• Kwankwaso, a paperweight politician
By Omoniyi Salaudeen
2018 is just some few hours away. As part of the strategy to ensure people’s support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2019 general elections, Senator Rufai Hanga urges President Muhammadu Buhari to make good his promise to inject new blood into his government in this interview. He also examines the face-off between Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, describing the latter as a paper weight politician.
In spite of the economic challenges faced by Nigerians in 2017, people have managed to survive the hardship. What do you think is going to be the outlook of the economy in 2018?
I have a very high expectation for next year’s economy. But unfortunately, it looks like we are starting on a very bad foot because of this ongoing fuel crisis. If it escalates till next year, then there will be problem. If the fuel prices increase, there will be a serious crisis in the economy. The government has to brace up; otherwise, there will be crisis and the economy will suffer. Though we are out of recession, we are not yet away from it.
This implies that Nigerians should be up for harder challenges. Not so?
Of course, we have to brace up for harder challenges, if this fuel crisis continues because prices will continue to go high. We all know the effects of these kind of things. It will have multiplier effects on almost every sector of the economy. It will affect transportation; it will affect the cost of food items. Already, the prices of food items are still very high. A bag of rice still goes for as much as N20, 000 as against the old price of N17,000 or N18,000 which people had even complained about. All of this will degenerate to higher dimension, if the fuel crisis continues. And I don’t foresee it going away soon. Even if it goes away, I believe the relief is going to be temporary. From the information we have, the major oil marketers used to import about 15 per cent, the smaller ones used to import about 65 percent, while the NNPC imports 20 per cent. Now, the major and minor marketers are not willing to import at the price they used to import before. They are saying that they will lose, if they have to import and sell at N145 per litre. No businessman wants to do a business to lose. The only option now is the NNPC. If it continues like this, the problem will escalate to higher dimension. That is my fear. So, government has to do something quickly; otherwise, if it is allowed to continue till the end of January, there will be crisis. Even if it is remedied, by the time the remedy begins to manifest, it will be too late. We will be in the crisis for a long time. So, the earlier it is tackled, the better.
You recall that Audu Ogbe, the Minister of Agriculture, told the stakeholders at the NEC meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the nation will not import a single grain of rice in 2018. Does this justify the current reality?
Leave Audu Ogbe alone. It is an empty talk. I believe the government is sincere about agricultural policies especially agric loans to farmers. But some of the implementers of the policy are not sincere. There are so many loan schemes introduced by the government. But unfortunately, majority of farmers cannot access the loans. We have a situation where a commissioner for agriculture in one state registered several farmers’ associations and collected all the money for himself and nobody cares to check. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is supposed to monitor it so that it will not be abused. But those who are implementing it have made it difficult for people to access the loans. I accepted the government sincere policy of pushing people to the farm and I went into rice farming. And I did all my best to access the loan, but I couldn’t access it. I have the collateral to access it, but they made it difficult for me to access it. I have more than 30 hectres of land and unfortunately, I couldn’t access a kobo. Now, I can barely produce what will feed me and my family. If I had access to it, I would have been able to produce enough to sell. The situation I mentioned is like that in many other states. People who are in the position of authority to make it accessible are using it for themselves. And they are not farming; they are just taking the money for their selfish use. So, leave Audu Ogbe alone. I don’t believe him. I am in the system and nobody can deny me that. I know what is going on and I can prove what I have said.
The 2018 budget proposal in now before the National Assembly and I am sure you have been following the items on the budget. If the budget is passed as presented by the President, what will be the implication for the economy in the new fiscal year?
I don’t see it passed as presented to the National Assembly because there are contentions. The National Assembly is saying that the budget presented is not the same as the one contained on paper. What was presented is different from what was given to them. That is what a friend who is a current member of the National Assembly told me. Naturally, they have to sort things out. And that will mean that they have to sit down to do a lot of job for them to arrive on what to do with the budget. Before the president made the presentation, there were series of meetings between the legislators and the executive with a view to ensuring speedy passage of the budget. But unfortunately, what they submitted to the National Assembly is different from what the President presented. Most of the items are not the same as agreed by both parties. There are discrepancies between the one presented by the president and the copy forwarded to the National Assembly by ministers and heads of parastatals. That is what will make it impossible for it to be passed as we wish. It means they have to sit down to do a lot of justice to it. Besides, there are other issues still lingering between the National Assembly and the presidency. I heard from somebody that they are not going to treat the budget of the EFCC because of Ibrahim Magu since they don’t recognize him as substantive chairman of the agency. They said they will not have anything to do with his budget. And that is a serious legal matter. If he operates without a budget, it is illegal. These things will make it difficult for the budget to be passed as quickly as we wish. Even last year’s budget performance was only about 20 per cent, though it was passed late. If only 20 per cent of the budget was implemented, then what do you expect of the new budget?
As the year preceding the election year, 2018 is going to be full of political activities. To what extent do you think that is going to impact on governance?
To a large extent, it will affect the running of the government. That is why I am very worried. I would have wished Mr. President did what he said he was going to do when the APC had their NEC meeting. I would have wished he had done them before now because that will certainly help us in our preparation for the 2019 general elections. If he had made the appointments he promised, that would have cushioned the effects of so many things because people injected into the system will do a lot to help the government. Up till now, 90 per cent of parastatals are still being manned by the PDP and they are still loyal to the party. That is the most unfortunate thing that is happening. If Mr. President had done what he promised, it would have helped to cushion the effect of opposition. Even during the normal running of government when things happen the way they should, pre election year is usually a very serious year because all our minds will go into politics. People will judge the government based on its performance in the last three years. Whatever they are doing now, people will think they are doing it to appease them. But if the President had done what he promised, I would have loved it than what is happening now. I am not comfortable with the present situation of things; I am worried. I wish I could see Mr President to tell him the reality on the ground. He needs to do what he promised to do in time so that people will swing into action. Otherwise, it will be too late.
What do you think is responsible for the delay in appointing people into the various agencies and parastatals?
I know Mr. President; he is a very careful person. I am sure he is taking his time to make sure that whatever he does is done well. But unfortunately, it is taking longer than necessary. I would have preferred it done before the end of this year since he mentioned it publicly and people have the hope of him doing it. He confessed it that he is Mr. Go-slow. Of course, being a Go-slow person is better than people who rush to do things. A person who takes his time to do things is less likely to make mistakes. But it is taking too long. The delay is too much. He should have done it; otherwise, the effect won’t be as much helpful.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has finally come out of its prolonged crisis with the election of the new National Chairman. As they are angling to take over the reins of leadership from the APC, do you see it as a threat to your party?
It is worrisome; it is a threat. You have to look back to the 2015 general elections when we beat them hands down, and compare the differences in vote margin. We beat them with less than three million votes. Now, with the current happenings, how do you expect us to beat them like that? If we are going to beat them, we will beat them with a very small margin. And that is why I am worried that something has to be done and very quickly too. Otherwise, the story will be different, God forbid.
If Atiku eventually emerges the flag bearer of the PDP, and Mr. President also decides to run for a second term, what do you think may likely happen?
For me, the major threat is Atiku taking the ticket of the PDP. If Atiku takes the ticket, that is a major threat to APC. Atiku is a factor. He is strong, he has followers and very experienced. No matter what anybody says, Atiku is a major threat. That is why we have to brace up and do something very quickly. Otherwise, we have to do a lot of crash programmes. I would have wanted them to give it to Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, because he is a very serious person. He is a strong man too.
So that your party can have a field day?
( Lauhgs )…..He is a serious person, honestly.
To the extent of beating an incumbent President?
Fayose is a power to be reckoned with. He deserves the ticket.
What about the issue of zoning arrangement?
Zoning or no zoning, he has already declared his intention to contest. He was the first person to declare his intention to contest.
In any case, he is out of the picture now, because the party has zoned the presidency to the North.
Then, I would have wanted Shekarau to take the ticket.
If he takes it, you don’t see him as a threat to APC. Do you?
(Laughs)….Let him take it anyway! If Shekarau takes it, then we will have a repeat of what happened the other time.
Talking about the crisis of the APC in your state, Kano State, is everything settled between the governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso?
People who are talking about Kwankwaso and Ganduje are outsiders who don’t know anything about what is happening in Kano. Let me make it clear now and please hear me good. Kwankwaso and Ganduje came from PDP. They are the so-called new-PDP. I and others are from legacy party. And we have 80 per cent control of the state. Kwankwaso and Ganduje have less than 20 per cent. Now, they have decided to separate. Kwankwaso has formed his own group and the governor still remains in the party. I don’t think any group from legacy will be willing to follow Kwankwaso because he did nothing for them. He relegated us to the background. He didn’t do anything with us. He didn’t have any regard or concern for us. So, we are not with him. We are silently waiting. Kwankwaso has money and exposure. He came number two in the presidential primary of the APC when Buhari won by arrangement. He was not strong enough to become number two, but it was a political arrangement. I don’t have to expatiate on that. So, he is just barking like a dog. We, the 80 per cent in the legacy group, are with Ganduje. But people don’t know all this because he is talking and he has money to finance propaganda machinery. He is busy dishing out money everywhere. But as far as politics of Kano State is concerned, Kwankwaso is no issue. The legacy group has nothing to do with him because he had nothing to do with us when he was the governor. We are with Ganduje. If he had taken us along then, maybe he would have taken some of us along now.
In a way, you are saying he is a light weight politician?
Certainly. Ab initio, PDP was not strong in Kano than other parties. The vote he got during his second term was a protest vote from some people. He was lucky that some people protested because of what was done to them. But instead of being wise to carry everybody along, he decided to do it alone with the few people he came with from the PDP. I am sure he has not taken the majority of them with him. Majority of them are with the government. When the time comes, you people will discover that Kwankwaso is lightweight. He does not have majority in Kano because he unleashed all his atrocities on the electorate who are the majority. But he seems to be talking so much because he has money to give to the media. We are not unaware of how much he squandered and how much debt he left in office. He is not a popular figure. That is the truth.
In all the previous elections the president had contested, there was always the Buhari sentiment. Do you think that the same sentiment will still hold in the coming election, if he decides to run again?
I don’t think so. It will not be as before and it is normal. It is normal in life that when somebody holds office, he can’t be as popular as he was before the election because some people will not be happy, while others will be happy. That is why I would have wished the President injected fresh blood into the government to work for him. He has tried but certainly the popularity can’t be as before. It cannot and it will not.