Let’s split now! North can feed Nigeria, breakup let’s see who will survive – Sen. Waku

Let’s split now! North can feed Nigeria, breakup let’s see who will survive – Sen. Waku

Senator Joseph Kennedy Waku would easily be remembered for calling for a coup against the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the controversial politician who represented Benue Northwest Senatorial District in the Senate between 1999-2003 on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), speaks on topical national issues.

Excerpts:

There have been agitations from Niger Delta groups, threatening the unity of Nigeria. What do you think is responsible, and how can the situation be tackled?

Agitations are allowed in a corporate existence of a nation but such agitations must have a human face of what the demands are, and not going into criminalities by vandalising state apparatus that at the end of the day, they too will benefit from. That’s the argument.

If you are dissatisfied, you can come out with what would make you satisfied and come out with suggestions that would make you feel part of the system rather than taking the law into your hands. I totally disassociate myself from that kind of moves.

And those moves, to my mind, are highly criminalised and that kind person, if apprehended should be treated as a criminal. It is only when you come out with your agitation target, and if it is ignore, that is when you resort into whatever mechanism to attract the government’s attention but not to hold the government and authority into ransom. That is my quarrel with the agitations.

Fulani herdsmen are also on the rampage, are they also aggrieved?

On the herdsmen issue, it is also a criminal act. Yes, I believe that the government would have also come out with a policy to tackle the menace by now. I am been told that some states have adopted the policy of grazing areas.

For instance, in Benue, we are totally against the grazing, we are for ranches because, if you go to Brazil, Britain, America, you don’t see one single life cow walking on the streets, and Argentina has the major cow raiser in this world, you don’t see it. They are in ranches and their cows look better and healthier and also the milk that can be produced from them will also be healthier.

On a daily basis, Nigerian cows are moving about randomly, not properly fed, they don’t know the kind of water they are drinking or the grass being eaten. So it would be better for this country to create or make a law that ranching would be much better, it would create more job opportunities, it will make the cows that are moving at random healthier, more stabilised and somebody will know that I am going to pick a cow from this area. Therefore, at any occasion, you know that you are going to buy a quality and healthier cow.

That is my recommendation. I support the Benue State Government’s policy on that and I will continue supporting any other states for that. We are in the 21st Century now and grazing can no longer be fashionable because locations have been over grown, people have taken farmlands and established ministries, towns and villages.

So that again would no longer be feasible, I would still recommend ranching, but on a permanent basis, I do not think that is going to resolve this issue. In addition to that, you look at the kind of sophisticated weapon the Fulani herdsmen carry round. It is not ordinary; it is a highly sophisticated weapon that one begins to have a notion that somebody somewhere is using these people for a gradual land speculation or invasion.

So these are the issues that many people are not happy with them. But I think government should come out definitely and positively to issue a statement that any herdsman that is caught with any dangerous weapon without certification should be prosecuted.

What is your view concerning the agitation by MASSOB to break up?

The issue of MASSOB, like you talk about creation of state, there is a law and a mechanism you follow to qualify you for state creation, it is not different from one wanting to breakup from a nation. It is treason and a treasonable offence. They want to break up from Nigeria.

What are their grievances that Nigeria has not worked on? Let me give you an example, in the USA, there were youth agitators who attempted to break up from the USA. It started from a mechanism that was bothering some people, and the government listened to them and went into negotiation and the matter was resolved. But you don’t hold any nation into ransom.

Among these agitators particularly the so-called Biafra, they have never seen war and if they had heard shots of gun, they wouldn’t be talking about war because there is a price you have to pay. Job seekers and disabled politicians who want such organisations to be heard motivated the agitation. It is unnecessary attention it is creativity without meaning.

But some people have argued that the break up may allow Nigeria take proper shape in terms of economic and human resources. Do you agree with such?

Let me tell you my opinion about this country. You don’t break up from a country on sentiment. You don’t break up a country on tribal sentiments. If the Igbo are talking about Biafra, the South-South, the Calabars and other tribes there may not even want to join them.

If you were talking about creating ‘APA state’ from Benue State, which I supported, but that would have aided marginalisation. Igede perhaps have already opted out that they don’t want to belong and probably you find other small tribes in Idoma like the Ufia Utokon. It is not that that matters, it is how we will live together; bring up our objectivity and differences so that we work together.

If there is disenchantment, lack of corporate existence and marginalisation, there is a court you can go to and exhaust all the avenues for you to create an environment that when you want to talk about agitation, people will say ‘you have done what is to be done, these people have genuine cases, lets address it’ and that may calm down nerves.

But taking one for granted because you have oil, therefore, you want to break-up. Break up to go and drink your oil, we in Benue will go with Nigeria, break up and take our yams and begin to eat alone and let’s see who would survive.

It was the cocoa from the West, groundnut from the North and the palm oil from the East that gave birth to the actualisation of the oil. And in any case, how many countries are there in in the world? We have over 200 countries in the world, but less than 21, including Japan and China that you too much talk about as the most advanced economies in the world, they have no single oil well.

So what is the big deal, what the government of Nigeria will do is to intensity efforts in other mineral resources so that we don’t rely on oil alone because that thing called oil is a perishable commodity and in few years to come, it may no longer be there.

But be that as it may, they should have said ‘our lands have been completely devastated, we don’t have anywhere to farm, our fish are no longer alive and we want the Federal Government to do something’. Of course, government would listen to them, but above all, don’t forget there is 13 per cent derivation, there is Niger Delta Development Commission, there is Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, they have gotten enough, they should hold their people responsible for their inability to look after them.

The Federal Government has done enough, I am not the spokesman for the government but as a citizen of this country who knows what is going on in this country, who participated in many political activities in this country, I think I am old enough to access the situation.

What is your reaction as regards the suggestion by some prominent Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari should convene a national conference?

National conference is the most irresponsible thought of any Nigerian even to think about it. What is national conference? You have National Assembly already in place, with duly elected members by the people to make laws for the country. Look at the national conference which former President Goodluck Jonathan stage-managed and brought people to spent a lots of tax payers money. What is the result of that? If you have a problem, channel it through your legislator and then bring it up. There are private bills and in this country it is allowed, bring your private bills on how you want this country to move, let it be debated upon. If you can lobby and have the majority, it will become law, and it would be implemented. Failure to do that, you can go to court and seek absolute implementation of the law. Let nobody sit down here and begin to brainwash you with some stupid ideas from some fools somewhere.

People are complaining of hardship. Is this the change APC government brought to bear in the country?

When this government took over, were salaries paid in many states? When the present government took over, there were 27 states of the federation that did not pay salaries, true or false? The government inherited a burden but it was unbelievable. That time, I accused you journalists; my biggest problem in this country is you journalists, the labour and students’ union.

Many years back, when students’ union speaks, the nation shakes, when labour talks, the world echoes, when journalists talk about holding a conference, the nation sit down to negotiate. All these are no longer there. There is corruption and sensationalism and also polarisation in partisan politics.

If this government did not come to power, would you have known that this country took your money, N2.6 billion of your tax payment and gave it to an individual to go and pray for Jonathan and for some people to remain in power? If for no other reason, this exposure of corrupt officials, trying to sanitise the system alone is an achievement? I agreed with you completely that there is hardship but that is the change. The change brings many difficulties until things stabilise.

Construction is difficult but destruction is very easy, and more so, for 16 years, the damaged had been done. And that is why I quarrel with Buhari, one thing Buhari should do is to start the probe from Obasanjo regime. Obasanjo should be probed because all these corruptions that we are witnessing today began then, privatisation was the mechanism of giving out property to individuals. Buhari should revoke all properties that were sold to individuals and take them back. You cannot privatise state apparatus to individuals.

Atiku Abubakar was vice president, he helped to bastardise this country through privatisation. If that government was in power up to date, they would have privatised the National Assembly and probably they would have privatised the Aso Villa and many government houses would have been privatised to individuals by now.

It is not right. So what this government is trying to do is to sanitise the system so that at the end of the day, the younger generations coming may be able to have a solid foundation to build upon rather than living on the strength of corrupt practices that have been entrenched in offices.

That is what this government is doing and is doing it legitimately without any bias and I challenge anybody, if you can’t reach the authority when you need to send information about people in APC government that are corrupt and you can’t reach them, get to me, report that person to me, your views will be heard and government of Nigeria will do something about it because if you are running away from PDP to take refuge in APC in order to be protected, you are in the wrong place because your sins cannot be shielded because you lied and you come here, we do not want you to come and polarised the system.

Is it fair that even state governments are not paying?

I just came to Benue State and I watched people complained about poverty, non-payment of salaries but I do ask; when did this salary stop? Did it start from this government? Did this government inherit no zero salary payment or did it inherit salary arrears from the past government?

Then what is it doing because I feel bad, I have a small organisation and in my organisation, I have 15-20 staff and I do pay them every month on the 25th. When the month begins to roll to the 20th, I get worried; I have sleepless nights because that is their only livelihood, their salary.

Even in the scriptures, it is said people lived by their labour. So if you have laboured and it is not paid for, then it is not the right thing. But on May 15, when the governor called us for expanded EXCO, he tried to explain the challenges he is facing that make some of us to have something to take home, to begin to proffer solution that this thing should have been like this rather than keeping to yourself. Government is about the people for the people, they should be able to know what are the difficulties that you are facing in order for them too, if they have any solution, to offer advise and resolve this issue.

So it is not the right thing for somebody who has laboured and his labour is not being paid for, I will not encourage that. So, the government is doing everything possible in order to pay off these arrears because that is the only way you can instill discipline in the system, if there is no salary you cannot instill discipline and I think the government is worried just like you and I are worried and this is not only government.

I am worried too because if I am in Makurdi with N10, 000, I’m not sure whether I will be leaving with N1000 which means I am also affected, it is not only the people in government that are affected, therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure that the government is all about welfare, looking after the people. I don’t think the government is deliberately not paying salary to workers.

The Federal Government has just proposed N90billion loan to state governments despite allegations that some states misappropriated the earlier bailout fund. Do you support this move?

That is where the problem is and that is why the government should intensify effort in other economic sectors not only relying on oil producing earnings because the oil producing earnings have gone down and it is no longer fashionable for the government and the people of Nigeria to have their eggs in one basket.

In Benue, we have no business talking about federal allocation because of the natural land endowment that we have, and I am happy that the current administration is targeting its own internal income generating areas to be self reliant by inviting investors on farm agricultural product.

I think when this is done, then, to hell with oil. It is when this is done and salary is not being paid that I will have questions to ask because as soon as the government takes up this agricultural and natural endowment, people will go to farm.

I have seen some policies from the government inviting foreign investors and what the government needs to do, is to provide land, which Benue has in abundance and within the shortest possible time, Benue would be exporting foodstuffs and become the nation’s food basket. Whatever support the Federal Government is giving to the state for now, I am in support of that. But let that support strictly go for the purpose to which it is meant for.

There was a call from Atiku that Buhari should restructure the nation’s economy if he wants to succeed. Is that necessary?

That man was the vice president for eight years, what did he do? Rather he helped to bastardise this country through privatisation. Is that the kind of restructuring he wants to do? I have never seen a memo from Atiku to the president kicking against privatisation. If I were the president, I will also probe that regime.