Former Governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, in this interview with ADELEKE ADESANYA says that the current administration, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, does not have solution to Nigeria’s problems. Musa also advises President Buhari on the need to keep the former leaders, who have been visiting him frequently, at bay, saying they have no good plans for him and the country. Excerpts:
As a leader from the North, how will you assess the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari?
The administration of Buhari in the last one year is full of disappointment. People are not encouraged at all. I am saying this, because, to me, he not has changed fundamentally up till now. I am yet to see anything tangible that we can point at that this administration has done.
But in the past you seemed to have given the administration a pass mark on the fight against corruption. Are now saying they have failed?
Anyone that wishes this country well will of course support the anti-corruption fight, but if I will be sincere with you, this administration is not serious about it at all and this has created a lot of worries in many Nigerians that put their trust in this government. And from the look of things, I don’t see any seriousness in this current government on the fight against corruption they have been shouting about. You can do your own findings if I am making mistakes with my comment. Since they have been making noise about this cause, is there any case they have seen to the conclusive end? Is there any single person that they have convicted, or are they saying the people arrested for looting Nigeria’s money do not deserve to be punished rightly? All these, when you look at it critically, will let you know that this government is not serious about anything.
With this, do you mean there is no sincerity in the anti-graft war launched by the President?
I have said it earlier, there is no serious indication that they are serious because if they are truly serious, we would have all seen what they have achieved. But instead, all they are doing is deceiving people. How will you say you are fighting corruption all this while and no single case you can say you have really dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others. All what they are doing is far from seriousness, and that is why we don’t believe in this government as a particular one to help this nation.
Which area will you say this administration has not been performing at all?
There are many of them starting from the area of the economy where he has not done anything another is the area of reconciliation, because Nigeria needs to be reconciled so that we can all make efforts to achieve a united Nigeria. We need to be reconciled in this country at this critical time that nothing is working, but unfortunately, Buhari is not doing anything on that. The only area where he seems to have made an effort is in the area of security. And when you look at it critically, you will see that he has not done much because there is no guarantee of our security. And apparently, he needs a lot to do to make the country safe for both citizens and foreigners that come here for business. If I may tell you, insecurity in this country is the product of something and the roots of the insecurity in this country has not been touched by this government. Apart from this, another area where Nigerians are suffering and government is not doing anything, is power supply. Since Buhari emerged the president of this country with promises to Nigerians to help fix power and other things, nothing has been achieved. Then the area of alternative to oil has been neglected, and I think this is a serious issue he needs to give attention to since oil is no more super in the world oil market.
You mention security as one of the areas which this government has not done anything. Are you saying the statement by FG recently that it has defeated Boko Harram is not true?
No, they should not be celebrating. There is no doubt about it that Boko Haram had been degraded in this country, but that does not guarantee that we have total security in this country. For instance, we have some other criminals terrorizing the peace of this country who have replaced Boko haram, like Militants in Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen, kidnapers, armed robbers and others. So, they need to do more. Defeating Boko harram alone is not the total security that we need in Nigeria. Even on the Boko harram, have we seen the Chilbok girls? For me, it will be improper for them to say they have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls. But there is no doubt that Boko haram has been degraded since Buhari came into power, but that is not the height of the security that Nigerians need in this country.
What is your perception about the relationship between legislature and executive in the ongoing administration?
The relation between both legislature and executive in this administration has not helped issues at all, especially due to their selfish reasons. On the part of the legislature, they are very selfish, and to my disappointment, the executive has not been active at all and I wonder how they will help this country. The executives, on several occasions, have come to terms with the legislature to the extent that most of them don’t know their place in the government. They are always driven by the senate president, even the speaker of the House of Representatives.
With all that you have said, do you mean the APC as a party does not have solution to Nigeria’s problem?
Yes. I have been saying this since their arrival; I have not seen anything in them that depicts seriousness. They appear to have never expected to be the ruling party in this country, because if they do, they would have made proper preparations and all the mess we are seeing today will not be there. APC cannot help the country with the way things are going, unless they change the economic and political system, controlling all development in the country, and particularly, they should produce new leadership in the country. And they should base their policies on public interest first. They are supposed to be guided by chapter 2 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Lately, past leaders of the country have been visiting the President and among other things some of them highlighted as their reasons for such visits were moves to help reshape the country. What is your take on this?
This is one of the reasons why this government is deviating from what it is meant to be and now dancing towards failure. I can’t imagine that the present government is now keeping company with those that destroyed this country in the past. I don’t expect Buhari to have much to do with these people because when they were there, what was their achievement? Were they not failures? So what advice will they give him with the number of failures they recorded during their time? There is no good advice they can offer him, because, it was these same people that created the problem he is facing now, so why will he still be romancing them? To me, there is nothing good they can offer this country again. They should go and retire in their houses.
On the militancy in Niger Delta, some people have been expressing confidence in former president Good luck Jonathan to help proffer solution. Do you agree with this?
I doubt him totally. And if he can help, let him demonstrate to us to see. While he was the president, was there any effort he made on Boko Harram? Remember even while he was in office he was associated with the militants, so how should anyone think he can help on the case now to reduce the militancy in this country.
Are you saying he has connection with the militants?
While he was in office, there was allegation against him that indicated that he could be with them. There are several acts of his that will tell you he was with them, particularly the statement he made after the bombing in Abuja.
There are some agitations by some people in the country that the appointment made so far by the president is dominated by Northerners. What is your take on this?
Of course some people will tell you that, but at the same time, they have to accept that North share the larger part of the country. But that does not mean there should be predominance in a government by Northern personalities, because if we are to go by democratic tenets, by voting power, by the number of population, you will see that the North has 51%, but that does not mean that any sensible leader should let his tribe dominate the government. There are times when the North will have even less appointment when the president is from the North, but if the president is from the South, he will expect 51% from the North. And these are natural, but to me, good governance is my concern, not who is appointed. So, that is not an issue that determines the success of this country.
As an elder state man, what is you perception about the crisis being faced by the Peoples Democratic Party. Don’t you think they have had it all in Nigerian politics?
I will agree with you because they may come back. If I may ask, what is the position of the APC with the trust people reposed in them? The two strong parties in the country are APC and PDP, so if one is not performing, automatically, people will switch to the other, and from this angle, I can tell you that APC does not have a bright future in this country. And this will surely give the second chance to PDP in this country.
But do you think PDP will come back now that most of their founding members are now in APC?
Let me tell you, these people you are talking about wrecked the ship of PDP and I can tell you that they will do the same to APC after which they have destroyed it. Just wait and see what will happen.
