Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim is the lawmaker representing Yobe East Senatorial district on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with CELESTINE OKAFOR in his Abuja residence, Ibrahim who was a former governor of Yobe State and currently the Senate Committee Chairman on Environment and Ecology, said APC will win the presidential poll and that he would campaign hard to ensure that president Muhammadu Buhari wins in the North East zone. Excerpts:

A few days ago in your state of the nation address during your book launch, you were reported to have said that your party APC is heading towards electoral defeat in 2019 due to a series of unpleasant developments in the party. What were your basis for such predictions?

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I didn’t mean that APC will lose the North East zone in the 2019 elections. The press quoted me out of context. They reported that l said the APC will lose elections in the North East which is not true. What l said is that l am concerned in the way and manner our leaders in the party are handling issues in the North East, particularly with the emergence of Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria as PDP presidential candidate. That development has put a lot of burden on us political leaders in the North East. So what l said was a wake-up call. Our party should wake up and we should tighten our belt and work very hard to make sure that we defeat Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the North East geo-political zone. Atiku coming from the North East zone of Adamawa state puts a lot of pressure on us. And also being a former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku is not a push-over. We all know how resourceful Atiku is. So my statement was a simple wake-up call for us to take the matter seriously if we want to defeat Atiku in the North East and deliver the zone to our president, Muhammadu Buhari. It was a simple wake-up call but now the press reported that l said the APC will lose the North East. We are not going to lose the North East. We just need to work harder to ensure overwhelming victory. My first concern is for the APC to win the general election. Secondly, l want APC to deliver the North East to the president. Three, l want President Muhammadu Buhari to come back to power in 2019 and complete his second tenure. So looking at all these issues, l felt l should warn my supporters, my colleagues and political associates to wake up and do very well in the North East. That’s basically what l said but the press misinterpreted it to mean that we are going to lose North East. Buhari will win the North East and all the geo-political zones, Insha Allah!

You also said something noteworthy, that both the North East where you come from (Yobe) and the North West where President Buhari come from (Katsina) have always played divergent politics until 2015 elections when you led political leaders of the North East zone to cement a political bond between the two zones so as to ensure Buhari’s victory then. What were those differences and how did you do it?

Yes, l did that because we, I and Buhari are in the same party, Buhari was our presidential candidate and we were all working towards achieving the same goal. I was the one that initiated that historic move for the political merger between the North East and the North West and the other parties. That time, the merger was consummated by the former ANPP, ACN, CPC and APGA. We came together and delivered and won the election clearly in the North East. Regarding your question about the political differences between the North East and the North West, it was just the basic divisional ideological, tribal, linguistic, cultural and certain minor and religious differences of the Nigerian politics. These differences are the same all over the country. So all along, we have been in different political parties from those from the North West. But this time around, l initiated this merger which culminated in getting the ACN, the ANPP, the CPC and APGA to merge and become one and we won clearly by simple majority. That was just my concern. But the press turned the whole thing upside down to report wrongly that l said president Buhari will lose the North East. I never said or meant that.

It was also insinuated that your reported outburst or rather the concern you showed regarding your party’s fate in the 2019 elections, was born out frustration and anger that you lost your senatorial ticket in the last primary to your state governor?

It is not true! I voluntarily stepped aside and left the senatorial slot for my governor. I and the governor (Ibrahim Gaidam) come from the Yobe East Senatorial district. He showed interest in the senate seat which l am occupying now, so l voluntarily left it for him.

Why did you do that?

Well, this is a man l have associated with politically for a long time. I took him right from Assistant Directorship position in the state civil service and promoted him to the rank of a Permanent Secretary. I also made him a Commissioner and also a deputy governor to late governor Mamman Bello Ali. When l made him a deputy governor, l had to even backdate my approval of his appointment because l was leaving the government house then as governor. The governor at that time was also my close political associate. When we lost him to the cold hands of death, this present governor now took over. So why should l be struggling the same position with my political son. Why? A governor who still call me his leader? It is not right. I thought l should go beyond that. I am supposed to be the leader of politicians in the North East rather than fight or struggle with somebody l made so much effort to build. So l gracefully and very tactically withdrew from the senatorial race. I said l wasn’t going into any primary elections this time, particularly with my governor, my political son showing interest in the same position. Uptil today, the governor calls me Baba! Baba!.

Your action was indeed a rare display of remarkable sacrifice in political Godfatherism in the Nigerian context. Why do you think elderstatesmen political leaders like you still cling to power like a mistletoe even when they are no longer able to function in that capacity?

It is greed! It is absolutely not right. For me l have been a governor since the age of 42 for 10 years cumulatively. I was governor of Yobe state for two years between 1991-1994 under the military government of former president Ibrahim Babangida until General Sani Abacha came and sacked us. Then in 1999, l was re-elected for another eight years ending in 2007. That made it all to ten years as governor. I became a senator three times from 2007 to 2011 and from 2011 to 2015 and then again from 2015 going to 2019. What else am l looking for? . I have been in politics for over 40 years now and l have never ever lost a single election in my life. Why should l at this last minute go into competition with my political son? That is my decision. I have done a lot for my senatorial district, for my state, for my country and for my people. So enough is enough! Life is not all about politics. I can do other things now. I have a big farm which l can go and develop. I have houses in Abuja, Maiduguri and Damaturu. I can go and stay in any one of them and now turn to God and look at life in the hereafter. Seventy years in life is not a joke. I have worked in the civil service. I have been a Director, a permanent secretary, a governor and a senator. Enough is enough, l don’t want to continue struggling with the younger people who are coming up. I am the grandfather of Yobe politics. I gracefully accept that position and l intend to play a role in that context.

You also accused your party APC of squandering some of the lofty dreams by the party to turn the fortunes of Nigeria for good, and that failure in this regard has put your party on the same level with the PDP in the public reckoning. What were those failed dreams?

Well, the major dreams are about the development of the country. Taking the country out of economic doldrums and fighting corruption and the issue of insecurity. But sincerely speaking, President Buhari has done very well in security matters. He has not done so well in the area of economy but he has definitely improved and still improving. I believe in his second tenure, he will do better. Nigeria will be a better place for everybody. President Buhari’s dreams are about the same with our dreams, the dreams of the APC. He is doing well in fostering those dreams. That is why l will go out and vigorously campaign for him. President Buhari needs to return and continue with those dreams. That is the task ahead of me now. Insha Allah! I am happy with his effort in the Single Treasury Account (TSA) which is revolutionary. It has drastically curtailed looting of our money and corruption generally in the system by people in positions of power. More of the stolen billions are still being recovered. It means that corruption is being fought. Corruption, as president Buhari often says, will kill Nigeria if Nigeria doesn’t kill corruption. Then again, agriculture is another area the president has done well in the economy. I am a farmer, though l have not directly benefited from the government’s agricultural policy or loan support, but l have seen farmer benefitting, becoming millionaires here and there. Rice and other grain producing farmers in Nigeria for instance are making it big courtesy of president Buhari’s agricultural policy. That is one critical area of the economy where this government has done excellently well.

You were quoted in your controversial address as saying that Mr President’s anti-corruption war is selective. Was it a slip of tongue or you were misquoted?

No! It was not at the level of Mr President that this war is selective. It is at the lower level of the administration. People who think they are APC want anti-corruption war to punish those they perceive as non APC. The president cannot descend from his top level to know what these lower level officers are doing, using him as a cover. The problem is just officials whose responsibility it is to fight corruption. Officials of government and the party right from the ward level, should all wake up to fight corruption in a transparent manner. There is urgent need for transparency at every level in the war against corruption. That is exactly what l meant. I have never seen anybody being picked up by the presidency for punishment for acts of corruption simply because that person is not APC. I need to clear that.

Can you appraise the government’s effort in the war against insurgency particularly in the North East where you come from?

You know, there was a certain stage in the Boko Haram insurgency in my zone that l couldn’t go home to Yobe state. For that three years, the farthest l could go is Damaturu (the state capital). I could not go to the villages. For that three years l could not go to my own village. My house was mistakenly bomb by the soldiers when they were pursuing the insurgents. My father’s house was also bombed. My grandfather’s mosque, a very old mosque which l modernized was completely bombed down by the soldiers, believing that there were Boko Haram insurgents hiding there. No insurgent was occupying the place and nobody was killed. Even my father’s house was not spared. But that l have forgiven because it was a mistake.

Your party APC is still mired in crisis as a result of issues arising from the recent party primaries. The issue of approving a direct primary process for some states and an indirect primary for others by the leadership of your party also seem to have compounded the existing problems. Some governors and other elected office holders who felt they were given a raw deal are now in the forefront of the campaign for the removal of the national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. What is the way out?

You see, we don’t have to kick Oshiomhole out in other for us to ensure improvement in that regard. All that the party need to do is to simply approve two types of primaries – a consensus and direct primaries, and everybody will be happy about it. This indirect primary is very bad. It encourages a lot of corruption. Those in power will manipulate the whole thing and turn it in their Favour which is wrong. It is either a consensus or direct primaries. You don’t need to remove Adams Oshiomhole to achieve that. The national chairman is trying. The chairman before him, John Odigie Oyegun did extremely very very well.

But why was Oyegun removed by your party leaders if he did very well as you claimed?

No! Oyegun was not removed by anybody. He decided to withdraw from the race. It was a voluntary decision on Oyegun’s part. He didn’t lose an election. There was no election. He chose to go on his own accord on the eve of the convention and Oshiomhole won. That was what happened.

How do you think APC should handle this post-primary impasse?

I think we are trying. Almost everywhere that l know we have issues, things have settled. This kind of situation is expected in a political party. APC as a large party cannot afford to have all its members agree at one time. But what is important is that we use consensus approach to resolve all minor differences. Those who felt cheated should be reconciled and then we move on. There is a lot of benefits in politics than we have in military rule. For the governors who have shown loyalty and support to the party and to the president, the leadership of the party should find a way to pour oil on the troubled waters. What l mean is that in one way or the other, the party should find an amicable way out of it because we are going into an election that the APC cannot afford to approach with levity and therefore we need to carry everybody along.

Within the North East Zone, how would assess the electoral chances of Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who incidentally is from the North East state of Adamawa and President Muhammadu Buhari who is so much loved in the zone essentially on account of his affiliation with the area and what he has done for them as a former military governor?

President Buhari has done a lot for the people of the North East so much so even when he was governor. His wife, Aisha, is also from the North East, from Adamawa as Atiku. His political support base is from the North East. The people of the North East are predominant in his government. Buhari is always at home politically and otherwise in the North East. That was why l warned that we in the APC should gird our loins for a fierce battle in the North East in this 2019 election. There is no way Atiku Abubakar can beat Buhari in the North East. Buhari is respected, trusted and tested by our people. Since l was born, there is a road in my area in Yobe state called Gwoza, Gamboa-Gambu road that has defied every government including my own government from being constructed. During my grandfather and my father’s days, the road couldn’t be built. But president Buhari is building that road today. He has broken that jinx. So l see no reason why our people will abandon a man who has done so much for them in the 2019 elections. That was why l warned that our party should not take things for granted.

SOURCE: https://www.flowbaze.com/2018/11/atikus-emergence-has-brought-burden-on.html

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