As a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, what are the attributes of Mr President which are unknown to the general public?
President Muhammad Buhari, as everybody is aware, is a very trusted person. He has a very clean heart and everybody knows that. And, as someone very close to him, I know him as somebody who doesn’t like cheating and he also hates lies. He is somebody who always likes to see those around him happy. He is somebody who likes you to tell him the truth no matter how bitter it may be. The president is a very good and very jovial person. He is very easy going, but unfortunately many people surrounding the president today are not like him. That is the main problem we are facing in this country and we are always telling him that he should stay away from these people so that the country can move forward.
How does the president relate with his neighbours?
Everybody is happy with him in Daura. All of us, his neighbours, are happy that the president of this country is a son-of-the-soil. We know who Mr President is. He will not dip his hands in the government coffers: we know that. So, we are not expecting him to come and be doling out money to us. Anytime that he comes around, he encourages us to stand on our own and never to depend on someone or be a liability. He would tell us that, ‘you have to go out and work and earn a living’. This is the first time in this country that we are having a president who does not have N50m in his account. He doesn’t have that money. I can bet the fact of that with my life. So, someone like that, you don’t expect him to give you anything. We know his attitude and so we are tolerating him like that. If you go to Daura, what will baffle you is the president’s family house. It has not changed. Ever since, I know the house has been like that. And this is a man that has occupied almost all the important positions in the country. We are not complaining because we know who Buhari is.
What have you personally benefitted from the president, as his neighbour?
Well he has done a lot for me. Although not materially, but I have benefitted from his advises. When I was in the secondary school, I used to go to him, in company of others. He was always telling us to be honest in whatever we do in life and stay away from trouble. We took to his advice and this helped me a lot later in life. That is why I have been very firm and I do say my mind on issues as they are. I don’t pretend. So, I will rather say that his fatherly advice has work for me.
The issue trending in the political circle is about the resignation of former Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from the All Progressives Congress (APC). Do you think the action of the former vice president would affect the party, especially in future elections?
Just like what I keep on saying to political office holders, if something happened like that, they should continue to serve those who voted them. Honestly speaking, I don’t see anything wrong when a person decided to change or leave his party for another party. So, why are people panicking over Atiku’s resignation from APC? What are they panicking for? If you know you are doing the right thing, you don’t need to panic because of anybody that leaves your political party. After all, it is his political right; he has the right to change to any party of his choice. That is why we are in a democracy. Democracy, anywhere in the world, gives one freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of movement. So, to me, those who are out to attack or condemn Atiku are committing a big mistake. They should learn from how President Buhari joked over Atiku’s defection by sympathising with the party over the loss of the former vice president. That is a good exemplary character from the president.
I am really at a loss over why some people started panicking. Why should people panic over the resignation of Atiku from APC? If you know what you are doing, you don’t need to panic or to come out to condemn his defection. To me, what is expected of elective office holders is to concentrate on helping the people who voted them into the various offices they are occupying; after all, 90 per cent of these political office holders are defectors. We all know that many of them were from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties. So, to me, Atiku will never be a threat to President Muhammad Buhari. It is natural in politics to find people supporting you or been against you. So, if we have those who are against Mr President, we equally have those who agreed with what the president is doing. So, if elections come, people will naturally vote for who they like.
My advice to the elective office holders is to do the right thing so that, in 2019, they will still return to office if they are interested in re-contesting. In 2015, we begged the people to vote us. In 2019, people will decide where to go because we prayed to Allah to give us the best and He did. So, when Allah gives you the best, it is left for you to do the right thing and if you fail to do the right thing, Allah is watching you. So, any time, your followers can say Allah yaisa, meaning, I left you with God. Things have gone bad and God is a listening God. So, politicians should try to fulfill the promises they made to the people during their campaigns.
In that wise and as a stakeholder in the APC project, what advice will you give to the party?
My advice to APC and all elective office holders from the councilor level to the presidency, is that they should fulfill their electioneering campaign promises. Don’t forget that, as Christians and Muslims, we all pray that God should give us the best and He did. We are all created by God and, at the end of our sojourn on this planet, we are going back to Him. So, fulfill your promises because God is watching. But if you do otherwise, the electorate will abandon you. So, the leadership of my party, APC, should always draw the attention of their elective office holders and remind them to do the needful. They should also know that there is still time to correct their mistakes. Let the electorate see that they have changed before the next elections. If they do that, Allah will assist them.
Many people in several quarters have been calling on the president to reshuffle his cabinet. Do you think the time is ripe for such a step?
I think it is time, but again I feel it is too late. Why did I said is too late? It is true many of the serving ministers have disappointed Nigerians and the cabinet reshuffle is supposed to have taken place since. Now, we are approaching 2018 and I believe most of the ministers would be eyeing different political positions they would like to vie for in the next elections. So, my advice to the president is to drop those who have ambition and those who are not performing up to the expectations of Nigerians. Let him, in the next cabinet, appoint competent and patriotic Nigerians and not necessarily politicians. Let the people see change before the next elections.
What is your take on the recent disengagement of 21,000 teachers by the Kaduna State government?
What the governor is trying to do is right. If we have those who are not qualified or cannot teach, they should leave the classroom, but let them be deployed to other areas. When we were campaigning in 2015, we did not tell Nigerians that we are going to sack them. Rather, we told the people that we are going to create more jobs. My appeal to Governor Nasir el-Rufai is to, please, reverse this decision. I know he is a listening governor. If he goes ahead with the sack of the teachers, my fear is that the rate of crime will increase because, out of this number, many of them will take to different crimes. Let him screen those who are qualified and retain them and the others he can redeploy to other different sectors in the state. Why not? Such a people can be deployed as cleaners, sweepers and those who may not like their new assignments can leave on their own volition. I don’t want to hear that it is the governor that is asking them to leave.
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