‘No Need For Nigeria’s Senate’
What has been the impact of insurgency in Yobe state?
It is very devastating and terrible. The people have found themselves in a sad situation that has lasted for five years. Innocent people have been killed. Like those olden days when marauders will sacked villages and take away their crops. The previous government handled the thing with levity, not knowing how severe it was. We were not prepared for it. Buhari was the GOC in Jos in the early 80’s when the Chadian gendarmes attacked a small village in Nigeria and hoisted their flag there. Within 24hours, Buhari as GOC of Jos and Obasanjo who was head of state then were in Maiduguri and the next morning, and in less than 24hours, they were in N’djamena, the capital of Chad. So if the previous leadership had taken the Boko Haram serious the way Obasanjo and Buhari did then, no single territory would have been annex by the insurgents in the North-East. These were some character who had no house, no home and no future, that decided to settle down in the forest in Bornu state. But today, you can see that the situation has changed. You can see the leaders of the Nigerian military in the front of the war against the insurgents. In the past, the insurgents will come to a village, ransack it and pack their food and women and the military will chase them and sit back, but now the military is putting on more pressure on them by chasing them away. People now have confidence in the government. Right now as I am talking with you, there is no single farm in Yobe state because nobody can go and farm. They will just shoot you. But now things are coming back to normalcy and we are happy, that we have a military leadership whose commanders know their work. The leadership of the military in the previous administration are people who have never seen war, therefore they didn’t know what it means to be in combat. Some of them have comfortable houses in Abuja, and so are afraid not to get killed at the war zone, but now the leadership of the military is the one leading the onslaught.
There have been renewed calls for amnesty for the Boko Haram insurgents. Should the insurgents actually be granted amnesty?
First of all, where are the so- called insurgents? They have to come out first and show their faces before you talk of amnesty. Let them tell us who they are. They have split up into various groups now. They have become bandits who will just waylay people on the road and kill them and take their food. If they have leaders, let them come out and apologized to the country for all their crimes before President Buhari will look at the situation and decide whether to grant them amnesty or not. It happened in the case of the Niger-Delta militants. They came out from the creeks and showed their faces. Some of them even told us their names and stated their grievances openly before government granted them amnesty. It was the same thing that happened during the civil war. An army colonel came out with a white flag and said he was speaking on behalf of the whole Biafran army, that they have surrendered. But in the case of Boko Haram, a splinter group will come out and say they have surrendered and tomorrow, another one will come out and say, this is wrong it is not the case, so how can you talk of amnesty?
Most Nigerians believe that the 8th session of House of Representative started on a wrong footing. Do you agree with such view?
I don’t think they have done anything wrong. I am happy that it is a question of give and take and they are now able to end the crises and move forward.
But don’t you think the crises would resurge during the appointment of House Committee Chairmen. Will such development not affect the relationship of the House members with the executive arm of government?
It will not affect their relationship because they are matured representatives. The issue of leadership should not affect the activities of the house. It is better that they started early on this issue and try to understand each other. The appointment of committees will come and it will further help deepen their understanding. The Speaker of the House of Reps, Hon Yakubu Dogara is a very erudite and fearless leader. As long as he is convinced about an issue based on facts, he will stand by it. I am happy that Dogara is there as speaker. I have seen what he can do with his performance in the various committees he has served in in the past. Therefore, l have no doubt that he can lead the House of Reps well.
Some Nigerians are afraid that Dogara could use his position to rewards those that contributed to his victory as speaker to the detriment of merit?
I am happy that even those that are contesting with him are now working with him as leader of the house. It is almost a neck to neck elections, and the speaker was magnanimous to the extent that he compromised his position in the interest of the party and the nation.
Recently Hon. Suleiman Kawu was appointed as Special Adviser to the president on Hose of Representatives matters. But some Nigerians felt that appointment wasn’t necessary, that one person could have been enough for both houses of the National Assembly?
Well, I think the appointment is timely because Hon Kawu is someone who has lots of experience in the House of Representatives and in legislative politics and even intrigues if may add that. He knows the problems and the feelings of the House members. Of course most members did not return, but those who are around are members who know Kawu very well and who knows that he can liaise between government and House of Representatives.
There are fears that the opposition could influence Hon. Dogara in his decision making because of the role they played in his emergence as speaker?
Parliamentary elections is different from presidential system. They are members of the house and are there to serve Nigerians. A lot of compromises are made and with the weight of the APC in the house, they will not be able to exert their rights that much. It is only a sense of education that will help us. It was never an issue on the question of leadership of the committee on finance. We took that tradition from the Americans. It will be the same even now. Everybody will be carried along in every decision. Once in the House, we don’t vote along party lines. But that depends on the leadership. The party sentiment dissolves once we are in the house. Every consideration is about Nigeria.
Nigerians are still talking about the alleged jumbo pay that lawmakers collect. Is there actually anything like jumbo pay in the National Assembly?
What they call jumbo pay require analyses and investigations. Everything has been allocated in the annual budget. Every member of the federal parliament is allocated some funds for the development of their constituency. This allocation is given according to regions and it is shared among the members of the zones. It is part of the capital projects normally allocated to parliamentarians which lawmakers have nothing to do with. But it has now become a tradition that parliamentarian are given such privileges to impact directly on their constituencies. It was as a result of this outcry that even before we left in the early week of June, it was decided that the allocation of the house has to be cut down and we did that before we left office to the tune of about twenty billion naira. You may see the budget and think it is big, but there are about three hundred and sixty House members, the administrative staff, the national assembly commission, the legislative institute and a host of other beneficiaries on that annual budget of the National Assembly.
Some are of the opinion that the House of Reps should be scrapped and leaving only the Senate so as to cut cost. Do you agree with that position?
You see, the national assembly is the real representatives of the people of this country in a democracy. The house is a miniature Nigeria because everybody is representing a zone in the house. The senate is there but the vibrant group is the house of representatives. Should there be anything like scrapping of any chamber, I prefer it should be the Senate because the senate chamber is almost ceremonial.
They only approved appointments for the president. Of course they make law once in a while, but the House of Reps does more than they. So the House is a conclave of Nigeria and when they take a decision, it is the entire Nigeria that is reflected.
Can you say that President Buhari is on course since he came on board?
Fools rushed in where angels dare to thread. Nigeria is not where you just jump up and do some things. President Muhammadu Buhari has a long way to go. It is better he plans very well. He may have plans, a blue print, but what he met on ground seem to be different according to him. For example, he wasn’t in office when the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) bill was put together. He has to know if it was done to favor some persons before approving it. If you impose the bill on Buhari to implement, it will be unfair. He has to now the opportunity available for Nigeria in that bill before it is passed. Therefore Buhari should be absolved of some of this changes. Let’s give him time to act in confidence. Buhari knows he cannot do it alone, but he wants to be sure of who he is appointing.
Now that you are no more a serving House of Reps member, what are you into?
Well, I am currently into agriculture. My village and constituency are agricultural areas. We are blessed with lots of water around us. I am scared that at the end of the day, Buhari will win the war on insurgency but, we might have another war on our hands which is famine. So if we don’t plan now, we might not win the war against famine. I encourage my people to farm so that we can lead the way. Food production is the number one priority after winning a war. If we cannot feed ourselves, it will be a terrible defeat for us. END.
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