Former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, controversially dumped his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently, to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he swore he would never defect to.
In this interview with Channels Television, monitored by 365Daily, he speaks on why he joined the APC, why he now believes in President Muhammadu Buhari, among other national issues.
You met the President, the one man that you heavily criticised in the past as the campaign Director of the PDP during the 2015 election. What has changed?
A lot has changed over the past six years and it is important we make the right choices and decisions at the right time, precisely, if it feels as if we are being led by God to make those choices. I make my choices and I owe nobody any explanation or apology other than my family members and my God, and I know that I am doing the right thing.
Most important thing for me now and some would agree, is that there is no point in having principles without power. You must have power in order to ensure that whatever principles you enunciate are, you know you can effect them. Without that you will simply be talking and nothing will change. I have discovered over the last few months that I can work with people within the APC and elements within the government to effect the change and we have done quite a lot of that over the last past months without me even joining the party. It has been very effective. I have collaborated with many people in the party and I will continue to collaborate with many more people in the party, even many of the governors in the party.
The most important thing for me is this. This country in my view is on the brink of war, on the brink of disintegration, and we have to join forces, we have to come together, set our differences aside and ensure we build bridges of unity and peace, and ensure we pull ourselves back from the brink, and fight those even from outside the country that want to destroy our country by dividing us along regional, ethnic, religious or political party lines. We must build bridges, we must work together and effect positive change in our country, and move this country in the right direction and that is part of the reason that I have to make this decision today.
You accused President Buhari on issues relating to ethnicity, to region. Has he changed?
Well that is an interesting point that you have raised. I have said it in the past and effectively what I felt was the right thing to do. However, having moved closely to him over the last few months, I have discovered a lot of things that I didn’t know before. There is a lot going on behind the scene, and the most important thing is this. If I believe in a certain philosophy or believe we should move in a certain direction and I am getting positive responses, when I act from within the family and do so behind close doors and ensure change is effected in terms of policy, in terms of ways in which the country is run, in terms of ways in which disputes is settled between our various peoples.
In terms of the war against terror and I got positive results in terms of my personal contributions at various levels, then of course I have to respect that and begin to think that is it not better for us, for me and for my country, to work from within and effect the changes we desire and put in place rather than throwing bricks from outside. I have ample evidence that because of this contributions and receptive ears of the man that I believe will not listen to anybody else in the past, and I was quite wrong on that. He is receptive, his reception and those around him, particularly some of the governors. We have been working closely together and I have seen that definitely this is a man that one can work with provided you go through the right channel and this is what I have been doing and I believe I will continue to do that. We made a declaration today and the President was happy to see me and received me very warmly, and the next few days I will take the formal steps. I will be joining the party in FCT, Abuja, not in the Southwest and then there will be a reception and I will be able to say far more things than I have said today. This is the first step in a long way and we will ensure that our country pulls back from the division, pulls back from the war and from throwing bricks on one another, which is what some people wants us to do, which I will not do anymore.
The question I was asking is whether or not, are some of the things you have said still true or have you overlooked them? Is he the same man, what has changed?
Let me put it to you that I have answered the question very clearly, that I was speaking about him from the outside but now that I have gotten to know him from the inside. I have been working closely in the last few months with people that are very close to him and he would not have done that if he had not allowed them to do so, and it is absolutely clear to me that the perception we had in the past, many people had and are still having, is wrong. We can work together, we can come together, we can build bridges, and we can effect unity in this country.
Let me give you one example of that. In the past, we said the core north have refused to fight terrorism. We went far as saying elements in the core north are supporting the terrorists and that they are killing our people and their own people. Look at what is happening in the core north today. We see a far more vigorous fight from the northern governors. Today, hundreds of bandits and insurgents are being slaughtered than anywhere else in the country. That is something that ought to be commended, they wouldn’t have done that without the permission of Mr president. Hundreds and hundreds of terrorists and bandits are being slaughtered in the core north as a consequence of that policy. That’s just one example. Another example is this, we had a situation a few months back and I was involved and I have said it before on this programme. When there was a food embargo in the south and there was a plan by elements in the north to slaughter Southerners as a reprisal for what happened during the riots in Ibadan and during the riots in Lagos, and it was well orchestrated. We went to the media, we didn’t shout, we didn’t insult one another. We came together with a number of players from across the country and we resolved the issue. The issue was resolved in an amicable way, no one was killed and no reprisal killing. The food embargo was lifted. That is the way to go. There is a time to scream and shout and criticise. There is also a place for that in a democracy. There is also a time to keep our cool and work purposely and constructively together to ensure we come to good and expected end for our people and nation.
In terms of core values and principles I have not changed. I will carry my core principles and values into the APC and find my corner, anyday, anytime. But one thing I will tell you, we need to respect other peoples views. We need to work together with other people even those we disagree with and ensure that this country remains one and that is what I intend to do and I owe nobody an apology for that.
So let get it clear, the things you said the past are not true?
Listen to me very carefully, I told you that it is a question of perception. I have never met Mr. President, I met him just once or twice in 2013. I have never worked with him ever in my life. We were not close. We were in different parties and we were fighting a political war in 2015 and I might add that over the last few years I spoke about him publicly more than anybody else in this country, however, when it becomes clear to me that it is not as I thought it was. That it was not as simple as that. That our country is in a situation of war right now. That we are in the middle of a war right now and many people want to divide our country. So what do we do. We have to retrace our step, we stop and think and say let us work together, with those we have been opposed to in the past and we think we can build bridges and move the country forward. I am not saying Mr. President is an angel and I am not saying he is a demon. I am saying he is a man like any other man and I have come to realise that we can work together and I am saying, we can work together. He is open, he is magnanimous, he is someone that has opened his door to us and his welcoming everybody from the other party. I am from the opposition into this party and they are not telling anybody, don’t say this, don’t say that. As long as I am guaranteed that I can work with him. I can work with any other person to ensure that Nigeria survives.
Today’s major issue is not what you or I think of President Buhari or what you think of me or what I think of you. Today’s major issue is the survival of our country as one nation and to ensure that those that have been maligned or treated badly in the past, o am talking of some ethnic groups and those that have been marginalised, with compassion and sympathy. If you want to do that then you have to work with everybody.
You said I would rather die than join the APC, and also that you are committed to fighting the APC for the rest of your natural life and that you will never join them no matter what. What has changed?
Let me put this to you, a lot has happened in the APC over the past few years. You are a political commentator, you know what has happened in the APC, what has happened in the PDP. I will not talk about the PDP on this programme until they throw a brick on me, I don’t throw the first punch but the last punch. Let us talk about the APC. The APC I was talking about last time is not the APC of today. The APC of that time did not have the leadership that they have today. Today you have a man who is the national caretaker Chairman of the APC, Governor Mai Mala Buni, who has done exceptionally well in attracting people and presenting a broad base liberal pluralistic view on national issues and national affairs and he has had opened the doors of the party to all manner of people with plurality of views.
Certainly we have our differences. We may not agree on everything but certainly there is a place for you in a wider family. And you can effect your purpose and fight your corner from within and this is the difference between this time and that time. The old APC is different and I would never have joined them then had the leadership not changed. What we have today is an accommodating party that is ready to take people in and listen to dissenting opinions even from within providing you conduct yourself in a mature and decent manner and that’s what we have been doing with Mai Mala Buni. I have worked with Matawalle, with the governor of Kogi State. I have worked with Zulum and even with the governor of Plateau State, Senator Grace Bent and we have been collaborating over a period of time with so many others, and I am telling you, that there is a plurality of views here but we all agree one one thing that people should be treated fairly and decently regardless of where they come from in this country, regardless of your religious faith, let’s not continue the narrative that we have in the past that we must divide one another and fight one another on religious and ethnic ground. And that is the new me, and I am very proud of that.
The party has changed, not me. The party has changed and the President has been gracious in accomodating that change. So I am where I am today, it doesn’t matter what people think or what people say. If I give you quotes of what others have said over the years, call one another and that are now together, you will be shocked, I can give you a list of them but let’s not focus too much on what FFK has said, done or thought. Let’s focus on our country, unity, peace and building bridges that we don’t turn against one another, that may lead to civil war. I am committed to fighting against that. I am committed to fighting the terrorists, I am committed to standing with this government as long as they are fighting with and killing the terrorists day and night in the Northeast and Northwest. I like that they are being slaughtered like flies.
The time you said you would rather die than join the APC, maybe you took it too far?
Let me tell you again, it is not a question of use of language, it is a question of commitment. It is a question of understanding and accepting the fact that people base their decision on conviction and not any form of opportunism and that’s certainly me. If I wanted to be opportunistic I would have done that long ago. I have never surrendered my principles and my core values. Let me put this to you. I would reiterate what I said earlier, it is the party that has changed. The leadership of the party, the quality of the party, the accomodating nature of the party and the people within the party. The APC of today is a liberal party. It is not a hardline conservative party. It is accomodating, it is a party that is prepared to take people in and do not care where you are coming from and that is how a political party ought to be. That is how I perceive it. I have worked with these people, I have built bridges with them and I am very proud to be here. I would not speak about the other side or say anything negative. I have friends in the PDP. But let me put this to you there are a lot of issues that need to be resolved in the PDP. People like Governor Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, people like Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and a number of others are very close to me and I have immense respect for them. There are issues, however, in the PDP just as there is in any politcal party. Let me put this to you the leadership of the APC has evolved dramatically, and the evolution has attracted peoples, that are intellectuals, that smart and sharp, focus and want to keep Nigeria together, and at the same time treat every Nigerian fairly regardless of ethnicity, as one and equal. That is what I find attractive of the new APC. I would not die, I would live long and prosper because I make the right choices at the right time. I will not stay in the PDP simply for the sake of staying there because I said something different in the past. I would go forward when I think it is appropriate. It will save Nigeria. I will fight for Nigeria, I will defend Nigeria. And this is where I would do that right now.
Could you say this is your final bus stop?
Ask any politician and he will give you the same answer, only God knows tomorrow. As long as my core values are honoured and respected I will stay in the PDP for a very long time inspite of a number of issues that arose. If you remember, when I left the PDP months back, an executive committee came to my house and made an appeal to me to stay and I honoured them by staying longer. Anything can happen tomorrow if people do not do the right thing. I can change my mind if, for example, I come to Channels TV and you are rude to me, and just because I said I will always come to Channels TV. If you are rude to me, I will never come back again. For me people do make decisions on what is happening. I am very happy to have done that. I am delighted in the fact that they have welcomed me with open arms and given me a pride of place. In the sense that the kind of access I have to so many people, in so many places is the kind I never thought I would have given what has happened in the last six years. It says a lot for Mr President, it says a lot for the party leadership, it says a lot for the party. That’s where we are today. Only God knows where we will be tomorrow but we will be consistent, we will be clear, we will be focus. Nigeria must remain one, Nigeria must remain together and there must be no ethnic or religious bias. Given that, if that is the case, I will stay and fight my corner. Any day, anywhere within this party.
Talking about fighting your corner. They are already criticising your latest position. They are those who are asking if your defection is finance related?
It is absurd and ridiculous. I have never lacked in finances, there is no inducement. If I wanted finances, I would have moved sooner than today. Politicians don’t move because of finances, I would have moved a lot sooner than today, I have struggled and I have fought in the last six years more than any of the last monkeys that said what you just said to me now. I stand proud and I stand tall. The kind of family I came from, the kind of background I have, finances is never an issue but of course this is the absurd narrative that people with low brain and intelligent quotient always put out and I don’t care. You can insult me from morning till night and I don’t care. What is important to me is my God. I am considerably more wealthy than most people think and I don’t need anything from anybody. I have always worked hard and I have never lacked anything goi. When I was opposing the government you didn’t talk about finances or no finances. Now that I am supporting the government, you are talking about finances. It is an old story, an old narrative particularly from particular segment of society like to say about those of us that are in the elites. Am not prepared to respond to such rubbish and I am surprised you can ask me such kind of questions. Why don’t you go and ask others after they defect. It is a very insulting question and there is no basis to it moreover.
What do you say to your followers who believe in you?
They know that whenever I make a decision, it is based on conviction and understanding, for the right reasons. They believe in me and not like the nonsense you where quoting. Those that believe in me, have to trust me. I usually get it right and usually far ahead of most people in such matters. I am doing the right thing for Nigeria despite the kind of insult that you and others are doing by continuing to ask me that question. No matter what that anybody says, I am doing this for me and my people. I am in a position to effect change in this country. To do the right thing for this people, whether they see it in me today or not, they would see it tomorrow. This was the right decision. I will ensure we are in power, I will ensure the right thing is done with that position. I will ensure that our country remains together. Love me or hate me, this is me. And my followers and supporters, I thank you, and trust you and I know you will trust me.
There have been agitations in this country particularly in the Southwest. Where do you place Sunday Igboho in all this scenario?
Sunday Igboho is my friend and is still my friend regardless of his circumstances. I don’t deny my friends. He may have a particular view on issues. I have always said it and I said it in the villa today. That the right of self determination is sacrosanct. If there is a referendum, people have a right to determine their future. If a people say they want to go, I don’t see any reason why we should say they shouldn’t go.
However, reach out to them in compassion, love and understanding, and that is the policy that I have adopted with Sunday Igboho, and I am a better friend to Sunday Igboho than any of those that have turned their backs on him and denied him publicly. My view is that fine, we have issues in this country. Some people want to go, many people want to stay. Our position as leaders is that we need to keep everybody onboard. Ensure that nobody picks weapon and start killing one another, either from the government side or from the other side killing innocent people, targeting innocent people based on ethnicity and religion, and ensure their security and peace in the country. That will always be my position. I told Sunday Igboho when we met, after we met and of lately. That this has always been my position.
What we face right now is far more important.
Let me tell you, this is not the first time, and I am saying it and I will keep on saying it for those that don’t get the picture. It is an international conspiracy to turn our country into a blood bath, into a couldron of fire and ensure that we begin to kill each other, whether it is Fulani, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo or whatever for no reason whatsoever. The people that are dividing and killing our people, for example in the Southwest are mainly foreigners. Ninety-nine percent of them are foreigners. Foreign Fulani murderers. They are not Nigerian Fulanis and they are killing Nigerian Fulanis, even in Zamfara; where I am a proud traditional title holder, in Sokoto, as they are in the Southwest but the lazy commentator doesn’t think about that. They just say all Fulanis are bad, or whatever. We have all done it in the past but it is time for us to retrace our steps.
I’ve told Igboho this privately and said this publicly at the time when he was with us here, and I will continue to say it. We must make the distinction and in fairness to him, if not for Sunday Igboho, at that time, we would have had a problem in this country because he went out of his way to give assurances and offer protection to northerners that were coming back after the food embargo. I am not going to deny that. I won’t say it never happened, of course, it happened. It is a historical fact, he played a key role then. The situation that he is in now is unfortunate but I will never deny him as a friend. We may not agree on everything but he remains my friend, not just him but a number of others, that are my friends and will remain my friends even if we don’t see eye to eye on everything.
Are you going to fight for his cause with your new APC friends?
I never said I would fight his cause. You can be friends with people and not fight their cause or not even agree with them. Whenever we disagreed, we did so privately but publicly he is my friend. I will tell you this much, I am committed to keeping Nigeria together and I will ensure that those that want to break up Nigeria are reached out to and spoken to with respect, love and compassion rather than say kill them all. And that is my position and I believe it is far more productive as long as you don’t pick up arms to kill policemen or pick up arms to kill innocent Hausa- Fulani or innocent Yoruba or Igbos. You don’t target people because of their religious beliefs. As long as you don’t do that you will be my friend. You can have a different opinion, a different approach but you can remain my friend as long as you don’t indulge in violence.
If you ask me that question, i would say this to you, in the past other people have defected from one side to the other side. Every major political player have done that. Does that then mean that they disavowed everything they said to the press, not necessarily, maybe not. This thing is a question of time. We may agree today and disagree tommorow, and that is the position that I have taken. Right now we are in agreement, and that is the position I have taken to be where I am today and I know this is the way forward, and I can get far more done for my people and for my country. I have no regret but I am very proud of the fact that I can do this, despite what people might think or say.
Including conservatives on the other side. One of my best friends, Abdullahi, is the President of the Northern Consensus Forum, his views are very strong, and so on and so forth, over the rights of the Fulani, the Hausas and he feels heavily marginalized. He is very concerned about his people but he is my friend, we may not agree on everything but he is my friend. We must indulge in this new approach of working with people simply baseion friendship. We must not always agree but we must ensure we work to get and keep this country, one. Treat people with sensitive and honesty and you will get the best out of them and that’s what I did with Sunday Igboho and that’s what he did with me. I wish him well as I sincerely hope that he can resolve his issues with the Federal government.
Politcally speaking, every politician relates with their ward. We wonder why you are not going to your ward to register, why you chose to register in the FCT?
That is good question and the answer is very simple, I have lived in FCT for the last 20 years. I am a Yoruba man by birth and I was raised in the Southwest and I am very proud of that. But at the same time I have lived in the FCT for the past twenty years. It seems absurd to me to be running down to the Southwest just to register into a political party. I have lived here for the past 20 years. That doesn’t mean I have turned my back on my people. I love the people of the Southwest, I have fought for the people of the Southwest just as I have fought for the people of the Southeast, the Southsouth and the people of the middle belt, the people of the core north. But I live in the FCT, and the FCT is a place for everybody. I believe this is the appropriate place for me to join the party and I will do that. However, I will still be involved in politics all over the country including in the Southwest, I assure you of that.
Do you have the support of your home state, Osun?
Of course, anybody that has been involved in politics as long as I have has support in various places all over the country, including his hometown and I love the Southwest, including Ile Ife. I love Oni Kabiyesi, including everybody there. Flying down there to play politics is a bit disingenuous. I live here and I will fight for the people that live here just as I will fight for the people that live everywhere. I will never turn my back on my people. I live in the FCT and I will join the party here in the FCT. It suits my purpose and I think it is the best way.
Are the leaders of the APC in the Southwest aware of your joining the party?
When the national chairman is aware, I can assure you that they are aware. I am not very important I must tell you. I have spoken to them. I have consulted them. Kayode Fayemi is a good friend of mine for over 40 years. Dapo Abiodun is also a good friend of mine for over 40 years and quite a number of others. I have spoken to them, I have discussed this issue over a period of time. I didn’t make this decision overnight. For the last one year, you have seen me going up and down across this country discussing issues with various governors, various parties, so I am very delighted that so many doors have been opened to me. So before I arrived at this decision it took a lot of consultation, a lot of discussion and those I feel is appropriate for me to discuss with from the Southwest, including people like Omisore. I have done that and I will continue to do that. I dare not make this kind of move without not letting them know. The most important thing is that the party leader is aware, the president is aware. The president welcomed me today with an open arm and spoke in a way I appreciate.
You said you were instrumental in some governors leaving the PDP. Are we going to see more defections. Is former President Goodluck Jonathan likely to join the APC too?
Let me be careful with my words. I am not to use the word instrumental but certainly I played a role and I am happy. I have been working on that for a number of months and they agreed with me and they moved across before me. And I can certainly assure you that there is quite a number of other leaders, I won’t be specific, who hold office or have held office in the past but they will eventually come over to the APC and that time you will ask each and everyone of them if it is financial reason that they should cross over and join another politcal party. Deeply insulting question but yes there is going to be more changes and more people, but they are coming based on conviction and you know I have done it in the past. I have criticised people for making their choices but at end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I think or what you think, it is between you and your God. I have done what I have done today and I am very happy about it. I am very aware of the fact that I am being led by the spirit of God and I stand by what I have done and others will join, be rest assured of that. Especially with the way the PDP is going.