Treating The Opposition

Politically, Mallam Aminu Kano, of NEPU Party, an opposition, will come to Kaduna, the Northern Regional Capital, and present his opinions and or rally against the Northern Regional Government inside Kaduna, and on his way back to Kano would stop at Sadauna’s residence to pay his respects.  They will sit and discuss issues amicably.  At that time Mallam Aminu Kano, was in alliance with NCNC led by South Eastern independence activist and Nigeria’s First Ceremonial President Nnamdi Azikwe.  Mallam Aminu Kano does not need someone to usher him into the Prime Minister’s office either, despite their ideological differences on how they believed the country should move forward.  The Prime Minister sometimes personally ushers him in.

In terms of commitment to service, Sardauna came onto the scene with just two secondary schools, one in Katsina called Barewa College and the second in Keffi, which was created two to three years before independence.  But within those seven years 1959 to 1966 when he was killed, every province has its own secondary school.  His commitment was never questioned by anybody.  In addition to those secondary schools, every province has a technical college, technical school, or polytechnic, regardless of whether the porovince has a Christian majority or not.  Equity was the guiding principle. 

He also created a University.  He created Bank of the North, Marketing Board and NNDC to become a sort of apprenticeship to business expertise.  Every major river in the North has a plan for it to be dammed so the dry season will also be used to farm, in order to provide enough food for everyone.  When Nzeogwu killed Sadaruna and asked for his bank account information to be brought to him and it was revealed his account was in the red, meaning no money in it, Nzeogwu regretted his action.  Both Sardauna and Tafawa Balewa’s houses were mud coated with cement, and I believe either running water or electricity was lacking in Balewa’s own  personal residence in Bauchi.  Tafawa Balewa also left nothing in his account. 

Crude in commercial quantities was discovered in 1958.  I was the oil Minister from 1959 up until the time when the first coup was executed in January 1966, Tafawa Balewa had never asked me for any monetary, or oil favors not for himself, not for anybody else within his political circle.  After the coup, I had to loan the money I used to send my own family from Lagos up North for safety. Our era was for public service, and genuine public service for that matter; the one that leaves a legacy and a great nation, not money in our pockets while the nation languishes.  Sardauna refused to allow anyone to engage in any business while being a public servant.  He said the two should not be mixed as it would provide a conflict of interest.

Q: What then is the problem with leaders of Northern Nigeria today.  The regional founding fathers worked tediously to develop the region and the country.  Today the present leadership of Northern Nigeria do not appear to have any collective vision towards developing their region and the people…

A: That is what I was talking about.  There is no leadership now.  That is the issue.  Traditionally our spiritual leader is the Sultan, but our present Sultan is with the same group that you are expressing disappointment with their leadership performance or lack thereof.  He expressed his position at a meeting of traditional rulers and Jama’atul Nasril Islam, JNI, and was reported to have written formally to President Johnathan that he would mobilize traditional rulers for his political victory.  “Sallah kuwa daga Liman ta ke baci.”  And I agree totally that we do not have the leadership regionally. Politically who are our regional leaders, Shagari?  We were Ministers together with Shagari but having become a President once, he is my senior now, but he will definitely be counted among those that have swayed away from the visionary leadership of our founding fathers.   He was among those that led a faction that wants stiff opposition against the Late Umaru ‘Yar Adua.  Even for the fact that Shagari and I were Ministers with Umaru’s father and knowing who he was, we could have had second thought to join any group against his son.  And from the word go, the ‘Yar Adua situation was a political scheme hatched by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, but spearheaded by the same Shehu Shagari and financed by Theopholus Danjuma.   Then who are the Northern leaders.

Militarily who are the leaders; we have Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), and  Theopholus Danjuma.  They are all behind Jonathan despite his performance.  And if you want to talk about Arewa Consultative Forum ACF, until quite recently I.B.M. Haruna was Chairman and Jeremiah Hussein the Chair Board of Trustees, now they have all received Oil wells from the government and compromised their loyalty and ethical reasoning.

And talking about candidacy, why should the Ciroma group come up with Atiku Abubakar after wasting so much time to bring about a consensus candidate among the Northern candidates.   Even at home Atiku is not sellable, talk less of abroad where he has a possible case to answer in countries like the USA.

Q: So at least politically now, you are saying there seems to be no solution.

A: There is a solution, but I am saying whatever solution you come up with, you have to also have a fall back position should it fail.  Time is always of the essence.  These strategies or a combination of some of them could be effective.  For example, the other parties can come together and make frantic efforts to win, even if they do not in the final analysis, they will constitute a strong opposition to check the exigencies of the government.   With a strong opposition, either the government measures up or they have to eventually give way.  Bring together the other parties ACN, ANPP, and CPC.  Even if Buhari continues to insist that he has to lead, that does not mean they could not make a voting alliance in other sectors. 

For example in the recent registration exercise they came up with 67 million voters across the nation, but out of that, 30 million are from the North West Zone, Kaduna,  Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katisna, Kano,  and Jigawa.  Now try to mobilize Bauchi and Gombe we will make forty million and you have gotten a winning ticket for anyone they support. With a consensus candidate among the three parties a win is almost guaranteed.  And if CPC will still not go along, because it appears Muhammadu Buhari will not cede for anyone else, then leave the CPC alone and try to bring on other strong leaders with influence like Ibrahim Babangida and Aliyu Gusau, because whether people like or not they still wield influence.  

Find out in our concluding segment how Nigeria was mentioned as one of three promosing developing countries half a century ago; and why the two others India and Brazil have made remarkable progress while Nigeria still languishes behind.

 

 

 (c) The Optimist Voice. Al rights reserved

 

NIGERIA NEWS

Interview with Ambassador Yusuf M. Sule

Hadiza Wada interviews Amb. Maitama Sule who was Nigeria’s United Nations representative in 1979, and was responsible for Anti-Aparthied policy towards  freeing Southern    Africa.
  Was Federal Minister twice and remains one of the nation’s most notable orators.

Q: The nation appears dissatisfied with the ruling party and the present politics in general, where the credible leaders are not in the mainstream.  The Northern leaders appear ineffective and self-centered and could not even stand for the party policy they were cheated out of.  If PDP is that bad as propagated by voters across the nation, not just any one region for that matter, why is it so difficult to defeat them through the ballot?

A: There are what I called the five pillars relied upon by incumbents across Africa generally not only Nigeria to perpetuate themselves in power.  When an incumbent president is interested in returning to power, he can hardly be defeated through the ballot.   They control a lot of the relevant institutions and they use them illegally against the opposition.  In Nigeria, for example, the incumbent has under his direct influence (a) the federal government as a whole, (b) the Security apparatus, (c) the Justice Dept., (d) the Treasury is in their hands, and finally (e) they also have influence over the Electoral Commission, in the case of Nigeria INEC, tucked under their arm.  

Because of that we look at the present situation where Jonathan is bent on winning the Presidency at all costs.  Why should we not assume he would use these institutions against the other parties to win.  The people around him have failed to point the realities to him.  For example, the Chiefs and Emirs and even those former Northern leaders around him could tell him the truth.  Now that the figures and potentials have been shown by voter registration, he might have begun to forsee the realities.  That is a chance to sit on the table and bargain with him. 

They might tell him, for example, “You need to analyze the political significance of Plateau State vs. the interest of the majority of people in the region and the majority in the country as a whole, whose interests and that of their brothers and sisters is being compromised by your open support for the Plateau situation.” They could say, “We want to work for you, but how could we do that when the major interests of the same people you want us to woo in your favor are not part of your priorities.”   They also would need to get a clear commitment from him that come 2015 he would resign.  Nothing short of that should be acceptable; but are they doing that?  Apparently, no.

Q: What workable lessons could credible politicians learn from the founding fathers to enable them rid people of these compromised leaders of today.  I mean lessons from the early leaders that secured independence and set the foundation of self- government for Nigeria.

A: That era of the founding fathers and today is poles apart.  I wish I have time to check for some of the papers I wrote in detail about it in my earlier presentations, for you.  The major difference is that the leadership North and South are all patriotic and love their nation more than themselves.  If we look at the political history of Nigeria, not only Sardauna and Tafawa Balewa, Aminu Kano, Joseph Tarka, Nnamdi Azikewe and Obafemi Awolowo were all patriots. They joined politics to serve, not to be served; and to give but not to take.  For that reason they were willing to always set aside all their differences, be it political, religious, tribal, regional and others. 

I will give you a typical example.  One day Chief Obafemi Owolowo greeted Sadauna in London while they were there for a meeting before independence, and Sardauna refused to answer.  Why, Awolowo asked and Sardauna said one of your boys Kolawole had met me twice without saying hello.  Awolowo went back, got Kolawole and brought him back to Sardauna, asked him to seek forgiveness, or he will expel him out of his party.  Right there in public.  That is how much they work together for the good of the nation and up and above their local interests. 

Also, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa once took in Chief M. K. Mbadwe of NCNC and created a post for him after the NCNC Cheiftain Nnamdi Azikwe “Zik of Africa” expelled him from his position, whereby he lost his Ministerial position in the coalition government.  Later Balewa negotiated with NCNC to take him back and they did.  But see Tafawa Balewa was neither an Igbo nor a member of NCNC.  If it were today, other parties will not intervene in the interest of peace and the nation, but probably take advantage of the rift.

On Religion and Politics

The issue of religious differences was never an issue to our founding leaders, in their quest to build the nation and develop the people.  The Southern parties were united in regional matters and equally united in national matters with their counterparts in the North.  Likewise the NPC, NEPU and the UMBC for the Middle Belt (though UMBC at that time was in alliance with South Western Awolowo’s AG), would align in matters dear to regional Northern development.  That is in tandem with any nation on earth.  The founding fathers were never out of line. 

Joseph Tarka of UMBC was as patriotic to Northern regional interest, and gave due respect as well as consulted with Sardauna over regional interests.  I have never observed Tarka crossing his limits, he respected Sardauna immensly. And he would bring to the attention of Permier Sardauna of Nothern Nigeria any steps pondered upon by his alliance that is suspicious to him; as to the possibilities of it negatively impacting the North in the future.

In June 1949 when NPC was at its early stage of formation, when we launched it at the Green’s Hotel in Kaduna; the first President General was a Christian R. B. Dikko.  I was twenty years old then.  It was not until 1952 that Sardauna provided its first Political leadership.  And Sardauna’s personal physician with whom he entrusted his life, Dr. Ishaya Audu, was a Christian.  His immediate neighbor next to his residence in Kaduna, who was close and his registrar was Michael Audu Buba, from Shendam, Plateau State, a Christian.  His closest friend among the traditional ruler’s Council is Sarkin Kagoro, who was a Christian from a minority tribe. 

I remember that when the rumor began to circulate that there was a plot to Kill Sardauna, Sarkin Kagoro shed tears about that possibility at a meeting of traditional leaders, not any of the northern leaders did the same.  And when the Christians wanted to form what at that time was the Christian Association of Northern Nigeria CANN, they went to Sardauna and said that they also want to form an association to convert from those who practice traditional religion, just as the Muslims do, he said “go ahead.”  Religion is a matter of conviction.  You also have that right to solicit, just as anyone else.   And you have to remember, Sadauna was the direct grandson of the Sheikh Othman bn Fodio, the Islamic reformer.  But he knew his duty and mandate and he was dedicated to it.