From Mohammed Abubakar, Dutse
Former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and other prominent politicians, accusing them of lacking firm ideological convictions and contributing to the political instability confronting the country.
Lamido, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the frequent movement of politicians from one party to another demonstrated the absence of enduring political principles, arguing that most of the leading political actors were more interested in acquiring power than advancing the welfare of Nigerians.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with journalists in Dutse, Jigawa State, after presiding over the inauguration of the PDP’s 2027 Governorship Campaign Council.
He also criticised the controversy surrounding the removal of petroleum subsidy, describing the debate between the Presidency and supporters of Atiku as a disagreement among members of the same political establishment, which he accused of benefiting from the country’s dysfunctional governance system.
According to him, Nigeria’s fundamental problem is neither the removal nor restoration of fuel subsidy but the collapse of discipline, accountability and enforcement of law and order, which has allowed corruption, insecurity and economic hardship to flourish.
“Let me start by saying that during the Jonathan era, there was a semblance of law and order and, therefore, the subsidy, whether they removed it or not, the money was coming to us directly.
“The issue now has become very controversial and contentious. To me, the issue of energy or fuel subsidy, security and poverty in the country are not properly handled by all sides because it is all about law and order.
“If there is law and order, the money being generated from the fuel subsidy could go down to the people because nobody would be allowed to steal the money.
“But because there is no law and order, the money is being cornered by a few people. Therefore, I can tell you that it is a kind of mafia thing,” he said.
Lamido maintained that the absence of effective law enforcement had created conditions for corruption, banditry, terrorism and other forms of criminality to thrive, accusing successive administrations of failing to confront the underlying problems.
“In Nigeria today, people don’t obey common traffic lights, so how do you build a nation like that? Therefore, to me, Tinubu, Atiku and Peter Obi are merely scratching the issue on the surface, talking about the symptoms without addressing the causes.
“The root cause is indiscipline, lack of law and order and the courage to enforce them. If I am running for president, I would not say anything about subsidy or insecurity. I would say to Nigerians, give me your votes and I will guarantee you the enforcement of law and order.
“When you do that, the issue of those stealing your money would not be there anymore,” he said.
The former governor accused leading political parties of harbouring individuals who benefit from the existing system, arguing that the country’s economic difficulties were largely the consequences of leadership failures rather than a shortage of resources.
“So, I don’t think those shouting about it would have the courage to enforce law and order because their people are the main beneficiaries of the current rot.
“In a nutshell, APC, ADC and NDC are all parts of our problems because all the monies are being siphoned by their people,” he alleged.
Lamido described the widespread poverty and hardship in the country as man-made, insisting that Nigeria possessed sufficient natural and human resources to guarantee improved living standards if public funds were properly managed.
He cited allegations of corruption involving former public officials, including a former minister allegedly linked to property worth more than N20 billion, a former Accountant-General of the Federation accused of diverting more than N140 billion and a former Central Bank governor allegedly linked to hundreds of properties.
He argued that the scale of such allegations demonstrated the consequences of weak institutions and the failure to enforce accountability.
Turning to recent political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, Lamido condemned the inclusion of prominent opposition figures in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, describing the development as evidence of declining political morality.
He specifically criticised the involvement of Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who are associated with political parties other than the APC.
“You see, in a country where there is no moral radar, where anything goes, what do you expect? I mean, we have lost our self-worth, we have lost our essence as humans. We are just like people at war, and we can do anything anyhow.
“If not, how can somebody in APGA, PDP and Accord go and support APC? But then, this is Nigeria for you. What that tells you is that we are in big trouble in this country,” he said.
On the emergence of what has been described as a rainbow coalition involving politicians across party lines, Lamido said the development was neither new nor surprising, recalling that similar political alliances contributed to the PDP’s defeat in the 2015 presidential election.
He cited Atiku, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Bukola Saraki among prominent politicians who broke ranks with the PDP and supported the APC ahead of the election that brought Muhammadu Buhari to power.
“If Atiku, Kwankwaso, Saraki and others voted for APC against the PDP in 2015, is that not a rainbow coalition? It is the same rainbow coalition when people in one political party vote for another party.
“But I have been consistent. I have been myself because I am grounded in my ideological conviction, whereby we believe that politics is all about human development, human empathy, human dignity and decency. It is not a personal enterprise, looking for positions,” he declared.
Lamido also questioned whether the current political realignments represented any meaningful departure from the practices that had characterised governance over the years.
He argued that the APC’s emergence as a formidable political force ahead of the 2015 elections was made possible largely by the defection of influential PDP members, maintaining that the political personalities involved had not fundamentally changed.
“What I am saying is that if you are talking about APC, by 2014, what was the composition of the APC? It was a cocktail of PDP, ACN, CPC and ANPP.
“I have been saying that ACN alone would not have conceived it. It had to be seduced by the PDP to be impregnated for Buhari. So, Buhari was the illegal son of PDP.
“All those who went to APC in 2014 were PDP people because it was the PDP that made sure APC won the election in 2015,” he said.
He maintained that changing political platforms without a corresponding transformation in character, principles and approach to governance amounted to recycling the same political actors under different party identities.
“When you talk about Tinubu, he was in ACN. Has he changed? It is the same Tinubu.
“When you talk about Atiku, he contested elections under PDP in 2023. Has he changed? He remains the same Atiku.
“Obi contested for vice president in 2019 under PDP, then the presidency in 2023 under Labour Party and today under NDC. Has he changed? I don’t believe so.
“So, you have personalities moving around from one party to another at every slight opportunity, changing nomenclature, but have they changed their characters? That is the main issue,” he said.
Lamido predicted that the political realignments would continue, suggesting that Wike could eventually become fully integrated into the APC.
“You have the likes of Wike today. You will discover that in the next elections, he will be in the APC family.
“So, to me, all that is happening is a family civil war which does not concern me as such,” he added.
Explaining why he had remained in the PDP since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999 despite the party’s internal crises and electoral setbacks, Lamido traced his political convictions to the ideological tradition of the defunct Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
He said his political upbringing, alongside that of former Kaduna State governor Ahmed Makarfi, had instilled principles that made it difficult for him to abandon his party merely because of political disagreements or changing electoral fortunes.
According to him, politics should be anchored on identifiable beliefs, commitment to public welfare and consistency of purpose rather than the pursuit of appointments and personal advantages.
He argued that many contemporary politicians lacked such ideological foundations, which explained their willingness to move between parties whenever new opportunities emerged.
“In the entire Nigerian political history, it is only myself and Makarfi who are from the PRP ideological background. Others have no ideological political backgrounds, and that is why you see them moving from one party to another at the slightest opportunity.
“Therefore, I can confidently tell you that I came from a solid ideological background, which means that I have a solid history and there are certain things I cannot do.
“Those who have been moving from party to party have no political background that both Makarfi and I had from the PRP. Others are inventions,” he declared.
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