2019: North ’ll decide on Atiku, Lamido, others when they present their programme —Yakassai

Former Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters ex-President Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, speaks with KOLA OYELERE on the plan to re-arrest the leader of the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, the economic situation in the country and whether President Muhammadu Buhari should contest the 2019 presidential election, among other issues.

GOING by the general discontent in the country, especially over the slump in the economy, what critical issue do you think the Federal Government should focus on immediately?

Right from the beginning, I made the statement that both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the president did not prepare themselves to govern the country. That was what I said immediately after election, when Muhammadu Buhari emerged victorious. And I gave instances such as the fact that it took the president six months to ministers; those that he needed badly to take-off and run the affairs of the country as an elected president.

Let us look at the way the president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, started when he assumed office as president. Just a day after his inauguration, he announced the appointment of two or three cabinet ministers and in the next seven days, he equally completed the indication of the people he expected to serve in his cabinet. But when President Buhari was elected, it took him almost three months before he appointed the Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief of Staff and other important officers.  This invariably means that all these appointments were not ready by the time the president was elected and that was not supposed to be the case.

In any case, I think every Nigerian now would agree with me that the government of APC and president did not prepare themselves for the task of governing the country by the time the party won the presidential election. I do not think they thought or expected they would win the election.

On your question about which issue the government should focus on regarding the state of the economy, it is generally accepted that you cannot fix an economy of a nation overnight and under one government, particularly in Nigeria. The day a government is elected and assumes office, such a government would start operating the budget of his predecessor and if a government is working on the budget of his predecessor, certainly, the first year of such a government would not be on its terms, because such a government is basically implementing programmes and projects of his predecessor.

However, a new government would start its administration when it starts to implement its budget. That would be the second year that particular government got to power and it is common knowledge to Nigerians that it always takes about six months before a new budget would be passed in the country. By this, half of the second year of the government would have gone without any budget. Therefore, without a new budget, a new government has no programme. Even if it has a programme, what a new government should do is to complete the projects started by previous administration. At best, by the time that new government would clock two years in office, the its own programme may then be 50 percent; that is to say half of the new government and half of previous administration. However, when a new government clocks three years, two-thirds of the programme is its own while one-third would be for the outgone government. Government is like somebody building a house and you take over the house; that person would not say because he was not the original person that started the building, he would not complete it. He has no option than to put all the necessary things that would make the house to be completed in place. This is how government should look like; once you come in as a new government, everything left uncompleted would be automatically taken over and be completed by a serious government.

But what do you think the government is not doing right with regards to governance generally and do you think it can get it right in the remaining time?

I said it before that the APC as a party did not have a plan before winning the last election. Therefore, there is no way such a government can perform. It is only now that the party is trying to be on ground in term of doing something and this is due to the commitment of some serious-minded people who they placed in some key positions. I can tell you without mincing words that the vice-president is really an asset to this government; the Governor of Central Bank, the Minister of State for Petroleum and Group Managing Director of NNPC all are great assets to this administration. I can say based on what I have just said that what government can do is to complete the projects undertaken by the previous government.

Now that President Muhammadu Buhari is back in the country, some people are saying he is fit enough to run again in 2019. Will the Northern Elders support the renewal of his mandate for another four years going by his health issues or will you scout for a fresh candidate?

I think it is too early to comment on that. To be frank with you, this is a matter that is neither in the hands of President Buhari nor any other person; it is in the hands of Allah, who has power to make it possible. However, let us continue to pray for him to recover fully health-wise. Every right thinking person should pray for him to regain his full health to be able to continue the jobs he started; the question of next election is too early to for now.

But the like of former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Governors Sule Lamido, Rabiu Kwakwanso and even Governor Nasir el-Rufai are already said to be eyeing the presidency in 2019. Which of these personalities do you think will best promote the interest of Nigeria and the North and who among them is the Northern Elders looking at for endorsement?

Seriously speaking, I know that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar contested the APC presidential primary election alongside Muhammad Buhari and Kwankwaso and might be interested in taking another shot at the presidency. But on your question that Lamido and el-Rufai are eyeing the presidency in 2019, I think it is a mere speculation.

However, on the issue of whether the North would support anyone of the above, it is a matter we should leave till when they present themselves to the electorate; when they articulate their programmes and what they are going to do if they are voted into power. It is then the electorate can then make up their minds to support them or not, because they all have constitutional rights to aspire for any elective position in the country.

Some Middle Belt groups and leaders have been going about disclaiming that the Middle Belt is not part of the North as we know it, saying the era of the North is gone and that the Middle Belt is being short-changed. What do you make of this claim and how will the Northern Elders resolve the issue?

Let me tell you the truth, there is nothing like Middle Belt. It was just an imagination of some people who wanted to use it to sell themselves to the masses. There is no area known in the constitution of Nigeria, past or present, that recognised the so-called Middle Belt and there is no geographical area demarcated in the whole of the country as Middle Belt. So, I will not Iike to talk on something that is not on the ground. .

The concept of Middle Belt is not known in any administrative setup or constitutional provision or geographical demarcation in any part of Nigeria. Such statement only exists in the imagination of few people who want to use it to sell themselves for political relevance.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) recently asked the court to revoke the bail given to the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, a development that has elicited criticism from Igbo leaders, especially the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, who kicked against the move. What do you think of their position and do you think the AGF is correct given that there has not been any attempt by government to arrest northern youths who issued quit notice to the Igbo in the North?

First, Kanu was arrested over a year ago and arraigned before a court of law; charges were preferred against him and the case against him had started. There was a record of proceeding of that case. He, however, applied for bail through his counsel and the court considered the application and granted bail on some conditions. What I thought the AGF complained about was that Kanu violated the condition upon which he was granted bail. I think it is up to the AGF, who is the chief law officer of the federation to formally go to the court and lay his complaint before the court of law.

Thereafter, the court, after hearing the other side, that is Kanu’s side, can then pronounce whether there is an infringement on the condition upon which bail was granted to Kanu or not. When the court sets aside that the condition upon which the bail was granted and violated, then the court would do the needful. And if the court is not satisfied that Kanu has violated any of the conditiond upon which bail was granted to him, it will set him free and he will go about his lawful duties. This is not a political issue; it is a judicial matter and it is up to the court to decide. I won’t like anybody to politicise the issue; that will not be in the interest of the country or Kanu.

The Arewa Youths who issued quit notice to the Igbo in the North have said they have withdrew the notice. However, some Niger Delta youths have been threatening the Yoruba and Hausa residing in the Niger Delta to also quit, while the IPOB leaders are also threatening other tribes in the South-East. What do you make of all these?

I have said it times without numbers that the constitution of the country does not confer on anybody the right to deny or deprive any Nigerian the right to go about his or her business or to stay and make any part of Nigeria a place of abode. Nobody has that power. Even Mr. President is not constitutionally conferred with that power to deny a citizen on where to reside in any part of the country; the only institution that has power to do that is the court of law.

Now that PDP is back, how do you think permanent peace can be achieved in the party?

Point of correction, PDP has always been in existence and it has not died. It was not proscribed by the [Independent National Electoral Commission] INEC; neither did it merge with any political party. However, what you can only say is that the leadership crisis has been settled. The issue that threatened the leadership of the party has been laid to rest by the decision of the Supreme Court, which is the final court of arbitration and the party is now going about its business.

But it is an open secret that the party has suffered a lot as a result of the internal crisis. I understand that those saddled with the responsibility of running the affairs of the party have started to win some of its absconded members back to the party. However, whether the party is succeeding or not, I do not know, because I am not a member of the PDP. The party leadership is in a better position to comment on the success that has been recorded since the court settled the crisis.

President Buhari recently held a meeting with both leaders of the PDP and APC. Do you think there is a justification for that meeting?

Let me be sincere with you, the more he holds this kind of meeting the better for our democracy, because the two political parties have more of the members in the National assembly and are also occupying the position of governance in the 36 states of the federation. All states are being governed by APC and PDP members with the exception of Anambra State, which is being governed by APGA.

The meeting is very good and welcome. I hope Mr. President would continue with this kind of meeting, so that they can rub minds together. I believe that failure to hold this type of meeting contributed to the rising tension in the country. Had it been that this kind of meeting had been holding in the past ,the kind of tension being generated in the country could had been nipped in the bud and brought to a barest minimum. So, that kind of meeting is a good development and a good step in the right direction.