Najatu Muhammad Rejects Buhari’s Appointment. She becomes the first person to do so.
Najatu Muhammed is the widow of Dr Bala Muhammed, the Political Adviser
to Second Republic governor of Kano State, Malam Muhammadu Abubakar
Rimi. Muhammed was murdered many years ago by a mob which went on the
rampage after Rimi issued Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero a query. She is
reputed for her progressive views very much like her deceased husband.
Recently President Buhari appointed her to be the Chairperson of Dutse Federal University but in a newspaper advert, she wrote:
Re: Federal Ministry of Education.Reconstitution of the Governing Councils of 12 federal Universities.
I,
Najatu Muhammad wishes to thank you so much for considering me worthy
of being appointed the Chairperson of Dutse Federal University. It’s
however, unfortunate that I was not consulted before the announcement in
the media. I also regret that I have to use the same medium to announce
that I can’t accept the appointment for some personal reasons. I will
however, remain an ardent supporter of President Buhari in his effort in
charting a new course for this country. A course that we pray will put
this country back on the path of progress. I will also continue to
support the president’s fight against corruption and other ills of this
country. My unflinching support for the President will remain for
Allah’s sake and country. I pray that Allah will continue to guide and
protect our President.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you,
Najatu Muhammad.
A flashback to Saharareporters report on an interview with her where she said there is no government in Nigeria. Please read her response.
In this interview with TheNEWS’ Abuja Bureau team
comprising OLUOKUN AYORINDE, TONY ORILADE AND FEMI IPAYE, Najatu said
going by most criteria, the country has been retrogressing and declared
that President Umaru Yar’Adua is already a failure.
Q: What has been your experience since your husband, Dr. Bala Muhammed, was gruesomely killed in Kano 28 years ago?
A: I think the experience is quite normal. As a mother, I survived the
trauma. I subsequently got married, had children, went to school, work
and trade. I think it is quite normal, except maybe from the political
aspect. This is because I went into politics after the death of my
husband and I started off from the university and became the first woman
in Nigeria to lead a students’ union. I was President, Ahamadu Bello
University Students’ Union. Then, I went to contest the senatorial
election in Kano, which I won. I have been in and out of politics. Not
much has changed in my life, really.
Q: Can you share with Nigerians some of the principles your husband died for?
A: Bala was basically somebody who disseminated information. He was a
mobiliser, he enlightened and, basically, that was what he did. He
believed that people have a right to know that which is their right.
Then, he also believed that the people are the ones to fight for
themselves, but they need to be informed because we are living in a sea
of ignorance and poverty. So, he believed that they needed to be
informed and I think that was why he was assassinated; because he was
saying much more than the ruling class at that time could bear. They
felt that he was turning the people against them. I think that was why
he was killed.
Q: Would you say we still have the kind of progressive politics your late husband stood for?
A: Definitely not. This is because there has not been progress; it has
been retrogression. Unfortunately, the elite that are supposed to lead,
that have led, have made this impossible. Where I come from in Kano, we
had progressive politics; we had people that were so nationalistic in
their outlook like the late Aminu Kano and his contemporaries. My father
was one. He was a contemporary of Aminu Kano and I grew up seeing him
going in and out of prison for what he believed in. He was severally
beaten on his way to prison and he was prepared to take it. I grew up
seeing people being tied to the vehicle of the emir and dragged to their
death like Dankassa, but they were prepared to go to that length. They
were put in chains and tied to trees. I grew up seeing people like that
in Kano and they would raise their chains proudly. I have heard stories
of people being walked from Wudil to Kano, which is a journey of about
60 kilometres, on foot and they were made to carry their children on
their backs and they were being whipped all the way from Wudil to Kano
prison. But they were prepared to go through that because of what they
believed in. But what we have today are people that have sold out. They
have compromised and there is so much manipulation of religion. The
people are so degenerated to the extent that they don’t even know what
to do. They have become so disillusioned; they don’t even know where to
go or who to go along with. People like us are just at the wayside today
because we don’t even know who to go along with. We will have meetings
and people will sell out. Nobody wants to face it. But what I am saying
is we are all paying for it. You can plunder as much as you want, you
can steal as much as you can from the coffers of government, but you
cannot even live in peace in your country. They still go outside to
enjoy their loot. They go and enjoy it where they are second class
citizens. The sovereignty of this country has been lost to thieves, so
it’s retrogression.
Q: But in view of what happened to Dr. Bala Muhammed and this
assessment of contemporary politics in Nigeria, do you think the country
is still worth dying for as your husband did?
A: For me, death is death. It doesn’t matter what you die for. And I
have spoken severally against the ills of this nation and given several
examples on why we must all rise and fight against injustice because,
say it as it is or not, criticise the government or not, you might be
killed by assassins, robbers, extra-judicial killings, even mosquito
bite can kill you. The same way, an avoidable accident on our highways
may just terminate your life. You can be killed for lack of simple basic
health care. You can be killed by an ignorant mob. Death is death. Does
it matter who kills you or why you were killed? It doesn’t make any
difference to the victim. So, what I am saying is that Nigeria is worth
dying for because I’d rather die of what I believe in, of what I think I
should do, than be killed by a bloody armed robber. I wouldn’t want to
be killed on the road by irresponsible governance that has resulted in
potholes all over the highways or some crazy drivers that are not
governed by law and order. For me, my country is worth dying for.
Q: Some of your late husband’s contemporaries like Alhaji Abubakar Rimi
are still alive, but is the kind of politics they are playing now the
one played back then?
A: No. With due respect to Abubakar Rimi, I think he has sold out. He
has, most definitely. I think he has lost focus. Sometimes, I even
wonder if he was ever focused or it was the party, the defunct People’s
Redemption Party, PRP, that forced him to do what he had to do. As a
governor, Rimi ran a good government. No doubt about it. Till date, I
don’t think his records have been broken in terms of performance. That’s
the truth. But as per being concerned about the ills of society, even
the one happening in Kano today, I don’t think he cares. I think he has
sold out.
Q: Why do you think Nigerians don’t challenge their leaders the way
your late husband did? Is it that we are just too docile, as some people
have said?
A: Absolutely. Nigerians are not only docile, they are impotent. I
think what we have are a bunch of cowards as leaders. But what people
don’t understand is that there is a difference between the elite and the
vast majority of those that are impoverished, illiterate people who are
battling with what to eat for the day. They are so totally ignorant of
the fact that the government and governance is meant for them, that the
treasury is their own. They are totally oblivious of this fact. It is
the responsibility of you and I to make them know, but you and I are so
selfish and so self-centred. We divert their attention with petty things
such as religion and tribe. So, we are part of the problem because we
are beneficiaries of the problems in the first place. Nigerians are so
easy to govern. I have said it and I am still saying it that every thief
is a coward. Yes, anybody that oppresses has no head and he is a
coward. So, you can fight and defeat him. But nobody wants to fight
because those that are supposed to fight or are supposed to enlighten
the masses are beneficiaries of the situation. This is what has
overtaken our country and everybody is paying for it. I say Nigeria is
easy to govern because most Nigerians are very obedient group of people.
It is the leadership that is lacking. This I told my husband the other
day, when we saw a cripple at a major junction in Abuja controlling
traffic and every road user just obeyed him and traffic was flowing. All
the jeeps, the Lexus and cars simply obeyed him. So, we are very
obedient people. What Nigerians need is good governance. Human beings
are, by nature, rebellious; it is law and order that makes them
disciplined. But when you have no authority, there is no government in
Nigeria. The only time you know there is a government is when the
government is oppressing you. That is when they send their police to
molest you, arrest or to kill you. That is the only time you know that
there is a government in place. There is no government in place when you
get to the hospital. There is no government in place when you call the
police to say there are robbers in your house. They will say there is no
fuel in their vehicle if they ever admit they have one. They will say
come and pick me. That is what they do. You have to pay from your nose
for your children to go to school. I was driving from Kano today (last
Tuesday) and I was showing my children the kids on the highway, walking
miles to school to do nothing because even the teachers don’t know
nothing. And even when they do, they spend two or three hours in the
staffrooms–doing nothing. A lot of teachers, especially in Kano, have
been offered the job not because they are teachers or they can teach,
but because they are thugs and touts. You understand? They are just
being paid. They are more or less ghost workers and they don’t go to
class and these children are made to walk miles to and fro everyday to
do nothing. So, for God’s sake, where is the government? You don’t have a
sense of security, you come back and you will become jittery from the
airport. My son, who is supposed to spend five years in the university,
has spent eight years for no fault of his. He is a very brilliant
student who has no problems with his academics. There is no government
in Nigeria.
Q: Now where is the place of the opposition that is supposed to nettle
the ruling party? Given what happened in Bauchi and Zamfara states,
where the governors have decamped to the ruling party and the country is
even tending towards a one party state…
A: Which opposition? In Nigeria, all the political parties have no
ideological differences. The only difference is the flag, the logo. The
only opposition I see is in individuals. For example, I love Governor
Fashola of Lagos; he makes me proud. He made me believe that it is
possible to govern well and to deliver. So, I do not see him in terms of
AC. I will not be surprised tomorrow if he moves to the PDP because the
PDP controls the instruments of coercion. It’s not as if they were
voted in by the people, but because they have control over the
instruments of coercion. Quite often, people think it is safer for them
to be in the PDP. If you win, you can be sure that your votes will be
counted. If you don’t win, you can be sure it will be snatched for you.
That is all. No more, no less. The question of opposition in Nigeria
really does not exist and it’s really unfortunate because the difference
between an authoritarian government and a democratic one is the issue
of choice. People must have a choice, but in this country, we don’t have
a choice. Your votes must be counted. In Nigeria , your votes don’t
count. In fact, there is virtually no vote. So where do you get
opposition? Everything that anybody ever wants in this country is to be
in a position of power in order to loot. So, why would they want to be
in opposition? They want to rule – not rule over the people, but rule
over their resources. So, nobody wants to be in the opposition because
being in opposition is the guarantee that you will not be anywhere near
public treasury. That is why the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, is
more PDP than the PDP.
Q: But do you think the proposed mega-party can be an alternative to the PDP?
A: To tell you the truth, I am disillusioned. Everyday I wake up and I
think of Nigeria, I develop hypertension because the future seems to be
bleaker and bleaker. There doesn’t seem to be light at the end of this
tunnel because the differences between a democracy and a military
dictatorship are choice and good governance. But for God’s sake, there
is no difference between what we have today and any other military
government. In fact, our democracy today is worse than any military
government I have seen. It is worse because if they were military men,
they just plunder our resources. They don’t have to kill civilians;
they shoot and kill their own. But when the ballot snatchers are at
work, they shoot civilians and give victory to the losers. These are
elections that billions of tax payers’ money is used in conducting. So,
they are worse than military governments. Nigerians are deceiving
themselves about democracy. ‘Nascent democracy!’ It is a lie and you
guys are part of the problem. The media are part of the problem because
they are being very, very economical with the truth. The media are being
very, very sentimental with the lives of people of this country. We
must be able to write and tell the truth because we can all be victims,
whether you are part of the problem or not. That is the truth.
Q: What about the politicians? All of them want to be in the so-called mainstream political parties…
A: That is what I said. The PDP is the machinery being used to usurp
power across the country. I don’t need to be voted for as long as I am a
member of the party. There is nothing like voting; it does not happen.
Maybe it happened in one or two states at one point in time, but not
anymore. To usurp power under this dispensation is one, to control the
moneybags – that is, to control the treasury because all the monies they
are using are from our public treasury one way or the other. The second
is to control the army, the third is to control the police, fourth is
to control the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and
fifth is to control the courts that will enforce it. Who controls these
organs? It’s the PDP. Sometimes, the PDP even decides to sacrifice their
own for one reason or the other like they did in Kano in 2007.
Q: There are speculations about a possible alliance between Atiku and Buhari to take on the PDP in the 2011 elections?
A: No. In fact, when Atiku was the Vice President and he had the
instrument of coercion to do what they had to do for him in Adamawa, he
was in control. When he lost the instrument of coercion, he lost. That
is the reality. That is why I told you that to maintain and sustain your
proximity to the coffers of the nation, you have to be in PDP.
Q: How can Nigerians ensure that the PDP will not rule for the next 60 years, as one of their officials has said?
A: It is very easy to break, but people have got to be committed. We did
it in Kano in 2003. Then, we mobilised, even though Shekarau was
totally penniless. We had to buy him clothes to wear, put petrol in his
car and fed him, he still got 1.4 million votes. It was because we
mobilised and we defended our votes. Many died on the election day, but
we were adamant. We insisted that should INEC announce the wrong
results, even those inside the INEC office would die. The plan was that
we encircled INEC, we all went with petrol and mattresses and we were
ready to die should they announce the wrong result. He got 1.4 million
votes. Now, look at the difference. During his second election, with
INEC under his control, with the Police bribed with billions of naira,
he got less than half of the votes he got in 2003. This is upon the fact
that the traditional rulers in Kano had to go to Abuja to dobale
(prostrate) for Obasanjo to allow Shekarau, after reaching a deal that
Shekarau should stop Buhari from winning. Yet, Buhari got over 1.2
million votes in Kano in 2007. While Shekarau, with his instrument of
coercion and with less mobilisation from the opposition which is the PDP
now, he was only able to get less than half the votes he got when he
was penniless. So, you can see that if Nigerians decide it is enough,
they will get it. But they cannot make that decision until people like
you and I that know come out and say it as it is. I always say that the
worst they can do is to kill me. I am always locked up at election time
unless, of course, I go underground, like I did in 2007. But let me tell
you: whether they kill me or not, I will die anyway. But for God sake,
let me die with honour and dignity. I would rather die with honour and
dignity than being killed by a ritualist for example. However long you
live, you will surely die. It is the legacy you leave behind that
matters. I believe change can come to Nigeria, but I don’t think that
the elite that are supposed to lead that change are really ready. I
don’t think so.
Q: How well would you say the administration of President Umaru Yar’Adua has performed in the last two years?
A: I would not want to look at only the last two years; I would rather
look at him before the election. Yar’Adua is a transplant–he was
super-imposed on Nigerians by General Obasanjo for whatever reason. And
he has failed this country. Obasanjo knew that Yar’Adua had a serious
health challenge. In fact, they flagged off his campaign by telling
Nigerians that he is incapable. From his campaign ground, he was flown
abroad from medical treatment and he was talking to everybody on the
phone. ‘Umaru, are you dead?’ ‘No I am still alive.’ Obasanjo was using
all that to send a message to Nigerians on the kind of person he was
imposing on us. It was deliberate. Obasanjo betrayed this country more
than anybody else. Secondly, Yar’Adua was not even prepared for this
task. Two years after being imposed, he is saying that he is still
planning. After two years! This means he was not ready for the job.
Yar’Adua is a failure; he has nothing to offer this country. It has
taken him over two years to plan. His seven-point agenda is still
shrouded in secrecy, two years after. He doesn’t seem to care about the
nation, he doesn’t seem to care that the nation is degenerating. And he
is incapable of even caring because I believe the only thing he cares
about is his health and that is natural.
Q: People are saying that Yar’Adua has filled the slot of the North…
A: (Cuts in) I hate to hear about North, South, about Yoruba or lgbo.
All these things are diversionary. Which North? The only North that
exists for Yar’Adua is Turai and her children. It is not my North. It is
not the North of Katsina people, because in Katsina, as in Kano, Kaduna
and anywhere in the North, there is no electricity and no water.
Hospitals are not working, schools are in a shambles. So, what purpose
has he served the North? This entire thing about tribalism is to cause
division for them to continue to get close to the treasury. If Yar’Adua
is my brother, then, I am nearer to it. But what does it matter anyway
if it is somebody that falls from the sky and is able to give you light,
good roads and a functional educational system so that you don’t have
to pay through your nose? Does it really matter? I don’t care. As a
Moslem, I know the Prophet (SAW) said it’s better to have an infidel as a
just ruler than to have an unjust Muslim. What is the slot of the
North? Who gave the North that slot they are talking about? Is there
anywhere in the constitution that says this is Yoruba slot, Igbo slot or
slot for the North? We are all equal before the Constitution of Federal
Republic of Nigeria. I have challenged the people of the Niger Delta, I
have also challenged the Igbo on why they are not contesting elections.
Is there any law that is stopping them from contesting? There is none.
But it is because they know that votes do not count. So, they would
rather be anointed. It is not a God-given right that the North must
govern this nation. If Obama, who belongs to the black minority, could
lead America as President, why are we talking about slots here? Talking
about slot or rotation is a negation of democracy.
Q: You said Yar’Adua has not achieved anything, but many believe that he
has done well in his commitment to the rule of law principle.
A: What rule of law? Look at the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC. Farida (Waziri) is always defending herself. ‘No, I
didn’t take the car. No, I didn’t collect the land allocation.’ What we
even have now is a total breakdown of law and order. The hired killers
are back, the kidnappings, the robbers are back and they have never been
so ruthless. What rule of law are you talking about? Maybe rule of law
for him in the Presidential Villa, not for us. Definitely.
Q: What is your opinion on the steps being taken by President Yar’Adua to reform our electoral system?
A: I think that also is a sham. The whole thing is a smokescreen, right
from the chairman of the panel who is a part of the problem of
elections in this country. Justice Uwais, people forget or they decide
they want to forget, presided over a judgment in 2003 and ruled that the
fact that people were killed, the fact that INEC did not bring ballot
papers, the fact that card-carrying PDP members were also INEC resident
electoral commissioners was not enough to nullify an election. That was
the judgment Uwais passed. There is nothing wrong with our electoral
system, but we have consistently got it wrong. People get away with
killings. In fact, we have transcended the level of rigging; nobody rigs
elections now. They just cook up results and announce such. The police
will just come and shoot at the polling centre. Those that will be
killed will be killed, others will be maimed. Look at what happened in
Ekiti. They surrounded that poor woman with guns and she was shivering
and she was announcing rubbish. For God’s sake, Yar’Adua is a
beneficiary of electoral fraud. The disease has never been the cure. He
is a disease in the electoral problem of this country because he came
about as a result of diseased election. How can he cure it? Disease does
not cure disease, you have to get the medicine outside the disease.
Yar’Adua was just deceiving people because there was so much outcry
about his illegitimate government. He was just trying to pacify us. And
some lazy people that we have in this country are saying, let’s give him
a chance. Give him a chance to kill us?
Q: How would you assess his economic policy?
A: Does he have an economic policy? What is the economic policy? I don’t know about it.
Q: How did you take the removal of Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC Chairman?
A: Yar’Adua has betrayed the trust of this nation. And I saw it coming
the day Nuhu Ribadu gave him a clean bill of health. In fact, I went out
of my way to go to Ribadu’s office and tell him that what he did was
wrong. I told him thatYar’Adua is corrupt, he should know that. But what
Ribadu told me then was that he is still a lot better than the other
governors. So, it is a question of degree. And Nuhu Ribadu knew what
they would be doing in office and that’s why they had to do away with
him. I think Ribadu is one of the greatest men that have lived in this
country and I will tell you why. We have had two great men that have
fought corruption in this country. One was Murtala Muhammed. The second,
of course, was Idiagbon and Buhari. But mainly it was Idiagbon who had
zero-tolerance for corruption. These two people had total control over
the instruments of coercion because they were heads of state. But
Ribadu had to manoeuvre; he was working under a dictator–a not so clean
dictator. People have accused Ribadu of selective justice. I say it was
selective justice, but those so selected, are they guilty or not? The
first thing Yar’Adua said was ‘all these thieves are my friends, so no
more prosecution or persecution of governors; they are my colleagues and
my friends.’ Show me your friends and I will show you who you are.
Q: You were a member of the administrative panel set up by the former
administration of President Obasanjo to determine the suitability of
some politicians to contest in the 2007 elections. Your panel indicted
people like Governor Shekarau, ex-governor Chimaroke Nnamani and others
and subsequently recommended that they be barred from participating in
the 2007 elections. But those people still got elected.
A: I feel terrible because in Shekarau’s case, he was indicted though
our report was doctored after it was submitted. That was one. Secondly,
Obasanjo really wanted to break Buhari’s back in Kano and he thought
that Shekarau as a governor could control the people of Kano. But I can
tell you that Buhari in 2003 got about 1.4 million votes and in 2007, in
spite of the fact that Shekarau was the agent of ANPP and they
deliberately did not defend Buhari’s votes, he got 1.2 million votes,
while Shekarau who was really fronting for Obasanjo got 600,000 votes,
as against what he had in 2003 when he was penniless. So, Obasanjo
needed to use some of them and they were allowed to contest and INEC was
also made to say it was not its business whether they were indicted or
not.
Q: But some people have also said your panel was a tool used by the former president to get back at his opponents.
A: It could have been, but I am oblivious of that and I can say that
quite a few of us in that panel believe in this country. But as I said,
our report was doctored. And just like Ribadu, they talk about selective
justice. But those selected are still guilty. If you have a hundred
thieves, and you are able to do away with five, you are making progress.
Q: But some of those indicted by your panel went to court then and the court nullified their indictment.
A: The courts are part of the problems. They enforce illegitimacy; you
have democracy by court order! Don’t you? What is sauce for the goose is
not sauce good for the gander in Nigeria.
Q: Is the judiciary the last hope of the common man?
A: For me, it is not. It is not a total washout because you still have
some great people. There are still few honourable men and women on the
bench. So, if you’re fortunate enough to go to their tribunals, you will
get justice. Some of the election petitions tribunals have done well, I
must say. But others leave a lot to be desired.
Q: As a former students’ union leader, what is your impression of student unionism today?
A: I gave a talk somewhere recently and I was addressing some students
and some NGOs. I told them that apart from the fact that you are denied
good education, you are also suffering from a very serious inferiority
complex. When we were their age, we walked from Zaria to Kaduna to lodge
a protest when vehicles were not allowed to carry us. But now, student
union leaders will will go to a governor on knees, looking for pittance.
What will they protest? It is not just that. What they agitate for is
that we want the youths to be recognised, but who will give you power on
a platter of gold? But I will blame the governors. I was talking to one
governor and he said, ‘you know madam, I am a Babangida boy’. I said
‘sir, you are over 50 and you are still a boy’ Imagine the inferiority
complex. I said if Jesus Christ finished his mission at 33, what was he
talking about? You are 53 and you are still a boy? So, it is a problem
of inferiority complex; they don’t believe in themselves. They don’t
even see the country as theirs.
Q: Even with the amnesty promised to Niger Delta militants by the
government, attacks on oil installations have continued. What, in your
opinion, is the way out?
A: I don’t think Yar’Adua has the capacity or the ability to address
that problem. People don’t want to face the problem going on in the
Niger Delta. Of course, there has been environmental degradation and a
lot of denials. But denial is general to this country. The crisis in the
Niger Delta has degenerated from fighting for the rights of the people
in the region to outright stealing, kidnapping, lawlessness and
bunkering. Nigeria is losing billions and you want to talk to people
that are denying this nation their God-given resources? When people say
this oil belongs to them, I say what did you do to put it there? How did
you work to put oil where it is? And which nation on earth will accept
that? But what I feel very sorry about is that the attention of the
ordinary people in the Niger Delta has been diverted. He sees that
Hausaman as his enemy. But what do you say to Odili? He is your brother.
He received billions of naira of your God-given money and he doesn’t
have anything to show for it. When they talk about tribe and religion,
it is just a smokescreen. Up there, they are one and the same. There is
no difference between an Odili, a Shekarau or whoever. What we need to
do is to give to the people what is due to them. If they have good
roads, if their children can go to school, there wouldn’t be this
problem. But they are denied just like my people are being denied. Yet,
they don’t want to face it. Their attention is being diverted and
deliberately so. And they have armed them, first as freedom fighters and
it is not as if they ever said they want to secede. It is just that
they should allow them to do bunkering, to “control” their resources.
But even if you go and do all the bunkering that you want to do, does it
go to your people? No, it goes to your Swiss account, the UK and it
goes to beer parlour. But the people are still languishing in spite of
the 13 per cent derivation. So, when you have a weakling like Yar’Adua,
who does not seem to know what is really happening, they take much more
advantage. It’s not a question of controlling our resources, it’s
bunkering. Why is he not releasing the names of those that are found to
be part and parcel of the problem? He has refused because they are all
around him and there is nothing he can do.
Q: You just said you have not seen anything the present
administration has achieved. Are you then is support of the argument
that President Yar’Adua should reduce his vaunted seven-point agenda to
one or two?
A: Nothing can move without energy, without electricity. That’s the
reality. Electricity generation has now plummeted from about 1000
megawatts to about 800 and it is still going down. I don’t know whether
you have power in your place. But in my area in Kano, you can go for two
months without electricity. Kano is always in total blackout. All the
industries, all the factories have closed down. And the President is not
even saying anything about it. The man deceived Nigerians about
declaring emergency, but nothing else was heard about that.
Q: Recently, Obama was in Ghana and there was so much debate about
why he didn’t come to Nigeria, the most populous black nation …
A: Why should he come? What have you got to show to him? He represents a
democracy. He represents change and good governance and he is supposed
to encourage us as a black man. But I love Obama because unlike Bush, he
has no time for deception. He tells us as it is. Maybe Nigerians will
wake up from their dream.
Q: Why do you think women are finding in difficult getting front row in politics?
A: The God-given role of a woman is to nature and nurture the human
being. The responsibility for the continued existence of the human
species has been put on the woman. So, that primary and God-given
responsibility is one of the reasons why women cannot go into mainstream
politics. Before I thought of contesting elections, I had to think of
all the school fees, feeding, my mother and father. So, there is that
basic responsibility. But men are so self centred. They will just put on
their agbada, abandon everybody and go into it. Women cannot do that.
Then, a lot of women that have the strength to go into it are not
educated. Thirdly and unfortunately so, those that have acquired Western
education don’t want to soil their nails in the mud of politics.
Q: The campaign for 2011 is on and there is debate about whether Yar’Adua should go for a second term or …
A: Who is agitating? We should not lie to Nigerians. Nobody has spoken
to Nigerians, but of course, when you say Nigerians, maybe you are
talking of those elite that we talked about. Yar’Adua is already
campaigning. Let him not lie to Nigerians; he wants 2011 and knows the
votes will not count. You know, I feel terrible for this country that
the elite are such bloody cowards; that they can’t say no to even a
person like Yar’Adua. For God’s sake, what is wrong with us? We can say
no and it will be no. But everybody is thinking that if I say no, I will
not be minister; if I say no, I might not be commissioner and if I say
no, I might not get that contract. That is it and so you would rather go
and be killed by mosquito that can be easily eradicated. Look at what
happened to Saminu Turaki. He was governor for eight years and he had an
accident and he was being taken from one town to another. If he had
built good hospitals when he was in power, he could have saved himself
the trouble. The elite have eventually become victims of their evils. If
the President has cold, he has to be flown to Germany because all the
hospitals and all the doctors in Nigeria cannot cope. For God’s sake,
what is wrong with us? But the day that this country will erupt in
spontaneity, we will all be running for cover because when we were
supposed to say it, we did not say it. People think the crisis in the
Niger Delta is a joke. It is not. They all start like this. Somalia
started like this. When you are supposed to give people what is due to
them, but you continue to deny them, they will become more and more
angry and eventually, they will explode and the explosion is what
everybody is dreading. They think it will never come, but it will come,
believe me. Even when you don’t have an explosion, you have
fragmentation. What is happening in Niger Delta today is as if we are at
war and it can lead to inter-tribal wars because by the time they
finish with the Federal Government, they will start attacking each
other. This is what will happen and then, others will start to emulate
them. The kidnapping is already being emulated. But everybody thinks it
is a big joke as long as it does not happen to you directly and you
think it will never come. But believe me, it will come.
Q: What is your view about the way President Yar’Adua gives his daughters out in marriage to governors?
A: Giving his daughters out in marriage is a private thing. But how it
is a source of concern to us is: the wedding jamboree. See what happened
in Bauchi State. We don’t know how much the Federal Government put into
it. The case of Bauchi is even a national scandal.
Secondly, you can see that these are political marriages. They are
political because for eight years, when Yar’Adua was governor of
Katsina, nobody signified interest to marry his daughters. They were of
no use to the big politicians.
If you remember what happened concerning the judgment of Usman Dakingari
of Kebbi State, you know he had almost the same case as Sokoto. Sokoto
governor’s election was annulled, a re-election was ordered by the
tribunal. But Dakingari, having been married to the daughter of the
President, scaled through.
Bauchi Governor, Isa Yuguda went in on the platform of ANPP. People of
Bauchi fought with tooth and nail for him to be there. A lot of people
were killed in the process. But because Yuguda did not perform and he
has betrayed the people, he decided to marry the daughter of the
President and decamp to the PPD, where he believes that whether he wins
or not, whether he performs or not or whether he squanders or not, his
ticket and fate would be assured by the PDP under Yar’Adua.
That is where all these become a source of concern to the people of this
country. It has a negative impact on the populace. Huge money is being
wasted. Such money wasted on those weddings could have been used to give
qualitative education. People are dying in the hospitals everyday
because of lack of very simple assistance. Such money could be used to
provide healthcare, education and water. That’s why we are against it.
Otherwise, it is a personal matter.
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