INTERVIEW
Alhaji Murtala Jangebe, chairman of Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board, is a chieftain of All Progressives Congress in the state. Jangebe talks about the performance of the Governor Abdulaziz Yari government and some national issues, in this interview with Mohammed Aminu. Excerpts:

How would you evaluate the apparent emphasis on infrastructure, especially road construction, under the Governor Abdulaziz Yari administration in the last two years?

Government is supposed to serve the people and any government that fails to do that is not fit to be called a government. So, the present administration has really utilised the limited resources at its disposal to meet the needs, yearnings, and aspiration of the people of the state. As you are aware, leadership is a trust and one has to account to God for his stewardship. Yari's emergence as the governor of Zamfara was a project made possible by God and the people. He believes that he has to account for his stewardship before God. And that is why he cannot rest and that is why you see the present government spending a lot of money in terms of rebuilding the decaying infrastructure, like roads, schools and hospitals.

Zamfara State was created in 1996 by late General Sani Abacha, but when you look at other sister states, we are the only state left behind because successive administrations did not give priority to infrastructure. In fact, in the past 18 years, not more than 500 kilometres of roads were built by previous administrations. This is the challenge we met on ground and the governor felt the need to do something urgently. Thus, instead of giving money to the politicians to spend and merry, Yari decided to build infrastructure that will stand the test of time. In fact, so many roads were built and remote communities that had never seen a tarred road since the creation of the earth now have accessible roads. A lot of boreholes, schools and hospitals were built. All the 14 local government areas in the state have witnessed massive road construction and the projects were built by this administration and are there for people to see.

But critics claim that hospitals are built across the state without adequate personnel to man them. What is your take on this?

The state government has taken measures to address the challenge by sponsoring indigenes to study medicine abroad. To produce a medical doctor takes a minimum of seven years and we are only three years in government. And if you bring in medical doctors without a hospital to work, will it be possible? Which one comes first, is it the egg or the chicken? We believe that the first thing to do as a government is to build infrastructure, create the environment and then later concentrate on training the people. These personnel, like doctors, take time to build and train and that is why we are rebuilding primary education to get qualified personnel and manpower in the state. We know that all these things take time to build and we are working hard to address the problem.

But the governor has faced opposition from some politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party for, allegedly, neglecting the "stomach infrastructure."

It is not true. I am an economist and I don't believe in "stomach infrastructure." If you construct a road, you cannot exclude anybody from plying the road irrespective of party affiliation. Most of the contractors and those who executed projects in the state are APC stalwarts and they can take care of that. But it is not the duty of the state government to prioritise "stomach infrastructure." In fact, the over N10 billion spent by the Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board in the execution of projects in the last three years were mostly done exclusively by indigenes of the state, especially APC chieftains. Human beings are never satisfied and when a person sees politics as a profession then he is bound to have problem. But if the person gets the money and invests it properly then it will be better for him. So, there is no way you can stop people from complaining because it is human nature.
Do you think Yari has met the expectations of the people to warrant his re- election in 2015?

Yari will run for a second term by the grace of God. And we hope to win with a landslide. The only opposition we have is the Peoples Democratic Party but the governor has done very well to impact on the lives of the people and as such deserves a second term.

But are you not worried by the fact that the Presidency is believed to be backing the former governor, Mamuda Shinkafi, to wrest power from the incumbent governor?

Are you saying that former Governor Shinkafi was not supported by the federal government in 2011? As you are aware Shinkafi was a PDP governor and he was defeated by Yari in the 2011 governorship polls by a landslide. Shinkafi is not holding any ministerial position or any appointment at the federal level and we are not aware that he is executing a contract that is worth at least N1 billion. So the notion that the Presidency is backing him to unseat Yari is mere rhetoric. Let him tell us how much debt he left for this present government in 2011? Let him explain to us which infrastructure was built with the debt incurred and for which purpose? As far as we are concerned, PDP is not a problem to us.

What is your take on the rumour that Yari is at loggerheads with his mentor and predecessor, Senator Sani Ahmed Yarima?

There is no rift whatsoever between Yarima and the current governor. We don't have any problem with him. Yarima is the political godfather of the governor. There is no iota of truth in the rumour. In fact, the governor does consult Yarima sometimes on issues that affect the state and there is no problem between them.

Do you think the APC has what it takes to wrest power from President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015?

Well, given the right calculation, I believe APC is set to wrest power from President Jonathan in 2015. I am confident that if the party gets its act together by capturing a large number of the electorate in the North-west and South-west, the election will be won by APC.

Do you think Jonathan should seek re-election in 2015?

The abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls is a source of worry to us. And if it were in saner climes where politics is practised the way it should be, like the United States of America, it will not take such a long period to rescue the girls. Jonathan calls the shot and he is responsible for the security of the citizens. But it is just unfortunate that we don't know where we are going.

The Northern Elders Forum recently gave an ultimatum to the president to rescue the Chibok girls or forfeit his re-election. Do you think the ultimatum was necessary?

I think it would have been better for the northern elders to go and seek audience with the president and ask him to act by doing something to rescue the girls. Are they saying that if Jonathan rescues the Chibok girls, they will vote for the PDP in 2015? I think dialogue with the president is the best rather than issuing empty threats. It is very wrong for some individuals to be issuing threats, insisting that if power does not return to their region, the country will break up. This country must give attention to real education and it is then people can make the right choice. Power must go to the right leader, whether the person is Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, Ijaw or any tribe.