Biyi Adegoroye 
Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam is the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), one of the leaders of the opposition parties. In this interview on Channels TV monitored by Biyi Adegoroye, he speaks on the recent meeting of some politicians with former governor Nasir El-Rufai, and other national issues
You and some party leaders met with former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai recently. What exactly was the agenda? Are you planning a kind of political alliance?
I don’t know where pressing the red button is coming from, politically, because we decided to come together to discuss national issues. This is a new year, and we have reviewed what happened in 2024, the turbulence the nation went through, and of course, the kind of intimidation and harassment the citizens are going through because of expressing their views that are at variance with the policy of the government. I happened to be a victim, because some of my security aides were withdrawn and no reason was given.
Since when?
It occurred almost two or three weeks ago. I reached out to the highest authority, because I applied for it and I am entitled to it, and it was given. But there was no letter written to me, respecting why they were withdrawn.
Do you think this smacks of a political witch hunt?
Definitely, because there was no justification for that.
So, you had this security attachment approved for you, as the national chairman of the SDP, but this has been withdrawn because of your voice of descent?
Yes. Naturally, I am not a gutter person. I use diplomatic language in channeling our ideas and advice to the government. I was not designed to be a hostile or boisterous person when I am passing my message. I am a career-trained person in politics. Those who taught me politics, like the late Abubakar Rimi and the Cicero of Esa-Oke, Chief Bola Ige, and then Solomon Lar, all of them that I have met in the course of building a career, I picked the best out of them.
We were trained to be mindful of our language, and be professional. We can disagree with the government. Nigeria is our country, and we should do everything to add value to governance, if the government is willing to listen.
Do you think this government is hostile to opposition voices?
It’s surprising to me because the least person I expect to be hostile to opposition voices is the current President. They are hostile in the real sense. If they are not hostile, look at what happened to Dele Farotimi, because he raised issues in a book, you can see an elderly man shedding tears, crying. It is quite touching. It is unbelievable.
But Chief Afe Babalola took Farotimi to court?
Look, as citizens, we know how our country is being run. We know the influence of government in a lot of things that happens. I have given you my own example. Nobody ever found me involved in anything that is bad or illegal, maybe using foul language on the leader of the country., because if you do that it will affect you. You have to pray for your country; you have to pray for your leaders. But you can what we go through, and throughout, our contribution to this government have been positive. It is on record.
But let me say this, the present President, let me remind him, was elected senator on the platform of the SDP during the late MKO Abiola era. Two, he went to exile during Sani Abacha era, he came back and became the governor of Lagos State for eight years. So, he is the least person expected to allow some surrogates in his government to use instrument of state to harass citizens. I want the government to allow Nigerians to express themselves and not to use state machinery to suppress the will of the people.
Let’s talk about your meeting with former Governor El-Rufai…
The meeting, strategically, was to review the situation of the country in 2024, and SDP was called as a party, as an opposition party, with elected members in the Parliament, in the state assemblies, in the local government councils. So, we owe it as a duty to look at areas where things are not going right, and also to open the space of the party, and reach out to a lot of people.
It is the same thing the All Progressives Congress (APC) did when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was misbehaving some years ago. They regrouped and they formed a merger that led to the defeat of the PDP. We are not doing anything that is wrong and I wonder why the brouhaha about it, as if this is the first time we visited Nasir El-Rufai or Segun Sowunmi is a friend who happened to be one of the spokesmen of the PDP.
Sowunmi and I have fought internally to ensure decency in the PDP but we did not succeed. So, some of us exited. Also, Al-Mustapha has been a friend as well. We have been in this struggle for a better Nigeria, not to undermine the country. So, tell me, any specific area where there is a change from Buhari’s policy in Tinubu’s policy? Some of the contracts with the Chinese people being talked about in the country now were signed during Buhari’s government.
Do you feel that the only way the APC government can be challenged is through a political alliance?
The policies and programmes of the government will determine how the 2027 election will go. It has nothing to do with personality.
You mean that President Tinubu has the power to change the tide, but some people believe that the popularity of the APC has dwindled over the years because of some of its policies?
I know that no President that was elected to serve four years that had issues within two years into governance, survives. In the tenure of Jonathan, opposition started two years into his election and he lost re-election bid. So, the President has a team that assesses the performance of this government and I am sure he has the report and the President admitted that the situation is very bad, due to his own policies, pronouncements and so forth.
And like I have said, it is not just the President but when you have cabinet members that have no capacity to drive some of your policies and all of that, you cannot drive a nation alone as the President. It is not possible.
So, you think President Tinubu doesn’t have the right people to drive governance?
He doesn’t have them. This is not the first time I’m saying this, and I am saying this as somebody who knows him and who believes him when he was governor of Lagos State. I know the kind of team he had, the crack team that he had that had the capacity to advise him and generate ideas and he succeeded, and he was proud to say he transformed Lagos State. What is happening today? It is a rare privilege for somebody of his age to be a president of Nigeria, because by assumption, somebody of about 80 years is not looking for a car to drive, is not looking for a house to sleep; is not looking for a special bed of food.
Those who are close to the President say he has no need for money, but wants to build a legacy, and wants to be the Lin Quan Yu of Nigeria…
It is not about saying that. Let me remind him that Nigeria has never faced this kind of economic hardship we are facing today in our history. Nigeria has never lost their lives in quantums, in history the way they are losing it today. Nigeria has never gone through this uncontrollable high food inflation that we are going through today, as if we don’t have a nation. Nigeria has never faced a system of lack of deterrence like we are having today.
At least, we saw Obasanjo’s government; when it came in, the economy was bad, there was insecurity, but he was on top of the issue. When they started in Zaki Ibiam, he crushed it and in Odi, he did the same and the nation became stable. Now, what we are saying is that it is a rare privilege for somebody of his age to be President, which means that his entire life on that seat is to live a legacy. Nothing more than that and those legacies are such that will speak for him when he leaves office.
President Yar’Adua had a short time in office. He said he came in through a faulty process, admitting that something was wrong. But this same President knew that he inherited that has brought us to its knees. He campaigned to correct those systems, but the decision he took was to bring massive pains to Nigeria by removing subsidy.
Come to think of it, there is no country in the world that does not apply subsidy on various sectors of the economy- on education, health, infrastructure, all countries pay some subsidy on these. In Nigeria, subsidy was removed from the product that God has given us.
Now they are even talking about an increase in the telecommunication tariff…
Yes, which the Presidency has said it would approve of. Even the Cyber levy is there, so when you see all these things that are happening, you keep on wondering that was it that the President is not aware, or that some people behind the scene are handling this?
I am worried that you are saying this, because some people have identified some of Ministers like Dave Umahi, Olubumi Ojo, Wale Edun, Nyesom Wike as some progressive cabinet members that are doing well…Do you think there is a danger about the team he has?
Look, the President knows there is a danger. I’m sure he trying to make a cabinet reshuffle.
But he has done that…
Yes, but there are some ministers that are not doing well…What Nigerians were expecting was that he would rejig some policies of the Buhari administration, or change them. Personally, as an individual, I had a lot of hope for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that he would perform much better than President Muhammadu Buhari, and he is somebody that I know and respect.
What I am saying is that we all wish him well, we don’t want him to fail, as somebody who has been tested and voted for. What we expect of him is to build that legitimacy base, bridge the trust gap. There is no policy this government will bring that will be accepted because of the trust deficit gap of this government.
He should deal with that. He should show Nigerians that he is a father who wants this country to move forward. You can’t concentrate everything on a regional basis to create confusion, distrust and chaos in Nigeria, that you probably don’t believe in building a cohesive nation. Your entire appointments are tilted towards one region. It has never happened in the history of Nigeria.
