Its a new dawn for Kogi PDP – Hon Deen

Hon. (Hajiya) Habiba Mohammed Deen is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the House of Representatives, Ankpa/Omala/Olamaboro federal constituency of Kogi state. In this interview with UJI ILLIYASU, the PDP candidate bares her mind on a number of issues bordering on the partys chances in the forthcoming general elections.
Congratulations for emerging the winner of the primary elections for the House of Representatives seat. How do you feel?
I feel very proud not only about this victory which is not a personal victory but a collective victory for my people who have for so long yearned for party primaries devoid of manipulations of any kind and a process that recognised the will of the people to chose their leaders democratically. But my happiness stems from the way our party, PDP, shows that things can be done differently and transparently in a way that satisfies everybody. By this transparently held primaries, our party has shown that it has learnt lessons from the turbulent past which recognizes the interests of vested interests against the will of the people in choosing party candidates. We have all been advanced by the new PDP in the offing.
Your superlative comment on the PDP is not because you won?
No. For those who know me and my politics they will tell you that I am a very frank person when it comes to assessment of events. The truth must be told at all times no matter whose ox is gored. Ask every frank person who attended the primaries of the PDP in this constituency they will tell you that this is the most transparent PDP primaries ever held in this domain. This primaries is free from any procedural or manipulative tendencies of any vested interests. The will of the people maximally prevailed as this can be vividly assessed due to the absence of any post primaries complaint or violence.
What do you think your victory at the primaries represents?
It represents a very important victory for our party, the people who have for so long waited for the opportunity to have the privilege to elect through a transparent process a leader who they wish to have – a leader that defines their yearnings, aspirations and developmental directions; a leader that has the capacity to lobby for them infrastructure that can bring development to their domain and in so doing help in improving the quality of their life and those of their children.
Have your co-contestants accepted the outcome of the primaries and congratulated you?
Yes, they have. Today I can tell you that I am more impressed with the quality of people that contested in the primaries. It got to show that our political environment is reaching the stage of maturity. The main trust of our contestations was issue based not derogatory comments about any co-contestants. The unity of purpose exhibited by all participants amazed me and extra-ordinarily, the spirit of sportsmanship exhibited by these wonderful personalities in accepting in good faith the outcome of the primaries thrilled me. They have all personally congratulated me and agreed to work with me in the interest of the party to make victory ours at the general elections, God willing.
As a woman, what does this victory mean to the womenfolk in your constituency?
That is a wonderful question. My feminine gender has never been a factor that has affected negatively any of my aspirations in life on a personal level. I am particularly happy that the spiral effect this feat that we achieve would have on the women and girls in this domain can better be imagined than quantified. Now, the women in this domain will exude confidence for the fact that they have outlasted that long held cultural and traditional beliefs that impede the development and participation of women in almost all spheres of life. It also goes to show that given the enabling environment and opportunity, we can change our world.
Why the House of Representatives and what do you intend to use that office to achieve for your people?
I want to use the institution and instrumentality of the House of Representatives to bring development in its physicality to my people. For so long my people have waited to have a representative that represents the sum total of their aspirations and yearnings. I can tell you that as a grassroots person who knows the doors, streets, locality and every suburb and villages of our domain, I know what my people lack and what they need. I have the driving mentality to make my peoples dream a reality. I hope to change the perception of my people towards politics and its practitioners, we the politicians, because for so long our people see politicians as untrustworthy, liars and the stooges of vested interests who came only to manipulate the people. I hope to introduce through my actions a new type of politics that takes into cognisance the welfare of my people through the introduction of laws and development projects to enhance their welbeing. To sum it up, I hope to bring trust back to our political space for development to flourish.
Do you have a godfather and whose interest shall you serve in your political life when voted into office?
My people. My people. I have a godfather and that godfather is my people here and in the spiritual realm God Almighty who created me and through whom my aspiration is becoming a reality and whom in his time gives power to whom he pleases. The era of godfatherism is gone for good and my victory is an indication that the will of the people shall always prevail at last. Power is supposed to be in the hands of the people just as the slogan of our great party depicts. The time when a single individual sits somewhere and dispenses power to whom he pleases against the will of the people is gone for good. The godfather syndrome has for so long stunted our growth and development in Kogi state and now that our people recognise a good leader when they see one, they have the will to fight this menace to a standstill. The people shall prevail and conquer and they have. I stand by the people as the last woman standing.
Who is responsible for your victory?
I want to thank the delegates for listening to that loud and clear message that the time when the peoples interest should be the focus of politics transcending any individual or personal interest in electing people to offices has come. They heard it very clearly and they as wonderful people of value did the peoples bidding. In time to come they shall stand to be counted both individually and collectively as agents of change; people who assisted us to defeat that old ways of doing things to a new type of politics that emphasizes development and growth. I want to use this medium to thank the delegates, you are all my role model and posterity shall be kind to you all. My victory I dedicate to you all.
You acknowledged the positive reassessment and revalidation process of the PDP. What is next?
Nationally, our leadership recruitment process must change. Leaders, they say, are dealers of hope. The democratic space and alternatives are broadening every day and any political party that does not stay alive to its responsibilities but churns out candidates with questionable moral and leadership quotient will always suffer defeat. Our people have matured politically and the time when leaders are forced on the people is long gone. We as a party should no longer be known as a behemoth with men with questionable pedigree as leaders. There should now be morality in our politics and the PDP will evolve again.
Are you confident of beating the ruling APC in the 2019 general elections?
h, yes. Our confidence stems from the fact that our people know a good leader when they see one. I am with the people and if panache, sagacity, policy enunciation and above all the people are with you; these are factors that win elections and in sha Allah we shall prevail. I shall be a mother to all and we shall overcome.
What, in your view, is the problem with Kogi state?
Fundamentally, the problem with Kogi state is that of leadership. The leadership deficiency of Kogi state has for so long stunted our growth and development. We as a people need to recognise that the time we all craved for to catch up with our peers in the comity of states is running out. We need to reawaken our citizenship duties and responsibilities this time around by voting the right people into offices as leaders irrespective of religious and tribal inclinations. Our peers have left us behind.
What is the kind of leader Kogi state needs at this time to avert the crisis of development you talked about?
Kogi state simply needs a leader that has the vision and courage to fight the symmetric and asymmetric warfare of our people. People have argued that we need not have a strong leader but strong institutions to lay the strong foundation for the states growth and development, but I always beg to differ. If we look at the stage our state is now with its multifarious problems that have remained unsolved since the creation of this state you would recognise that we need both strong leader and strong institutions to immediately put us back on the path of development economically, socially, and politically. We need to urgently move forward from the present system that makes us move in circles. I think without being adjudged to be against anybody, Kogi state needs a leader like BOLA TINUBU who is acknowledged to have laid the foundation for Lagos greatness by his creation of a well defined and articulated vision document and practically and systematically being implemented to this day which makes invariably a model state for others to follow.