In this interview, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, chairman of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum tells our correspondent that the North did not benefit much from Buhari’s first term, and the situation may remain the same in the second tenure. He says 2023 is the real chance the region has to make up for the lost opportunities. Excerpt…
How will you assess the performance of the government in the last four years? In what areas do you think the government has done well, and what areas it has not performed?
I have not seen any success in the three points agenda of this administration. One, in terms of corruption, two in terms of economic recovery and three, in terms of security, the government’s performance has been so poor. We are just running from one trouble to another.
The corruption fight strategy is to blackmail and intimidate. That is the only thing I will remember this government for. In the corruption fight, don’t you think there appears to be some success because we’ve not been hearing the things are happening which he is not aware of kind of corruption allegation like the missing $20 billion which the then Central bank governor once alleged.
At that time we had as CBN governor a man who is rugged and fearless. That is the difference. But in terms of impunity, this government has exceeded the previous one. They abuse the sensibility of Nigerians, They claim they are not making money, but they steal with impunity and make it look as if it is their right. Money only circulates in the hands of few. This government is worse than the last one.
We are told that the President is an upright man. Is he not aware of all of these things you are alleging?
He is aware. Unless he pretends not to know. And how can you as a leader not know that something is wrong? Don’t you read the outcry in the newspapers, don’t you watch television or listen to the radio?
If he pretends not to know when something is wrong, It means that he is not in charge of the government. Of course, some of us have the reservation as regards to who in-charge. Some of us strongly believe that so many things are happening which he is not aware of.
What better approach do you think the President should adopt in fighting corruption in his next term?
Well, in terms of fighting corruption, apart from reshuffling the cabinet, he should also be bold enough to rejig members of the kitchen cabinet, from his chiefof-staff, downward.
He should push them out and bring people who are sound minded, who are very liberal and know the nitty-gritty of governing people so that they can advise him properly.
But as long as he remains with these characters, even if he changed the ministers, he will still fail because the kitchen cabinet will continue to deceive him and run the government without him knowing what is going on.
Are you optimistic that he might change the kitchen cabinet because his wife has also raised the same concern?
Does he listen to his wife? If he listens to his wife things wouldn’t have gone this way. He doesn’t listen to his wife. Rather than listening to her and appreciating her for her courage to save him so that he will be remembered on the positive side of history, he is even castigating her, calling her names.
There’s no way he will listen to her. If he is listening to her, he would have listened long before now.
Why do you think the insecurity situation appears to be getting worse despite the fact that our President is a retired military general, in fact, an infantryman, The assumption is that he is in a position to better fight insecurity than any living Nigerian leader. Why do you think he is not making progress?
This is not a conventional war, even though he a military general. It requires somebody who is in tune with the realities of today, somebody who understands what today is all about.
Today is not yesterday and it can never be yesterday. The reality is that every particular time, every season comes with its own style. The moment you have leaders who do not work with the reality of today, then they have a problem.
You cannot continue to apply the methods you used in 1970, 1980 and 1990 and make it work in the 21st century. It doesn’t work, and those are the realities. The reality is that he must be courageous enough to look and accept the fact that he is the father of the nation.
The reality is that he needs sound people around him. The reality is that he needs people who are competent, who know the realities of today, and that can sit down and analyse things in a very sound way that is in tune with the reality, not the same old fashion because in the past we didn’t have insurgency. In the past, we didn’t have kidnappings. In the past, we didn’t have banditry.
These things have come with the present age globally. And different world leaders have applied methods that are in tune with the realities of today. So, if you cannot adjust to the present reality, and you keep doing things in your own way, and you feel only comfortable with people who are your old friends, the fact is that you will not get the right result because your old friends are not the best in the reality of today.
In the first tenure, some people excused the President for appointing mainly people from the North as members of his security team. The argument then was that what we needed was the result. In the face of the current security challenges, what kind of people do you expect to see as members of the security team?
The fact of the matter is that it is not about the people he is comfortable with. He should appoint people who are determined, who have the interest of the country at heart and who are willing to protect the lives and property of Nigerian.
And to that extent, it means he cannot compromise the security of the nations because of some individuals that he feels he is comfortable with. It is obvious that those individuals are not competent, and are not the best brains in our security services.
He should kick them out and bring fresh minds who can do better. If they don’t do well, drop them until you get the right ones.
What do you make of the position the All Progressives Congress adopted by zoning the offices of Senate President and the House of Representatives Speaker to certain individuals?
For me, when the APC decided to zone the position of the Senate president to an individual, my mind just went straight to one person – Tinubu.
Tinubu worked his way and brought Adams Oshiomhole. And Adams Oshiomhole is working at the level of the party as one of Tinubu’s stooge to bring somebody that Tinubu believes will serve his interest when it is time for him to declare his own ambition for the presidency in 2023.
That is the mathematics. Some of us are students of history. Some of us are students of the struggle. With 20 years of experience in the trenches, I know where these things are heading.
That is why we vehemently reject the nomination of Ahmed Lawan as Senate President in totality. It is unacceptable. We will not accept it. We cannot afford to have a stooge that will project another interest other than the overall interest of Nigeria, We will not accept it. And that is why Ndume remains the best choice.
What about the House of Reps Speaker. Are you comfortable with Gbajabiamila?
In the House of Reps, Gbajabiamila is not our choice. We are looking at the North Central. And it will not be a bad idea to look at Macel.
What about the South East and South South? They have no position in the executive branch The South East, it won’t be a bad idea to leave the Deputy Senate President for them and I’m sure they are comfortable with Ekweremadu since the National Assembly is not all about APC.
The National Assembly represents the national interest, and the senators are representing the interest of Nigeria. Do we expect to see a kind of reciprocal support for Tinubu in 2023 from the Buhari base owing to the kind of support he gave Buhari in the last election?
Which election? 2015 or 2019?
This last election. He was the chairman of the campaign council.
Well, we have not seen the support going by the numbers that come from the South West.
He even lost two states in the South West. Lagos was only manoeuvred. Ordinarily, the PDP would have won. It. And that is his stronghold. How many votes did he get from the entire Lagos? Compare this to Borno where there is war. If truly there was an election there. Look at the number there.
We are convinced that if democratically election should go by number, we have seen our strength in the North and we feel that with what we have from the north, in fact, the rotational presidency does not even arise again. If we go by the number, the north will retain the presidency forever and ever.
Will you advocate for that because I know that you are friendly toward the south.
For now, and on these circumstances, my reasoning and my thoughts are very abnormal from what I used to stand for. We cannot have a president where we only have the man at the top.
Somehow, they manipulated the whole thing to the best interest of the South West and they kept all the economic benefits to the South West. We are not benefiting. We are rather suffering.
And this is the only time that we have. And we have lost the last four years, and I do not see any miracle that will change the situation of the north. So to that extent, we are appealing to our southern brothers to give us another opportunity because this administration is waste.
So we will appeal to our Southern brothers to give us another opportunity in 2023 to make up for this one that we have wasted.
What is your problem with Tinubu?
The problem I have with Tinubu is that he only thinks about himself, he wants everything for himself. He has the Vice President. He wants the Senate President.
He wants the Speaker. He wants everything for himself alone. That is the problem that I have with him. Personally, I don’t have any other problem with him other than this attitude and Machiavelli style of acquiring power everywhere. It is too much.
Personally, I respect him because I know him personally. I have worked with him closely during the NADECO days and PRONACO. I see him as a mentor. But the reality is that it is not about him. It is about the country. It is about Nigeria and Nigeria is bigger than any other individual. I still respect him. But I do not share in the idea that he should take control of all powers, and powers should be to him alone. I don’t agree with that.
