Ribadu's Empty speech and Defense!

I want to raise issues from four angles based on the defection of Mr RIbadu to the PDP. Make no mistake about it, MR RIbadu has a God given right plus a right as a citizen to operate with what ever political party he pleases or chooses to operate. No one can say no to him on this. However, when people like this speak to the public, they must understand one fact, we have a God given understanding and experience good enough to read Inbetween the lines. Based on this, we can ask questions even though in most cases,We get no answer. Ribadu's defection to the PDP from the APC raises fundamental questions. We will leave this questions alone and attempt to look at points to consider based on the statement made by his spokes person.

1.there was no difference between the PDP and APC, in terms of the character of the people who constituted both parties his spokes person said. Please tell me, how come RIbadu only just realized this now? Some will argue that promises may have been made to him from PDP. Assurance may have been given on things we know not. Others could however argue that haven worked with a PDP government in the past, he trust them better.

2. In Nigeria, especially in politics, you can’t say that this is an exclusive party for the people who are thieves or this is for good people. We know this. One thinks this is clear expecially considering the fact that one must defend his actions. But we are sure that RIbadu knows that there are good people in Nigeria politics and there are thieves. But believe me, many will say, he moved to were they steal better but others will say, he wants to show that there can be a different man even where you think they steal better. Another line of thought could say, no, he only wants to add to the number of good ones where he is going so that the good ones can increase. Some can still argue that, he wants to be the most outstanding amongst the good in a place where you have the good , the bad and the very ugly . Another line of thought could say that he once served Nigeria selflessly but found out that there was no gain in it. Now, he is back and his second coming could speak volume. In Nigeria , the naira speaks but the dollar shouts. 

3. He said that his defection was not borne out of his desperation to realise his political ambition but was based on his patriotic zeal to serve the country and its people. May be RIbadu will convince us otherwise. I know of politicians who had this same zeal before getting into office but upon getting there, the music changed. Zeal will need to be defined. To truly serve zealously? Or steal zealously ? Based on what we know of Nigerian politics, one cannot but reserve his comment.

4. If you are ready to serve the people, sometimes you will have to do something that is not even palatable to yourself.” Is he saying he is moving to the PDP unwillingly? So why is he joining them? Is he saying winning will be impossible for him with APC?  Is APC a failure from the start? May be RIbadu is trying to tell us something. I want to rule as governor, I am a member of a party that can't win because the north does not like them or because they are too selfish or because they did not treat me well or because they did not compensate me well, though I love them, it saddens my heart to say, due to irreconcilable differences, this marriage can no longer work, let's go our seperate ways. What!!!

This is just the thought of someone thinking aloud ...

The main reason I defected to PDP – Ribadu opens up

A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on Sunday justified his defection from the oppostion All Progressives Congress to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, saying the APC was not better than the PDP.Ribadu, who was the 2011 presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, forerunner of the APC, said there was no difference between the PDP and APC, in terms of the character of the people who constituted both parties.The ex-EFFC chairman, who spoke through his spokesman, Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, said this while fielding questions from one of our correspondents in Abuja.He said, “In Nigeria, especially in politics, you can’t say that this is an exclusive party for the people who are thieves or this is for good people.“It’s just like saying that all Yorubas are this or all Igbos are this. In every group of people, there must be good people and there are bad people. Of course, the good may be more than the bad or the bad may be more than the good in any group.“But there is no any party that is exclusively for the good people or for the bad people.” He said that his defection was not borne out of his desperation to realise his political ambition but was based on his patriotic zeal to serve the country and its people.Abdulaziz said, “It is not true that he (Ribadu) was desperate to realise his political ambition. This is because this decision was taken in the overriding interest of serving the people.“What matters for him is service. That is why even when he was a member of the opposition party, when government asked him to serve the country, he accepted the offer and he did a wonderful job that everybody hailed except those who don’t want change in the system.“If you are ready to serve the people, sometimes you will have to do something that is not even palatable to yourself.”But one of Ribadu’s close political associates in Yola told one of our correspondents that Ribadu’s defection had more to do with his governorship ambition and the alleged failure of the APC to give him the expected support and compensate him for his “sacrifices” for the party.The source said part of Ribadu’s sacrifices, which he said the APC had failed to reciprocate, was his offer to step down for the then presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the 2011 election and also his role in “wooing some governors to join the APC”.The source linked Ribadu’s defection to his unresolved grievances against the APC, which the source made the ex-presidential candidate to succumb to pressure mounted on him by people, including the Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Mu’azu; Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and a Principal Secretary in the Presidency, Hassan Tukur, to join the PDP.PUNCH