Kano State governor and presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rabi’u Kwankwaso, speaks with journalists on issues ranging from his presidential ambition to the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and other matters. KOLA OYELERE brings the excerpts:
Do you have any plans to anoint your deputy as your successor?
Let me just say that when the time comes, we will see how that can be handled.
General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Sam Nda-Isaiah and you are the leading presidential aspirants in the APC. How is this situation being handled for the sake of the party in the coming general election?
We are communicating with one another. Atiku and I have been together for over two decades. We were both under the political leadership of the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. We were together during the constitutional conference, in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now APC. I consider him as an elder brother. Although Muhammadu Buhari and I had never been in the same party until APC, I have always respected him. We will continue to communicate as a family. We will agree on what to do, whether to leave it for one person or go to the primary. Whichever way, I want to assure you that whoever among us eventually emerges, we will rally round him to ensure that the party succeeds because the success of APC is not only for the party members, but also for the country.
We have seen what has been happening in this country for over two years. Insecurity has taken over. Every day, you listen to the radio, watch television, read newspapers or monitor the social media, the issue has always been the same: people being killed, maimed or displaced. We now have about four million internally displaced people. There are thousands of Nigerians seeking refuge in Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic and the leadership of this country doesn’t even talk about it. Recently, we sent seven trucks, that is, two trucks of rice and five trucks of maize to Niger, and five trucks each to Borno and Yobe states. Now, we are sending some to Adamawa and other places where you have so many people who are being displaced. I want to appeal to the Federal Government not to keep its eyes away from Nigerians. The government and the entire citizens should realise that these are our brothers and sisters who have found themselves in this mess. They didn’t bargain for it. I am sure many of them voted for this government in 2011 but this is what they get from them — insecurity. What we are saying is, it doesn’t matter who started this crisis or who is executing it, what is important is that this government stops it. People are sick and tired of these killings and destruction of properties. The primary responsibility of any government, either in Nigeria or elsewhere, is to protect lives and properties but this government is far from carrying out this responsibility.
The defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, is causing controversies in the polity. How do you see this playing out?
Well, I think some of our friends in Abuja are furious. Anytime they have defection from another party to their party, they celebrate but when we have defection from their party to another party, they paint it as a problem. I don’t think double standard is good for them, for democracy or for this country. We have seen members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly and so many other people defect from parties, including APC, to their party and all we saw was them celebrating with champagne even during Ramadan. But when anyone is defecting from their party, they see it as something abnormal. They have seen nothing yet; it is just a matter of time, God willing, Nigerians will kick them out, back to their villages. They have to take note of that.
I don’t know why (President Goodluck) Jonathan and I collected our nomination forms the same day. Maybe the indication is that both of us are going to slug it out in 2015, and once that happens, I am sure you know the answer - he is going to lose. I don’t see anybody who will be happy to vote for him apart from the hawks in Abuja and of course, those contractors and others who are stealing crude oil and oil money. These are the ones that will be happy to vote for him again so that they can continue milking the economy of this country. But the masses, the talakawas of Kano, Enugu, Zamfara, and Bayelsa will be very happy to have a change, a change that will guarantee security of lives and properties of Nigerians, no matter where they live, no matter their religion or ethnicity. These are going to be the issues in 2015, security, economy, not minding the fabricated figures that come from Abuja, indicating that all is well. All cannot be well where you have crises, where you have insecurity, where people are scared of bringing their investments into the country. All these cannot help the economy anywhere in the world. We have all these issues on the ground and certainly, sentiments will not work in 2015. All the antics of dividing the country based on religion, based on North and South, based on ethnicity and class will certainly fail in 2015. And I want to advice INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) to be cautious, because somebody was telling me about suspected tricks of INEC using computer to help a particular political party in 2015. But we will keep our eyes open and make sure that every single vote counts next year.
If you become president, what are you going to do differently in addressing the problem of security in the country?
Continue reading:-
http://faheezakinwumi..com/2014/11/i-will-defeat-jonathan-even-in-south.html

faheez:
I will defect Jonathan even in the south south

LoL defect indeed. English master

okiezman:


LoL defect indeed. English master

See u

faheez:

See u

Goan sleep jare, attention seeker

I like ur dream any relationship with joseph the other way round

Ranting by a ......

Rabiu K. yu lie.
Defeat him first in the North before yu talk about his base.

GEJ till 2019. No stopping the Fresh Air Train.

[size=13pt]Hahaha . . . this man is a comedian.

Let him defeat Atiku and Buhari first at the APC primaries[/size]

Nonybb:
Ab0ki and his Born-To-Rule cow brain. GEJ TILL 2019 OR HE IS CALLING FOR SECOND CIVIL WAR

My gee, weda don de hot for north o, so na kolomental be dat.
Na so madness de take start small small!!
Gej till naija go taya to be!

Look at Kwankwaso that couldn't defeat Shekarau in Kano ..

I still dey laugh.

APC would have done better selling their agenda to the masses than fighting Pres.Jonathan.For me this has made the masses to love Mr President because of his restrained maturity in the face of provocation.My personal opinion though: President Jonathan hasnt done badly, but I like the competition put up by the opposition to make the ruling party (pdp) sit up.My grieviance with the opposition: their criticism would have been done constructively and with a clear cut aim of projecting their aims and objectives for the masses to buy their ideology by good moral conviction.GOD HELP NIGERIA BY GIVING US A GOOD LEADER(S)WHO HAS OUR WELFARE AT HEART.

Did I see kwankwaso mentioning talakawas in Bayelsa and Enugu. Sorry bro, talakawas are no longer in these areas because of develeopment and their level of exposure.

Kwakwanso will soon go on exile,it's a matter of time.

Politicians are hypocrites

Akwuko na egu....

Kwankwaso to win in South South? The guy must be high on beer. Every Political analyst know the race for Presidency is too big for Kwankwaso.

I dey laugh you in Ijaw... I'm not a politician but fear GEJ, he can defeat u even in Kano State.

This kwashiokor guy funny

Kwankwasiya amana. Sai kaye. Even i would thrash Gej hands down.

Kwankwasiyya

This man that hate strangers in sabon gari with passion, single project he can not do in sabon gari because strangers live there.new road in sabon gari he started two three years ago is now abandon project the worse part of it is that erosion is happening on the road now, it better this man didn't touch the road. pls try you vote in sabon gari Kano first before thinking about south south

Kwankwasia. The joker!

Funkymallam:
Kwankwasia. The joker!

The weed this clown is smoking can only be described as COSMIC!!

bloodyklller:
talk is cheap

but who is kwankanso?

is he from the north?

because i schooled in Amstadam Holland

gej till 2019 is what we all shout here in Holland both the whites and blacks among us

mumu u don reach netherland embassy before talkless of travelling there

Nayoanalytical:
Kwakwanso will soon go on exile,it's a matter of time.

Very true. He has built state universities in neighbouring countries already. He is a crook. Why should he go and build state universities in other countries instead of in Kano state or other states in Nigeria?. Very sure he has ulterior motive building those universities outside Nigeria.

I am sure the above posters are dying of shock and awe due to the downward slide their Jonathan and PDP are currently descending to.
2015 Sai buhari