The Jigawa State deputy governor and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Alhaji Umar Namadi Danmodi speaks with ADAMU AMADU on sundry political issues in the state and beyond.
What is Danmodi and how did you get the name?
The word “Danmodi” is derived from the word Namadi. Our grandfather’s name was Mamuda and people addressed him as “Danmoda” which means the son of Mamuda. That’s the reason why people also addressed me as Danmodi.
You have been in the private sector and served as a commissioner. Now you are the state deputy governor and governorship candidate of your party, how do you see politics?
Politics is very interesting and, to me, private and public sectors are the same. The pattern of the work is the same. It is only the efficiency that matters a lot. The difference most times is in the area of performance, as workers in the private sectors are usually more efficient, because they are mandated to produce certain results evidenced by some profits or targets, but in the public sector, that is not available.
In a public office, you hardly find a person being tasked with or bothered with a target to achieve. But, for me, I have a training and background of efficiency and effort to achieve targets. So even in the public sector, I act the same way. That is why when I was the Commissioner for Finance, I worked differently. Even the people saw that I worked differently as effectiveness and efficiency were evident in my approach.
Money politics is rife in Nigeria and many believe that without money, you can’t win election in the country. How will you deal with this?
It is not true. I have no money, but I am running for the office of governor. I am hopeful Insha Allah that I will win, despite having no money.
There is speculation that you are been pressured to obtain a bank loan to the tune of N2billion to achieve your ambition. Is there any truth in the speculation?
I’m just hearing it for the first time. I don’t know anything like that. Which bank will give you loan to finance election? No reasonable bank will give anybody loan to finance election. No bank can do that. This is not true; I just heard it for the first time.
Which strategy will you use to achieve your objective of winning the election?
The strategy is simple. When you win the confidence of the people and they believe in you, you will achieve your aim, especially if the people believe you know their problems and you are going to deal with the problems squarely. This, to me, is the best strategy.
Part of Jigawa political challenge is the politics of emiratism. You are from a zone with huge allegations of marginalisation. How can you convince people of the other zones that you will be just and fair to all of them?
I don’t need to convince anybody. If you are part and parcel of Jigawa State, you will know that I was very just and fair while discharging my duties as the state Commissioner for Finance. As far I am concernd, since I have been working in the system, I have never felt I am from one part of the state. I have always seen myself as an indigence of Jigawa state. And I have always seen each and every part of Jigawa as part of the state.
Also, since I became the deputy governor, I have been seeing myself as a deputy governor for the entire state and not for any part or section. So, I don’t believe in what you said and it has not been my issue. I don’t even think that will work for anybody, because Jigawa is our own state. We don’t expect anybody from anywhere to come and build and develop the state. And if we want to work hard, we have to put our heads together.
Fulani/Farmers clash is an annual occurrence in the state, especially in Guri, Kirikasamma and others, which fall in your zone. How will you handle the situation if you become the governor of the state?
Since, I became the deputy governor, we have been doing something and it is working perfectly. We have been able to reduce the issue to the bearest minimum. You see, Fulani issues require a lot of strategies. Fulani and farmers are the same. They are all indigenes of Jigawa state; you must see and treat them as such and each must be given his right and privilege. Everyone must have a feeling of belonging that he or she is part ofJigawa state. And that is exactly what this administration is doing. The Fulani’s business is rearing animals. They need grazing reserves and watering points which we have provided, while farmers need fertilizer and other farming implements and we are giving them. We are doing our best and we will continue and do more and more.
What is your major challenge as deputy governor?
Most challenges deputy governors experience come as a result of failure to understand their responsibilities. First of all, one has to understand the role of his office in order not to be caught in a state of a turmoil, which on various occasions lead to many problems and challenges. As a deputy governor, you have to understand who you are. Your role is to deputise the responsibilities of the executive governor. Your function is based on what the governor asks you to do. And once you understand your job, you will do your work very well.
I am happy with my job as a deputy governor, because I have been assigned with a lot of responsibilities by the executive governor and I have discharged them diligently. I am very delighted to be a deputy governor and if I will have any other opportunity to work with His Excellency Alhaji Muhammad BadaruAbubakar as his deputy, I will be glad to do it.
Which favorite policy of Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar you would like to implement if elected as the governor of the state in 2023?
This administration has virtually provided projects in all the nooks and crannies of Jigawa State. In fact, it is the only administration in the history of the state that initiated one village, one project. These projects have touched people’s lives and contributed toward the development of rural and urban areas in the state. In today’s Jigawa, you can hardly find any village or community that has not benefited from projects of this administration. The policy of this administration is a developmental policy, which is continuous in nature. All the policies are ones that have been developed by us, and we will continue with them if elected in 2023.
Would you continue with the calculator policy of Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar if elected as governor in 2023?
Definitely, calculator will be re-adopted as a prime factor of good governance to achieve financial prudence and checkmate excessive as well as financial recklessness for the common good of the people. The calculator is not saying Jigawa, as a predominant civil servant state, should not spend money, the calculator is telling you to utilise the money and spend it judiciously according to the tenets of the law. The calculator is telling you to use the money and get value for that money, don’t waste the money, that’s what the calculator is saying.
What new things will you bring to improve the state in term revenue generation, considering of the state’s economic status?
Revenue generation is very important, but like what my boss (Governor Badaru) always say, revenue cannot be generated in a weak economy. You can’t do that. But what the present administration is doing is building the economy through agriculture. we will continue with that policy to build the economy. At least, we are lucky that the governor has done something. He has started building the economy and the economy is becoming stronger enough to absorb the shock of revenue collection. So with that, we will continue to build the economy on that. Once that is done, we will take the advantage of that economic realities that happened. We will take advantage of that and therefore boost Internally Generated Revenue.
The GDP, when we came in, was about N900billion. But at the last count, the GDP in the state is about N2.3trillion. So that shows the growth of the economy and means we will reap from what the administration of Alhaji Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar has done. So we will be able to boost our internal revenue. We will do that Insha Allah.
The ruling APC challenge for the 2023 election is the contgroversy surrounding the Muslim/Muslim ticket, what is your view on this and what are the chances of your party?
Well you see, the way people are seeing the Muslim/Muslim ticket is different from the actual situation. As a Nigerian, the Islam and Christianity are the two faiths. The issue is that it is not because this man is a Muslim or Christian, I will trust him. No, I don’t believe in that. What this country is needed is good leadership. A leadership that will be answerable to the people and recognisetheir needs. To me, the Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian ticket does not matter, the most important thing is that the people involved, arethey the right people? Are they the right candidate that can drive the process of development of this country? I think that is what is needed to look at it. Whether a Muslim or Christian, what we need in this country is a good leadership, the right leadership, so that we can be able to move the country forward
And then, the Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian ticket is not new in this country, it is not. Maybe people have forgotten. During the time of Abiola/Kingibe, it happened and they won election. Awolowo picked a Christian as his running mate, all southerners, the same forAzikwe. All happened. I don’t know why politicians are making this an issue. The common man is not bothered as all his concern and needs is good leadership, be it Muslim or Christian. The common man doesn’t care whether you are a Muslim or a Christian, just good leadership that will improve his social, economic and security of his life and properties.
The religion is in your heart; it is between you and the God you are serving. Islam emphasises justice and fairness in leadership. Islam says a leader can serve and succeed even if he is not a Muslim. But even if you are the Sultan of Sokoto or the president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), you cannot succeed if you cannot be fair and just to the people. You are bound to fail in leadership. The most important thing that people should pay attention to and consider is combination, a good combination of people that can deliver, the combination that will bring the solutions to the problems of the country,such that will be just and fair to all the people and parts of the country.
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