Buhari and Me (2)

Buhari and Me (2)

Last week we had to stand down the continuation of this interview I had with the President-elect way back in 2010 on my now rested radio show in Kaduna when he was gearing for the 2011 election. We now continue with it. Note must be made here that we had a studio audience of journalists and civil society people, to add to the robustness of the interaction. Please enjoy.

Me: Between December 31, 1983, and August 27, 1985, when you were removed, your government strong-handedly beat order and compliance into Nigerians – that was one of the reasons Babangida gave for your ouster: strong-handedness. Now this is 21^st century Nigeria; democracy is being installed. How much of a democrat have you become to be able to inspire order and compliance to accountability and transparency? You’re of the military stock and they say “once a soldier always a soldier.

Buhari: Yeah well, even soldiers are working, or are supposed to work, under the constitution of the country. So, having joined partisan politics in April 2002, from then on, my experience is this: firstly, whatever we do we must not contradict the constitution. Secondly, the INEC Act which is derived from the constitution itself. And then one of the most important jobs of the INEC is to register political associations as political parties; and political parties are the legitimate ways of going into electoral offices, from councilor to president. Then for every election, there is the Electoral Act. There’s the Electoral Act 2002 for the 2003 elections. There’s the Electoral Act 2006 for the 2007 elections. Now there’s another Electoral Act (2010) for the 2011 elections. All these we have abided by; all the rigmarole… which took us fifty months – thirty, 2003; twenty, 2007 – contesting the legitimacy of the so-called government of the PDP during that time. All this was done through this process and system: the constitution, the electoral acts, party constitution and manifestoes. So, really, even when there was this noise about reform (electoral reform of Justice Uwais)… what are we going to reform? Because the election observers, of international repute, condemned both the 2003 and 2007 election; and we who have been in court for fifty months proved – the documents are now public documents – that the elections were not conducted according to the laws.

Me: (Cut in) Well, we will come to the issue of elections during the course of the programme. However, what you’re saying is that indeed you are a democrat because you’re ready to subject yourself to the constitution and other laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and that you’re able to inspire such compliance and order by so doing. Now we’re going to give our studio audience some room to ask questions, but while they are getting set, let me ask you just one simple question. You’re contesting for president. We want you to give us a peek into your blueprint for installing an accountable and transparent and also corrupt-free system and government, come May 29, 2011, should you emerge president.

Buhari: Well, I have told you the system as it is: the constitution, the electoral act, which ought to lead to a successful election and the installing of legitimate government. Well, with a legitimate government being installed, then the question again of the constitution… and running of ministries and so on ought to be according to the rules and you’ve the institutions that supervise that. Now, those institutions must be made efficient and allowed to work. For example the police: the police must be capable of protecting the society and prosecuting those who break the law. Other law enforcement agencies are supposed to do their own parts of it… and the military, when things are bad, you know, as prescribed by the constitution. So really, there ought to be no problem. This is the way I see it. People should go by the book literally. It’s not taking away initiative; it’s not being inflexible. It’s just being accountable and transparent.

(Questions from the audience)

Suleiman Ahmed: My question has to do with the issue of credibility in this country. People are being elected not because they are credible or because of their track record. Given your own track record of credibility, how will you work successfully, if elected, with others of questionable credibility who will also be elected into various offices at different levels?

Maji Peterx: There’s been a lot of insinuation that all the parties you’ve joined, it’s because you want to be flag bearer. You’ve done that twice in ANPP and now you’re going to CPC, and the whole machinery of the party is revolved around the integrity of Gen Buhari. So, if politics is a game of all those who are involved in it, we still don’t know the kind of people you’re going to work with. And again, why are you always in parties to contest? Is there no team of people you could rely on and be like a godfather to in the Nigerian tradition?

Moh’d Suleiman Tola: Your Excellency, you talked about certain investigations while you were military Head of States. If Nigerians give you their mandate in 2011, do you intend to dwell much on probing your predecessors? And what are your priorities in the order of their ranking?

To be continued…

 

BLUEPRINT Newspaper; Thur April 16, 2015; Backpage

This Church Burning Must Stop!

This Church Burning Must Stop!

Last week, I began to bring you excerpts from the interview I had with the President-elect, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, way back in 2010 when he was gearing up for the 2011 presidential contest, under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which he lost. I did promise to continue with the interview this week, however, we will stand it down, regrettably, so as to address a development which occurred this week in Kano state. I crave your understanding.

The Baptist Church in the village of Gidan Maso, Rogo Local Government Area of Kano State, was razed down last week, Wednesday April 1, 2015. The act was reportedly carried out by angry youths, at about 7:30pm, during which the Pastor’s residence was also set alight, killing one of his daughters and injuring others in the process.

Speaking to journalist in Abuja, the president of Tarayyar Masihiyawan Nijeria (Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri Christians),  Gen Ishaku Ahmed Dikko (rtd), was reported to have said that the arson took place when the angry youths went after the life of a certain Yahaya Joshua who had converted to islam but later reverted to Christianity again. The young man managed to escape but in his trail were the murder, maiming and destruction that took place, in spite of spirited pleading by the Christian community there. Reports were said to have been made to the police and traditional authorities concerning the matter.

A lot of things have happened in this country that have continued to shatter the much needed cohesion among citizens for nation building. Of course there are many people that, day in day out, are working for peaceful coexistence among the varied peoples, whether in terms of ethnicity or religion, of this nation. But for some others, they don’t just seem to understand why people different from them, on whatever account, should live and live freely. This has made Nigerians treat and relate with other Nigerians with reservation, if not outright suspicion, at every turn in our nationhood journey.

No doubt, wicked politicians have exploited these cracks and have continued to ravage us as a people to the extent that, despite the plenitude God has endowed us with, we have continued to carry on at subhuman levels in Nigeria. Even when, from time to time, our sorry state of affairs seems to tend to want to get us to reason together as one people with a common destiny, such occurrences as the one in Kano state would just not let us. Little wonder, the run-up to the 2015 general elections have been steeped in such sectarian slurs that even bordered on hate. Never before in the history of this nation did we see such levels of manipulation. 2015 elections run-up was the first time the term “hate campaign” or “hate speech” will enter the lexicon of our electioneering. Sure enough, the political vultures will stop at nothing to scavenge on the carcasses we have made of each other. Thank God we managed to rise above it even if by the cinch.

With regard to religious motivated tyranny, the Muslim north has got a huge task ahead. Surely, no one should provoke such sensibilities of others, but again, our laws provide channels through which people may seek redress. A situation where for perceived provocation, real or imagined, people, not just take the laws into their hands but, resort to vandalism of terrorist dimensions leaves a lot to be desired. It leaves even people who share the faith embarrassed, and forecloses any possibility for others from the outside to even consider its beauty.

Nigeria is a constitutional democracy. Section 10 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria clearly prohibits the adoption of any religion as state religion anywhere in the federation. Section 38 guarantees every Nigerian the right to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. One may choose any faith in the morning and move on to another or revert by sundown; it’s a personal affair. The case of Yahaya Joshua is, therefore, a travesty that every Nigerian who values his human dignity must speak up against. Nobody heard when he converted from Christianity to Islam in the first place; he probably even did it on TV during a Ramadan Tasfsir. He most likely never even consulted with his family, friends or Church community before the decision. Now that he decided to revert, one wonders why a church should be razed down, people maimed with one person even killed.

Shortly before the presidential elections, a Living Faith Church Parish was reportedly razed down in Giwa LGA, Kaduna state. We have seen cases where churches were destroyed for as simple a reason as a primary school teacher making an example using names which her pupils reported as blasphemous. It behooves on the leaders of the religion of Islam to speak unequivocally about this trend whose motivation people outside can no longer say for sure.

But above all, the government of this nation whose primary duty is the security of the lives and property of Nigerians and who swore to uphold the constitution of the republic must be seen to be alive to its responsibility. The perpetrators of the Gidan Maso anarchy must be brought to justice.

Thankfully, Gen Muhammadu Buhari has been elected president. He promised Nigeria change from this lawlessness to a regime of justice and the rule of law. Given his pedigree and antecedents, we trust that his government will mark, at least, the beginning of the end of this madness.

 

BLUEPRINT Newspaper; Thur April 9, 2015; p2

Buhari and Me (1)

Buhari and Me (1)

Two days ago, when it was clear that the APC had won the 2015 presidential election, a call came through from an old friend, Joachim, whom I had not spoken with in a while. He said the moment he saw Gen Buhari winning the election, I immediately came into his mind because of a question I asked the president-elect when I hosted him on my radio show in 2010 as he was gearing for the 2011 election then. My friend reminded me of a question I put to the general, “General, you ran for president in 2003”, Joachim paraphrased my question, “and you ran in 2007; in both occasions you were defeated, and now you are running in 2011. Must it be you? Why only Buhari?” He went ahead to remind me of Buhari’s light-hearted answer which actually elicited some mirth in the studio that day, “I am a General and a General does not accept defeat.”

Joachim called me to express his excitement at the emergence of Buhari as the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but, more importantly, also to share with me his awe of the General’s determination and doggedness and how it finally paid off.

I had been wondering what to write on about the election and its outcome, as I reckoned that the media will be awash with sundry analyses of the whole saga and anything I will come up with will be said, some way somehow, by another writer or commentator. But the moment Joachim reminded me of that interview, I thought that it will be nice to bring some excerpts from it for your pleasure.

During the campaigns to this presidential election, I decided to have a cursory listen to that interview myself. I remember being struck by what I consider the simplicity and authenticity I perceived from Buhari on that day of the interview, but when I listened to it about two months ago, I realized how very consistent the man has been: what he said in 2010 was the same thing he was saying in 2015.

Below is a transcription of our seventy-five minute chat, in 2010, on the topic “Accountability and Credible Elections” with the president-elect, which is almost verbatim save for minor adjustments for better readability.

Me: In your career, you were, at various times, GOC, Petroleum Minister, Head of States, and later you agreed to be Chairman PTF (Petroleum Trust Fund). Given your sum experience at all of these levels, what has the concept of accountability come to mean to you?

Buhari: Well, whichever system you are in, whether military or civil, it’s very clear that, at every level of management, you are supposed to be responsible for the public funds, resources, assets and so on… and there have been systems in place since colonial times to date, like the audit departments, treasurers and so on. And assets and hard cash, whether in banks or in bonds are normally accounted for every year, because it is public funds. So at every level, from the three tiers of government, in every institution, there’s a government rule and regulation on how to manage public resources. So, as far as I’m concerned, as far as military and civil training is, whoever aspires to lead at any level, one of the most important things is “how do you account for public resources and public funds?” I hope it’s not getting out of fashion to do that. But, all I know, the books are there and when the chips are down, one has to account it if not to the public then, for those who believe in the hereafter, to God.

Me: Your stock is the military. The twin to accountability is transparency. These twin virtues, if not finally killed, were most definitely nailed in the coffin by military rulership in Nigeria, on a general note. How did you render account while at the helm of affairs in order to demonstrate transparency?

Buhari: I think the most important one, which the public knew or perhaps could recall, was that when we were Head of States from 31 December, 1983, to 23 August, 1985, late Tunde Idiagbon, who was my deputy, every month, used to get you, the press, and tell you what we had in terms of monies in the foreign account, how much we earned and how much debt. That one we knew. Because the important thing we did when we came – very few people will bother to recall – was that when we came in, no one knew how much Nigeria was being owed. So we put up two committees – one international, under Chase Bank, and the other here under the Ministry of Economic Development – to find out, all these monies Nigeria was even owing, how did it come about? Up till the time we were removed, we hadn’t received the report, but I understood when I was in detention that eventually, we (Nigeria) received it but the report never saw the light of day. But one example that came out before we left was that the amount of sugar Nigeria was supposed to be consuming was more than that of the whole of Africa south of the Sahara less South Africa. Now you know that was impossible. So what was being done was that papers were just being stamped by the banks including the Central Bank (CBN) and so on. So there was a syndicate virtually taking Nigeria’s foreign exchange out for whatever.

To be continued next week…

 

BLUEPRINT Newspaper Thur. March 2, 2015