Mallam Kaka Bolori is a candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party for the Borno Central Senatorial
election slated for later this year.
In this interview, the one-time Chairman of
Maiduguri Metropolis, alleges that some top public
officials are using the Boko Haram sect as an
excuse to loot public funds, what the people of the
Northeast think about President Muhammadu Buhari
and how to end Boko Haram war and rehabilitate
the Northeast.
Why have you decided to run for the senatorial seat
for Borno central?

Well, my simple and honest answer is that I am
eminently qualified by experience and involvement
in the politics of the state and Nigeria to represent
Borno Central following the demise of the man, who
was first elected early this year to represent the
area in the Senate.
I also have what it takes to move the District
forward in terms of fashioning out legislative
solutions to our numerous challenges.
What do you think is the major issue facing the
people of that senatorial district?
First of all, I think it revolves around lack of
education. The majority of the people are lack basic
education, thereby suffering social dislocation as
compared to other parts of the country.

We have a relatively large population of jobless
young men and women which in itself is a threat to
national security. That is why I have come on the
stage to be able to come up with possible
alternatives. One possible way out is to create
vocational training centres because some will never
go to school but they will have to work.
The state government, I would say, is not really
helping matters because as we speak there are
many local governments that don’t have secondary
schools. In fact, as I am talking to you we have two
or three local government areas in Borno State that
don’t have secondary schools.
In such a situation one begins to wonder if indeed,
the state government is really encouraging the
development of education by not doing anything to
send children of school age, to schools. As I am
talking to you we have two or three local
government councils in the northern part of Borno
state that don’t have senior secondary school and
even in Maiduguri they haven’t been going to school
for about two and half years or so. So you can see
the attitude of the leadership towards educational
development of the state is not encouraging.
If you win the election how are you going to
address this? In what specific ways can this
drawback be reversed?
I believe that as a legislator our responsibility is to
make laws for the good of the society and I will do
my best to see to the enactment of some enabling
laws that will open up the education frontiers for our
people.
I will also see to the possibility of making it
imperative for relevant agencies, institutions and
individuals to invest in education to produce the
needed human resources for the transformation of
the area.
But do you think that the problem is due to lack of
legislation. Does it mean that there is no legislation
guiding the provision of education in Borno state at
the moment?
No, there is provision for education but my fear is
that such may not be adequate to bring about the
expected results. If education is made compulsory,
it should be possible to also make the acquisition of
post primary school education compulsory in every
local government area of the state.
It is not about the Boko Haram saying they don’t
want Western Education; the body language of the
government also suggests that they are not
encouraging education the way it should be. I am
telling you that we have some local government
areas that don’t have senior secondary school and
if there is a law compelling them to establish one in
each LGA that would go a long way to assist in
elevating education in the state.
So there are other things one can make as a law
because I am aware of some of the developmental
issues that prevent these boys from going to
school. In many cases, some of the children will
have to travel up to 25 kilometres in order to access
fresh water and their parents would reason that
sending them to schools would deny them water for
them.
If you provide water supply in these areas the
possibility of children going to school is high
because in some places they use this as an excuse
for not going to school.
What do you think should be done in order to
restore normalcy to the Northeast of which Borno is
a part?
There are many strategies that can be used. But my
thinking is that we should have the commitment of
all the stakeholders in resolving all the issues at
stake. Everybody must show commitment to the
cause of ending the tragedy in the Northeast. It is
not just about federal government, state
government or local government;
all tiers of government have to be part of rebuilding
this region by bringing in some developmental
programmes, by providing job opportunities to the
people, by providing education and making
agriculture more attractive. To me, these are some
of the ways through which the region can grow.
A commission should also be set up to oversee the
rebuilding of the region and cater for the urgent
needs of the area while there should be a law
compelling all tiers of government to make vital
inputs into the implementation of a blueprint for the
region.
But that can’t take place if the problem of boko
haram itself is not eliminated.
Don’t forget that the military is obviously winning
the war. I want to suggest that while the military
option is ongoing, there should also be a sustained
effort to look at the genesis of the problem and what
can be done to ameliorate its effects on the people.
First, we have young men and women who are able,
healthy but are jobless. We have to even change
the policy of these almajiri schools to make it in
such a way that they can be employed after
graduating from the school.
The current situation is such that no matter how
long you study in the Almajiri School, you cannot
get a certificate that can give you employment at
the end of the day. So, that policy should be
reviewed in the interest of the people.
I thought the almajiri system is to prepare people to
go and write exams and pass so that they can be
employable?
No! It is just to prepare you to read and write. That
is the lifestyle and if you are very successful at
these schools you become a teacher in the same
school or you create one. If you are very good in
teaching, they will bring their children for you to
handle with a little token and there are no serious
standards put down for this.
The Alamjiri education is called ‘for the sake of God’
because it is something about religion and you
don’t have to pay for it. In the 60s and 50s the
colonial masters had wanted to incorporate these
almijaris into the mainstream school system but
they rejected it, arguing that the foreigners were
going to pollute their lifestyle and system.
But my question was on how to end Boko Haram.
Ending Boko Haram requires a holistic approach.
We must find an answer to what caused Boko
Haram in the first place while the military option
continues. Boko Haram came about as a result of
the absence of basic education and opportunities
for many, who felt they were entitled to those
things. Nobody with a proper Islamic education will
engage in Boko Haram activities.
We therefore need some real orientation from all
tiers of government in finding solutions to the
problem of Boko Haram. Injustice is part of the
problem. For many years here, no local government
elections in Borno because the government prefers
to handpick caretaker committees and those denied
their civil opportunities are sad.
Are you saying that lack of election is fueling Boko
Haram in Borno?
Exactly! The reason the insurgency is too strong in
the Northeast is largely due to poor administration
and injustice on the part of the government in those
places particularly Borno and Yobe.
What the governors of the Northeast are getting
from the Federation Account is not commensurate
with the development we have on the ground in
those states. They get so much but deliver very
little. That is the crux of the problem.
It is only in a place like Maiduguri that you will see
a 4-km road taking more than N11 billion and such
a road will never be completed in more than four
years. One will wonder if it is silver or gold road that
they are building.
The federal government is talking about negotiating
with boko haram but the problem is they don’t even
know who to negotiate with. How can that problem
be overcome?
My answer to that question is at least if the federal
government does not know where and who the
Boko Haram is at least the Boko Haram knows who
the government is and negotiation is an
understanding between two parties.
But if the other partner is unwilling, it does not
appear as if the negotiation can proceed because it
is a give and take situation. They are very much
around, not that they are spirits or from space and if
they want to negotiate they will simply find a way of
presenting themselves to the negotiating table. If
nobody knows them and they are not ready to
appear, that means they are not ready for any
negotiation.
How do you hope to win election in a state that has
been under the grip of the APC in the last 16 year?
You need to understand that Borno is a very large
state with different cultures and traditions and I will
give you examples why I am optimistic that I am
going to win the election. The pattern of election
from the southern part of Borno is totally different
from the one in the northern and the central
senatorial districts. The pattern of election in the
north is different from the one in the central and
south.
I am from the central where we have a large
number of political elites. I am one-time local
government chairman in Maiduguri and we have 15
wards in Maiduguri and out of these 15 wards PDP
won in 11 and only four went to then ANPP. If they
were to vote according to this I would not have been
the chairman.
Of course the then state government was formed by
ANPP but we had more PDP local government
chairmen and more members in the national
assembly belonging to PDP at that time. So, you can
see the pattern and this mostly is taking place in
Borno Central.
The recent one was that when Ali Modu Sheriff was
the governor he merely managed to sustain the
position but could not win election to the Senate
after his tenure. You can see there are more
enlightened people and nobody is happy with the
way APC is running the state.
How is APC running the state?
It is full of mismanagement and corruption; no
development. In fact I told you that public schools
have not been having classes in the last three and
a half years in Borno state particularly in Maiduguri.
This does not in any way worry the governor and
his team and it is quite unfortunate.
But that is because of insurgency, which claimed
over 219 Chibok girls and causing serious concerns
to parents, who are afraid to send their children to
any school in the state as a result.
Yes, you are right, you may think like that but
Maiduguri which is actually the capital of Borno
state is actually peaceful and only witnesses
occasional bombings.
That is natural and it can happen anywhere. They
have to go to school but they are not going to school
in Maiduguri so why?
Because they brought the refuges and dumped them
in schools while there are empty quarters belonging
to the government. If the government is
encouraging education they would have taken them
to these quarters which are enough to contain these
refuges and surprisingly the government is telling
us that they are spending N6 billion on the refuges
and IDPs every month. Maybe they are providing
them with chicken and you can see this is an
opportunity for them to steal.
So what is giving you the confidence that you are
going to win? Is it because the people love you and
they are fed up with the APC government?
Not because the people love me but being a one-
time local government chairman, they can judge me
by what I did during my tenure and what they think I
can do for them if I get into the Senate. It is a
question of making a choice and they will certainly
decide.
What do you think about the Buhari administration
so far?
To ask those of us in the Northeast what we think
about Buhari is to elicit an already known answer.
For me, I can say that with Buhari, there is hope
because already, relative peace has returned to the
area.
The military is winning the war after recapturing
most of the areas that were under the control of the
insurgents in the Northeast.
The military recently accused some Borno elders of
frustrating them by hiring marabouts to pray against
the success of the military. As an elder in Borno
state are you part of the people and why will the
people not want the war to end? Why are they
working against the military and who are they?
Well, I am not in the position to tell you who these
people are but certainly I know the military is not
just making up this statement. So what I will
suggest is that they have a proper investigation,
reveal whoever the elders are and bring them to
face justice. That is my humble suggestion
regarding that allegation by the army.
I think it is possible for people not to want the war
to end because insurgency itself provides another
form of looting by government officials from federal
to state and local government levels. I am not
therefore surprised if some people are aiding and
abetting insurgency for selfish reasons.
And if proper check is done, such persons are likely
to be found in the hierarchy of the leadership of the
state and the local governments.
What do you mean by insurgency providing a
platform for looting?
I am saying so because of what is happening in
Borno State. We have 27 local government areas
and only a few of them are functioning even though
all of them receive their allocations at the end of the
month.
The rest of them simply sit down in Maiduguri and
share the allocation on the claim that they cannot go
to do anything in their respective areas because of
insurgency. So, it is a way of making quick money
by some in the state. That is why Boko Haram has
provided a means of these states.


linkis.com/www.vanguardngr.com/kyVyq

hmm .

Who get time to read this text book by a failed senatorial candidate under the killer party pdp.

The truth is out.


PMB has spent 1triLlion naira on BH for just 5months but insurgency is still at its worst. APC is corruption personified.



Quote me only on Satellite stations

ECOTERRORS:
The truth is out.


PMB has spent 1triLlion naira on BH for just 5months but insurgency is still at its worst. APC is corruption personified.



Quote me only on Satellite stations

Wait, you mean 1 trillion has been spent under 5 months? That means if the insurgency continues in the next 4 years(of which i dont see it ending in the nearest future) i.e 200 billion X 48 months.


Somebody please help me with the maths.



**Faints for 3hours**

What was PDP using them for?

Ok

Just when you thought you have seen enough stupidity. ....