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Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim is an 85-year-old businessman, politician and philanthropist. He bares his mind on the need for the President, Muhammadu Buhari, INEC and Governors to be proactive against voter apathy bedevilling the democratic process. Excerpts:
By Ibraheem Hamza Muhammad
What is your take on the future with the teeming youths we have?
I am a Nigerian, I love the country and I want to make constructive criticism against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and state governors that we have to address many problems bedevilling us. No country will be allowed to have about 14 million unemployed youth according to the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) consisting of about millions of illiterates, semi literates and unskilled youths and millions of literates who have gone to school but are just wandering and there parents have paid there school fees upto universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions thinking that if they educate them, they would assist them in their hour of need at old age. But, unfortunately, the aged parents are old, have not received there pension, while the youths are jobless and desperate, to any father, grandfather and an observer like me, Nigeria is in a deep mess, as we are just sitting on a time bomb that may explode at any moment. I allege that President Muhammadu Buhari doesn’t give a damn about the future of the Nigerian youth.
I want to ask President Muhammadu Buhari, who is a Muslim, he has taken oath of office to protect each and every Nigerian, what is the program he has for the youth and the general public? Indeed God has endowed us with different types of natural resources, we have a vast land, if one will drive from Abuja to Gwoza lcoal government in Borno State or most parts of the country both in urban and rural centers, you will see vast uncultivated land. Instead of the country to focus on what is beneath our problems and find lasting solutions, we are busy talking of what is on the surface, in order words instead of talking of growth and development, we have been talking of general elections despite the numerous challenges bedevilling the polity.
We have gold, diamond, and all the mineral resources you can think of, we have them in Nigeria. We have tapped only ten percent of our natural resources, Buhari has not sat down with his Economic Adviser to say what can we achieve, like set a target to explore about 20 or 30 percent of our resources. By the time we reached 40 percent, no Nigerian will go abroad seeking for greener pasture, as people from all over the World would come to Nigeria. I know the President and he knows me, but I allege that he doesn’t give a damn about Nigeria. But Allah is there. And the Quran which he has taken oath with is watching him. As a founding father of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and later the All Progressives Congress, (APC), I am challenging them to let us know what are there agenda towards solving the unemployment of our over seventy million youths? What they are planning for our children and grandchildren? If they didn’t, they should forget about the next election it would be bedevilled by mass apathy as witnessed in recent governorship and by elections nationwide.
What is your reaction to the huge amount appropriated to INEC for the 2023 general election, while the country is facing numerous challenges?
The present chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has conducted the last general election, but I allage that he has not accounted for the expenses up ill now, the National Assembly has failed to ask for the audited account. I don’t trust this system. It is alleged that the former Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega conducted election and did not account for the expenses that he wants to contest for president under the Peoples Democratic Party, (PRP). If the legendary Malam Aminu Kano, is alive, i believe that he will not accept him in the party.
You have witnessed many changes in Nigeria, what is your assessment of the activities of state governors?
I am surprised that Governors in this country are not accountable to anybody. They will collect money from the federation account. and divert it to there own personal account because they regard there people as slaves. And the chairman of the economic committee under of the Vice President Yomi Osinbajo to challenge the status quo to be accountable from the money they receive from the federation account as most of them are not paying salaries in their respective states but have been paying themselves promptly. It is allege that some past governors have billions of naira and some incumbent are amassing billions of naira in their personal accounts and authority ask then the source of the money. So how do you conduct election in a country were we are not accountable to anybody, thee governors are demi God in their respective states. I am calling on President Buhari and the Governors to salvage Nigeria’s democratic future by solving the menace of unemployment amongst youths with entrepenuership training, interest free loans, small and medium ventures in an enabling envirinment devoid of multiple taxation, security and infracstructure before he talks about election.
