Interviews
There are many tangible achievements under President Muhammadu Buhari, which many Nigerians have not objectively, analyzed or considered – Architect Waziri Bulama
There are many tangible achievements under President Muhammadu Buhari, which many Nigerians have not objectively, analyzed or considered – Architect Waziri Bulama
In this interview with NEWSng, former National Secretary and Caucus Member of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Architect Waziri Bulama speaks on Politics, Insecurity, economy and the crusade on Corruption by Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration. He told James Bwala and Lazarus Balami how the government inherited these backlogs and what the government is doing to stabilize the country
Q: Thank you sir for the opportunity of having us, may we please who Architect Waziri Bulama is?
My name is Waziri Bulama. I am from Maiduguri, Borno state. I am a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Architect. I hold a Master’s Degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and another in the UK in Architecture and Entrepreneurship respectively. I have put more than 30 years in public service before joining a private business as well as curving a niche for myself in politics. I left the public service as Director Physical Planning Unit at the University of Maiduguri, Borno state in 1993.
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I did some other thing before transiting into politics and ran for the House of Representative in 2003. I also ran for governorship in 2011 after which I continued with my political journey and worked closely with President Muhammadu Buhari. My last two assignments were as the Deputy Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation of the APC in 2019. In 2020, I was made the National Secretary of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC. Our tenure was substituted by a caretaker committee in 2020. The National Working Committee where I was the National Secretary was dissolved in June 2020 and was succeeded by the caretaker committee.
I remain actively involved since then and at the moment I am also doing some National Assignments. I am currently chairing the governing council of Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic in Birnin Kebbi. I am also the Chairman of the committee of chairmen of governing councils of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria and I am also Chairing Federal Government Committee on renegotiation of agreement with the Polytechnics (ASUP). Basically, this is where I am at the moment. However, I have also joined the ranks of statesmen of the APC being a former National Secretary of the Party.
Q: As a Caucus member, a statesman of the APC, can you tell us what is going on with the way and manner in which the party is currently conducting its primaries?
Well, the party has already announced to the public the timetable for the internal primaries, for adopting or electing candidates to run for the different offices in the 2023 elections. You know, these offices are the House of Assemblies, the House of Representatives, Governors, Senates and the President. Two weeks ago we started with delegates who would elect the candidates among the aspirants to run for the different offices. So, that went on successively throughout the country. This week the party sent committees to preside over the election of gubernatorial candidates and Houses of Assembly candidates which took place on Thursday throughout the country. The Federal representations, the House of Representative, the Senate and the President will take place within the preceding days and end by 29th of May, 2022. So, everything is going according to the plan and timetable given by the party.
Q: But what about the body language of the party, It seems tilting towards the south-south and rumour making the rounds suggest that President Buhari may be anointing one of his former cabinet members from there. How true sir?
There is no evidence of APC tilting attention anywhere. All the aspirants of our party are on the same level playing field. There is no body language tilting anywhere. In the South-south we have about five candidates. We have Jack Rich from Rivers state, Amaechi from Rivers state, Akpabio from Akwa Ibom state, I understand that Silver has stepped down, but Adams Oshiomole is there from Edo state. There are about five or so other candidates from the southwest you know, Osinbajo, Asiwaju Tinubu , Fayemi and others. In the east we have Ogbonaya Onu from Ebonyi state, Omahe, Ken Nnamani and a few others.
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All of these aspirants have been moving round the country and engaging with the stakeholders and delegates. The only difference perhaps is in the intensity of the campaign by different Aspirant. Some Aspirants have covered the whole 36 states and Abuja, some have not. That is not, however, a determining factor in electing a candidate because every aspirant has his own programme. Some choose to go round; others choose to engage through social media and so on, or through some other methods. So, it is about their strategy rather. For now, there is no evidence suggesting whether the party body language is tilting towards the south- south or any candidate. I know that many people are trying to read the body language of the President to know who the President is supporting but so far the President has not indicated support or come out to reject any Aspirant.
Q: But we also learnt that the party may be opting for consensus. Do you think that is feasible with the huge amount of money people invested in nomination forms, which indicates how serious they are to contest?
Well, you know the difference between an observer and someone like me is like the difference between a passenger in a car and a mechanic. A Mechanic knows how the system works but an onlooker or a passenger who boarded may not know. So, the real issue you know is, the party has outlined methods for conducting the primaries elections. We have the direct, Indirect and Consensus. The electoral act also allows for such. Now coming to the Presidential election, we are faced with choices and because of the omissions made in the electoral act which disqualify statutory delegates from participating. The number of people that are going to participate in the elections of the party’s candidate has been drastically reduced from about seven thousand to about two thousand, three hundred or thereabout with the provision of the electoral act. By our standard this number is not much compared to the number of people that attended our last convention. However, the number is manageable and it can be easily handled.
Q: A new party has emerged to challenge both APC and PDP in the 2023 elections. That is the NNPP, now with the merger also with about seven other political parties. Tell us how jittery or scary is the APC with this development seeing what NNPP is already doing in Kano state?
Based on my experience in politics, there is nothing scary about the merger of this new party. These obscure parties coming together mean nothing really. I don’t know what the next month may give birth to; we have the next election in February/March coming year. In politics they said, one day is very significant. Looking at things now and what may come before the election year, many things will change. One of which is the campaign to canvas for votes and these parties coming together to stand as NNPP do not present any threat to either the PDP or the ruling APC. Especially the APC because of many factors: 1. You look at the membership and spread of the party. APC is a party that has been here for long and has registered its presence in the minds of the people. This is different from the party that is struggling to even make its name known. 2. Another thing that matters in the success of parties is their structures, spread and presence in different parts of the country. This is one advantage which this new party doesn’t have.
Both APC and PDP have spread and have structures in all the 36 states of the federation. They have membership and candidates in all the states. They also have experienced politicians. These are advantages which these new parties don’t have and you know another thing that would count is this issue of structures that will count to the existing parties. These parties have candidates for the other elections like house of assembly, house of representative and senate in all the states of the federation and when they are campaigning they are promoting the party and they are also promoting their own candidature. This is one advantage which this new party doesn’t have. So, there is nothing like getting alarm over the party’s merger with others or its emergence on this political ground. However, I am not disputing, in politics anything can happen. As a stakeholder in APC, we are also going to have our own strategy to end threats from this party especially issues of migration of members and win the 2023 elections.
Q: Are you telling us that APC is going to win the next election?
Well, I can tell you that APC has a very good chance of winning the 2023 elections. However, we will not be overconfident. Our party is big and it has a balanced spread. We are in control of 22 states at the moment and we have elected representatives in all the 36 states. So we have the required strength to master and carry out broad based campaigns. I can also tell you that there are many tangible achievements of this government under President Muhammadu Buhari, which many Nigerians have not objectively analyzed or considered which have made many Nigerians to appreciate the records of the achievements of the APC under President Muhammadu Buhari in many areas.
We would also as a party say that there is no threat of this party falling apart. We are united and we intend to keep this unity together and work towards the 2023 general election because unity in the party is very important especially in a country that is diverse like Nigeria. Under APC we have been able to achieve unity in our diversity as such we are confident that this unity is going to work for us.
In APC, we were able to dissolve the identity base party and everybody is being appreciated without sentiment to religion, tribe or region. There is no reason given to anybody to leave the party. Instead, we are admitting people into our fold as you know. In the last two years we have admitted the governor of Ebonyi state, we have admitted the governor of Zamfara state and others. In the other party, you must have heard that Abaribe has dumped the PDP as well as Peter Obi but here in APC we are intact. We also have a record of performance across the country to show. So, we have a good chance of talking to Nigerians based on our records with some measure of confidence.
Q: Speaking on the security situation in the country, how would you rate your government under President Muhammadu Buhari?
Insecurity is a big problem in our country. When President Muhammadu Buhari went out to campaign in 2014/2015 general elections, he noticed the threat of Boko Haram that spread across some local government areas of Borno state and the northeast region. He also noticed their spread to other party of the country to the effect that they even threaten and bomb the UN house. So, he first put this as his number one priority and you will agree with me that the threat of Boko Haram outside the northeast has completely been curbed. They have been degraded. So, the insecurity that we inherited, we were able to subdue it.
The second insecurity issues that we in the APC inherited is the situation in the Niger Delta where young boys have been vandalizing oil pipelines and therefore resulted in the drop of oil exploration activities; however, that also has been curbed and oil production resumed its full capacity and we are getting about 1.8 or 1.9 million barrels today. For those two security challenges, we were able to curb but other forms of insecurity which emerged, whether they are related to Boko Haram or not, only the expert in security matters can be able to tell us. Now we are experiencing sort of organized crime where people are being abducted for ransom and others and this is very disturbing but this too is being tackled by this government.
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What our government has done is to boost the capacity of our security agencies by arming and kitting these agencies for better operational performance. However, I want to say that insecurity and other social vices that we are experiencing are things that this government is tackling with all seriousness.
Q. How about the Inability of the government to subdue bandits in northwest north central Nigeria?
Well, the point is or rather the important thing to note is that the contexts of the environment within which we are living couple with the way we are organized socially and politically as well as economically if anything is the cause of our problems. There are millions of young people who are uneducated and are living in poverty. Also is a fact that our institutions of governance are not working very well. For instance, just this week President Buhari obtained a Supreme Court judgement announcing the autonomy for local government so as to free funds meant for the local government from being trapped by the governors. Also you will agree with me that unlike the developing countries Nigeria does not have for example mechanisms for deterrence to crimes.
We also do not have sufficient security men in the country even though we have many types of security agencies but the men on ground are not sufficient to check crimes or criminal activities in the country. We have not grown our security architecture or capacity to the level that would deter people from committing crime. Right now as a society generally, there is this culture of impunity all over that if somebody makes you angry you slap him or if somebody steals something from you instead of going to court you take the law into your hands and execute judgement.
We do not even believe that we have a system that gives justice in the country anymore and this is not something that was created by the APC administration. It is something that we inherited and we are gradually tackling it. Anywhere there is breakdown of law and order it is the duty of the police and the army to tackle it, however, what is very weak is the atmosphere of deterrence and that will improve with time but crime will continue to happen. There are countries where you will travel for one hundred kilometers and you will not see one policeman. You go to a settlement of two or three hundred people and there is no police station.
Borno state alone is about 70,000 sq km and Niger is about 72,000 sq km in fact the entire southeast, which is five states, their total land mass, is about 25,000 sq km. Which is less than 50 percent of the landmass of Borno or Niger states but yet you see, in those areas you have less than 10,000 police men in the whole of Borno state. How do you secure such areas? It has been like this and I know this for the past 20 years.
So the atmosphere, the context of deterrence is what is weak in the country. The police also lack the resources to do their work very well and efficiently. They do not have surveillance equipment; they lack so many things to carry out the job effectively. In England for example, there are over 16,000 street cameras attached to a voice that warns people with intention to commit crime from the control centres. So, the climate of deterrence is what is lacking in this country but this government has done a lot in equipping the police and we are doing more to get there. Another thing we need to have is the readiness to address crime.
Q: Looking at Nigeria’s economy, what can you tell us that this government has done to help curb the informal security situation due to lack of stability in the economy?
To understand any situation, you have to analyse the context and understand it. I am telling you this as a professional and a strategist when you want to understand why things are happening or even if something happens to you try to understand the context before you react. We are a country of over 200 million people. This country used to be a middle income nation in the 80s but one reason or the other led to where we are now and these are many factors. The way the country was being managed, grosses inflation, political leadership issues etc, makes this country to descend from middle income in the early 80s when naira was changing for one dollar and today dollar is changing for six hundred naira. Now, we sell what we have and import what we lack but because of our weak currency, we cannot continue to operate most of the factories in Nigeria that used to employ people such as textile and what have you.
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The purchasing power has also become weak and the army of unemployed youth keeps soaring. The government was not getting enough tax to meet its obligations, all these are contextual issues. In fact by the time we came to power there was very high poverty in Nigeria, there was a very high lack of development in the country, and we didn’t have an adequate transport system in the country. These are the context within which we are but when President Muhammadu Buhari came to power; he said that after insecurity, the priority will be the economy. That is to stabilize the economy, and this means governance does not stop and the market, the farm and everywhere people work to earn a living does not stop. Once the economy is stabilizing, the next step is to go into development. When we came in 2015, nearly 30 states in Nigeria were not paying salaries, some owed six month, some owed one year. The federal government itself was borrowing money to pay salaries, sometimes they even owe three months salaries.
Buhari however, ensured that this ended; he gave the states a bailout of one trillion naira. Then he also generated money which the Obasanjo administration owed the states amounting to also another one trillion naira and he released this amount so as to give the states a boost. Since Buhari came to power, have you ever heard that salaries are not being paid? He pays as and when due. Now people are talking about allowances and others but actually we have been paying salaries. We even raised the minimum wage and went ahead to continue paying. Now at the level of the Federal government we have been able to sustain the economy. In fact the economy went into recession twice but intelligently and through proactive measures we are able to pull out the country from two recessions.
Again, the challenge of Covid-19 came, when the entire global economy was shut down and crude oil was not selling but the Nigerian economy did not come to a standstill. This informed the commendation of Nigeria for how the country was able to manage Covid-19. This government is also putting up infrastructure in all the six geopolitical zones. We are refurbishing all our airports, big legacy projects like the second Niger Bridge, Lagos, Ibadan Express way and Lagos, Ibadan rail lines, Abuja, Kaduna and many others. These are heavy infrastructure that is capable of improving the economy. They create employment during construction; they also generate internal revenues and flow of cash. These are the aspects the president is addressing to help stabilize the economy and grow it. We believe this will help address some of the insecurity issues in the country.
Q: But don’t you think that corruption has grossly informed the current economic situation and also the growing case of insecurity in the country?
Yes, but in addressing it, you have to look at the context within which self-help, abuses, mismanagement, and misappropriation of funds, the collective issues that amount to corruption within a system or environment. The reason why I said the context is because some of the things we do in this country and get away with it, you can’t do in America and go free. You cannot do it in Dubai or Saudi Arabia. So, it is because of the context within which things are happening. For instance, when President Buhari came to power, the first thing he did was sign into what we called OPG- is a global practice that requires a certain standard of doing things and on account of that, one thing that President Buhari did was to change the context within which corruption takes place.
This he did by digitizing the entire government management system. Everything now became centralized and also done digitally. The entire accounting system for example the IPPIS , TSA and so on. So, by digitizing and creating centralized ways of doing things it made interference and self-help more difficult. You know, all these accountants, they know all the juicy ministries where money is flowing but with this system they became paralyzed. This is one thing this government did in terms of creating a system that is less vulnerable to self-help. This has helped to curb corruption. This government fights corruption more than any government in history. I am sure you know what is currently happening with the Accountant General, Ahmed Idris and former governor and Senator Rochas Okorocha and many others with huge amounts of money being recovered.
Q: Finally sir, politics is ongoing and politicians are at the grassroots. You have a big name in the political circle especially in Borno state, why are you in Abuja when you should be on ground in Borno?
(Laugh). Well, I should be there really, but like I told you. I am now a member of the statesmen of the APC. I have more assignments for the party here than back home. I am now managing the National Political structure. My presence locally is not felt because of the much work at the national level. I was nominated by the Chairman of our party for so many national Assignments and this is where the future of our party is being decided. We have to keep the party flourishing from here.
There are many tangible achievements under President Muhammadu Buhari, which many Nigerians have not objectively, analyzed or considered – Architect Waziri Bulama
Interviews
Interview: NHRC paid over N480 million to 120 people for rights infringements after the SARS investigative panel saga, – Hilary Ogbonna.
Interview: NHRC paid over N480 million to 120 people for rights infringements after the SARS investigative panel saga, – Hilary Ogbonna.
In this interview, Hilary Ogbonna, a senior human rights adviser to the executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, speaks after a recent stakeholders consultative forum on the tripartite partnership to support national human rights institutions, Bodunrin Kayode sent an excerpt:
Q: Who are the three parties in the tripartite agreement you mentioned earlier during the stakeholder forum, and how long will it last?
A: It’s a partnership to support human rights institutions. It is also a partnership started by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions. And this is supported by the Norwegians, who are big supporters of the partnership. The three of them came together with their respective mandates. Undp is the front-runner organization for the UN in terms of development, cooperation, rule of law, and governance. The office of the high commissioner for human rights is the gatekeeper for global human rights, and the global alliance for national human rights institutions is the coalition and secretariat of all national human rights commissions across the world, over a hundred of them. So the three of them came together to decide to support the national human rights institutions to be able to achieve their mandates of promoting and protecting human rights and ensuring that they work with stakeholders in civil societies across the world. They pick and choose which national human rights commission they will support at any given time, and this is Nigeria. So they decided to support us from January 2024 to December 2024. By January 2025, they will decide whether to continue and how. So what are they supporting? The main support they provide is the capacity of national human rights institutions to enable them to achieve their mandates for human rights monitoring and reporting, sourcing data for human rights, and supporting national organizations to establish frameworks for business and human rights. Training and capacity building for human rights commissions and for their subnational-level offices. Since we have an office in Borno, the reason we are here is to use this week to build the capacity of our staff so that they are able to support the people of this state. So under the TPP, we are also doing a lot around promoting women’s rights, gender equality, and human rights education. So for all of this, we are going to support the Borno State Office of the NHRC, and it will be done throughout the year. The overall goal is to ensure that human rights commissions are effective in implementing their mandates, which is why we came here.
Q: Speak on the final document you intend to propound as a roadmap for a business and human rights framework to hand over to the Federal Government, the planned pillars inside, etc. How would you put it?
I can tell you that we have already set up that standard. We have all the necessary documents. The only person without the document as I speak to you is the Borno State Government. At the federal level, we have these two documents, one of which is the national action plan on the protection of human rights. That is a human rights obligation of Nigeria under the Vienna Declaration. President Buhari approved this in April 2023. So instead of presenting another action plan on business and human rights to them, we included it as a chapter under this national action plan. So in passing this, they have passed the two of them. The implementation of this one is ongoing by all the ministries. It’s a national document for everyone, not just the Human Rights Commission. As the ministry of environment or information, there is a role for you to play here. But this one is a specific national human rights mechanism for business and human rights. It is under this one that we have established the national working group on business and human rights. This is the one we want to establish in Borno State. So for us, we have outlined this road map, and under it, we will first develop a consent note that we will hand over to the government on what they need to know and do. And when the government understudies that note, we will also include these processes. They will do stakeholder mapping to know who is who and who is doing what. After that, they will convene a state consultative forum on business and human rights, which will mandate the state government to go ahead and develop a state action plan on business and human rights. This action plan will take into consideration everything that is contextual to this state as it concerns the human rights of the people of the state. They will copy a lot from the national action plan, but they will also make their own specific Borno plans. And then the action plan will say who will belong to the state working group, and they will inaugurate the state working group. Then they will begin the process of implementation, where they will stipulate what they will do, such as the capacity building that must be done to ensure that businesses conform to the national human rights principles and standards. Across Nigeria, with the social challenges we are having, any company that decides to have social responsibility will go and bring bags of rice, ask people to queue up, and there will be a stampede. People will even die due to the struggles for palliatives, which are human rights violations. So we need to have a standard for what to do, and we are already developing one, especially when it comes to business compliance on the issues of social care. You don’t kill people while trying to help them.
Q: Cuts in… like what happened during the customs palliative saga?
It’s not only Nigerian customs that make such mistakes; even churches do it. Churches say they are coming to help with food. You will not ask how many people will come; you did not issue tickets; nor did you ask for a central exit or entrance so that when the place is full, you will close the door. And then, you don’t have emergency medical response units in case anything happens. It’s a general Nigerian thing, even where we are now. If someone collapses in this hotel now, God forbid, I am sure they do not have a system to evacuate them. And if they are evacuating you, do they have ambulances or amenities to use? So it’s just a whole gamut of unsolved problems.
Q: Finally, if there is a violation of the UN guiding principles on human rights between now and December 2024, what is the guarantee that everything will be ready?
A:…..cuts in. Everything depends on the state government. If they ask us to jump, we will ask how high you want to jump. So it’s up to them, but if they don’t have this state action plan, our own action plan will cover them. Because human rights are a federal thing, they cannot do state action plans for the protection of human rights because the Vienna Declaration is very clear about it. But they can do a state action plan on business and human rights because even the state government taxes and also regulates businesses.
Q: Alternative justices—speak on it—and judicial remedies—will they be embedded in this package of the action plan?
A: Alternative justices will be embedded in the state-based package on non-judicial remedies. There are state-based judicial mechanisms and non-judicial mechanisms. The state-based non-judicial mechanisms include the Human Rights Commission. The ulamas are non-state-based judicial mechanisms, and they can equally perform some functions with limited quasi-judicial roles. The good thing is that each of them can actually perform judiciary roles and award compensation. Like the HRC will award compensation based on its laws, if it’s the DSS or police that infringed on your rights, we will ask them to insert the same in their budget, and it will be paid to you. And I tell you, we have been successful in all this. But whether we speak about it enough or not, I can tell you we don’t. But like the special anti-robbery squad (SAS) panel, I can tell you that we paid over N480 million to 120 people for all the infringements that were incurred by their personnel in that incident.
Interview: NHRC paid over N480 million to 120 people for rights infringements after the SARS investigative panel saga, – Hilary Ogbonna.
Interviews
Kashim Shettima is focused, trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion in Nigeria. – Dr. Bwala
Kashim Shettima is focused, trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion in Nigeria. – Dr. Bwala
Dr. James Bwala, PhD, is a media practitioner, consultant, and author. He is one of the closest media men to Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima. Ahead of the May 29 celebration of democracy day in Nigeria, he spoke to newsmen about his long-time relationship with the VP and why he writes in his own style to promote and defend Nigeria’s Vice President on many fronts and other sundry issues. NEWSng was there and sent an excerpt:
Q: Thank you for having us. It was indeed very important that we meet you. Can you please tell us about yourself?
A: I guess I am not in a hot seat. I really did not expect this question. It reminded me of some interview questions I was asked while I was seeking job opportunities with the NGO some time ago. But since this is not a job interview, I figured that I would relax and try not to be nervous. My name is James Bwala, as you all know. I am a journalist and have practiced in the media space for over two decades now. I studied mass communication for my first and second degree programs and earned my PhD in management with a specialty in disaster management. Currently, I run a media organization as the managing editor as well as managing public relations on behalf of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). I am also into politics, trying to follow in the footsteps of my principal, Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who has graciously been a very good teacher and mentor. And I hope that my learning will bring positive fruits and add value to Nigeria’s politics at any given opportunity to make a mark and to sell the Nigerian dream in the renewed hope initiative of Mr. President.
Q: You are a prolific writer, and we are happy to say that you are doing well and encouraging young media professionals with your style. We have read a lot of writings from you defending and promoting the Vice President before, during, and even after the general elections. Do you have any political appointments in this government?
A: I just told you that the VP is my principal, whether or not I have an appointment in the government or not. My loyalty to the VP has been there for decades. He calls me brother, and I think he is an older brother I have who also stood with me in my darkest moments. He has demonstrated the brotherly love that I have heard preachers preach, and he never leaves me as would some older brothers do. I am happy that you noted that I have written several pieces on him. Some were promotional, while others were trying to defend both his public and private lives. Yes. I have been given a political appointment in this government, but that is not about me and Kashim Shettima. It was the reward system in a political circle when you played your part in the game and when your loyalty was tested and you gave results. For that also, I will remain grateful to the VP for choosing to consider me for such a political position. And like I said, he never leaves me. I will look up to him as that older brother and respect him. I will also always defend him in the media, where necessary.
Q: How long have you known the VP?
A: About three decades, actually. I was raised in Kaduna, but I grew up in Borno State, which is my state. I am a bona fide citizen of Borno State, and I am proud of that. While growing up in Bullumkuttu, Abuja, in the city of Maiduguri, I happened to leave around the VP’s wife’s family residents. I became friends with some of Her Excellency’s brothers and sisters, and we attended the same Bullumkuttu Primary School in the 1980s. I knew Kashim Shettima around 1988, to be precise, but we became very close when he became commissioner under the Modu Sheriff administration and I was writing for the newspapers as a journalist. I think we became very close because we share the same attitude and vision. Our culture, books, and views of life are the same. So, I would say we think alike.
Q: How would you describe the VP’s activities in the last year of this administration, and do you see distractions?
A: Well, they are too numerous to mention his activities generally. For distractions, there are also numbers. However, the VP is focused. Remember he said in one of his many sayings during the campaign that you should stop throwing stones at every dog that barks at you or you may not reach your destination on time? So, I want to tell you that this is his posture toward distraction. And you can see that he remained focused, building on the renewed hope initiative of the government by trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion. He has also been in and out of the country, connecting and networking to build relationships for security, the economy, and others. For every achievement, there is a working person, and the VP is one of those working to achieve the dreams of Mr. President and give Nigeria hope.
Q: Your writings speak volumes about the VP; do you also consult with him before you write?
A: No. I know him too well to read his lips, and I can also study his moods, especially his reactions to what I wrote. Like I said, he is my teacher and mentor, so I guess there is this chemistry of understanding what to do and what not to do between us, which came naturally. Secondly, I am a professional in my field with good experience in political writing. It is therefore easy for me to look at situations and determine with precision what I need to do as a professional. For someone like the VP, all I need to know are the vital signs, which are obligations to me because of the closeness. I watched his back media wise, and he does mine brotherly.
Q: Recently, you wrote defending the VP on the issue of 2027. Why do you think some people want him replaced? Did he offend those calling for his replacement?
A: You know, this is actually laughable.
VP Kashim Shettima did not offend anybody, but the gang was politically motivated. For me, it is normal in politics to have those who want you there and those who are pushing for you to be out of place. But let me tell you something. Recently, the President appointed the Zenith Bank Chairman to lead the loan team. Jim Ovia was VP Shettima’s boss when he was still working in the bank. What does that tell you? Does it look like there is friction between the VP and his principal? The closeness between VP Kashim Shettima and the Zenith Bank Chairman is well known to Mr. President. As those people claim in their dreams that there is friction, I do not think we have been seeing this development coming. Mr. President is well educated and knows very well those he can work with. He has a history of gathering intellectuals around him. That is also the reason for choosing VP Kashim Shettima as his running mate and partner in the governance of Nigeria. Together, they have been doing tremendously well, and as I said in my writing, there will be no replacement as suggested by those doomsayers.
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Q: You sounded very confident about the political future and the likely play for Tinubu and Kashim Shettima in 2027. What is giving you such confidence, as in some of your writings?
A: I don’t know, actually. But I keep having my dreams, and I believe in them. It has happened in the past and has come to be true. It is happening again, and I keep my belief. So many people fighting over 2027 think they are gods. This administration has only been around for about a year now. If they think they have all it takes to govern better than what the current occupants of the seat of power are doing, I hope that as Nigerians they should be kind to render support through their vision to help Nigeria develop well. The president and his vice president are calling on those who have vision for the development of Nigeria to come forward with suggestions. They must not be in position before they can bring out their good road map to make Nigeria better. If they are waiting to come to a position before they give suggestions or bring their ideas to the table, then I would suggest that those are not thinking of making Nigeria great but are working towards their selfish desires to occupy seats for the betterment of their families and not Nigeria.
Q: Can you at least mention those you think are already fighting over 2027? And those calling for the replacement of the VP?
A: My friends, we know the writing on the walls. You go and read some of the writing floating in the newspaper spaces. We have over one hundred live newspapers in the country, and they have been reporting issues recently. Engaged in some of these newspapers, you can come up with names likely to be those you are looking for. I do not know any of them other than those I have read through on the pages of the newspapers, and I believe you can do the same.
Q:. On May 29, this administration will be celebrating one year. Do you think there are things to celebrate?
A: Well, if I may ask you, do you think there are no things to celebrate? You see, sometimes we ask questions for which we already know the answers. Of course, there are thousands of things to celebrate about Nigeria. I hope you have been following the various achievements made by our military, the police, and other security agencies in the areas of insecurity in the country. I hope you have written about the successes in the economic sector. There are several achievements in health, agriculture, the road, and what have you. I may not have time to mention others, but we have days counting to May 29, and you can do us the favor of going around to hunt on the successes and achievements of the Tinubu and Kashim Shettima administrations since their coming to power on May 29, 2023. Nigerians are eager to hear from you because they can count on you, and I urge you to be fair in your reports.
Q: On a final note, what do you think this government should do based on the assessments of people on what they did or did not do for Nigerians and how to improve on their promises?
A: First of all, let me make it clear that you are asking the wrong question here because I am not a member of the economic team of this administration. Secondly, what I hear people saying may be different from what you hear that people are saying, so do not expect me to give an answer to what is going on about what you hear. However, I can speak for what I hear, and that is a positive note on the many challenges that this administration was able to sum up. Two key issues have been on the board since this administration came on board on May 29, 2023. That is the issue of insecurity and Nigeria’s economy. I think that you would agree with me that the Tinubu-Shettima partnership has done creditably well in tackling these menaces in the areas of security and economy. If you do agree with me, then I can tell you that the government by measurements has done well and should be given the passing mark for demonstrating rear leadership.
Kashim Shettima is focused, trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion in Nigeria. – Dr. Bwala
Interviews
The challenges with IEDs at the “Hadin Kai” theater will soon be history – Former TC General Ali
The challenges with IEDs at the “Hadin Kai” theater will soon be history – Former TC General Ali
Before becoming the 10th Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Chad, General Ibrahim Ali was the last theater commander (TC) of Operation Hadin Kai in North-East Nigeria. He succeeded in getting three Chibok girls and their children out of the Sambisa and vowed to get Lear Sharibu anywhere credible intelligence could locate her. He spoke with Bodunrin Kayode just before proceeding to his present command in N’djamena. Excerpt:
Q: General, before I proceed to matters of this war theater, I would like you to compare and contrast your last command with “Hadin Kai,” which you are about to leave after only 6 months.
The level of threat in the Jos. 3 Division area is quite different from the one in the North East Theatre Command. We know that the threats in the theater Command are more. This is because in the 3 division area, the threats are more like intercommunal clashes—you know, farmers and herders crises, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and things like that—but here in the Northeast, it is insurgency and terrorism. Which is higher in terms of mortality than those ones. So it was not easy, but I came with the experience I had from Jos, and before getting to Jos, I had been to the Northeast five times, and this will be my sixth time coming here. So I came with all those experiences I had earlier, and it really helped me. I had a fair knowledge of the modus operandi of the insurgents and the terrorists, and I was able to counter them. And this time around, we had better equipment to confront the insurgents than we used to have when I came earlier in the five times I mentioned. So, with the additional and improved equipment level and other platforms, we were able to degrade them to a very appreciable level.
Q: Is it true that the rule of engagement in the 3D theater was that soldiers were not allowed to take out anybody, even if the bandit was the aggressor messing around with ancestral lands and you were seeing him live?
A: No! No! That is not true. Because I remember the former President, commander in Chief, shortly after I went to Jos, especially the early period of my stay there. There was a directive from the Presidency in which the President said that “any person seen with an AK-47 rifle should be taken out. I remember that vividly, and it trickled down the Chain of Command and came to us. Which was equally sent to all my troops. Any person carrying an AK-47 rifle and attacking another community will be taken out. This is because he is an aggressor. And I can tell you, if you check the record, that there were a couple of militants that we took out, in Plateau and in Sabon Kaduna. I lost, during my stay as a junior officer in 3 divisions, about 3 to 4 soldiers, if I remember well. So, we cannot sit down and see them eliminating our troops, and we say that we are not supposed to fire because of the rule of engagement. It’s not true; any person carrying a weapon, at least an AK-47 rifle, is an aggressor, and he should be taken down. And that is what I was doing. The only peculiarity of the Jos area, of course, was when you talked about the inter-communal crisis. Communities or tribes fighting themselves, we had to come in between. And in that situation, as long as they are not carrying arms, we cannot start shooting them. Unless, of course, any of the other groups are carrying arms, then you definitely have the go-ahead to take them down.
Q: But is it true that mostly in the night beyond Mangu, Riyom, Ganawuri, etc.,troops were non-operational just pinned down, which is why the senator representing Plateau South, a retired general, was saying recently that he wants the defense chief to re-enact the rule of engagement to make them operational during the night too, to counter the bandits who operate mostly in the night or the wee hours of the morning?
No, we carried out patrols when I was the GOC. You know, I left there almost six months ago. When I was a GOC, we carried out patrols in the daytime and at night. We did carry out our night patrols. So, I am not aware of the fact that troops just stay confined to their locations. We carried out our patrol both day and night when I was there.
Q: Do we have night patrols or operations here in Operation Hadin Kai?
A: ….. Cuts in. Off course we do.
Q: Except that certain areas are shut down as early as 4 p.m., like the Maiduguri-Damaturu road, because of the aggression of the insurgents.
A: Yes, those are supply routes, main supply roads. We shut them down for security reasons, and that has been going on for a long time. You know. It’s for the security of the civil populace that plys the route that we can control the movement. And we make sure that people are not exposed to attacks.
Q: So, looking at the Northeast theater that you managed for about 6 months before shipping out, What, in your own perception, are achievements?
A: I will just mention a few; there are quite a lot of achievements, several achievements in the 6 months I have stayed. First of all, I, my staff, and my officers and men conducted Operation Desert Sanity 2 and Lake Sanity 2. We conducted Operation Mountain Sanity as well. So, these operations have to a large extent degraded the terrorist.
Q: Cuts in. Mountain sanity is the Mandara stretch in Gwoza.
That is right, Mandara Mountains; we made a lot of recoveries. In Ukoba, Sambisa, we made a lot of recoveries. We were able to get very sound intelligence on where they have stashed their arms, ammunition, and weapons. The records are there, the photos are there, and I am very happy to say that I was able to rescue three out of the many Chibok girls that were abducted several years ago. I was able to rescue three of them from the operations we conducted. And there were two non-governmental organizations (NGO) staff that we rescued. Three others have not been seen, and we heard that they were killed by the terrorist. So, I am happy that we were able to rescue those two as well. I am talking about those that were picked up in Gamboru Ngala. Also, we were able to at least reduce the frequency of attacks on people. You can attest to the fact that the attacks that we used to experience in the past have been reduced by the terrorist attacks. We don’t have such attacks as we are used to any more. So, what they are trying to do now is attack farmers. Now that they have been degraded to an appreciable level, they are trying to get soft targets like the farmers. And we are taking adequate measures to counter that. You will know the terrorists once you are able to degrade them. They will look for other exit routes to cause damage. We are happy that we are able to degrade them, even though they will always change tactics. So now the tactics that were adopted were that they were trying to kill farmers to stop them from farming this year. And they intensified the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and bombs along our routes of movement. So we are contending with that as well.
Q: So, what about Lear Shaibu? Did you get close to her?
Lear Sharibu; we are not sure where she is. We have been getting conflicting information about where exactly she is. But we have not lost hope yet; we think she is alive, and if we get good intelligence, we will definitely try to rescue her.
Q: So, what were some of the operational challenges that clogged the progress of troops in sectors 2 and 1?
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The challenges I experienced were, first of all, the issue of equipment. Another challenge is the high attrition rate of the equipment. So, it’s not that the equipment is not available. What I am saying is that the equipment is available, but before you know it, it is damaged. How? Because of the bombs encountered and the IEDs on the way, ok. A lot of Emeralds were bombed. Before you know it, when we go out for any major operation and come back with the troops, those vehicles will have gone over mines, which will damage most parts of the vehicle. We have the time to repair it, so we can deal with the subsequent operations. However, some of them are not going to be repairable at all. So, we need replacements, and this thing takes time. So, these are some of the challenges that we faced.
Q: IEDs have been a major challenge since your predecessor was here. Now you are facing them as a major challenge too. Is there any long-term plan to deal with these IEDs once and for all because the insurgents will still do them anyway?
A: Of course, that is the most preferred weapon for terrorists and insurgents. Especially now that they don’t have vehicles, they lack arms and ammunition. They have resorted to the widespread use of IEDs. We have just identified counter-IED equipment, which the Nigerian Army has purchased and will very soon deploy in the theater.
Q: Sector 3 is very peculiar. Lots of meshes: the Tunbus, the Timbuktu triangle. So how did you handle those challenges in Sector 3? Are they still IEDs, or are there other natural issues other than IEDs and flooding?
A: Of course, one of the major issues in Sector 3 is flooding. So now that we have had some experience in some areas, we have worked out ways to counter it the next time so that it doesn’t happen. By creating dykes, water floods areas to channel the water when it comes back. So, these are some of the things we have done. And we are clearing the waterways of the hyacinths and the giant grasses. So, this thing will also allow us to freely go through the channel linking the Lake Chad Basin area.
Q: And were you satisfied with the cooperation from your colleagues in the air?
A: Yes, absolutely yes.
Q: Cuts in. At times we see them bombing and producing their own reports outside the theater, or are those bombing under your command?
A: Yes, we plan everything with joint operations; you know, we plan together. You know, we mostly get the intelligence, and we pass it on to them to carry out the air rides. Yes, they do conform to our directives here.
Q: What about the Navy guys in Baga and your amphibious troops? What’s next for them? What is their plan to end all of this?
A: The Navy, like I said, is involved in actively clearing the waterways that have been overtaken by the water hyacinths and going forward. They are going to be carrying out more serious amphibious operations in the Lake Chad Basin area.
Q: I believe that when you get over there in Chad, there will be a correlation between that side and this side, so that they will be able to weed out the criminals. This is because I learned that even on Tumbus Island, there are so many that nobody actually knows the number of them for effective planning. But I believe you people will take each day as it comes. Is that correct, General?
A: Yes, that is it.
Q: What then is your message to the people of this whole theater as you are leaving, especially concerning the defected insurgents surrendering daily? We have heard so many reports about them, you know, especially now that you are going to the other side of Lake Chad to do the same job in conjunction with foreign troops.
A: What I will tell them is that they should not look backwards. Of course, they shouldn’t lose hope either; they should continue to give support in times of information and intelligence. They should continue to talk to their brothers who are out fighting and tell them to lay down their arms and come out. I think the Governor has a good heart and wants the best for them. They should give him a chance and listen to him. They should come out of the bushes and lay down their arms. Now we have over 100,000 who have surrendered. Over 100,000. I think that is a sign that we are getting to the end of the tunnel. The crisis is coming to an end. Of course, there will be some die-hards. But of course, such die-hards will find themselves to blame at the end of the day. That is my message to them.
Q: My mind is on the wounded soldiers at the 7th Division hospital. Are you satisfied with the facility, having spent just six months managing the troops? In case you were here for another 6 months. What would you have done differently with the functional medical facility in the barracks?
A: Of course, it is to improve the hospital by buying more equipment. We can increase and buy more. Even though what we have is adequate and there is a system whereby we move some of them to 44 in Kaduna, you know, And even in Damaturu now, we have a few hospitals there. So, we have the capability to take care of the strength of the troops here.
Q: And we believe the new Chief will take care of the tertiary one being built here to ease the pressure on the UMTH and 44?
A: Of course.
Q: Thank you very much, General Ali. I wish you the best.
A: Thank you.
The challenges with IEDs at the “Hadin Kai” theater will soon be history – Former TC General Ali
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