‘Allow States to create Local Govts’

What’s more  important in my state  today, is allowing states to create additional LGAs irrespective of whatever the funding situation will be even if they’ve not changed whatsoever in the funding formulae as it is today, that they’ll not get a kobo extra, my people will want additional Local Govts.

The National Assembly has intensified its quest at constitution review, with the committees  on constitution review of the Senate  and House of Representatives recently holding a retreat in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State on the much- talked-about review of the 1999 constitution with a view to harmonizing their separate documents. Three-time Governor of Yobe state and Senator representing Yobe East Senatorial District in the present Senate, Senator Dr. Bukar Abba-Ibrahim bares his mind on this and other related issues in an interview with The Tide On Sunday in Abuja.

Excerpts:

One thing that is causing ripples on the streets of Nigeria is the deployment of troops, soldiers to the airport at the time that the President arrived; we’re told –reliably- that the order to deploy soldiers was not given by the Acting President who was empowered by your resolution to be the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces…. why?

(Cuts in) No, No, No! I read this in some of the papers – the safety of Mr. President is under the control of the Brigadier of Guards; he doesn’t need to talk to anybody except if something beyond him happens, he doesn’t even talk to the Chief of Defence Staff; he doesn’t talk to the Chief of Army Staff. This is a routine work, normal job unless  the Acting President (gives a contrary directive); of course if the Acting President had given a contrary directive, they could have done his directive,  but ordinarily when the President is travelling or is coming (in), even other presidents – not necessarily our own president, Brigade of Guards takes care of this – it’s a routine job; that’s their own job. That’s what the brigade of guard’s job is all about – it doesn’t concern anybody.

Of course their superior (officers) shall still tell them if there is anything they notice is unusual or if there is anything they think is being done differently, otherwise they have their normal way of doing this kind of things. I don’t think that anybody has any contrary opinion except if something strange happens…but nothing strange happened, Mr. President (was) coming back home, even the Vice President when  he is travelling, the Brigade of Guards takes care of his security – until he goes and as soon as he’s at the airport, retires to his house – all around, it is under the control of the brigade of  guards. I read it in the (news) papers.

There is nothing worrisome or nothing unusual about this, it’s purely a routine military job. I read it in the papers it’s purely a routine military job for the Brigade of Guards their commander, of course they are under the command of the chief of Army staff and also the Chief of Defence Staff.

Rightly or wrongly, it’s said that the first lady is responsible for people not seeing the president including the special delegations from Governors Forum, (which include his son-in-law), House of Representatives and the PDP in Saudi Arabia. It is also worrisome  that the same thing obtains now that he has arrived the country. In the overall interest of the nation  since the president is a ‘public property’, you may want to advice Her Excellency, the First Lady.

I don’t believe the First Lady would be the one to stop everybody from seeing Mr. President that probably must have come from his doctors. Even in Nigeria, when people fall sick, even an ordinary person – like us, when we fall sick the way people worry you & bother you, it doesn’t really help you in anyway at all, so doctors tend to control crowd and so on and so forth. So when you have a president who is sick if you allow people to go in freely & come out, pressure will be too much on the President but this is purely general statement.

I cannot expect the First Lady to stop his Son-in-Law to go in and see his father-in-law or his daughter to go and see their father. I don’t think that is possible except if it’s order from the doctors so I believe if what you’re saying is correct – that it must have come from the doctors.

But as you rightly say and rightly say earlier, the President is a public property, no Nigerian, not even his wife has the right to stop Nigerians from knowing what condition he is in, if that happens, it’s wrong. We need to see him clearly, at least a glimpse of what the situation is – that’s our right as a people but doctors always behave in a way that will help his patient so I believe any such orders, it must have come from his doctors, not from the First Lady but of course even doctors cannot stop the First Lady from seeing her husband. The First Lady will be No 1 person to see her husband, every other person comes distant second.

But I’m not  sure people are not unnecessarily blaming the First Lady. This is, I think, beyond the First Lady; it must have come from the doctors. But I don’t know really, nobody knows – nobody, nobody really knows.

 I know that you’re not a member of the constitution review committee

 (Cuts – in) No, am not.

But I know that  you’re full of expectation since you have the interests of Nigerians at heart. The members of the committee have proceeded on their retreat, they’re expected to be  joined by their counterparts in the House…

 (Cuts-in) Yes. My wife is a member, in the House so I  know that.

 At the end of the retreat, what are your expectations?

Eehmm… at the end of the retreat, we expect them to be putting finishing touches to all the (grey areas and employ) hard work in trying to amend some aspects of our constitution and also the public hearings in all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. They should have put all these together, not even talking about harmonization of the position by the position of the Senate and the House of Representatives which is going to be a very big exercise. As you are aware, it was impossible for the Senate and the House of Representatives to jointly do the exercise. They did not get on the way they should so everybody did its own separately; they must find a way of putting these together so that we know that we have one document we cannot have two amendments to the same constitution.

So am sure they’re going to put finishing touches to this very important exercise

(c): Finally, what should be expected of you by your constituent of Yobe East, now and 2011 and indeed 2011 – the election year?

 To do  more of the other good things I’ve been doing – to do more and more of them and I also want the constitution to be reviewed – so I am expecting the committee to finally submits its reports. What’s more  important in my state  today, is allowing states to create additional LGAs irrespective of whatever the funding situation will be even if they’ve not changed whatsoever in the funding formulae as it is today, that they’ll not get a kobo extra, my people will want additional Local Govts. This is the No 1 issue in my state today, I hope that at the end of the day, this will prevail, this will happen in the review exercise.

As far as Yobe is concerned, I think that’s what they really need – very special attention.

I know what is important to us may not be important to other people, somewhere within the country – I know we are all within the country; but in my state that’s the No 1 priority. In some states they are talking about creation of state. We don’t ask for additional states except if every states must have additional states.

Come 2011, What should your constituents in particular and your admirers expect from you, as a former presidential aspirant of the ANPP?

Well, that depends on what you’re talking about because in 2011, I‘ve 3 options. Either to go for the Presidency which I’ve started to made wide consultations and I attempted before, and I still have the ambition or going back to the Senate to continue to make good laws for the Republic of Nigeria or simply retire to the farm in Damaturu where my attention is also very badly needed. So I’ll take my time to decide but for now,  the priorities are in the order I’ve stated – presidency, Senate and my private life.

Just a follow – up. Talking of 2011, would you join your friend Gen.  Muhammadu Buhari in the mega party come 2011?

No, Gen. Buhari didn’t go to the mega party. Gen Buhari has registered his own party; we already have our own party (ANPP) he made us in the party, he didn’t  find it easy; he didn’t find it totally acceptable so he left; we’ll continue, he’s very well building his new party. Probably we’ll meet in the mega party proposal as equals.

The idea of a mega party is not that you’re going to register one party – to my own understanding. It’s not you to register one party – that everybody should come and join as individual. No! I think it’s going to be an amalgamation or a union of all the opposition groups in the country, including the greater opposition called the Progressives – the true progressives – who doesn’t really align (with) PDP, who are scattered all over in the other parties so that mega thing is going to be and electoral arrangement of maybe parties – several of them – all equally registered, all with their leadership and so on and so forth – voluntarily coming together to form the huge electoral coalition to defeat the PDP hands down in 2011 because the PDP has failed Nigerians in the last 10 years. So we might meet somewhere so there’s no question of anybody following anybody to anywhere else; we could, we may meet in the greater arena because we have something in common, that is our ‘total opposition’ to the PDP, if nothing else.

Justus Awaji, Abuja.