[size=16pt]Killing of Boko Haram leader was a big mistake —Argungu[/size]

From ISMAIL OMIPIDAN, Kaduna
Saturday April 14, 2012

Ex-deputy Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Suleiman Argungu and incumbent national organising secretary of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), has said that Boko Haram is not targeted at President Goodluck Jonathan, as the group also wreaked havoc during the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua government. He said that the Yar’Adua government goofed when leader of the group, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed.

In this interview, Argungu, who led ANPP’s Integrity Group, which ensured the sacking of the late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke party executive, spoke on the state of insecurity in the country, North’s agitation for more money from the federation account and other issues of national interests.

What do you think about state of insecurity in Nigeria?

The state of insecurity in Nigeria is very alarming. Government has to wake up to its responsibility. People think Boko Haram is the only security challenge we have, but the truth is that the security challenges go far beyond Boko Haram. Open our newspapers, daily, you read about armed robbery cases. I was going through a newspaper recently and I read the account of how an editor escaped armed robbery attack on Ibadan-Lagos express way. I am also sure you are aware that the Niger Delta militants have resumed hostility in Niger Delta, in spite of what the government is doing there. Why are the militants still in the creeks? The truth is that the country’s security challenges are caused by the pervasive level of poverty in the country and unemployment. Don’t forget that about a year ago, we had elections; there were campaigns, and politicians had engaged these youths during the elections, gave them free money. Now, there is no election and the money is no longer there; so youths will take to all kinds of crimes. One way to solve the security challenge is to provide these teeming youths with jobs.

Now, on the issue of Boko Haram, it is high time the government made concerted effort to identify those behind it, talk to them, know their interests and find out why they are killing their fellow Nigerians, because no responsible Nigerian will kill without any genuine reason. Don’t get me wrong. I am not in any way justifying their action, but the reason behind what they are doing is what the intelligence within the security circle will have to help us unravel.

But there is this strong insinuation that Boko Haram may have been unleashed on President Jonathan by some northern political elite to register their disapproval of the current government..
You see, I don’t subscribe to that kind of a view. Have you people forgotten so soon that even when the late Umar Yar’Adua was in power, there was Boko Haram? If your postulation is correct, why would these northern interests do it to their kinsman when he was in power? If Nigerians have forgotten so soon, I think the press has a duty to refresh their minds, so we don’t rewrite history wrongly. Having said that, even the Jonathan you are talking about, northerners voted for him; so it is wrong to insinuate that Boko Haram is being unleashed on Jonathan because the North doesn’t want him.

Are you aware that someone from Kano has purportedly been named as a negotiator on behalf of the group?

Well, I am not aware. If it is true, the security operatives should find out what his relationship is with the group and how close is he to the group before opening up any level of discussion with him. I mean, the man should be investigated to know his level of relationship and interaction with the group, because you cannot dialogue with someone you don’t know, someone who you don’t know his intention. I think the first mistake the Yar’Adua’s government made was to have killed the late Mohammed Yusuf. If the man had been alive, I am sure it would have helped a great deal in resolving this peculiar security challenge threatening the entire North especially. At any rate, the government appears unserious about arresting the situation.

Why did you say so? What are the facts you have to support your position?

If you recall, without prompting, former President Obasanjo was in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, over the Boko Haram issue. How come government didn’t do any follow-up since then? Obasanjo took the pains to travel to Maiduguri; yet, no follow-ups. I think government should have followed up on whatever gains Obasanjo recorded, and tackle the problem once and for all. But nothing was done. This is why I think government is not serious about tackling the problem of Boko Haram. And I think the government is not fair to Obasanjo by not doing any follow-up on that visit.

Away from Boko Haram matter, what is your view on the recent agitation by northern governors for more revenue to the region?

Well, it is our collective wealth. Others are getting more; they are not doing anything with it. And unfortunately, these Niger Delta people use Abuja as their own yardstick. In spite of corruption, these people have seen how Abuja has been developed over the years. But they collect 13 per cent, yet they have nothing to show for it. So, if the northern governors too are asking for more, they too just want to have more money, even though most of them have nothing to show for the ones they have been collecting over the years.

So, why ask for more then?

Since the Niger Delta is collecting more, the North too, should get more. Equitable distribution is what we are talking about here and it is a constitutional provision. So, justification for what they are collecting, is a different thing altogether. However, I think this should be a challenge to the northern governors, that there is a strong need for them to develop the mineral resources in their respective states. If they do that, they will stand on both moral and legal pedestal to ask for more money from the federation account, because they too could beat their chest to say they are contributing to the nation’s national wealth. They have found oil in the Chad side of the Lake Chad; they have found oil again on the Lake Chad side of Niger. How come there is no oil on the Lake Chad side of Nigeria? So this should be a challenge to northern governors. We must develop what we have. If we cannot develop what we have, then we should just keep quiet and stop asking for more revenue.

What is your take on 2015 presidency?

Well, what has happened so far should be a lesson to Nigerians. We must learn how to vote the right people into power. PDP has been in government since 1999; there is nothing to show for it. The situation in the country is getting worse by the day. During the presidential campaign, President Jonathan promised us a ‘breath of fresh air.’ This is almost one year into his presidency; we are yet to get the breath, let alone get the one that is fresh. Our current situation should be a challenge to politicians in the opposition parties and the electorate that it is high time the PDP is sent packing in Nigeria.

Which part of the country should produce the president, North or South?

It depends on the political party. But I think we should respect the eight year for the South, and eight year for the North. So to that extent, I think the North should take it, irrespective of the political party, because if not that PDP messed up the whole thing, the North ought to have completed its remaining four years after the late Yar’Adua’s death. But I doubt much if any northerner will leave after four years, PDP or not. However, as responsible Nigerians, we should be ready to face the consequences of our action of 2011 presidency.

It appears that the opposition does not appear to be ready to take over in Nigeria, considering the events of the recent past, that is talking about the 2011 presidential election. What do you think?

I am an advocate of the opposition coming together to fight the PDP. But the truth is that they don’t want to come together because of their selfish interests. We had a better opportunity in 2011, but we frittered it away. Look at Zamfara State. ANPP was able to return to power by beating the incumbent PDP government because the opposition came together and prosecuted the governorship election on the platform of the ANPP. That was what we had anticipated in the presidential race. We made several offers to the ACN, including our readiness to change name, but the party was reluctant and went into talks with the CPC. You know the rest of the story; so don’t let me bore Nigerians with the details.

Having said that, I don’t believe in defection, because we know ourselves; we know our capacity; we know who we are and we know what we can do for the people. Defection is killing our democracy. In Europe, for several years, one could readily identify a conservative politician and the liberal one. In South Africa, the ANC would not have lasted this long if its members were defecting every now and then. But in Nigeria, I doubt if any party would last that long because everybody wants to win; everybody wants to belong to the ruling party, so that he/she is not left behind. We cannot develop a strong political party with that kind of political culture; it is not helping our democracy, and it is high time we faced the reality by keeping faith with our political party.

Is ANPP still relevant in the scheme of things and are you still going to contest the Kebbi election?
We are still very much around. We are still relevant politically; we have state governors and we have members at the National Assembly. I agree with you, we need to do more because, we started with seven; later it went to five and now we have three states. It is not encouraging though; we are still well and alive to our responsibility as a political party. Talking about Kebbi, we appreciate the decision of the Supreme Court, but as I speak, INEC is yet to formally intimate us on the preparations for a fresh election. If we feel enough level playing ground is provided, we will go into the race, but if otherwise, we will back out.

Finally, what is your take on the turn of events between Aliero and Dakingari?

No matter what they say, it is nemesis that has caught up with Senator Aliero. Before the expiration of our tenure in 2007, he just brought Dakingari without the consent of the leaders of the party, the ANPP. Because he (Dakingari) was his boy in the school and Customs, he (Aliero) had thought it would be business as usual. But the man they all thought would be a ‘boy, boy,’ has suddenly grown up and ready to be man. But Aliero don’t want that. What is happening should be a lesson to Aliero and other leaders like him; they should allow their successors to be chosen by the electorate; it should never be by imposition.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/apr/14/national-14-04-2011-011.html

Nigeria is a country in dire need of LEADERS: visionary and EDUCATED leaders.
By vision I mean those who can see far beyond their emotions and natural vengeful instincts as humans.
By education I mean those who understand what the rule of law truly means, not semi-literate folks who would mindlessly advocate summary executions and shoot at sights for the simple reasons that an angry mob is baying for blood.

This is the problem I have with ndu_chuks and Katsumoto, two supposedly educated gentlemen, who still apparently do not understand these simple things. When Mr Yussuf- the Boko Haram leader- was gunned down under dubious circumstances, I was among the first to condemn it here. I still condemn it, because I am educated and visionary enough to see that such actions only sow seeds of instability and war. These types of things never escape repercusions. Now, some of my own people Ndigbo, who are bystanders, have paid with their lives for crimes committed by the Nigerian state.

The insitution of the rule of law is a CRITICAL BOLT in the huge machine of state.
To toss it around like some kids toy is tantamount to toying with the whole state's credibility.

No more summary executions and shoot at sights!
It is recidivistic and Hobbessian!
Any nation aspiring to greatness must sack all illiterates from critical government positions!

Here I stand,

Signed,

Onlytruth, Ndu di n'eziokwu 1 of Igboland, Eze Ndigbo Nairaland.

So, to clarify myself, what am I really saying?

I'm saying that when a mob is rampaging/demonstrating, the job of the secutity forces should be to ARREST AND PROSECUTE.
If the mob is armed, then of course deadly force can be used to stop them.
If not, batons, teargas and rubber bullets can do wonders in crowd control.

I remember the days when Nigerian police would shoot rubber bullets. Even when engaging armed robbers, they used to shoot the hands/arms or legs of the robbers, and then arresting them. Only on few occassions do they kill the robbers in exchange of fire.
As a young man, I often marvelled at how skillful the policemen were in carefully shooting to disarm the robbers! It was just awesome then!
Today, all they do is SHOOT TO KILL; ALWAYS.
It is unAfrican and unNigerian. It is FOREIGN to us! We must not always copy evil methods from other so called first world countries.

So, this education would have to start from the police. We never even had the army in crowd control roles those days.
Mobile policemen did excellent crowd control. They even controlled a war between two towns -Awka and Amawbia in Anambra state. No single soldier was drafted to quell that. These make me wonder the training and skills level of present day Nigerian police men.

This is the point I'm trying to make.

If I were to react with anger and bitterness against the Boko Haram of 2009, I would do the same thing -execute all of them; but then does that cure the problem, or does it exercerbate it? Where is the rule of law which requires that every suspected criminal should have his/her day in the court of law? You have to set down your emotions to reach a sound and sustainable solution.

This is my point.