What is your take on the revelations by former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and others on diversion of funds meant for purchase of arms during ex-President Goodluck Jonathan administration?
It is very sad indeed. We are very lucky that Goodluck Jonathan was not re-elected. If he had come back this country would have gone down in flames. But all the same, President Muhammadu Buhari must wake up and do the needful because there is still corruption in the society. Buhari should not only concentrate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members; he should look at members of his own party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) too because they are also very corrupt. Many APC members were formally members of the PDP; they just moved over to the ruling party. Buhari should not be partial; he should extend his anti-corruption to all of them. All the governors and ministers who were former aides of Jonathan and those who were given election money while in the PDP but are now in APC should not be spared. They should be prosecuted too. The situation is very sad and Buhari should not be impartial. He should extend his anti-corruption war to everywhere. All those involved in the arms scandal and other corrupt activities should be dealt with. He should not be seen as witch-hunting only the PDP members.
Are you insinuating that the present administration anti-corruption war is selective?
That is what I am saying. It should be expanded because there are people who were very corrupt under the PDP, but have switched to APC and nobody is saying anything about them. And they are the root of corruption in this country. If President Buhari wants to deal with corrupt people, he should spread his anti-corruption campaign to everybody, no matter who is involved. The issue of just pursuing the PDP alone is not good. Most of the people who formed APC were former members of the PDP. They stole while in the PDP and ran to APC to get shield and nobody is talking about them.
Why did you say Nigeria would have gone down in flames if ex-President Jonathan had been re-elected?
A lot of stealing took place during Jonathan’s administration and if Jonathan had been re-elected , nobody will mention all the revelations we are seeing and hearing now; nobody will even mention it and all the stolen money would be covered without anybody saying something about it. It is because he is not there that the revelations are coming out. If he had returned, he would have tried to spend more money and suppressed all the scandals that are going on now. He was the president but he was not in charge. When people were stealing money, he didn’t talk or maybe he gave approval and didn’t know where the money went. The situation is very unfortunate and anybody who loves this country must be angry with what is happening in Nigeria.
Don’t you think the insecurity problem and Boko Haram menace in some parts of the North-East geo-political zone would have been resolved if the arms money was judiciously used for the purpose it was meant for?
People were dying in Maiduguri axis and government released money for purchase of arms and ammunitions for security agencies to fight the insurgency. But instead of using the money to purchase arms, some people took it for Jonathan’s re-election campaign and misappropriated the money. And as a result of this, many people died, children didn’t go to schools and many things went into disarray because the money released for the purchase of arms and ammunitions was not used for what it was meant for. If I had my way, all those found guilty should be executed. They are shameless.
Are you recommending death penalty for all those who are found guilty in the ongoing arms deal prosecution?
Yes. Because how can a human being who is in his senses go and steal huge sum of money. What would he do with it? He will not finish spending it even before he dies. If you go to Abuja now, there are many estates that have being built and nobody is occupying them. They stole money to build those estates and nobody is occupying them. All those who did all these things should be punished; nobody needs to be spared.
With the revelations by Dasuki and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), don’t think you think the cases of some of the military officers sentenced or dismissed for multiny should be reviewed?
I think their case need to be revisited because if the people who wanted to fight Boko Haram were not given good equipments, food and necessary tools they needed to fight, how can they carry out their assignment successfully? Do you want them to go and die for nothing? The money meant for them was cornered by some officers and now some soldiers were condemned for mutiny. All the senior officers who were found to have stolen the money should be dealt with. We should also apply marshal law on them.
Do you see the government meeting the December deadline for solving insurgency in the country?
He is doing his best. So far, so good, he is doing his very best. I think the Boko Haram has been put in disarray. What the president is saying is that he will put them in disarray; he is not saying he will totally eliminate them.
Do you think Boko Haram can really be checked by the government looking at how the dreadful sect has carried out its operation in the last few years?
Why not? Are they not human beings? What we need is to be honest, sincere and patriotic enough to love Nigeria more than ourselves. Then we can deal with Boko Haram. People who are known to have supported or encouraged Boko Haram should be brought to book and dealt with. I want President Buhari to also list the names of all those people who have returned stolen money. He should publish their names because they require no respect. They should disgrace them by publishing their names and the entire money they returned to government. He should publish their names; otherwise it will not serve as lesson to anybody.
President Buhari is just about six months in office and some people have started asking him to seek re-election in 2019…
They should leave him and allow him to work. When he work and perform to public expecta- Buhari should extend anti-graft war to APC – Tsav tions, they can ask him to continue. That is all. People should allow the president to work, nobody should suggest whether he should re-contest or not re-contest. They should allow him to work and do what he was elected to do.
Don’t you think it is too early for people to be talking about 2019 presidency when the incumbent is barely six months in office?
That is exactly what I am saying. They should allow President Buhari to do his job and if they think he has done very well, they can ask him to re-contest. But for now, people should stop talking about him re-contesting for 2019 election, which is too early. It is too early to be campaigning about 2019. It shows that some people are not concern about the welfare of the ordinary people. It is too early to be talking about campaign now when the government in power is not even up to one year in office. What should be the concern of Nigerians now is how government will improve the welfare of the ordinary people. It is a pity that people are not thinking about workers salaries being delayed, crime and insurgency in the country. This show how unserious people are.
Why do you think the new government under President Buhari is finding it difficult to settle down quickly and meet public expectation?
The thing is that Buhari is honest; it is his followers who are in APC who are not honest. They are still corrupt as before. That is the situation. So, you cannot blame Buhari for situation of things. All we want is to appeal to all governors and APC members to be loyal and put the country before any other things. They should try and do their best; not to look for money or positions. If we leave the whole thing to Buhari alone, he may not be able to succeed.
Are you insinuating that President Buhari is surrounded by corrupt and dishonest people?
That is exactly what I am saying. Among those serving with Buhari, there are people who love this country so much and there are those who are there for money. And these are the people who should be identified and dealt with.
What do you think should be the major agenda of President Buhari in 2016?
We want security. We want corruption to be reduced. We want jobs for our youths and we want industries to start working. Those are the major things everybody should proclaim for the country.
New Telegraph.
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