₦airaland Forum

Media Trust editors had a rare encounter with former Head of State and leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) at his Kaduna office. He bares his mind on several issues such as the recent attack in his home town, Daura; Asari Dokubo’s threats; Boko Haram; his calls for President Jonathan’s resignation; his secret deal with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and why he hasn’t groomed a successor, among others. Excerpts:

Some gunmen recently attacked your home town, Daura. Did the attack affect you personally?
Well, it affected me personally because the way I see it as a former military man, the attack was very efficiently planned and executed. It was the phase one of the agenda to destroy Nigeria. They attacked the security; the police stations in the town were destroyed, and I suspected they must have used incendiary bombs because you cannot repair the police stations. You have to demolish, bulldoze them and rebuild them.
They stationed what in the military we call cut off group; they stationed their men on all roads leading to Daura. People approaching Daura were attacked and the soldiers that were coming from Katsina town to give a helping hand to the police were ambushed and shot. I visited the soldiers that survived the ambush at the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina.
The group of the gunmen who broke into the banks, certainly they were very well trained and they brought enough explosives to blow the banks and remove whatever they wanted. There was another group of them that went around terrorising the people by just throwing bombs all over the place. They did not alienate themselves to the people they came into contact with in the course of their operation; their objectives were to attack the police, rob the banks and scare the people away. They were extremely successful in their operation.

About the same time as the Daura incident, there was an attack on security personnel Nasarawa State where over 60 security personnel lost their lives. The Director General of the SSS recently said they have forgiven the killers but a former director of NSO General Abdullahi Mohammed gave a contrary position. What do you make of this?
Firstly, we have to see the difference between Daura and the Nasarawa attack. The Daura attack has to do with security and economy because right now you cannot send money to Daura. The people there cannot send to you too because the entire senatorial district comprising about 11 local government areas has been financially paralysed.
Workers that normally take their money from these banks have to travel out of the area to get their salaries. However, the Nasarawa attack is a cult that infiltrated the police itself. The latest I learnt from you the press is that the number of security personnel killed is 56. The cult group slaughtered 56 security men. The SSS boss or whoever that said he has left everything to God has no right to do that.
Constitutionally, Nigerians can practice any religion they want or they can be atheists or anything they want to be, that is constitutional. But nobody should hurt a citizen of Nigeria and then get away with it, not to talk of slaughtering 56 law enforcement agents and then somebody coming out from the system to say such a thing. It is either that person doesn’t know what he was talking about or he shouldn’t even be there.

Maybe he is being cautious because of what happened at Baga, because the way security agencies were blamed...
This one is different from Baga and Daura. Nasarawa case is a cult case; they are part of the community that have got their religion. I’m even against the people that are suggesting that the cult’s ritual places should be destroyed. According to the constitution, you must allow them to go about with their activities as long as they don’t go against the constitution. But those that killed the 56 security men must be hunted and prosecuted no matter how long it will take because this is the bottom line about law and order and security in the country. They can’t be forgiven; they can’t override the constitution; Nigerians are being hurt and killed in their duties and those that killed them must be brought before the law.

Not long after you came back from Daura, you said President Goodluck Jonathan should resign. Why should he resign just because of an isolated insecurity episode?
No, I think I explained myself as briefly as I could. For the last 14 years there have been extreme security challenges in the country but in the last two years it was even worse. There are two fundamental things that make a nation state viable--- its security and its economy. The two years under this person, the security and the economy of the country have been compromised and this was why I said he should resign.
Unless you are telling me that you don’t know the things that went wrong in the last two years from bombing of 1st October, 2010 to now. MEND said they were the ones that did it and he came out as President and said that MEND members were not the ones. Subsequent investigation and prosecution of those who did it in South Africa proved that they did it. How can a president do that? Then look at Baga, Bama and other cases that are happening daily from Kano to Maiduguri. So what is he still doing there?

This insecurity problem, the President has tried the stick approach and he has also tried the carrot approach. If you are to be in charge, what else will you do differently?
Well, I will really go by what happened which you and I know. Firstly, how did the militancy start? How did Boko Haram start? What actions did the respective administrations at state level where those things started took? The militants, based on reports in the newspapers, were trained and armed by some party heavyweights to get rid of their opponents.
When they succeeded and won the elections, they asked those boys to return the weapons, the boys said no way. The politicians withheld their allowances, and then kidnapping started. So you will get a secondary school dropout with an AK-47 getting about 50,000 dollars per day. If the same person goes to school, he can only earn N100,000 monthly after putting 20 years in his education, so how do you expect him to forget it? It doesn’t make sense to him. This was how militancy started.
And when late Umaru Musa Yar’adua was very generous, he pardoned them, he discussed with them, he gave them money and he arranged training and re-absorption programme for them, the thing went slightly down. Abduction has been institutionalised in the South-South and the South -East and it is coming up all over the country.

How did the Boko Haram crisis start? The military arrested their leader, Mohammed Yusuf and handed him over to the police. The police killed him and his in-law and levelled their houses. They became mad and the situation deteriorated from then up to now.
You see how the challenges started and how they were initially handled but now look at what happened in Baga and Bama. I tried to draw a parallel with what happened with Margret Thatcher when she was Prime Minister and insisted on having her convention at Brighton. The British security tried to stop her from holding it there, but she insisted. The hotel she put up in was blown up and some people died. Did the British law enforcement agents cordon off the area and shoot everything that moved? So there is a big question mark about the competence of our law enforcement agents.

where were all these guys when Abatcha held sway?

I have a question to those saying its because the Hausa people cannot understand English: BBC also has German, Dutch or French service, does that mean people in those countries dont understand english as well?

Truth is; Hausa is spoken by a larger number of people than other nigerian languages, and more importantly, the Hausa refuse to see their language and culture as inferior to the English.

It always breaks my heart when i see a nigerian that spends most or all their life in Nigeria, and yet, can't speak their native mother tongue, and are quick to dismiss other tribes as ignorant or illiterates because they speak their native languages. Thats the slave mentality...but of course, they won't agree

This may come as a surprise to igbos, but nigeria doesnt belong to you alone. It belongs to all of us. And not everything is about you guys. Common sense dictates that; if plan A is not working, try plan B, and so on...military option hasnt been working, boko haram keeps on killing and bombing...its time Mr. President tries another approach. If it doesnt work, he tries another approach...

The military chiefs are just not happy because it means end of security votes. Common sense is that if plan A is not working, you go for plan B...The military option has failed so far, its time he tries another option

I have noticed a trend on nairaland: people from SE desperately try to drag SS and north central to go along with them, its like they are trying to convince the SS and NC that they belong with the SE. My dear friends from the southeast, not everyone in the middle belt is christian, its more like a 50-50 thing...and even the non-muslim ones speak Hausa fluently and dress like the hausa. Infact, they are more similar to NW and NE than to SE, there is a reason they are called NORTH CENTRAL! Dont go around wishing for a war because you think the north central and SS will stand beside you... someone made that mistake before, and the rest as they say, is history

nice write up. Any tips for telephone interviews guys?

well, it depends on a lot of things:
People seem to forget that the PDP governors are very powerful, they control the delegates, especially the northern ones. So if they want him to continue, he will clinch the ticket. Otherwise NO! And remember, the northerners have control of d office of VP, Senate President and Speaker...so believe me, if they want to get rid of Jonathan, they can easily do it.

Now, if he clinches the PDP ticket, it will depend on who d opposition present, if its Buhari, then its GEJ again. Why? The south have been taught to hate Buhari, and the Northern elite are scared of the man, he will ruffle their feathers, he will investigate, and will jail if necessary. That was exactly what happened in 2011, the northern masses voted for Buhari, but the emirs and politicians connived with INEC officials to out-manuever him. GEJ is a safe choice to both d northern and southern elite, he cant touch them, Buhari will!

so in my opinion, 2015 is far from settled!

The best place to relocate to is actually Scandanavia (especially Sweden and Norway). All them UK and US are just names1 NOTHING ELSE!

Gay Muslim...that's an oxymoron!

I think it has to do with Friday being a mini muslim holiday. We (muslims) are encouraged to wear our best clothes on any of our holidays. And most of us feel our best clothes are the traditional ones. I certainly feel awkward wearing a shirt and jeans to friday prayers. So i think other people caught the fever as well.
I hope we will one day be able to wear our traditional attire all day of the week to work!

Prof is wrong here, here is why:
Boko haram are normal people like you and me, its not like they isolate themselves so they are easy to find. Before they turned violent, they kind of isolated themselves in their enclave, hence, they were easy to find by the Military that Yar'dua sent in. But now, they mingle freely with the people, and no one knows who really is boko haram or not, your brother could be a member and you wouldnt know!
What the JTF does in maiduguri is to wait until there is a bomb blast, then they cordon the area and start shooting innocent civilians and burning their houses. If military tactics works, the JTF would have finished them off by now!
Boko haram has adopted guerrilla warfare tactics, they are very difficult to defeat therefore.
They are not scared of death, hence, they wouldnt hesitate to inflict it.

Only SINCERE dialogue can end this!

The elite in this country decide who becomes President...If they decide on a northern muslim, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it...oh wait, you can vent on nairaland!

He was the commander of one the battalions of the nigerian army.
He is a hero in Nigeria, but probably a villain in "Biafra".

Abuklaw: i align wit ur skul of taught,i am on a research wit case study 'THE REFORMERS IMPACT IN ISLAM N XTIANITY' and av went thru many books written by scholars of d two religion,my conclusion is dat much impact is made by d reformers in xtianity dan islam, and in d process change d real etiquette of hw xtians ar 2 serve their God

Exactly!
I couldn't have said it better!

I was born into an Islamic family, and i am still a muslim. However, i took time to study both Islam and Christianity (since they are the 2 major religions in nigeria). I studied their scriptures and histories as well. The original message of Jesus christ is no different from that of Mohammad really, however, the christianity practiced today is nowhere near what Jesus preached. Christian scholars say only 20% of the present bible is actually God's words, the rest are just inventions by writers.

well, those comparing Obama to Malcolm X can stop now...you can't beat brother Malcolm in a debate!

most ppl commenting here dont know the real issue.

As far back as Yar'adua's time, the saudi government communicated its concerns with nigeria pilgrims going to saudi arabia, especially women. Some of them abscond after the pilgrimage and resort to begging, stealing or some other bad things. The Saudi government told the nigerian government to take action. So i think they realized the gov did nothing, hence this deportation present dilemma. They are just using the "male-guardian" thing as a disguise, but ppl involved know what happening.

Cant blame the saudi government on this one.

Honestly, Adama is not so beautiful per se, she is just fair. I would choose many girls in Dbanj's music videos over her. But Adama's father is wealthy! very very wealthy! not rich oooo, wealthy!

nobaga: A marriage of convenience so that you can use people may be good for one party but detrimental to another. People used to say that the slaves were not complaining, why ask for liberation. The Jews thought they were better off in Egypt, why go through the desert. One day, people will rise against you.

Aminu Kano's parents were Fulani but he fought for the Talikawa, most of whom were Hausa. All the loot collected on behalf of the talikawa has not improved their circumstances in the North. Yet they produced more leader glorifying their pockets and Fulani royalties. The South are not that submissive.

so you mean only the hausas are poor? and there are no poor fulanis?
The hausas and fulanis are so integrated today that you cant even talk about separating them. I like the North the way it is today, integrated! If such integration is bad, the south won't be trying to emulate such a model!

First of all, Fulanis didnt bring Islam to the Hausas, Islam was in Hausaland before Dan Fodio was born. All Dan Fodio did was to create a state/kingdom.
Secondly, it is a fact that the unity that exists between the hausa and the fulani doesnt exist between the tribes down south! So if you ask me, jealousy is the motive behind this essay and not some honest concern for the Hausa man. Besides, the hausa man is not complaining, so why should anyone assume otherwise?

Soludo is an economist, Sanusi specializes in "risk-management". Soludo did well with the consolidation thingy, but i thought changing the currency and then trying to "re-dominate" the naira was a bit too extravagant and a waste of tax payers money.
As for Sanusi, he did a good job bailing those banks out, but he got my respect when he fired those bank CEO's who thought they were untouchable. But he talks too much!

so Buhari is a bad man because he didnt sack top military Generals?!!!
C'mon guys, put on your thinking cap for a minute: what if he had no proof to sack them? what have they done? Also, remember that most of the so-called "Generals" where not up to the rank of Generals then, they were all below that rank. OBJ didnt sack any General during his first tenure, even IBB had to do it on his way out! Plus, we are all abusing him because someone said his father told him something. where is the evidence?

Buhari is many things to many people, however, he is an honest and upright man, probably the only one in the polity right now!!! But of course, he is not perfect.

miteolu: Pls, I need summary.

you won't get canadian visa, so dont bother applying.

its inferiority complex, people like that are what Malcolm X referred to as "House Negroes"

a big hifh-5 to the people of Egypt.
They havent had an election in decades, yet the immediate one was free and fair! shame to nigeria!

for me, i just wanted to be respected. So it was either Medicine or the Military. Couldnt get into the military, but luckily, got medicine. will be graduating soon insha Allah

Actually not everyone hates Abatcha, only the Southwest does...and you cant blame them for that!
The Northerners hated OBJ as well, and from the way things are going, every region is against GEJ!

T9ksy: 'cause the mad mullah jailed Lateef Jakande, Jim Nwobodo, Ambrose Ali, Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Chief Ayo Ojewumi on cases that had no foundation and allowed Awwal Ibrahim, the then Niger State governor, who was arrested in Heathrow Airport in London with 14 million pounds sterling and several millions of Niara and dollars to be put under house arrest.

Ayo Ojewumi became blind as a result of his imprisonment over false charges and died shortly after. Prof. Ambrose Alli also became blind as a result of this false imprisonment. When he died, AA had only one undeveloped plot of land to his name.Pa Adekule Ajasin was never the same after his eventual release and remained sickly for the rest of his life. When he died, he never had any property anywhere in the world except the one he had built from his sweat as long term teacher and school principal in Owo township. Were these southern politicians corrupt?

Meanwhile, he allowed Shehu Kangiwa, Sokoto State Governor who conducted and supervised the famous Bakolori Massacre of poor peasant farmers who's land were appropriated without compensation to remain under house arrest.

Ayatholla Buhari, as part of his tribalistic practices also placed President Shagari under house arrest inside a palatial mansion in Ikoyi while he locked up Shagari's Vice, Alex Ekwueme in Kirikiri Prison. He jailed Fela Anikulapo -Kuti on trumped up charges under an emergency law which prompted the sentencing judge to confess that he was ordered to do so and apologised to the late musician. In the same vein, he permitted the smuggling of 53 suitcases filled with cash through the MMA against the protests of General Tunde Idiagbon and Abubakar Atiku,who was then Director General of the Customs.This smuggling of the suitcases was supervised by his ADC, Col. Mustapha Jokolo.


I hope i have succinctly dealt with your question in bold or do you need more proof? Whatever the case may be, i rest in the knowledge that the SOB will never lord it over us again even if he contest for our presidency, a hundred times.

Yo bro, Shehu Kangiwa died in 1981, Buhari became President in 1983. So how did he put him under house arrest? did he have his corpse dug up and placed on a couch in a house and put soldiers on the door or what?
Abeg explain, we wan know

I have been on Nairaland only for 2 or 3 months now, but if the posts reflect the way nigerians think, then really, i dont blame PDP. We are our own problem. For our own sake, i pray and hope only the illiterates have been posting here, because thats what it looks like!

bayooooooo: I am not aware. I know that Buhari is perpetually unelectable.

dont matter if he is electable or not...just replying those advocating for June 12 to be a public holiday

so Abiola is getting all these because he allegedly won the election on June 12? well, since we all know Buhari won the election in 2003, why shouldnt an institution be named after him as well?