In this interview with SUNDAY ABORISADE, the Chairman, Senate Committee on States and Local Governments, Senator Kabiru Gaya, (APC, Kano-South) alleges that the lingering insurgency in the North-East is aimed at elongating President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure beyond 2015
Why did you oppose the request by President Goodluck Jonathan for an extension of emergency rule in the three northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe?
Let us first dispassionately assess the situation of things in that region. This is the third time the government is asking for an extension of emergency rule. If you send your son to school or give a person an assignment, if he fails the first time, you may ignore it and send him back for a second time. If he fails again, you may send him back for a third time. If he fails a third time, he shouldn’t expect you to send him back a fourth time. I mean, it is just like a doctor giving a wrong drug to a patient and the patient did not recover from the ailment yet that doctor goes back to the patient in an attempt to give the same ineffective drug.
Remember, we didn’t agree on the same day about the emergency rule extension request granted in May this year. We debated and invited service chiefs. They came and told us that they needed the extension to fight the insurgency and assured us that in three months, this issue would be entirely over; that there would be peace and stability in the region. They said that if we don’t give them that tool (extension) to work, their hands would be tied. We knew that even at that time there was progress, the civilian JTF, in collaboration with the military, were working hard; they had sent the insurgents out of Maiduguri town and maybe out of Yobe town and they fled to Sambisa forest. So, the military knew where these people were; they were supposed to have gone after them and attack them before they dispersed to other villages. But they didn’t do that. We also asked them what the other problem was and they told us it’s about money and you remember recently, we granted $1bn apart from almost N1tn which was put in the national budget for security.
Yet, because we wanted them to stop killing our people, Nigerians, both Muslims and Christians, agreed on the budgetary allocation, despite the fact that it was against our wish. We agreed because the prime objective of any leader in this country, whether president or governor or local government chairman, is to maintain peace in his/her constituency and if that prime objective is not there, it means that there won’t be progress, nothing will work out. Now, in Maiduguri, they are not sleeping. So, what we are saying is that when we approved the last one, we gave them conditions.
What were these conditions?
The first condition was that they would report to us monthly. On that, we can share the blame that they didn’t report to us and we didn’t call on them but they were supposed to report to us monthly. But after about three months, when they reported, we insisted that our committees on Defence and Security should invite the service chiefs to hear from them. The committees invited them. What was perceived was a suspicion of internal or external sabotage in the fight against insurgency. So, how can we simply close our eyes and extend the emergency rule again?
The second condition we gave them was that they should involve the civilian JTF. We didn’t tell them to involve all of them. We told them to screen them, find those who are responsible, who are good enough with verifiable backgrounds, those who cannot betray the military and move them into the system because they are from that area and know the terrain. We advocated that the civilian JTF be given official backing by employing them. That was not done. We urged an improvement in the welfare of those (soldiers) at war because whether we like it or not, whether we pretend to ourselves or not, we are at war. Even now, there is a petition on my desk on how their (soldiers’) welfare is not being taken care of. So, the second condition was not fulfilled. And you find out that there are conflicting stories and pieces of information. With the availability of the internet, people send and receive information with alarming speed. People are being killed on a daily basis. It was learnt that when insurgents are on the prowl, you find out that the military are directed to go off roadblocks. That was what happened in Mubi. The story we heard might be true, it might not be true. It is curious that three days after ammunition were moved to barracks, insurgents would come in and take people away. You see, a leader must be concerned about the welfare and security of his people.
Thus, the senate decided that no, we cannot grant the state of emergency. But if we do not grant it, we will be boxed into a corner because the military will hands-off the affected areas. We are in a fix; if we don’t grant, they’ll say okay, let everybody go and take care of themselves. When we sent the military to go and fight the insurgency in the Niger Delta during late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration, there was no state of emergency but they crushed the rebellion, they crushed the insurgents and there is peace now. We are putting N150bn in the budget every year to maintain peace in Niger Delta, why are they not taking the same steps here?
You once argued that President Jonathan was plotting to perpetuate himself in power through the backdoor. Why did you say so?
The Peoples Democratic Party and the Federal Government are currently facing serious problems and they are employing means and ways to perpetuate the current leadership in power beyond 2015.
Let us start with the issue of constitutional amendments. Remember the President brought to the National Assembly a bill seeking powers to initiate a new constitution. If that had scaled through, that means the country would start a new democratic arrangement afresh. For instance, myself, Senator Buka Abba Ibrahim of Yobe and others were beneficiaries of the 1999 Constitution. We operated with the 1979 Constitution as governors in 1991. But in 1999, a new constitution came up, Buka Abba Ibrahim, Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Abubakar Audu (Kogi) who were former governors contested again in 1999 under a new constitution and they won. However, after the first term, they wanted to contest again in 2003 but there was a protest which made some people to go to court in order to challenge their alleged plan to contest after two terms in office, contrary to the provisions of the constitution. The Supreme Court, in its interpretation, said, since the country is operating a new constitution, whatever was done in the past, remained a plus for them.
Now, if the President should bring a new constitution, what that means is that, all those years that every political office holder has served since 1999 till that time were null and void and would become a plus to anybody who wanted to contest for any elective post. So, that means if the proposed constitution had been allowed to pass through, the President can go for another eight years. Maybe after seven years in office, they would again introduce another constitution that would qualify him for another eight years, so that when Nigerians are tired, they will retire to fate and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan would then transform into a life President. That is why we killed that idea in the Senate. We did not allow it to fly. Later, they brought some people together again and organised a National Conference with a view to amending the 1999 Constitution, which was a plot to also introduce a new constitution but that also failed because we knew that it was a game plan by the Jonathan administration to elongate the system beyond 2015 through the backdoor.
The third attempt which is already being challenged in court, is the issue of insurgency. We have been fighting this battle, trying to calm it down. Some senators even flew the kite when they said on the floor of the Senate that Nigeria is in a state of war and, therefore, election is not on the table. This statement emanated from some PDP senators. This message sent serious signals and it generated a lot of reactions until some people said they did not say it but of course a lot of people, including me, think that this issue of insurgency is a ploy to elongate the life of the current administration because there won’t be elections in a war situation and so, everybody will continue in office without the mandate of Nigerians which is totally unconstitutional.
You know, in a war situation, anything can happen. It’s just as when we introduced the Doctrine of Necessity to create the office of acting President which was not even in the constitution when the late President Yar’Adua was sick. It was our prerogative and power to make sure that the executive ensures peace in the country. It is a serious situation that we are battling now because if you say you cannot hold elections in three states because of insurgency, which is now extending to Gombe and Bauchi states, since they are already threatening to take over Gombe by Christmas – before heading for Taraba – it is really serious. Now, the situation is so bad that if you call the name Boko Haram, soldiers will drop their weapons and start running, let alone civilians.
Who among the presidential aspirants of the APC do you think can tackle the nation’s various problems effectively?
I am not trying to introduce politics into the situation but we have to tell ourselves the truth. Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso was a Minister of Defence and he is now a serving governor. Before now, he was a legislator and rose to become the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. He was also Special Adviser to the President on Dafur. He was a member of the Niger Delta Development Commission, hence, he has the credentials. He is a young man too. He can work for 18 hours a day. I believe that all our elders and leaders in the APC should support him. If you look at the situation in other countries, their citizens are going for young people to become their president. In America, Bill Clinton was a young man who led the country. The same thing applies to the incumbent President, Barack Obama.
Why are you contesting as governor again after you left the Kano Government House about 23 years ago? Why don’t you give room for younger elements to take the stage?
I left the Kano Government House about 23 years ago and yet God has made me to be relevant in politics. This means that there is something that people see in me. Up till today, some of the projects that I executed still speak for me and the people are happy about them. Also, as a senator, I have gathered more experience and exposure. I have a better political network across the country. I will bring my experience to bear on governance in the country if elected.
