Abuja — Ambassador Saidu Pindar recently chaired the PDP committee that conducted successful state congresses of the party in Kano. In this interview in Abuja, Pindar, former Nigerian envoy to Sao Tome and Principe reflects on PDP's controversial primary election in Anambra and issues in the front burner in Borno State politics. Excerpts:

You led the committee that conducted a successful PDP congress in Kano State recently but how does it strike you that some groups had failed to attend the inauguration of the new exco, signifying that there are still some problems?

The good job I did was under certain terms of reference. Our job as caretaker committee was clearly defined. We were asked to take over the party and conduct election to produce a new leadership. We did that and it was a success because we were able to persuade everybody to come on board. We were able to earn their trust and confidence and they participated in the exercise. We held the election on the 15th of August and virtually every stakeholder in Kano was in attendance until the following morning when the results were declared.

But my job was akin to taking a horse to the river, I can't force it to drink water. I was to drag it to the river and I did, it is now up to the people of Kano State to convince that horse to drink water. But I can see that there are still some teething problems here and there.

The new leadership that was elected has to earn the trust and confidence of every member of the party in Kano and the pace of this can only be dictated by their action. If all leaders who feel that they have not been taken on board see them [new exco] doing things transparently, and giving everybody a listening ear, they will definitely shirk off whatever grievances they have and come on board.

The people whom you said failed to attend the inauguration were there when the exco was elected. So, I think they know there is a new leadership. But it may take some time for these people to drop any suspicions or grudges against the leadership.

What was your biggest challenge in the Kano exercise?

The biggest challenge was for them to accept that I had come to do a job; that I didn't come there to take the party from one group and give it to the other because that was the suspicion. It took me two to three months to go round and convince them. But my biggest success was doing things openly and transparently. There was no hidden agenda; everything was transparent. We held meetings at stakeholders' level; we held meetings at state caucus and senatorial district levels. These were things that have never been done in the last ten years.

If you had been given the Anambra issue to handle, would it have been different, given your background as an expert in conflict resolution and also the success recorded in Kano?

Yes and No. There is no way anybody can go to Anambra and make a success of that assignment within two weeks. I had five months to sort out Kano, and Anambra is much more complex. I don't think anybody would have made a success of Anambra even if he was given two months. It will require much more than that because first, the party is split into various factions. That should have been solved first. If they had solved that, perhaps the number of aspirants would not have been 47.

They might have ended up with, may be, 10 or less, and it would have been manageable. But the problem in Anambra was spiralling out of control and there was no way anybody could have solved that problem in the two weeks that was given to the committees to go and do the job. It would not have been possible. If I had been given two weeks to go to Kano and do this assignment, I would have declined because there was just no way could I solve that complex situation in such a short time.

Now, what is the way forward for the PDP in Anambra?

I don't want to talk about it because it is a subject of litigation. So we better allow the court to sort it out. In any case, the problem is only in the PDP. The other political parties don't have similar problem; they've already nominated candidates. Many of our members felt aggrieved so they rushed to the court to seek solace therefore we should wait and see the outcome.

Many Nigerians have concluded that 'Anambra' is what the PDP can offer Nigerians in 2011...

I don't think it's fair to equate Anambra with the national level. Anambra has been a special state since 1999. If you recall we had the Mbadinuju story; we had the Chris Uba-Chris Ngige time, all in the PDP, which makes it special for us in the party. However, nationwide, I think the PDP is doing extremely well. I don't think we should see Anambra as a mirror of 2011. That will not be fair to those who have the responsibility to conduct election even within the PDP. I'm sure PDP will organise itself better. We won't have this kind of problem in other states by next year.

There're talks around town that you are taking a shot at the Borno State Government House...

Well I haven't declared yet. But there is possibility that we are looking at 2011.

But right from 1999 the PDP has not had a good show in Borno due to internal problems. With people like you why has it been difficult to really come together?

Point of correction, in 1999 PDP had 14 members in the House of Assembly. It had a lot of chairmen and councillors. It had two or so senators. It had seven out of 11 members of the House of Representatives. That was a good show. It just lost the gubernatorial election in 1999 by default. PDP has been on ground in Borno State. In 2003, we did not do very well but in 2007 we gave our best shot.

We also lost by default because the election was not concluded. It was just unilaterally announced on the national TV hear in Abuja that Borno had gone to ANPP. The announcement came when we had just collected about half of the results that had come to INEC officially. So, again, I think we lost by default.

But you didn't go to court more so that PDP controls the central government?

There are several reasons. We found that we had problems within the party that is why we lost by default. But we believe we will do better in 2011 because some of us who were not in the party from 1999 are now fully engaged in it. We are really making sure that the party consolidates before 2011.

Some of your supporters said one of the setbacks to your political ambition was when your turban as Wazirin of Biu was abruptly cancelled by Governor Sheriff after you had concluded arrangements for the ceremony...

Let me make a point of correction, I have been the Wazirin Biu since January 2005. By tradition and culture, the Emir of Biu has the right to appoint any one as Waziri, this he has done and conveyed to me as far back as January 2005. So I have been performing this function ever since my retirement from service. But after this long period, I thought that we should formalize the title of Waziri and we informed the government of Borno state about the ceremony. But about a week to the event, we got a letter saying that it should be suspended because of security reasons.

The letter written to the emirate council did not say that Ambassador Pindar was no longer the Waziri. So I am still the Waziri of Biu. The title of Waziri of Biu is given to somebody who has been identified for contributing to the development of the area. It's a new title, just introduced in 1973 when the late Waziri Ibrahim Biu was appointed.

Some people say your recent involvement in the cholera epidemic in Biu led to some sort of unrest that claimed lives and property, therefore government was right to have stopped the ceremony...

Any right thinking indigene of Biu who knows what is happening to our people would want to give a helping hand. The daily average death rate in Biu was between 5 and 6. They needed help but government was too slow to respond so I and some well meaning people brought drugs and equipments to the health centres.

Unfortunately, the governor had deducted N5m each from 27 local governments to purchase cholera drugs and nothing tangible was provided. So, nothing is going to stop me from doing what I have to do for the people of Biu and Borno state as a whole.

My philanthropic activities started long before 2005, which is what made the Emir to appoint me as Waziri. I have been offering scholarship to students. So far I have offered 300 students from 5 local governments including Shani and Damboa. In fact my scholarship award is higher than what the Borno State government pays students. I have been helping farmers with fertilizers every year at a discounted rate, much cheaper than what Borno state government is selling to them.

You mean the riot was not connected to your political activities as alleged?

The recent crisis in Biu is indirectly connected to the cholera crisis in the area. The government passed a bill that all motorcycle riders most where helmet. Now, the legislation came at the wrong time because the entire town was under siege of the cholera epidemic, and I think that the manner they wanted to enforce the wearing of helmet triggered that riot. It had nothing to do with me at all because the people who responded where Okada riders.

They said the timing was wrong and pleaded for extension. Somebody had imported these helmets in large quantity and wanted to use that opportunity to sell it at an exorbitant price. I do not understand why operation flush should be involved in the enforcement of wearing helmet; this is the statutory responsibility of the VIO or the Federal Road Safety.