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Honourable Aminu Tukur
Hon. Aminu Tukur, was a member who represented Lere/Bula Constituency in the Bauchi State House of Assembly. In this exclusive interview, the firebrand politician speaks his mind on the regime of former Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and the few weeks of President Bola Tinubu among other issues. Excerpts:
By Mohammed Kabir Garba, Bauchi
Some people are saying President Bola Tinubu started very well while others are saying he started on a very wrong note because it is like a carry-over of the what Nigerians have been exposed to sort of torture because they are still suffering from previous administration and the same is continuing now, no thanks to removal of fuel subsidy. So, what is your take?
Thank you for giving me the privilege to make a comment about the topical issues that are currently bedeviling the Nigerian nation and probably, in deed, the international community. I had that admonition and believe that the President is serious, very serious. I recollected some episodes that heralded the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari as President and Commander-in-Chief in 2015, all the fears that were being entertained, all the kind of agitations and expectations by the very ordinary, all the fears by the elite class, what am saying, all those who are best known for the stealing of Nigeria collective treasury, none was a success throughout the period of eight years. You can’t tell me a single person that is being proven, jailed in accordance with the procedural orders of the court and possibly some kinds of money or other items that are being retrieved from them.
Now, I happen to know very well when Buhari came in as a military head of state and when he came back in the civilian attire, I had that assumption that he is definitely going to perform as he did between 1984 to 1985. After a period of time, I discovered that even in 1985/1985, it was late Tunde Idiagbon that did the job rather than Buhari. That’s just my conclusion because all the expectations that you can think of from the very ordinary Nigerian were shattered. Everything. Believe me I was baffled when I discovered that whoever that is being noticed and proclamation is being made or rather is being put in the public domain by comments that somebody has done this wrong, somebody or so, so person close to the president has done this wrong, the President has never removed anybody from his position. Maybe, maybe, only the acting chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, after several calls. Maybe he is the only one. David Babachir was finally disengaged simply because of the fact that his mentor, that is, the present President and Commander-in-Chief decided to accept that he should go and another chap that belongs to him should come on board, that is, Boss Mustapha.
Everybody is aware of the fact that Boss Mustapha was the preferred candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu and he was saddled with the responsibility. Now, when Babachir left, have you ever heard of any Commission of Enquiry or any kind of Administrative Panel to investigate him? None. And I will have every reason to say that the level of corruption that heralded the entire tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari is beyond imagination.
While the former President is super clean, I have that admonition that, in fact, even the declaration he made after his expiration of tenure, I have absolute believe that it is true. I don’t question his morality but he was just a kind of loose President that allow thieves to preside over our affairs. That’s the simple truth. Now, come to think of the moment, I’m referring to the Presidency of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I have that admonition and conviction that he has started on a good slate. Believe me, if he failed to suspend the CBN Governor, if he fails to undertake a thorough investigation into the NNPC, if he fails to inspect whatever that is being known to all of us in the public domain from the EFCC and other institutions that he has already suspended, believe me, I’ll just say that he is just bird of the same feather with the past President. But by this singular act of him, I have that admonition and conviction that he would definitely deliver of the ills that are associated with the Nigeria political system.
Former President Buhari ‘Super clean but presided over theives’
Can we now say that Nigerians are happy with what is happening, not minding that fact that with the removal of fuel subsidy, some were saying Nigerians were not sensitized enough to understand the advantages and disadvantages of removal of fuel subsidy?
So, now let me make some kind of references. If there are complaints about the removal of fuel subsidy, let me cite examples of Kano and Bauchi states, probably I may add another state, maybe Yobe State. Bauchi is more than twice the population of Yobe, Kano is more than twice the population of Bauchi State. Now, if you happen to come across just thirty complains of non-acceptance with the fuel subsidy issue from these three states you will discover that maybe only five is from Kano if not less, maybe it will be about twelve in Bauchi, maybe it will about fifteen in Yobe or less than that in Yobe State. That goes to tell you that the people in Yobe or Bauchi are not business-minded, they are never serious that is why they are complaining.
Anybody that is business-minded and very serious will certainly adjust within the shortest possible time to accommodate himself in whatever kind of scenario that he finds himself in. Fundamentally what I am trying to say here is nobody can dispute the fact that right from the Presidency of Goodluck Jonathan and to the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, there are several agitations from the government and other relevant agencies even the economic agencies of the world-the IMF and others in the kind of passage or rather a kind of way it is being handled referring to the kind of huge money that is being put in the name of oil subsidy and it goes to the very treasury of very few individuals, that is just the simple truth. Now, it has gone and we wish it has gone forever. Then, lets adjust. If I am not happy with anything that has been done by the present President, it is nothing other than the fact that he has killed agriculture. He has killed agriculture, that is the simple truth by opening the borders such that producers in Nigeria would not have it better. Agro-producers in Nigeria will definitely be at a drawback and foreign nations that are looking to having external reserves in international trade can go. If a bag of rice is being sold at N10, 000, they wouldn’t mind bringing it and sell it at N5,000 because what they are interested in is to have a kind of foreign reserve that will guarantee their safety.
Now, this country is blessed beyond imagination. I wander if there is any country on earth that so blessed like Nigeria. Let me remind you of pronouncement of late UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, when he was asked ‘Assuming you decide on a country to live in after retirement, where will you go?’ He said he would prefer to go to Nigeria and he was asked why? He said ‘That’s a God’s country’. He said there is no country on earth that is being favoured by the Almighty like Nigeria. That is what he said. Now if it is so, why are we in all these kinds of mess?
The Presidency has denied reopening the borders because there is nowhere whereby acknowledging the borders have beenopened. Maybe the people are making that up.
It is not so. It is a Presidential declaration. The borders are opened. We have seen it and noticed everything about that. What I am trying to say here is Nigeria will be a dumping ground for food items from international community, that is just the simple truth and it definitely going to be to the detriment of our agriculture and our agricultural community which is never less than 80 percent of Nigeria population. That is the simple truth. So, come to think of, well, I have that conviction when I saw somebody posting on the social media that very soon a bag of rice will be N8,000. He forgot the fact that the oil subsidy that is removed would also be a kind of impediment to the lowering of the prices. How can you import rice from Cotonou in Benin Republic, pay Customs duties, no matter how little it is, transport it from Cotonou down to Bauchi and say that you will sell it at N8,000? That is a very big joke but the fundamental truth here is this I am not saying that the opening of the borders is not that good but definitely it is to the detriment of our agriculture.
I will rather look forward to a kind of situation whereby the President would have a kind of interest in agriculture, develop agriculture so that we will be self-sustaining. I will live to remember ‘Operation Feed the Nation’ of President Olusegun Obasanjo when he was military Head of State. We will live to remember the ‘Green Revolution’ of President Shehu Shagari. These were serious moments in agricultural transformation in Nigeria. If there is any other serious agricultural transformation, it was done during President Umaru Yar’Adua regime. But unfortunately, it was short-lived. The whole money that was being gathered for disbursement to farmers was over N200billion ended up being messed up. Most of the beneficiaries immediately after the demise of President Yar’Adua, the whole money, not less than 78 percent, goes to the Niger-Delta, a non-agricultural segment of the Nigerian state. That is the simple truth.
So, our problem here is leaders tend to favour their kinsmen rather than the national interest.
‘Opening of borders by President Tinubu not good for agro producers’
Some people are now insinuating that what President Tinubu is doing is targeting areas where other Nigerians, apart from his ethnic tribe are holding affairs.
Now, let us look at the positions so far put in place. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation is one of us, Senator George Akume, a true Nigerian. Let us come to see who is saddled with the responsibility of national security, is one of us, Nuhu Ribadu. What next? Maybe you would say the Chief of Staff. What is wrong to give the Chief of Staff to his boy? Even assume to his son, put it that way. Then what are other key positions that he has nominated? These are the most essential key positions that you can think of. The SGF, the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff.
By constitutional dispensation, a Chief of Staff is nothing other than somebody just like a Permanent Secretary, that is the constitutional provision of a Chief of Staff. He is just like a Permanent Secretary, be it the federal or at the state level.
On education, many people are probably happy that at least, a waiver has come to the way of parents because funding education in Nigeria is becoming difficult. Now the President has signed into law a students’ loan bill which people have been applauding. So, what is your take on this?
It has been long overdue. This was a bill that was resolved about 2019, I think, and only this time around that it has gotten the blessing of the President. Now, all of us are happy about it but the bottom line of it is the fact that I have rightly observed during a radio programme. Ekiti State is the least populated state of the Yorubas. I had that conviction that beneficiaries from Ekiti State, a state that has less than two million population.
The beneficiaries from this scheme will definitely not be less than what can be tenable in the whole of north-east. I am referring to the six states of the north-east. This is simply because of the fact that we belong to the class of the negligent.
Those who don’t even tap from the collective treasury of the nation. We don’t have sincerity in whatever we do. By the fact we don’t have sincerity, I am referring to the leadership. The leadership is never sincere in disseminating information to the grassroots such that the best can be obtained in whatever kind of policy that have come from the Federal Government and it is very unfortunate. So, I will rather advise along this line. The government in the states, the traditional institution of authority, religious leaders and whoever that has a stake in the polity must come up, disseminate this information, sensitize the populace so that people will tap the maximum out of it. Anything short of that is definitely going to be a kind of colossal failure on all of us. Now, the bottom line here is this, if you allow a segment of the country develop ahead of the others, that segment that is being denied the right to developed or rather that has this kind of behaviour that we usually refer to as ‘committing against oneself’ because if we fail to tap from this, we are committing offence against our own selves, nobody denies us the right to tap from this treasury that is being put in place. Now, where we fail to, you will discover that the issues of banditry, miscreant elements will be prevalent in all our societies which is very unfortunate.
Some were saying President Tinubu has to give answers to certain things that he did. Being that we are in a democracy, some say probably he is into some sort of illicit deals that does not augur well for him, so why should we have that kind of person as President. And we have seen so many world leaders when he was declared the President congratulating him even the President of Ukraine congratulated him, US President Joe Biden congratulated him. So, it is a plus for foreign policy for this administration?
Now, any society is a reflection of its own self. If we have a leader that is very crooked, the entire citizens are crook. God never gives people leadership that does not belong to them. So, the kind of leadership that we get is a replica of all of us. Now, if he is that worse as he is being proclaimed by several individuals and organizations or interest groups, then all of us are rotten because we have decided to put in a rot to preside over our affairs which is very unfortunate. I have that conviction that virtually every human being has his own shortcomings.
Somebody who doesn’t believe that there is going to be judgement thereafter, is not bound to abide by the oath of office and the oath of allegiance that he has undertaken to preside over the affairs of whoever that is being put under him.
Now, it is our hope that if Mr. President is that wrong, is that dirty, let it be that this kind of singular act that is being bestowed upon him should change him for the better. Leaders from time immemorial and probably to eternity are supposed to live an indelible mark on the sands of times. This what leadership is all about. Why are we remembering the likes of Sardaunas and Tafawa Balewas? Why are we saying so much accolades on Murtala and so on? This is nothing other than the fact that they have given their best, they have served diligently. Leaders all over the world that are being celebrated have sacrificed so much to the development of their citizenry and their nation. That is why we have person like Abraham Lincoln and not forgetting George Washington. There are few leaders that are being remembered and will be remembered for eternity.
So, if somebody want a situation whereby when he leaves, he would looked upon as a crook, as a failure, he is definitely leaving behind a bad name to his generation that are born and that are yet to be born. They will be code-named and be called just like. Let me cite an example, I am certainly sure it will go down beyond what you can think of for the people of the world to remember Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire in a very good name. I am just citing a good example. Maybe it will be very difficult for Ugandans to accept that Idi Amin was not that brutal. Will Germans ever forget Hitler? Would the entire forget Hitler? Now, how do you want to adjudicated after your passage? Would you like to be seen as Hitler or would you like to be recognized as Abraham Lincoln? So, leaving behind a legacy that can pass the test of time is very essential, so I am of the opinion that the President that has just been sworn in should try as much as possible to leave a name for himself and for his family.
