‘Insecurity will continue to escalate if injustice persists’
June 30, 2012 in Nigerian Current Affairs
Former Minority Leader in the House of Representative and the governorship candidate on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 election for Jigawa State Farouk Adamu Aliyu spoke with JOHN AKUBO on the removal of the former National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Minister of Defense and their replacements . He said President Goodluck Jonathan was making the national security challenge seem as if it is a problem of the north alone. Excerpts .
THE President has just announced the appointment of Sambo Dasuki as the new National Security Adviser who is considered of less experience compared to his predecessor. Do you think it is a solution to the security challenge?
First of all , it is too little too late, and then it is like the President is shifting the problem to the North again and he looks at the security challenge as a Northern problem.
To him , if he appoints anybody from the North, no matter the pedigree , he has done it. So it is not enough for him to have done what he did. Yes it is a welcome development because he has removed Azazi who has been most irresponsible. Secondly there are people like General Akilu who are still around in the North if he wanted to appoint somebody from the North. And from the Southern part of the country, there are equally more competent persons that can do the job. Jonathan should try as much as possible not to be a sectional President not to shift problems to the North. It is not just enough that Azazi has been removed but we expected a more qualified person to have been appointed.
Haliru Bello was also booted out, is it the Peoples Democratic Party game?
First of all Haliru should not have made the ministerial list in the first place.
He is a man mentioned in the Haliburton matter, that has cost some executives their jobs and huge financial loses in other countries. But because in this country, anything goes, and the President wanted to repay him for ensuing he emerged as President, he damned the consequences and the nation and he went ahead to appoint him. Having finished him, he has dumped him. To me it is good riddance to bad rubbish.
The security situation is not abating; the situation is escalating by the day and in spite of the huge resources allocated to the sector, so where do we go from here?
First, the security situation shall not abate. I want you to quote me that it shall continue to deteriorate because they are not attacking the issue. The issue is not about how many policemen or soldiers are on the streets, but social justice. They have to ensure that these monies being stolen are directed to the right quarters towards developing the country. What do you say when over N2 trillion was stolen from the subsidy regime and nothing is happening? When members of the National Assembly were accused of stealing money, what happened? What did they do when billions in pensioners’ money were stolen? Nothing is happening? What do you do when in a state like Jigawa, the Governor decides to construct an airport when between Kano and Jigawa is just about 100 kilometres?
Yet, in Kano KLM that has been operating for the last 70 years has suspended its operation because of slow-down in business. What economic sense does it make for you to have an airport in Jigawa, Gombe, Bauchi. So if the Government will not sit up and attack the issues of unemployment there shall continue to be violence. You know the people in authority are not taking this seriously because it has not affected them personally. All these bombings are targeted at the poor masses. By the time the elites and those in authority are actually attacked you will see something would be done.
You remember when the United States said they would not allow Nigerian elites in to their country, how the elites ensured the US government reversed the order.
So it also goes with this. When this violence starts getting to us , the elites , then probably we would come together and do something .
But as of now, the governors are secured, the lawmakers, ministers, President and all other office holders are secured and those that can afford to have the police guard them , are secured. By the time we the elites realize that this thing can get to us one day and very soon, then we will do something about it.
The President’s trip to Brazil with 116 officials in the midst of crises has been a subject of some debate? What is your opinion?
Well it is the attribute of the PDP. When we went on the streets in January to protest the fuel price increase, what did we come back with? Lies. They said within the next three months there would be palliatives. Are there any palliatives? No there are none because they have contempt for us. That is why the president could afford to travel and because of the bashings he received ,he came back and sacrificed the two people. But look the life of a common man killed in a church or a mosque or on the street is as important as that of President Jonathan. But they don’t care. Haven’t they promised electricity? Did we get it? Haven’t they probed the power sector in the National Assembly, did we get it? They are people who only care about themselves. Whatever they tell us is just to hoodwink us, but I am telling you , one day, the Nigerian public will rise up against this injustice. Then the elites will understand that power belongs to the people.
