Kano State Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso is a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with KOLADE ADEYEMI in Kano, the state capital, he maintains that the major priority of contenders is power shift from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in next year’s election, and not the ambition of individuals to rule.
Will you step down for General Muhammadu Buhari? Secondly, there are allegations that your deputy, Dr. Umar Ganduje, is your anointed successor. How true is it?
On the issue of Dr. Ganduje, let me just say that, when the time comes, we will see how that can be handled. Then, on the issue of four of us — my humble self; our leader, General Buhari; the other leader, Atiku Abubakar and my friend, Sam Nda-Isaiah —- I believe all these people belong to the APC and all of us are communicating. For example, I have been together with Atiku for over two decades under the leadership of the late Alhaji Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. Even on the platform of the defunct SDP, I was under him. We have always been together during the constitutional conference, in the PDP and now the APC. We have been together and I consider him an elder brother. The same thing applies to Muhammadu Buhari, who enjoys my uttermost respect, even though we had never been in the same party, until the emergence of the APC. We will continue to communicate. At the appropriate time, as a family, we will agree on what to do; either we settle for consensus or we go for primaries. Whichever way it goes, I want to assure you that we will rally round whosoever emerges to ensure that the party succeeds.
How would the defection of Speaker of House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal affect the polity?
Well, I think some of these our friends in Abuja are furious. Anytime they have defections from any other party to their party, they celebrate it. But, anytime we have defections from their party to any party, they regard it as a problem. This is double standards and it is not good for them and for our democracy. But, they have not seen anything yet; it is just a matter of time, God’s willing, Nigerians will kick them out from they are today to their villages and I think they have to take note of that. I don’t know why me and Jonathan collected our forms the same day. Perhaps it is an indication that both of us are going to slug it out in 2015. If that happens, I am sure that you know what the answer would be? He is going to lose. He will lose because I don’t see anybody in this country that would vote for him again, apart from the hawks in Abuja, contractors and those who are stealing our oil and oil money. But, the masses or the talakawas of Kano, of Enugu, Zamfara and of course including Bayelsa, will be very happy to vote for change. It is only change that would guarantee the security of lives and properties of Nigerians, no matter where they live, no matter their religion or ethnicity. All the antics of dividing the country based on religion, North and South, ethnicity and class will certainly fail in 2015.
If you become the President, how would you approach the issue of insecurity?
First and foremost, as a former Minister of Defence, who has been associated with the military and the Air Force and Navy, I feel terribly concerned with what is happening with Nigerian military today. The Nigerian military must be supported by all Nigerians. It has done us proud over the years, both within the country and across Africa. This was a military that was being respected by its friends and feared by its enemies. But, unfortunately, over time things are beginning to change. That glory must be restored; we should have a powerful military. No single country in the world that can be proud of itself if it doesn’t have strong military. Any country without strong Army, strong Air Force, strong Navy, where applicable, is a failed country. Therefore, our administration can never ever take the issue of the Nigeria armed forces, the police, the SSS and all other paramilitary organisations lightly. In my opinion, what we are lacking today is the political will. The political will to provide the necessary ammunitions, kits, welfare and of course training and retraining. I think these are the issues; otherwise we have seen the performance of our military even when I was the Minister of Defence. We have seen what they did in Dafur, Sudan; we have seen their performance in Sierra Leone and Liberia. I can assure you that once you have strong and committed leadership in this country; things will certainly take their shape, not only in terms of security, even in the economy. We have the issue of unemployment of our youths, both men and women. As we are sitting here, schools are being closed in Adamawa, in Yobe and Borno states; and the battle line is moving, it is not static. That is the worrying aspect of it and that is why I believe this country needs change. We must work together to bring this change. Those people in Abuja want to remain there, but they know they are not performing; we only see them performing on the electrical poles along the streets of Abuja, telling us funny stories and people are laughing at them. I think they need to know that people are laughing at them; you should tell them when you see them that people are not only laughing, but are very angry over their leadership. You know, they don’t know what I happening on the ground, they are there in Abuja in the air — they don’t know the realities in the ground. The realities are that people are not eating well, people have no job, people are afraid of their lives, some have already been killed and the killings continue.
If you become the Pesident, what will be your foreign policy, particularly with neighbouring countries, whose citizens are suspected to be fighting on the side of Boko Haram?
Some years before now, we all know that our neighbouring countries depended on Nigeria for protection and support, for their economy. The reverse is the case now, because we go to them cap on hand. Our foreign policy has now come down from grace to grass. Those countries who were respecting us are now finding it difficult to believe what is happening in Nigeria. Countries like Benin, Chad, Niger and Cameroon were before now heavily dependent on Nigeria in terms of economy, in terms of Defence and so on and so forth. Now, you have seen that our leadership is going round begging them, kneeling down to them to help us. I think these are the things that must be reversed. Nigeria must take its rightful position in the comity of nations. Nigeria and Nigerians must take the leadership that we deserve. Of course, this should be the main focus of our government — to stabilise the security of the country, its economy, to tackle the issue of education, health and agriculture. Now, we have seen this country surviving on one commodity — oil! We have to look at renewable energy, agriculture, education. We have to make sure that each and every Nigerian is supported by the government to realise his or her potentials because it is these individual potentials put together that will remedy this country.
On the economy, you said some people in Abuja fabricating figures. Are you implying that Nigeria is broke? Secondly, we learnt that the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Muhammad paid a reconciliatory visit to President Goodluck Jonathan. Are you aware of it?
I don’t know why you are asking me whether this country is broke or not. We are all Nigerians; I will throw the question back at you: are you happy with the economy? I don’t think anybody is happy with economy. Look at the private jets at the airports in Lagos and Abuja. That should remind us that we are very rich, but also very poor. I don’t think the jets are owned by people from my village. So, they are telling us about their private economy — how they transformed themselves from where they were to where they are today.
On the issue of the Emir, he told me he was going to Abuja and, of course, as usual, I gave him the necessary approvals to go. And when he came back, he briefed me. I didn’t invite him, he booked an appointment to come and talk to me and I am sure he will continue to come and talk to me, not minding how and why he there. The Emir of Kano is the Emir of Kano. I am the governor of Kano.
Are you happy or not over alleged reconciliation of the Emir with President Jonathan?
I will be very happy, if President Jonathan will invite Kano people every day for reconciliation. That will be a good story for me and I am sure it will be a good story for them. We don’t even know much about the issues to be reconciled, but it is good that they want to reconcile; and I hope they will also invite me and other Kano indigenes for reconciliation; because we must be very angry for one thing or the other. We want reconciliation and we will continue to encourage reconciliation. If we didn’t want him (Emir) to go, we would have told him not to go. But, you should not worry yourself because the Emir is an employee of the government.
Are you saying that all is well between you and the Presidency?
Of course, all is well, as long as he knows that he must dust his table before 2015. Yes. All is very well.
Some people are spitting fire, saying that, should Jonathan win next year’s election, there will be bloodshed. What is your take on this?
What many people don’t understand about democracy is that we have so many people in this country with different background, with different understanding of things, and you see, this is the first time that we have this democracy for a long time like this. Before now, within a period of two years, somebody will come and truncate it. Now, we are having real democracy where people are coming out to say their own opinion — and that is part of democracy. If you open your radio today in Kano, you hear people making all sorts of allegations against me, some against other people. As long as that doesn’t cross the line drawn by the law, I don’t think should be a cause for worry because it is just their opinion. But, the fact remains that we will continue to pray for this country. Bloodshed is not good for anybody; either governor or an Imam, Ulama, camera men — it is not good for anybody. So, we should always pray for the good of the people of Nigeria, the good of the people of Kano State.
If eventually you get the APC ticket, how are you going to sell your candidature to the people of the Niger Delta?
Some of you are press men lack the real knowledge about the Southsouth and other places. The Southsouth also has its own problems. I don’t think it is only in the North that you have security problem. They are so many people from the South; that is Southeast, Southwest, Southsouth and they are living in Kano and they call Kano their home. Recently, I met somebody at the airport. I asked him where he was going and he said he was going home (he is an Igbo man). I later met him inside an aircraft en route to Kano and I asked him the same question again, and he said he was going home to Kano! I said that is what I wanted to hear from you. I am so happy that you are calling Kano your home. Many people living here in Kano regard it as home. They go to Abuja for business, they go to the East for business and they come back here because, in spite of our security challenges, here is still safer because of the issue of kidnapping or armed robbery in the South. People think poverty is only here in the North. But, a poor man here is as bad as a poor man in Bayelsa State.
So, it is not like the whole of Southsouth, or Southeast or Southwest are supporting a particular candidate. No. So, don’t bring any misunderstanding between us and the good people of Southsouth who want better leadership. People in my village don’t care whether it is a Christian or Muslim who is a leader, who is the president. In many cases, we always give an example of what happened in the past so that somebody can understand our antecedents, you remember in 1993 when we had election between Abiola and Bashir Tofa. You know I come from the same polling both with Bashir Tofa in Gandu Albasa. So, why didn’t he win there? He didn’t win in the ward, he didn’t win in the local government; he didn’t win in the state! Abiola from Ogun won. So, it was in 1999, Abubakar Rimi from Kano, our leader was contesting, he got close to zero delegates from Kano; while Obasanjo, a Christian from the South, got Kano delegates and won the elections here in Kano. So, politics here doesn’t rely or go for sentiments; we are looking for the best. Once we identify the best man, whether he is an Igbo or Yoruba or Tiv or any tribe, we will vote for him.
