issue of who becomes the candidate, that is when the entire traditional rulers, who are to be fathers to all, have been forced. But I don’t think they went there on their own volition. They know what is happening, and we are watching. But it is very, very unfortunate. The PDP is challenging the state government to live up to their responsibility, to provide leadership in Kwara, to restore confidence, to restore people’s dignity back to them. And if they cannot do it, they have less than six or seven months to go.

Sir, do you think the 2027 general election can be free, fair and peaceful in Nigeria, despite the current state of security?

Yes, there will be, because we are very positive, and because we want to win this election. So we are putting everything we possibly can to make sure that the election goes as planned. It is not under the purview of the party. It is under the purview of the Federal Government to provide security. And INEC has the responsibility to make sure that there is a free, fair and credible election. As a party, we are prepared. If the Federal Government is ready, and INEC is ready, we are equally ready.

What is your view on political godfathers in politics?

I don’t know what people mean by ‘godfatherism’ because every candidate comes from a party. That is where candidates come from. You cannot sponsor yourself. We don’t have independent candidature in Nigeria. The party must sponsor you. And for the party to sponsor you, that is a process. So I don’t know why people are calling it godfatherism. I don’t know why people are tagging it as godfatherism. Even in the US and other advanced democracies, we also have that. It’s like a mentoring process. There are people we look up to. There are people who have achieved success in life. We look up to them. Do you now classify them as godfathers? When things are positive, they are good. But when it is the other way, people tag it something else.

What are your plans programmes for women when your party gets into power?

You are trying to take words out of my mouth. It’s not the time for us to start campaigning or even reading out our manifesto, but I can assure you that, by the grace of God, we are working very hard towards that. By the time we flag off our campaign, we will invite all of you. And that will be, in fact, one of the best in the history of Kwara State, I can assure you that.

Should you sit down with your governorship candidate to discuss the way forward in Kwara, what areas will you tell him to focus on in his first year, if elected?

It is to build confidence. Let people believe that a new government is in place. Let people be safe to go back to their areas of livelihood. Let people know that there is a good government in place; where people can ask questions; where people can make free speech; where people can participate in all levels of governance in the state; not what we see today. Today, what we have is not governance. This is failure on the part of those who are there today as the government of Kwara State. The failure is a collapse in the system. There is no aspect of government in terms of indices that you can think of that is functioning well today. It’s very unfortunate.

I’m not speaking because I’m in the opposition. But I’m speaking because of what we are facing in today’s Kwara State. Is it in terms of hunger? Is it in terms of insecurity? Is it in terms of poverty level? However, they are good in one thing, they are good in propaganda. And there is time for everything. But we thank God for how far we have gone. And we thank God that the people of the state understand us better now. People are ready and are waiting for us. And we cannot afford to disappoint them. We will do everything that is humanly possible to bring in things that will serve the people more. We will bring in things that will turn around their fortunes for better. (Nigerian Tribune)