If FG compensates Miyetti Allah, insecurity will worsen —Din, APC chieftain

WHAT is your assessment of the first term in office of President Muhammadu Buhari?

I have known President Muhammadu Buhari right from the time we were in the military, not just knowing him afar off, but close to him. He is a man of integrity who abhors corruption with a passion. Contrary to what some people are saying concerning his first four years in office, he performed very well. Some people may not have seen what he has done, probably due to political reason, especially the opposition parties. Right from the beginning, he has the intention of sanitising the country from corruption and other misdemeanors retarding the growth of the country. But there are forces too fighting back because corruption in Nigeria has become a monster and the monster is fighting back. But he has been able to tame the monster, especially corruption, to some extent.

Based on the number of convictions of those found guilty and those still under investigations and trials, he has tried his best. Nigerians should not expect him to eradicate corruption within four years in office, but based on what we are seeing, he has tried. We should expect more vibrancy from the president in the next four years because with the experience he garnered in the past four years, most of things that looked strange to him in the first four years will now be familiar and he will know how to tackle them head on. Nigerians should remember that there was a lot of complexity when he came on board in 2015. So many things had gone wrong. So, that was why he had to slow down and study the situation. But this time round, I believe he has understood the dynamics of the system and he cannot be taken for a ride by anybody or group of people.

There is the insinuation that the president in the past four years was not in charge of the governance, people assumed that he was surrounded by some elements perceived to be acting behind the scenes. In view of your closeness to him, do you think this is possible?

This is a political talk. The president is fully in charge of affairs of this nation and nobody can undermine him in any form. I want you know that the man is not new to governance. He was once a Military Head of State and after that he was a Minister of Petroleum arid later chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). He is not a push over neither is he a novice when it comes to administration and governance. I want to say that President Buhari knows a lot. He cannot be deceived.

The insecurity in Nigeria, especially in the North, has got to the level that Nigerians are feeling that the Federal Government can no longer handle the situation and also that the president is not bringing his military experience to bear regarding this unfortunate situation.

Insecurity in this country has become a problem and a calamity that we need to join hands with the president to address. Otherwise, it might get to a situation whereby we would become a laughing stock in the comity of nations, especially in West Africa and Africa as a whole. I strongly believe  that the president will change his approach to the whole thing in his second term. Also kidnapping, banditry have become menace and sources of worry to Nigerians. Our highways have become havens for armed robbers, kidnappers and bandits. It is unfortunate that the political class,  especially the opposition parties, are playing politics with the situation. This is an issue that affects everyone irrespective of position and class. Just as government has its own role to play, the citizens too must corporate with the government and security agencies. Fighting insurgency is not like a conventional war. The insurgents come in disguise and many of them live among us, which is why I say we need to cooperate with the security agencies to fish out these undesirable elements in our midst. Some of those perpetrating this evil act and live among us.

• Herdsmen, bandits’ siege

Also I want you to know that it is not only Nigeria that is facing this problem; our neighboring countries are also facing the same thing. That is why Nigeria needs to seek their cooperation in addressing the problem. In fact, there is a belief that these criminals crossed from neighboring countries to carry out heinous crimes. I also want to say that democracy is not the same thing as any other type of government; democracy goes with due process and rule of law. The judiciary is not helping the government. I can say they are holding the hand of the president. Most of the corruption cases have been in court for more than ten years and the president cannot do anything than to follow the process. He cannot interfere. So, that is why the National Assembly should come in and look at the factors responsible for this delay and tackle them holistically. So in the fight against corruption, everyone has his own role to play. Everyone should play his part accordingly for quick dispensation of justice.

Don’t you think the government is not addressing the insecurity the way it should? Recently, it mooted the idea of creating Fulani Radio and humongous amount for compensation to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association. What is your view on this?

I have done my investigations and this is a mere allegation. The Federal Government had since denied the allegation of compensation to the Miyetti Allah. I want Nigerians to know that it is not only Fulani that own cattle. For example, in Plateau State and many other places in the North, there are people that own more cattle than the Fulani. If the government is talking of compensation, it should put other factors into consideration so that all those who had suffered losses, including the farmers, are carried aIong. The security agencies are trying their best, but there is the need for them to do more. I don’t want to believe that the Federal Government wants to compensate the herders. If this is done, it would worsen the situation.

In the next four years, what are your expectations from the Buhari-led government?

The judiciary should cooperate with the president to make the fight against corruption to be more meaningful. If there is a speedy trial of those that have been investigated and more people are jailed accordingly, it would definitely serve as deterrent to others and sanitise the system and spur development.

Whatever any arm of government is doing in this regard, they should do it with the interest of the nation because everyone will give account of his stewardship if not to man but to God one day. So, the judiciary needs to help the president, do you know that it took the judiciary more than ten years to convict the two governors that are presently in jail? If the judiciary goes by the current speed, it means the country has long way to go in fighting corruption. I will suggest that the president, in conjunction with the judiciary, should come up with a special court for this purpose.

A lot of money has been siphoned by those in privileged positions in this country. There is quite a lot of money stashed away that is yet to be recovered and those behind the loot are moving around unmolested. So, we need to support this fight against corruption for the sake of our children and future generations.

Your party in Zamfara State lost all elections to the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on a technical ground. Don’t you see this as a lesson for circumventing the lay down procedures?

What happened in Zamfara is a big lesson to not only to the APC, but to other political parties in Nigeria. It is obvious that the primaries were not conducted in line with the rules of the game. So, they called for it. If they had abided by the rules, that wouldn’t have happened. It is a big lesson to all politicians. The court did not err in this situation. The best thing is to go back to the drawing board and prepare for 2023. The party should put this behind it and stop the blame game. The game is over. The next opportunity is 2023. The outcome of the judgment without the interference of the Presidency, especially the president, was an indication that he is an upright man who believes in due process and rule of law.