Alhaji Ahmed Ali Gulak is the special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on political affairs. Gulak had a chat with some journalists where he noted that President Jonathan, as a listening leader heeded the call of Nigerians by constituting the amnesty committee for the Boko Haram members. CHIKA OTUCHIKERE was there for LEADERSHIP. You were quoted recently as saying that if the National Assembly passes the six year single term bill, the president will not go for second term. I said that if the National Assembly passes the single tenure law, the credit should go the president. That is just what I said. I said it was his idea. It was his idea that this second term that generates all sorts of crisis will be done away with once and for all. Everybody who is going to be president or governor should know that he is going for single tenure and he would be bound to work, because in Nigeria everything is about election. Look at what is happening since 2011 immediately the president was inaugurated, the opposition parties have been running up and down, from pillar to post trying to drag the president into the political arena, but the president has restrained himself, restrained all his aides and his political associates saying this is the time to work for Nigeria and not for politics. If the single tenure proposal sails through, I said the credit will go to Mr. President because he was the person that mooted that idea right from inception. Is the president considering a second term idea as is widely speculated? I have said and I am saying it again that whether or not the president will contest for second term will be unveiled in 2014. So I cannot tell you on assumption, I don’t work on assumption but the fact remains that the he is constitutionally entitled to go for second term if decides to do it. Let us therefore wait till the time he said he would unveil his plan whether or not he is going for a second term. When we reach the bridge, we will cross it. People are saying that the president made u-turn on Boko Haram amnesty because he wants to make a political gain out of it You see the president is a human being. He is ruling the people. He is the president of Nigeria. If the aggregate opinions suggest that amnesty should be given, the president as listening president is bound to listen to Nigerians. He listened to Nigerians and so based on the aggregate opinion of Nigerians, the majority believe that if amnesty is granted, we may succeed and the president said fine and good, let’s try it. And he has set up a committee to handle it. So it’s not about u-turn or something. He is the president of Nigeria; over 150 million people are under him. God has given him this country, the powers and the trust of the people. So if the opinions of the majority of the people are that we should try amnesty, why not? Two prominent proponents of dialogue with Boko Haram, Shehu Sani and Ahmed Datti pulled out of the committee, what do you think informs their decision? I believe that they are not patriotic enough. That is what I believe. I say so because as patriotic Nigerians, their country is facing challenges and the government recognizes you and gives you an assignment and you decline, the bottom line is that you are not patriotic. What do you think is the way out? The way out has been kick started by the president. Amnesty committee has been set up. Small arms recovery committee has been set up and they are doing their job. To me that is the way out. In addition, Nigerians talk as if the president is a military person. They forget the fact that in Nigeria we have 36 federating states with governors who are in charge of the states. What role have they played in terms of employment of the teeming population of unemployed youths, in terms of agriculture, in terms of provisions of amenities? It is not as if it is the president, every time the president, every time the president, why can’t we hold some of these federating states accountable to the people. After all from the constitution every federating unit derives his powers from the constitution. For example you are talking about education, water, schools and even the federal government has now ventured into al-majiri special schools, which is supposed to have been done by the states. Because these states have failed to address these issues, Mr President has said look, let us go into it. It is a disaster. It is an emergency. Let us work on it. Let us put in place some of these things properly. Nigerians should be able to ask the governors some questions. There are feelings that the recent Asari outburst is sanctioned by the president, in fact one Adamu Aliyu, a former member of the House of Reps and Govenor Babangida Aliyu say he is speaking for the president….. If Adamu Aliyu, a former member of the House of Reps does not understand what the government is all about or how it works, I expect Governor Babangida Aliyu to be highly educated, to be highly knowledgeable, to be highly versatile, to know who Mr President’s aides are and how the government works. Asari Dokubo is just a Nigerian expressing his opinion. He is not speaking for government. He is not even a personal assistant to a minister, not even a clerk to a minister, so tell me, how does his statement relate to the government. Unless they are using it as a mischief. They should not ascribe that statement to the government. Which areas do you sincerely think the president has done well? A lot of areas, but I can mention few. Look at the infrastructure like roads and the rail, power, etc. to be very objective, the president has done very well in these areas. Look at in the last 40 years, our rail lines have stopped working, they have collapsed. People that are below 50 may not have witnessed what rail is all about, because they have not seen it working. But at the close of last year, our rail ways have started working. From Lagos to Kano, a major rail hub ferrying goods and personnel. Very soon Port Harcourt-Maidugri will be functional. These are some of the achievements Nigerians should not forget and for which they should appreciate and commend the president. Power generation has gone up. Education is being turned around. Agriculture is becoming a big business. I mean the president is really committed to taking this country to the next level of development and Nigerians should simply support him. Is PDP not afraid of the merger of the opposition parties that has almost sailed through? No no no no. In fact the PDP as a party has been encouraging these mushroom parties, these briefcase parties to come together and form a national party just like PDP. ACN is regional, CPC has one state, ANPP has three states, we have encouraged them to come together to form a national party in the interest of Nigeria. It is not about PDP, it’s about Nigeria. It will be good for Nigeria. As a Nigerian that can live anywhere in this country, I need a party that will propagate a united Nigeria, not a regionalized Nigeria, a party to propagate what the way forward for Nigeria should be and not to go into my enclave and say ahhh, I am CPC, I am ANPP, no. Be like the PDP that has members all over Nigeria and even abroad. That is the type of political party we should go for.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 23:42:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015