INTERVIEW: It is challenging to be APC spokesman in a time of recession, says Abdullahi

Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says his job is a bit challenging because of Nigeria’s present economic reality.

He became APC spokesman in December 2016, taking over from Lai Mohammed, who took a government appointment as minister of information and culture.

In this interview with TheCable, the former minister of youth and sports, said his approach to image-making is devoid of propaganda.

He also expressed strong belief in the ability of his party to turn around the fortunes of the country.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

In July 2014 you said the APC had the solution to Nigeria’s problems, two years down the line, do you still think your party can solve the country’s problems?

I still believe the APC can solve Nigeria’s problems. I must admit that there have been challenges. There are areas where things have not gone as expected. But largely I believe the APC has the solution to Nigeria’s problems. The basis for saying this is not just because of the individuals in the party, but also because of my understanding of the philosophy of the party as expressed in its manifesto. The philosophy of party expresses consideration for the issues that are pertinent to Nigerians – whether it is the issue of poverty, social welfare, education or health. It is based on this that I believe the APC is the right party for Nigerians at this stage of our development. Again, I am cognizant of the fact that there have been challenges since we took over and a lot of things should be addressed consistently. But I have no doubt that the alternative is to look at where we are coming from. We tend to forget where we are coming from. I believe, yes, we are not where we should be at the moment, but APC is still the party that has the solution to Nigeria’s problems.

You became APC spokesman in December 2016, how has the job been so far?

I must say it is a bit challenging, when you have to be the spokesman of a ruling party when the country is in recession. It is a very difficult assignment because nothing you say will be enough to answer the questions Nigerians are asking. What do you say to someone who has not been able to pay his child’s school fees? What do you say to someone who has just lost his job? What do you say to someone who cannot pay medical bills? This makes it a bit difficult. When you are speaking in the opposition, it is relatively straightforward. Because all you have to do is to make the sitting government look bad… criticise the government. But when you speak for a ruling party it is a lot more complicated because you have to balance many interests and considerations.

Besides occasional press statements, you have not been very “visible”, are you keeping a low profile?

I think it is partly deliberate. When you find yourself in the situation we have found ourselves as a party and government, I think it is a time to hunker down and begin to work to change the situation; because if you are not careful, there is a thin line between communication and propaganda. If you are not careful you will find that most of the times when you come up, you are indulging in propaganda. You also notice that even the people who speak for government are less vocal because they know the challenges we face. That is one side of it. The other side of it is… do not forget that when I came on board, I said I would only speak for the party. Speaking for the party means explaining what the party is doing. I think some people do not have sufficient clarity of what my role should be. People expect that as the spokesman of the party, I should be speaking for the government. I should not be speaking for the government. The government has enough people to speak for it. You have the minister of information, you have the SAs on media to the president, and you have an entire system that is dedicated to speaking for the government.

Do you think the APC will go into the 2019 election on a united front, looking at the pockets of crises in the party now?

I believe the party will rally and cover all those cracks that you call crises. I need to point out that what we have are just disagreements or misunderstandings. I think what has happened is that over the years there have been disagreements on a couple of things, which is bound to happen. A political party exists to manage tendencies and interests. I think, the prospects of realignment in terms of closing those gaps that we have at the moment is very strong. We are talking and reaching out, and I believe we will overcome this situation.

Do you plan to run for Kwara governor in 2019?

As an indigene of Kwara state and as a member of a political party, I have my own ambitions and aspirations. But there is a way our politics is structured in Kwara. In Kwara state, there is a process for political recruitment for any position based on what an individual has done in the past with the opportunity he had, loyalty to the political group and his credentials. Part of the discipline in the political group I belong to is also not jumping the gun. That is all I would like to say for now.

Looking at the wave of defections from the PDP to the APC recently, do you think we are heading for a one-party state?

It has always been like that. When the PDP was in power for 16 years there were concerns that we were heading for a one-party state. We have always had that consideration. But I do not think so. I think the PDP has not recovered from the electoral defeat of 2015. We keep making a mistake by looking at the political system in terms of PDP and APC. We have so many political parties. We have the ruling party and so many parties in the opposition. So, the fact that people are leaving one party for another does not mean we will have a one-party state. For me, every Nigerian should be embarrassed that the PDP went into the kind of spasm that it has gone to just because of one electoral defeat after being in power for 16 years. I believe when parties become stronger and become deeply rooted in ideologies; it becomes more difficult for people to move from one party to another.

How do you relax?

I do not really have a particular way I relax. But I like to play to badminton… I like to walk, do shadow boxing, and then, I like to read. Those are the things I like to do.