Gubernatorial aspirant in Katsina State. In this interview, the aspirant says he is in the race to take the state to the next level of development. Excerpts: Why are you gunning for Katsina governorship? I have been a senator. After this, in a state, the next one is that of governor. With my experience and pedigree, I believe I have what it takes to build on the good works done by the previous administrations in Katsina starting from the administration of the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua (1999-2007) to the current administration. I have a clear thinking and well-articulated programme on how I want to take Katsina to the next level of development. I’m very much impressed that Katsina has come a long way since it was created. So, it needs somebody with a clear mind and action plan to move it to the next level in order to consolidate on the achievements made so far and build on the existing structures and projects. Haven’t you lost touch with the people of the state since you left the Senate in 2011? Absolutely no! When I was in the Senate, I was obliged, by virtue of my political office, to keep in touch. After leaving the Senate, the natural inkling is for one to say one has paid one’s dues. But in my own case, I maintained my political structures and links with my people and even expanded it against the backdrop of what I had in mind as my next hope and approach to politics. What happened that your structures couldn’t return you to the Senate in 2011? After the 2011 elections, I knew I didn’t lose the election because I was not liked by my constituents, but it was a wind that came and blew the PDP off the political scene in Katsina. And I felt it was an incentive for us to get back to the drawing board and ensure that next time we’re not caught unawares. We’re products of legal intrigues, rather than political weaknesses because we lost in the court. So, aspiring to be governor should be the major sequence of my political movement. Don’t you see a recurrence of similar whirlwind in the state come 2015? We’re victims of politics and law. Almost in equal measure, we were so complacent. We felt that being a PDP state, the election was just a foregone conclusion. So, we relaxed and we were outsmarted, so to speak. This time around, we’re going fully prepared with our eyes very wide open. Those who replaced us have not come anywhere near what we did when we were there. So, it’s a good testimony that the change that happened was not a change for the better, and the people are now clamouring for us to return. In fact, they had wanted to have us back when they realised that those that are there were no match to the PDP people that are not there. Obviously, the question of a recurrence, God forbid, does not arise because we’re confident that it will not happen, by God’s grace. Do you still consider Katsina a PDP state when virtually all its federal lawmakers are from the APC? It was a mistake that the Katsina people are paying for very dearly. They got the wrong people into positions and they’re paying for it. Those who replaced us have done absolutely nothing to deserve being there. So, the people are wiser now and they know they cannot afford another four years with those functionaries in the positions they’re in now. You said you have an action plan for Katsina, what is it all about? There is need now to instill a sense of discipline and appreciation of values. Two, there is need to develop our resources, especially in the areas of agriculture and solid minerals to make Katsina a much greater place. Three, we need to refine our educational system. A lot of good things have been done to improve it, but we need to refine it to really attune our young men and women into acquiring the requisite education that the world needs, because the world is now a global village. You don’t train for your immediate environment; you train for global needs. In the health sector, we need to improve on all the investments made in curative and preventive medicine. In the area of security, so far, we’ve been very fortunate in the sense that in spite of our location, we’ve been secured. I intend to improve that level of security. We’ll use all the goodwill we have - the traditional institutions, the elite and the local people - to isolate Katsina from the vagaries of all the security threats being experienced in other parts of Nigeria. In the public service, Katsina has been known, right from the outset, as a cradle of education and public service. I intend to restore the glory of the public service in the state. But most importantly, I intend to lead by example, with sincerity, dignity, transparency and zero tolerance for corruption. My vision for Katsina is to have a society populated by God-fearing, hospitable and highly motivated citizens governed by a just social system committed to making the basic needs of life available and affordable to all. What makes you think that you can pick the PDP ticket? I’ve been in the system long enough to know how government performs. I’ve been in politics long enough to have identified with my party at all levels. My programmes speak for themselves. And against the backdrop of my performance as a senator, public servant, technocrat and bridge builder, coupled with my experience, clear vision and resolve to lead by example, I have an edge. I’m more exposed. None of my opponents within the party has held any elective position so far. They’ve never been tried. I’ve been tested and found formidable and will be found more formidable, if elected. Most governors are in the habit of imposing their successors. What happens if Shema does that? Our governor is a sincere person, and he has come out very clearly to say there will be a level-playing field for all the aspirants. The party itself at the national level has said that people should be allowed to pick those they want and the party should present electable candidates. I’m confident that our governor will defy that syndrome (of imposition) and allow a level-playing field and will endorse whoever the people and stakeholders of our party elect. How do you see Jonathan’s endorsement as sole presidential candidate of the PDP? In any political set up, you maintain a winning persona if you approach an election. The PDP, in its own wisdom, has found the president to have performed well and has found him to be deserving of another opportunity and has resolved he should be its candidate. As a loyal party member, I subscribe to what the party says and I believe that the party will field him and end up with a greater success. There are fears that the 2015 elections may spark another crisis just like the 2011 polls. What’s your take? God forbid! People should perish that thought from their minds. By God’s grace, it won’t happen. What are the signs for that? Is it the political bickering we’re experiencing now? Worse things had happened prior to elections before, and Nigeria had waxed stronger. This time around too, all these things will come to pass. By the end of February and the beginning of March, Nigeria will be more peaceful than it is now because by then, the tension would have come down. So, I don’t share the view; I don’t pray for that; I don’t think of that and I don’t like anybody to think of that
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:00:23 +0000
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