From BillyGraham, Abel, Yola
APC stalwart in Adamawa state, Phineas Elisha, has said that Nigeria was on the verge of collapse, before the timely intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, which according to him, saved the day.
Excerpts.
Some Nigerians are of the view that the APC-led government is not doing enough to pull the country out of recession. What do you think?
Nigerians should be grateful to God that President Buhari came at the time he did because he saved the country from an impending economic and social collapse. The $2.1billion dollars arms deal scandal was a small window into how corruption and impunity almost ruined this country.
I am an accountant by profession; Nigerians should know that the major foreign exchange earner dropped by 70percent, our production dropped by 50percent, which means you are losing the national earning by 65percent, you should know that there is problem. The President submitted a budget with a deficit of about N2trillion, and the servicing of the national debt he inherited from past administration is placed at about 25percent of the budget, it only means you are not earning 25percent of realised revenue that should be used for the country.
From my background, I appreciate the challenges before the President, but the man on the street may not understand, all he wants is to find food on his table, for the government to make it easier for him to go to his farm.
But the party appears not to be keeping promises, especially the ‘change’ that was promised. How come?
APC is real change, I was the Director of public affairs during the time of Bala James Ngilari, I know firsthand how the boko haram almost over run our state, but President Muhammadu Buhari has restored peace to this area. He was able to restore security to the north- eastern part of the country. And I think you should be commended for that. Again, that is change.
The legal notion that everyone is innocent until proven guilty has compounded the issue of the fight against corruption, the judge will only work with the facts presented to him, he cannot infer. We voted President Buhari, to fight corruption, the fight against corruption is critical to the reason Nigeria is still surviving. From my background, I am convinced and sure that Nigeria would have come collapsed by now, if not for Buhari.
What is your take about the recent botched nationwide protest against the government of President Buhari?
I think the National Orientation agency need to do its job by educating Nigerians about what Mr. President, is doing. It is a known fact that a hungry man is an angry man, but we know that there are programmes designed to handle that. The anchor borrowers scheme has been up and doing for more than 12 months now, but we have to be sure that the farmers are getting the money, not the people who will go and add more wives and cause more trouble for themselves. My background in banking teaches me that loans are given to people with collateral so that the loans can be recovered. If you want to prove my point, start driving from Yola to my area, you will be surprised that there is no expanse of land left uncultivated, so in the next two to three years, the tons of rice that will be produced will surprise you. In subsequent years we will begin to enjoy the back to farm benefit in Nigeria.
Is it right for Nigerians to be apprehensive over the President’s absence?
First of all let’s pray for a quick recovery for the President and secondly his absence has been taken care of because he has handed over power to his Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbanjo. Adesina (Presidential Adviser on Media and Publicity) has spoken to that effect, so no vacuum was created. Let us look at the significance of that office, the burden of that office, and the challenge of running this country. We are running a presidential system of government that is so expensive, he came at a point in time when oil prices dropped from $107 per barrel to below $30 per barrel and considering his age, you will know that the President has gone through a lot of stress.
He has been maintaining the same civil service work force, the state and local government structure, the National Assembly and so on, so it is no big deal for him to take a break.
With a huge budgetary allocation to Villa clinic, why is the President still seeking medical attention abroad?
I think you missed the point, if I have a history of a particular ailment, it is easier for me to go the hospital where I have doctors that are familiar with my medical history, I am not a physician, but I think that is what President is doing here. Let me tell you, I have a mechanic that repairs my car, since 1981 and I still take my car there till today. So this is the way I see it.
Talking about Adamawa state, some critics say Governor Jibrilla is the worst governor so far, in the history of the state. How true?
That is the worst comment that can be made against the interest of the people of Adamawa state. I say so because the sitting governor has done well, the civil servants have been paid, about 25percent of the Paris club fund was paid, the President directed that at least 50perecent of the fund should be used to offset salary arrears but the governor magnanimously used 100percent of the funds and added some money to pay both local government and teachers salaries. Look at the road networks in the state capital, Yola, look at Numan, Mubi, Ganye, Shelleng and other parts of the state, this is the change we are talking about, there is a complete change. So anyone calling Bindow the worst governor doesn’t know what he is saying.
What is your reaction to the crisis in the party, especially between the supporters of Buhari and Atiku?
There is no commotion in APC; it is just only declaration of various interests. I was the Secretary of the committee that recommended the formation of APC to the then governor, Murtala Nyako, the structure of APC at the local government levels are still intact, at the ward level it remains intact, it is at the state level that there has been vacuum because there was an exodus of the state executives. Binta, the erstwhile chairman was elected a Senator, her Vice chairman has passed on, the Secretary has a political appointment, and the person holding the fort, Bilal, is a good man and the chairman of the party at his local government, so he is familiar with the challenges of the party.
What is politics, it is a struggle for control of power, and when you have the power, it becomes about the allocation of resources. I assure you the APC in Adamawa is in good shape.
What is your take on killer herdsmen causing havoc in the state?
Unfortunately I happen to be a victim because my village was attacked and several villages around it. But I don’t want us to localise this issue of conflict as if it happens only in Nigeria, it is partially because we are a liberal country, everyone claims he has the right to be everywhere, anywhere and when we begin to claim rights, someone’s right will definitely be infringed upon. It is becoming a global security issue. Look at the US which has been practicing democracy for over 200 years, it has advanced technology to police its community and police the world but look at the Orlando killings, France, Germany.
But I agree with you that there is a fundamental problem between the farmers and the herdsmen which has to be addressed. We can learn from the US and construct earth dams, grazing reserves, because we have failed to adhere to the traditional rules governing the herdsmen entering any community, in the past whenever the Fulani trespassed into anybody’s farm, the village head settles the issue because they are made to pay.
But the whole thing has taken a completely different dimension. Look at the case of Southern Kaduna, it has gone beyond farmer-herdsmen conflict, as if it is an ethnic cleansing but when you ask them, they will say it is farmer-herdsmen clash.