Senator Buruji Kashamu represents Ogun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly. He speaks in this exclusive interview on the recent move for his extradition to the United States over alleged drug related offences and the state of the nation, among other issues in this interview with WALE ELEGBEDE

There was a report that quoted you as saying that you will move around with 40 Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) members to prevent any form of extradition over an alleged drug related offence in the United States….

How would I move around with OPC members? What is my business with OPC? About nine newspapers reported the fact I don’t know the problem I have with that particular newspaper. But I believe that everything is in the hands of God and what will be will be. I spoke with some journalists last week and that particular newspaper was represented.

After our chats, we were on the sidelines and we spoke off record and I jokingly said if the insecurity in the nation continues, everyone may have to defend themselves by resorting to private security like the OPC. I said if anyone wants to kidnap another person, then there will be chaos because people will be killing each other because each person has his own private security.

So, how can you turn around and twist my words for the sake of selling your newspaper? All of my life, I have never been involved in violence or any form of hostility, either in or outside of politics. I have never used violence as a tool in either my private or public life. So, why would anyone give me a name that I done bear?

I am a very good-humored person and I joke with both old and young. But if we discuss in that direction that I narrated and you decided to use it against me, I don’t have the power to do anything against you but the Almighty God is the judge of all. But let me put it on record that the report on hiring of 40 OPC members and death of three to four people is not correct; i t ’ s false and totally wrong.

The NDLEA said it is in court to obtain an extradition order on you to the United States…

The NDLEA does not have the power under the law to extradite anybody; it is the Attorney General of the Federation that has the power to do so. What the NDLEA is saying is that if they exhaust all legal processes, they can push for extradition. But its spokesman was wrong in even saying that because the agency not even supposed to entertain the extradition. In the first place, I don’t even have any extradition case to answer.

 

If the courts in United Kingdom and Nigeria have exonerated me, then what is the agency talking about? It is supposed to defend the law of our country through the rulings of the court.

If it can’t do that, what is it doing there then. This same NDLEA participated in the s a m e case where I was exonerated i n   London, it gave evidence in London in my favour, and it sent one of their staff to London as witness. In another suit in Lagos, I took them to court. When I came, NDLEA was there and it swore to an affidavit in the court saying I was not involved in drug and that the United States was not looking for me.

So, how can it now turn around and start saying the opposite. This same NDLEA is aware that there is a treaty between Nigeria, Unites States and the United Kingdom.

A part of the treaty says you cannot extradite someone who is not a fugitive. Of course, I am not a fugitive, I’ve never been to the United States in my life and I have never run away from this case. You’ve arrested me, I faced the case and won. You came here, you wanted to abduct me, the case went to court, I defeated you.

So, I am not a fugitive, I don’t fall in that category. Also, the treaty said among the three countries where the treaty is binding, if you have arrested anyone whereby the person has been sentenced, exonerated or discharged of any similar case, you cannot bring an extradition case against that person in any of the remaining two countries. In my own case, I was exonerated in the United Kingdom, which is part of the countries that the treaty is binding.

After I was discharged and exonerated of the case in the UK, I returned to Nigeria and I was doing my businesses. But when I joined politics, then you came to arrange to abduct me and this is a country that supposedly have rule of law. It is beyond bewilderment. So, that is why I have been saying it that I don’t have any case to answer.

But the NDLEA said you have a case to answer, owing to the recent ruling of a US court?

The undisputable fact is that a judgment of an American court cannot supersede the judgments of the British and Nigerian courts. It should be noted that it is the British that colonised Nigeria and we adopted their legal s y s – tem.

Therefore, if the British courts gave two judgments which have not been appealed till date (14-years after) and the same have been affirmed by several Nigerian courts, how then can anyone say that the recent US court ruling, which arose from a suit I filed against my abduction, is superior or has overriding effect on the previous and subsisting judgments of the British and Nigerian courts?

I faced extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom at the behest of the United States government and after four rigorous years of trial, the British courts found that it was a case of mistaken identity and released me.

How many times will I face extradition proceedings over the same offence? If the United Kingdom did not find me guilty, should I be a sacrifice on the altar of political expediency in order to be seen as being more Catholic than the Pope?

In effect, the US Courts acknowledged that I was arrested and tried twice in London at the US Government’s request, and that the US Justice Department lawyers worked closely with their English counterparts. In effect, the British government cooperated with the US government on both occasions as if it was the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Yet, at the end of the day, I was exonerated because it was found that it was a case of mistaken identity. I have had more than enough distractions since this needless harassment began. Therefore, any attempt to condone or allow abduction in the guise of an extradition is an illegality and affront on our sovereignty, the rule of law, international and municipal laws.

Why do you think your foray into politics necessitated the resurgence of this case?

You see, when you are good and generous, when you have genuine interest in the plight of the poor and you empower them, some people don’t like that and they are not comfortable with it, so they look for means of stopping you by all means, but the Almighty is the custodian of power and in Him I put my trust. Some politicians believe I am too powerful, popular and influential. There is no way you will be in politics, especially at my level and not step on toes.

So, all those intimidated by the unsolicited influence and popularity which naturally comes because of ones generosity to people, are always trying to use things against me. They want my enemy to die, they desire terrible thing for the enemy of Kashamu not me, but I thank God for always keeping and protecting me, regardless of the machinations of enemies. That is why I stay focus on what I am doing for the people regardless of the distractions that come my way.

Who are these forces that you are referring to? They are many and they are everywhere. They are in Ogun State, they are everywhere. I do know that the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose is one of them.

But Fayose is a known ally of yours.

That was then, what about now?

What went wrong between you?

I don’t know but he talks too much. He hurls insults at government and leaders. Instead of him to go and fight for the interest of Yoruba, he is after his own interest.

Some people have averred that the reason this extradition issue has been recurring around you is because you are gradually turning to be a Yoruba leader, owing to your virile political structures around the zone….

I am not the Yoruba leader but I am one of the many leaders in the zone. How can I call myself Yoruba leader when I have many superior leaders ahead of me? We have many leaders like Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Chief Bode George and many others who are my fathers.

I cannot stand in front of them and be telling them that I am a leader, it is not possible because I am their son. I can be one tagged as one of those who want to promote the Yoruba race but not as the leader of Yoruba. I could be counted as one of the voices fighting for the wellbeing of Yoruba. For example, can Chief Bode George be talking and I will also raise my voice? It is impossible because if he is talking, I will be quiet. If Alhaji Kola Balogun, Chief Ebenezer Babatope are talking, I will be quiet.

So there are many elders in the South-West but it’s possible that they don’t have that force like before and that may push people to start seeing that leadership in some of us. But the truth is that we all came out of them because they are more experienced than us, we may need to back them up continuously to ensure that they still stand as the figure of the Yoruba people that will be able to fight for the good of Yoruba.

This is part of what Fayose should be doing, but he but prefers to be fighting all and sundry except those who tied themselves to the strings of his mischievous interest. He should be supporting these elders for them to raise a voice for our people but he wants to silence their voices and sink the experiences of these men in order for him to climb up, that is the truth of the matter.

Do you foresee any genuine reconciliation in the PDP?

That depends on the Almighty Allah and our leaders. If our leaders want PDP to be united, they will put their house in order and tell the two leaders – Senators Ahmed Makarfi and Ali Modu Sheriff – to step down. And this will make the leaders to appoint fresh set of people to manage the affairs of the party.

So, if anyone refuses to step down between the two, then we will know that such a person does not have the interest of the party at heart.

But when you are appealing to one side to step down for the other while you are the one who went to bring that person to head the party, that person will see himself as being used for a certain interest. The sacrifice for the oneness of the party must be from both sides and not one.

How can the crisis and factionalisation in Ogun State PDP be resolved?

If it is in politics, interests and factions are normal occurrence, and not limited to Ogun PDP. But so far, we are still in the same party, we are still the same because when elections come we can close ranks. It is normal to say factions exist in a political party but what is not normal is the inability of the various factions to come together and bury their differences for the sake of the party.

Why are you supporting President Buhari’s administration despite the fact that you are an elected a Senator on the platform of the PDP?

If I should say anything now about the Buhari-led administration people can easily read another meaning into it. I know not a few will jump into the conclusion that I am now pouring encomium on the president because of the issue I am having. But the truth is that I don’t have any issue or problem. I am not afraid of any extradition plot because I know that I don’t have anything to do with it.

Prior to this period, everybody knows my stand on this administration. I am a focused and honest man; I come out straight on my beliefs. The truth is that many people don’t understand what is happening to this administration. For instance, there are those who believe that stomach infrastructure is their problem and they opine that once that is solved, the problem of Nigeria is over. But that is not true.

For the sake of argument, let us assume that one did not eat in a day, we cannot then conclude that that is how it will be forever. I believe that when we need to pay the price to build our future, we must do so irrespective of how painful it may be today; it will be for the prosperity of tomorrow.

The truth of the matter is that we were praying to God to give us a leader that would rescue us in 2015 and I believe God loves Nigeria and that is why. He gave Buhari to perform as president.

The problem is that we want President Buhari to do a miracle over what he met on ground, but things are not done that way. What we are seeing is an accumulation of neglects, corruption and inaction by successive governments but we all want him to turn everything around overnight. Can you imagine the billions we are hearing that people stole from government coffers before Buhari took over?

If we put all these stolen monies together, are they not enough to salvage our country? Don’t forget when Baba Obasanjo was leaving office we had more than $40 billion in foreign reserves and same for the late Yar’adua. And when Jonathan came, the crude oil price was up and we had opportunity then to raise our reserve to more than $100 billion, but they scattered everything. Then God raised someone who is not corrupt, who doesn’t carry Ghana Must Go bag.

How many people go to Aso Rock Villa now? This president doesn’t know anything called corruption; his antecedent speaks volume of this. Let us be realistic, Buhari is an honest person but it appears we don’t know what we want. We must be patient. As a senator, I can see from vantage position and there are many things that one can’t say in public.

Let us forget about our party line and look at how we can bring good things to the country. The more we continue to criticize and haul down our leaders, the longer it takes for us to develop this country. We must not pull down the roof because we lost an election. We must move forward and not retrogress.

What has the experience been like in the Senate?

Can I tell you something, being a businessman and being able to take another direction, its another experience that I am still mastering. I can tell you that each passing day, the experience is unique and I am getting better each other.

I have some bills already but I still know that I need more experiences, the much we have done are a product of our fast learning process. But believe me, every minute spent in the National Assembly is worth the sacrifice.

Iroyiñ!