I have restored people’s confidence in government —Masari

AS governor of the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, does that exert pressure on you to do more or do you see that as an advantage in whatever you are doing?

Our president is a person that I knew before he assumed office and before I became governor. We are not new to one another and I know him as a straightforward person. For the fact that he is from Katsina, he has not given us anything extra. He has not influenced anybody to come to see us. If I brag, people will know I am bragging. The pressure that I know is in what we do here in Katsina because 80 per cent of people around him are from Katsina and not every one of them is our friend.

You are currently seeking election for a second term, what are those things you have done that you believe would convince the people to vote for you?

When we got elected in 2015, the election was full of anxiety and you know that those who had the means then had left the country, thinking there would be violence. But the election was conducted and there was no violence. In fact, it was the most peaceful election ever held in Nigeria. It was an election where the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, did not contest the outcome. He accepted defeat, even before the final result was announced.

What we met on ground included the state of insecurity across the country then as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. Also, oil price had started declining to a point where it reached between $27 and $28 per barrel in November 2017, leading to a reduction in the money accruing to states and unpaid salaries. Before we came in, cattle-rustling was an everyday affair. Five, six or even 10 persons were killed every day. Even in the Niger Delta, some people thought the crisis there would stop oil production but it didn’t happen. Today, we have not completely eliminated Boko Haram, kidnapping and cattle rustling but they have been brought down to a level that they are no longer a threat to normalcy.

We inherited unpaid gratuities of over N11 billion. The previous government closed schools, hospitals etc. What the previous government left in the main salary account was about N8.75million. We met about 3,200 workers whose names had been removed from the payroll without reason. Meanwhile they had secretly employed another 1, 000 workers after they had lost election. Their plan was that in three months, the state would collapse and we would not be able to pay salaries.

When you came in and saw the rot in government, did you feel like running away from Government House?

We never really knew it was that bad. Why should I run? You see, leadership is about having the courage to face the most difficult task. I did not run, but I felt bad. If I ran away from Katsina, where would I go? My relations, siblings and my people are here. Do I run and leave them?

What kept you going?

I had faith that it was doable to restore my state and I had to do it. What it required was a lot of sacrifice and we are lucky. Up till now, we are among the states paying salaries, not from the money from the Federation Account. What we were able to achieve in the area of education, agriculture, water supply, security and health in the last three and a half years, they could not achieve it in their eight years. Today, we have completed schools’ rehabilitation. Pupils are no longer 100 in one classroom. We have provided about 2, 082 classrooms in 746 primary schools. For our secondary schools, we have completely remodeled, upgraded and improved them.

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What are you offering your people to ensure your re-election?

What I am offering them is still based on the promises I made. The fundamental issues in the last three years and a half in Katsina have remained education, health, security and making water available for the people. On potable water supply, the figure I have, as of last year, was about 786 boreholes across the state. Since we started, no local government area has had less than 100 boreholes. We created a caretaker committee that we give N10 million every month to do small projects from what we get from the Federation Account.

The North-West is the stronghold of the president but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claims popularity here. What is your own assessment?

They are claiming popularity, where and who? Do you mean this zone? Who are the people driving PDP here in the North-West? You might point at Governor Aminu Tambuwal or Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. Our politics is not like that. Tambuwal has his own seniors, even in PDP in Sokoto. I have my own seniors here in Katsina. I cannot totally and singlehandedly claim ownership of APC here. The reality is that if you say there is PDP in the North-West, where? Or is it Kwankwaso with his 87 votes in the Port Harcourt PDP presidential primary? Even PDP delegates from Kano did not vote for him.

As a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and now a governor, what is the difference and how do you reconcile both?

People who served at the national level, from my experience, have better understanding of the country than those who spent most part of their lives at the state level. Because of that exposure, in most cases, people who served at the federal level are better than those who don’t have that kind of experience. Anyone who has seen views from Badagry to Borno, from Calabar to Sokoto would laugh at someone who had knowledge of only Katsina to Daura. Because of this wider exposure and knowledge, his perception on issues and management are better. The difference between a governor and a Speaker of the House of Representatives cannot be compared. The governor is an executive who has direct access to resources and can construct roads, houses for you, while a speaker cannot do that. The best he (speaker) can do is to have interest in a project and lobby the president or the ministry in charge for implementation.

You were the speaker during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure and you just said you knew Buhari before he became president. What is the difference between the two in terms of leadership?

They are both human but Obasanjo is not a saint. When we talk about elections, even the beneficiary of a presidential election conducted by Obasanjo admitted that the election was fraudulent during his inauguration. So, what qualification has Obasanjo to lecture people about elections? I was there as speaker and I saw it. He is only being promoted by the media. The presidential election where I voted here in Katsina was on a piece of paper. The ballot paper was like A4 paper; no serial number, nothing. Who is he to talk about election and which election did he conduct that was free and fair? He ran this country when the country was at its best time and what did he achieve apart from talking? He cherishes condemning every government since he left office. If he is a saint, check out his library in Abeokuta: nobody has built that kind of library including presidents of the United States of America and prime ministers of the United Kingdom. What he is doing is not right and he has no respect for his age.

What is your take on restructuring?

When anybody talks about restructuring, I ask him what he means because it means so many things to different people. I will support devolution of powers in such a way that does not make the Federal Government weak. We have seen instances like Boko Haram, militancy and cultism; if you have a weak Federal Government, you will have problems.

But, certainly, like I was telling you, what is the business of the Federal Government constructing borehole or building primary school? There are so many things which are not federal, just like there are so many things done in local government level which are not local. We have to devolve powers and things will be better for us. We started restructuring with three regions in this country to five, 12, 19, 21 and 36 states and still people are clamouring for more. It is not the creation of states or local government areas that would solve the problem. What will solve it is devolve, reallocate resources and allow people to pursue their development on the basis of their culture and understanding.