What is your assessment of Nigeria on her 61st Independence anniversary?
It is very sad and unfortunate that at 61 Nigeria is still crawling. It is very unfortunate that our problems rather than getting better have gotten worse to the point that today we are marred with issues of insecurity. The unity of the country is being threatened on a daily basis; agitations from all angles and so on. This is not the kind of country our founding fathers envisaged when they made the sacrifice to demand our independence. And I am sure nobody is happy with the situation as it is today. But I remain very optimistic, believing that we are going to have the Nigeria of our dreams and all hands must be on deck for us to have Nigeria of our dream. This is what is required of everybody at this point in time.
How do you see the inability of government to address security challenges in different parts of the country?
Yes, we have a government in place but does the government have the political will to address the issue? I will say, No, until they decide to have the political will to drive the processes and get this right. As it is today, one cannot just imagine that with all security forces that they are being overwhelmed by bandits and terrorists. I believe that they need the political will to address the issue and I hope they will sustain tempo as it is today because for us in the Northern parts of the country, to some extent we can say we have begun to see positive results from the Nigerian Armed Forces and they are doing very well. They must be commended and we must also encourage them to sustain the tempo. If they can do this in the next few months to come, certainly we will begin to see the results clearly.
Ahead of the 2023 presidency, the issue of zoning has become a thorny one. What is the position of the Arewa youths on this?
The truth is that in democracy, numbers matter. We have the interest to protect our regions. As Northern youths, we will not accept any old politician offer by any political party. Secondly, we won’t accept any party zoning presidency to any zone. Let there be a level playground for everybody to canvas votes for the presidency. Certainly, the Northern votes will go in one direction. And we will ensure we mobilise our people to get it right.
But don’t you think that will be against the gentleman agreement to zone the presidency between the South and the North?
Does the moral issue that has come to the fore better than the Constitution that we are all operating? Is the issue of the rotational presidency constitutional? The answer is no; it is not. And as far as it is no, it is not binding on any Nigerian. We are great citizens of this country and nobody will force any so-called gentleman agreement on us. That is their business.
How do you see the division between the Southern and Northern governors on the zoning of the 2023 presidency?
The division within the governors is their personal interest. Nigerians will decide when the time comes.
But don’t you think it would be fair for the North to yield the presidency to the South?
That is your opinion; my opinion differs from what you think. We have been marginalised already. During the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for 16 years, the North was in power for only two years. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo spent eight years uninterrupted. Goodluck Jonathan came on board and spent six years because Umaru Yar’Adua only lasted two years in power. Where is justice? Is that justice to the North? No. And even if President Muhammadu Buhari who is from the North completes his eight years; add it with Yar’Adua’s two years, we will have only 10 years compared to 14 years in favour of the South. Where is justice?
To what extent has Burahi’s presidency favoured the North?
In fact, the South is more favoured in Buhari’s regime than even the North. To us, we even believe that the South uses Buhari to marginalize us and that is why they took the whole milk of the country enjoying and that is why they are living very comfortably. In the South, you don’t have security challenges, you are living comfortably. You have your meals on a daily basis to eat. Go to the North and see the abject poverty. There is nothing people are doing other than dying on a daily basis from one trouble of hunger to another trouble of hunger.
So, Buhari government has actually favoured the South. For us, Buhari government did not actually represent the North. After all, it was the Southern arrangement that brought him.
Many believe that the North have benefited more in this government than the South in terms of appointment and other things?
Are you referring to appointments that paid the South under the Buhari government?
The nonsense appointment that was given to the North! The South is in charge of transport, road, petroleum and other juicy appointments; tell me where are the resources coming from? The economic arrangement, everything was in favour of the South. Tell me one good appointment that was given to the North that we can actually pinpoint to and say this is where our economic strength is and it is given to the North.
The truth is the Buhari’s presidency has failed the country. It has failed the North. So, the North will definitely produce its own person that believes that will carry the interest of the country at large and at the same time consider the situation the North finds itself.
What is your take on the Value Added Tax (VAT) controversy?
I am a strong advocate of restructuring, so to me the VAT issue is another means of saying indirectly we are getting to restructuring by disguise because I do not think the centre can hold any longer. I have always prayed to see a day that all the state governors will go back to their states and be producing, and pay a percentage to the centre. The governors are not productive; they only wait for allocation every month and share. It is better every governor harness the resources in his state and pay percentage to the centre. That has always been my position about Nigeria. So, for me, it encourages competition. It encourages viable development. So, whatever the arrangement is made in the constitution, so be it. So, I have no problem with the issue of VAT.
But some Northern governors are against domesticating VAT?
That is their interest. The views of Northern governors might not necessarily be the views of an average Northerner. I do not hold any political office in the country, but I have an interest in the North. I have always represented the interest of the people I know; this is not a political appointment; nobody appointed me. I am a leader to my people. I represent them and they have confidence in me. So, the way we go to the people and sample their views may not necessarily be the views that they will express because the governors have their interests.
There are permutations that both the APC and PDP may likely zone the presidency to the South…
Let them dare it; then we will ensure that we look for another political party that will present a Northern presidential candidate in 2023. We will put our votes en mass in the party with a northern candidate.
Are you saying the North will not support APC and PDP if they zone the presidency to the South?
None of the political parties have said they are zoning their presidential candidate to the North and even if they do so, you can rest assured that the North will use its vote block to ensure that our votes go one direction. History has shown that we have always put on our votes on one side and we will do it over and over again. And we believe we will even get votes from other parts of Nigeria. Within the South, we are going to likely have the certain percentage we need to make up the number and take up the presidency. There is no doubt about it.
Is it that the North will reject both APC and PDP if they zone the presidential candidate to the South in 2020?
If they zone the presidency to any other region, then both of them are finished.
So the North is fully prepared to install another president in 2023?
We are prepared.
But will there any possibility of a compromise for the South to get the presidency?
If they lobby; talk to the people and make senses out of it, there is a possibility because this is politics; it is not a do or die. But with the way some of the people in the South are being so arrogant, we will not tolerate any insensibility of our people. We will resist by any means.
What is your view on the security challenges in the North?
So far, we are working to unite ourselves and also doing everything possible to ensure that this insecurity issue will come to a final stop. Everything that has a beginning has an end. We remain very optimistic that one day we shall overcome our security problem and with that again we are encouraging our people to go en mass and get their voters’ cards. We are doing it and we will get what we need. We will use our votes, our strength to ensure that we get exactly what we want.
What is your take on the anti-open grazing law in the South?
On the issue of anti-grazing, we have come of age and things are changing. So, we cannot continue to maintain something and expect a different result. Now that there is a problem between the herders and the farmers and it has often come up at the expense of people’s lives, if ranching would address the issue, there is nothing wrong. We even appreciate the fact that some of the Northern governors have seen reason that this open grazing will not even help anymore. So, it takes nothing to change the pattern. But we should not make it look as if the governors of Southern states are making laws against the Northern people. It will not augur well. It will not bring about unity. We want them to always consult their Northern counterparts.
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