2015: Kwankwaso more qualified than Jonathan, says Dantiye Jul 03, 2014MUHAMMAD KABIRPolitics Alhaji Halilu Baba Dantiye is the Director of Press to Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State. In this interview with MUHAMMAD KABIR, he speaks on some critical issues including the governor’s interest in the 2015 presidential election. Excerpt How has it been working with Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his Director of Press? It has been a very busy office, we are working for about 18 to 20 hours daily and any time you have like five hours, you will be happy that you will have some good rest. But thank God, it is for good, because you are putting the time for the benefit of the people. So, it has been quite challenging. Of course it is not something new for me having come from Triumph Newspapers. In all, it has been good, an experience worth it and I am happy that one has learnt a lot in terms of determination, commitment and ensuring that results are produced out of what one does. You were a former president of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, does that give you an edge in running your office? I think working with Governor Kwankwaso or anybody and the ability to manage it starts from ones upbringing. My upbringing taught me how to live with my seniors, leaders and any other people. Moreso, if your father is used to people, you are bound to learn how to manage people and situations. When my father was alive, our house was like a city centre. People came to him because he was man of the people. From there, we were taught how to respect others and also how to protect our dignity. Then as a newsman, managing the office and the governor pose little problem because I have been relating with various groups of people, ranging from politicians to the people at the grassroots. So, working in this direction as I told you will not be in any way tedious for me. You know that here we even gives captions, we sometimes make editors to use our headlines may be if they are in a hurry because we truly see the place as a newsroom. We give everybody right to operate, we relate with ourselves as collogues even though in the newsroom you have the editor. The editor here is of course the Director Press, who does the final editing, final proofreading, and perhaps approves and suggests headlines before we send them out. We see our reports not only here in Nigeria but even in foreign countries and I appreciate that. Governor Kwankwaso is one person, who is hard to understand.How do you manage to work with him? I think human perception depends on who you are talking about. Of course you can say he is a complex person because he is somebody in a hurry; in a hurry for so many reasons because he is conscious of time. He understands the important of time in life or anything he does, so he hardly misuses his time. He makes sure that he uses the best of his time because when the clock clicks, it never comes back. He also makes use of time consciously, so he pushes a lot. He pushes the staff, contractors. He is the supervisor, the initiator. He does everything because he is conscious of the result, he wants everything to be right and must get it right. So many things were going wrong before he came to power, and it is like correcting one thousand problems at a go. So, you can see the passion and determination. We have problems with road traffic, problems with people coming late to offices, people doing their job and waiting to be paid, people misusing public funds and so many crises that needs his attentions. Cases that were created by the previous administration that need to be corrected, people demanding money before they pay their dues, so you could see the kind of person one is working with, somebody with zeal, courage, determination and aspirations to deliver within the shortage time available. The position you inherited was a flamboyant one in the last administration, how do you manage it now? I have not really gone into history on how previous directors managed the place, but one thing I know is that I am okay. I don’t have any complain. One thing you should understand is that Kwankwaso is a man, who wants to be convinced that public funds you are requesting are justifiable. If you request something that you cannot defend, certainly you will not get what you are looking for. You can see how we run the office: everything we demand, we do get and I am satisfied with the way things are going, because we cannot be like others. As a government, we are also conscious of the fact that public funds should be diligently used for the betterment of the people and not for anything else, and you should know that Kwankwaso is one person that detests wasting public funds. If truly you want to work with him, you should get prepared for prudent management of resources. One area that people frequently talk about Kwankwaso is his refusal to dish out money. What is your reaction to that? People can say anything about Kwankwaso, but you can justify the fact that in Kano, it is something else. We are today very proud of our selves; we are today a state that should be reckoned with not only in the comity of states within the Nigerian nation but in Africa, and in the world. You can see that things are happening here. Look at the over N6 billion flyover and the other one at Murtala Muhammad Way which is over N10 billion. Look at the IPP project which is over N14 billion. Look at the road projects; you were here when two roads contracts were awarded at the cost of over N800 million. If we had not saved money, where are we going to get the fund to finance the projects? Look at the over 2,000 post graduates students that we sent abroad; this is besides the over 3,000 we sent for degree programmes to universities across the globe. Today, if you go outside the country, you will see Kano people all over and Governor Kwankwaso told them that if they get a job there, they should stay and do it. So, we are everywhere in the world, in about 15 countries. We sent over 100 students to train as pilots, another 100 for maritime studies, not to talk of medicine and nursing. You can see that the governor is building a future for the state. Nobody can ever come to Kano to say we are backward in education, or to say we are a dirty. The state is becoming more of an European state, with roads and all that, no more begging in Kano or thuggery. So, the money that is been saved is really being used judicially for the common man, and another area is that when Kwankwaso came on board in 2011, the revenue base of the state was less than N400 million monthly, but today we are generating more than N2 billion monthly. People are convinced that their money is not been wasted and that is why they are paying taxes. So, there is no room for anybody to accuse the government of anything, and people who talk about not taking money or getting money are those who have always siphoned the state’s treasury. What are those things that you have learnt working with Kwankwaso? The commitment, the courage, the no-nonsense attitude and the true person in the governor, and above all, the hard work. This is a man who always want to see results, and you should be on your toes and alert to every situation. This is a man who believes in factuality; you should be upright and fearless. I have learnt a lot. Do you see Governor Kwankwaso contesting the 2015 presidency? You should know that he is extremely qualified because he has passed through the rigours of life. He has managed virtually everything that matters that would give him enough strength to contest for the office of the president. He has been governor from 1999 to 2003, minister, special adviser, and so many others, and now a governor. So, you can see that he is qualified more than even the person on the seat now. So, if he decides to contest, he is qualified and he has his reservations on so many things that are going wrong in this country; insecurity, killings and lack of peace. He will certainly try in his capacity as president to be there when Nigerians need him not now that nobody is there for Nigerians, people cannot go to churches and mosques, they can’t even go to viewing centers to watch football matches. So, with Kwankwaso, Nigerians would be guaranteed of all the things that are missing now.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 22:47:36 +0000
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