Mohammed Danjuma Goje represents Gombe Central in the upper legislative chamber. The former governor in this interview, speaks on his recent defection to the APC from PDP while listing how he contributed to the success of the PDP in the state. Excerpts:
Eleven of you have announced your defection from the PDP to the APC, but the Senate President said you have not formally defected, what is your position on that?
I don’t think I will like to say more than what you have already known on this issue. You have been with us since we have been arguing over this issue on the floor of the Senate. As it is now, we have made our case very clear, we have submitted a letter signed by 11 of us and we have made it clear that as far as we are concerned, they should consider our position since we have defected. It is left to whoever wants to interpret our action to interpret it the way he wants. We have gone to our constituencies during the last registration exercise of APC and registered as members and participated actively in all APC activities.Let me say here that there are some senators who, although they have not come to the floor of the Senate but have gone to the public, from the other side, from APC, from APGA who have said they have also defected to the PDP. Of course, they have not made their own on the floor but it is in the newspapers, some of them have spoken to us privately. So it is a question of interpretation.
But do you really need to formalize your defections on the floor of the Senate? Some say you are trying to play to the gallery?
I don’t like that phrase ‘playing to the gallery’. We are not playing to the gallery. Since we were elected by our people, the people there in our constituencies have endorsed our action. And we are in the Senate, it is fair to tell our colleagues our position that is all. But to say that we are playing to the gallery is very unfair to us, I think we have passed that level that you can say we are playing to the gallery. We are serious minded people who have gone through the needs of the Senate.
You benefitted from the PDP as a former governor, minister and now a senator. What exactly are you looking for in the opposition party?
I think it is not complete to say that I benefited from the PDP as a party, it is a two-way traffic. The party has also benefited immensely from my contributions. It is not a question that I benefited from the party, the party also benefited from me. Don’t forget that in Gombe State, when we had election in 1999, the PDP did not form the state government. Gombe State was ANPP up to 2003.It was under my leadership that PDP was able to take over that state and all the subsequent elections in the state; the PDP has made success of them. So, to say only I benefited, I feel it is not complete. You have to say we mutually benefited from each other. If not because of the support I got in Gombe State at the time, Gombe would have remained an ANPP state and consequently become an APC State now. The least I can say is that we benefited from each other. It is mutual, PDP benefited from me and of course, I benefit from it being a member of the PDP. But I worked hard for the PDP in the state. Don’t forget that in the North East in 1999 when election was conducted, three states went to PDP, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba States. Borno, Yobe Gombe went to ANPP. And up till now, Borno and Yobe have never been taken over by the PDP, it is only Gombe State and I think I should be commended for that.
Senator Ita Enang moved a motion recently under a point of order that the seats of defectors be declared vacant. Are you scared by that?
I am not aware that Senator Ita Enang moved a motion. He only intended to move a motion. He gave a notice to move a motion; he has not yet moved the motion. But I think we have talked a lot on this issue of declaring seats vacant or not. I don’t want us to continue to drag on this issue. The only thing I can say is that it is not the first time since 1999 that senators and National Assembly members have defected from one party to another. Even right now, in the House of Representatives which is also an arm of the National Assembly, people have been defecting on the floor of the House. So if somebody wants to say our own is different, I don’t want to talk much on it. I know that it has been happening in the presence of many people that are not opposing our moves. They are there either as members of the Senate or presiding officers of the Senate accepting to read letters from some members defecting from one party to another. If now, the time has changed, I don’t think the laws have changed but everybody is entitled to his opinion, that is the much I can say. But I think it will be surprising giving that the same Senate since 1999 has been accepting defection of members. The same laws, the same Constitution, that has been giving people the opportunity to defect are still in place and if suddenly, they say today that people can no longer defect, it is their opinion.
Are you not tired of producing governors in Gombe that will end up fighting you?
I want to correct one impression, I don’t produce governors. God produces governors, political parties produce governors. So to say that I produce governors, I think it is wrong. I don’t want to over promote my own contributions, I don’t want to see myself as somebody who is fully in charge of the political activities in Gombe State. Even when I won my election, it was not me, I led the crusade by the PDP to defeat the ANPP in 1999. So to say that I produce governors, I think it is wrong. I am not one of those politicians who arrogate themselves the sole credit of either installing or defeating a governor. No, I only contribute my own part.
Where has PDP wronged you that you are leaving the party?
I don’t personalize politics, I look at issues. Even as a student, I was always active politically. I was the president of Bauchi State Students Union. I was a member of students representatives Assembly of ABU for four years. I have always been with the group that intends to change the society for better. And given the situation in Nigeria today and the situation in Gombe State, we believe that the APC is in a better position. It is poised to make changes that will go a long way in improving the present condition of the people of my state and Nigeria as a whole. And I believe that the APC is in a better position as at today to change Nigeria’s situation for the better, to raise the living condition of the people of Nigeria, to stabilize the polity for better. That is in general terms; I wouldn’t want to go into details.
Are you trying to say that the present governor who succeeded you is not carrying out the party’s manifesto in the state?
Well, I don’t want to join issues with the governor on personal grounds or on any other matter. To force me to go into details is to force me to preempt my own party which I am not going to do.
What is really the relationship between you and your governor?
Well, you have answered it yourself. You yourself said you are going to repeat the same question so I am giving you the same answer. So I am not going to join personal issues with the governor there.
The number of former governors in the Senate is intimidating and more are still coming. What does it portend for the Senate?
I want to remove that impression that people see former governors as different people. We are all human beings; we are the same. The fact that we were governors does not make us different. It is just that we have the experience. We have gone through the mills that not so many others have not gone through. Governorship job is not a small job, it is a 24-hour job if you want to do it rightly. If you just want to go there and waste your time that you are governor, fine. But if you want to do the job well, it is a very tasking job and the process acquires a lot of experience.
Courtesy: Daily Trust 