By Dickson Okafor
Mustapha Kanti Bello is the Commissioner for Solid Minerals Development, Katsina State and the first son of the late maverick politician and former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Kanti Bello who died recently. Mustapha, who was recently endorsed by the Kanti Bello political structure in Katsina to succeed his father as leader of the group, in this interview, opened up on life after his father’s demise and plans by the family to immortalize the man he described as an open book. He speaks about the relationship between his father and President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that his father never had grudges against the President. He also debunked insinuations that his appointment as commissioner was a ploy by the cabal that stopped his father from making Buhari’s cabinet.
What is life after the demise of your father like?
My father was a friend to his children, a mentor and a guide. I have seen how other children relate with their parents. You will see in most families that there is no bond between parents and their children but in our family I will say we were close to our parents. My father did not hide anything from us because everybody knows that late Senator Kanti Bello was an open book. He said his opinion wherever he found himself even to his children. So, it is a great lost. As Muslims, we must submit to the will of Allah. The only thing we can do for him is to emulate his legacies and set up a memorial in honour of him and also pray for the repose of his soul.
What is it that you miss about him?
Immediately I left university he placed a lot, of responsibilities in my hands. I have seen the result since his demise because ever since then I have been up to the task in whatever responsibility given to me even though it is challenging. At the age of 27, Immediately I finished my university, he handed over all his businesses worth over N2billion to me. In fact, he put his total trust in me. Not all children can be opportune as I’m to be bestowed such trust being a young person. He always call the attention of his children to the fact that humility is the key to a successful venture in life and that drew me closer to him. Even politically, we share views and he seeks my opinion on issues. Whatever he showed concern in, he always call me on phone to seek my opinion and advice. That intimacy is what I miss about my father. Sometimes I use to look at my phone hoping he will call me as usual. I miss to hearing from him but it has dawned on me that he is indeed dead.
What makes your father angry?
Like I said, he is an open book. He was not an introvert but an extrovert, hence he always expressed his opinion no matter whose ox is gored. He did not hold grudges against anybody because he was outspoken. We are really blessed as a family to have Senator Kanti Bello as a father. He pulled all his children together and after his demise we are still sticking together as one united force. I cannot remember the last time he was angry with any of us.
What was his last moments like?
It was peaceful and he left the world without grudges against anybody. I was overwhelmed by how many lives he touched during his lifetime. So many sympathizers trooped to our house both in Abuja, Kaduna and Katsina to console us. They took time to testify how he transformed their lives and that made me to realize more the kind of person my father was. His philanthropy is a challenge to us his children because I thought I knew him very well but in death I know more about him. His service to humanity and kind gestures have placed the family in vintage position in Katsina State in particular and Nigeria in general. So, with the good works he did, it seems I’m just scratching the surface. We heard a lot about his good gestures from people that we did not know and those he mentored it. Is not easy to live up to the standard he created.
Are you saying his shoe is too big for you to wear?
It is left for the people to decide if I’m living up to expectation. Right now all his political structures in Katsina State has endorsed me to lead them. From the ward, local government up the state levels. Even all the leaders of Kanti Bello political structure said I should take over the leadership of the group. Taking over the leadership of the group is another thing and maintaining it are two different things because taking over leadership is difficult but maintaining the group is most difficult. They gave me the privilege to lead them because they looked at the kind of person my father was. He was a kind of person that preferred to lose an election than lose integrity. He always said the truth to whosoever came across him and because I grew up under him, he mentored me, hence I’m following his footsteps. On the shoes you are talking about, I have learnt from him the principle of leadership. The shoes won’t be big for me to wear as long as I did not change from the ways he took me through. Except I lose focus or change from those values my father imbibed in me then the people will not follow me.
Your father in his last interview published by The Sun Newspaper, expressed regret over failure of Buhari’s administration to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians. In fact, he said this is not the type of change Nigerians voted for, do you harbor the same regret?
I won’t call it regret but an advice that there are more to be done to pull Nigeria out of economic mess the last administration put us into. What my father meant is that Nigeria has a lot of potentials to be greater, considering our population, resources and the size of our economy. If you take a look at his interviews, he used to praise government when they did well and where they are found wanting he would criticize constructively without fear or favour and he always proffered solutions. He did not start constructive criticism during President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, but he was consistent. Remember even when he was a member of PDP and Chief whip of the Senate, he said the zoning formula should be maintained and failure to heed this advice cost PDP the presidency. So, that is the kind of person he was. Even though as a staunch member of the Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in the last interview you mention he granted your newspaper he criticized the APC led government for its economic policy which he said has kept many families hungry. So, he was blunt to say that President Buhari should do everything within his powers to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians
What kind of relationship had your father with President Muhammadu Buhari as his kinsman?
My father was the first person to persuade President Buhari to go into politics. He went to his house and spoke to him at length to join politics. If my father hadn’t loved Buhari he won’t have encouraged him to join politics. Like I said anybody who knew my father knows he was an open book. If the relationship between him, and the President wasn’t cordial he won’t put in resources and worked hard for Buhari’s victory in 2015. So, my father had no problem with Buhari. If he had, he won’t be one of the founding members of All Nigeria People Party (ANPP) and he won’t have joined Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) and later All Progressives Congress (APC) when he did. In his political journey there must be differences of interest within a period of time as there could have been a conflict of interest at a time between them, yet, they always came to terms. For example, if you are vying for a political position you may have the support of a particular group, that does not mean you have something personal against an individual. That is why I said that my father does not have grudge against anybody. All I can say is that he wanted Buhari’s government to succeed, hence he suggested that the government needed to put in more effort in the area of the economy.
Many are of the opinion that your appointment as commissioner in Katsina State affected your father’s chance of being made a Minister, what is you take?
Before I was appointed commissioner, I was a Managing Director of a N2billion company. The ministry I now oversee, Ministry for Solid Minerals has a lower turnover than the company I presided over before my appointment. I was the Managing Director of a company that deals on Agro commodities both locally and internationally. I’m an Engineer and I have done a lot of construction works across the nation. I’m capable of handling any responsibility and qualify to be appointed into any position even more than a commissioner in a state. I took the job out of respect for Governor Aminu Massari because we have a very good relationship. The governor is a simple person and kind man who wants to see the growth of Katsina State. It is the prerogative of the governor to appoint who he so wishes into his cabinet just as it is the prerogative of the President to appoint whoever he wishes to serve in his executive. My father did not go into politics or APC in order to be appointed into any position. He joined politics to contribute in whatever capacity in corder to see that the country and its citizens have a better and fairer deal. So, if President Buhari felt that he does want my father in his cabinet that is his own decision. My appointment as commissioner has nothing to do with my father.
That brings me to the next question. Many may not agree with your submission because you are believed to have the ears of the governor, what is your relationship with Governor Massari?
That is not true; rather I will say that the governor is somebody who leads by example. He listens to good advice even if it comes from somebody who is not in the government. He takes such advice as far as it will serve the people better. The training I had from my father was that I should be able to say my opinion in any matter that will be to the interest of the state and the person I’m serving. So, it is not that I have the ears of the governor more than my colleagues. We are 18 commissioners in the state and we serve to uplift the people hence we all have the ears of the governor. I have seen how other governors treat their commissioners and their aides. It is disheartening that some of them behave like small gods. In Katsina, things are different. The governor treats us with respect and that gives us the opportunity to say our mind even if it does not tally with his opinion. But in some states commissioners can spend 6 months trying to see or have audience with their governors. I commend Governor Massari for his leadership style and for carrying everybody along.
As a youth who is doing well, why are Nigeria youths not willing to wrestle power from the old breed?
If you look at the population of this country, almost 70 per cent are youths. As I stated in the previous interview I granted your paper, the reason youths don’t excel is because they are not given responsibility at the early age. They are not mentored at the early stage of life. The reason I’m able to perform and I have confident to do whatever I’m asked to do is because of the fact that I was given responsibility at an early age. So, I learnt from that responsibility overtime, but most youths today after coming out of the university are able to perform because they are being treated as kids, not as adults. If you go to developed countries the moment you are 18years, you are treated as an adult but here, you find 40year old people being treated as children. They are not given any responsibility so they can be able to excel. That has to change. I’m calling on the government to give youths opportunities and responsibilities to learn. By giving them opportunities they would be able to bring something on the table. That is the only way they can do new things. If they are not given responsibilities then they will never excel and they will be without any cohesive strength or growth. Also, youths should stop looking at themselves as being incapable, because it goes both ways, if you are not given responsibility you cannot perform. I remember when I was appointed commissioner, a lot of people started looking at me as if I’m too young to assume that position, while in other countries people of my age are being elected presidents or Prime Ministers, but here being a mere commissioner, youths see it as a big deal. Youths here look at themselves as being incapable for leadership. So, it is a problem hence they must look at themselves as being capable to lead this country and through that the nation can grow.
Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of this government because there is hunger in the land, do Katsina people feel the hardship in Nigeria?
No part of the country can be said to be isolated from the other. The economy is one and you cannot say for example, that the prices of foodstuff are lower in one part of the country and higher in other parts. The APC led Federal Government has performed well in the area of security as report has it that terrorism has reduced to 80 per cent which is a welcome development. I assure you that more is going to be done in the area of the economy. Anywhere there is recession, the government can do two things either adopt austerity measure or expansion of budget, but one thing remain constant, no matter the part government chooses, reduction of interest rate by banks is the way out so that businesses can borrow with lower interest rate to boost the economy. Here, we have chosen the expansionist method by expanding the budget from N6trillion to N8trillion. So, if the budget is implemented to the fullest, it means there will be more money in circulation and more people will get jobs. There is the other side of the coin, which we have to look at, that is if the private sector which is the only sector that can drive the economy apart from critical infrastructure like good road network and railway can boost the economy if given more attention and this can be achieved through lowering the interest rate so that companies can borrow at lower interest rate. It is not enough for CBN to be intervening because it is not just intervention in all the sectors that can solve our economic problem. The problem is that the interest rate is high and this should be looked at so that companies can borrow at a single digit interest rate.
What is your take on child marriage in the north?
Every region in the country has their religious and cultural values. My advice to parents is to make sure that they educate their children particularly the girl child before giving their hands in marriage.
You said you will immortalize your father and you talked about instituting an annual lecture in honour of him, how far have you gone to make it a reality?
Remembering his good works and what he stood and died for is the reason for the annual lecture. His children, Nigerians and those who looked up to him can through the annual event be encouraged to continue to imbibe the legacies of Sen. Kanti Bello and his good gestures. It is something we are going to do to sustain his legacies and inspire the upcoming generation to learn from him. Not just him alone, there are other Nigerians dead or living that made contributions towards the development of the country, they also need to be remembered. That is why I’m against the abolition of history from our education curriculum. You find out that people from other countries are attached to their country through teaching of history of the contributions of the previous generation. In Nigeria, you find people agitating for breakup of the country because they have not learned that millions of people died or sacrificed their lives in order to keep Nigeria united. I’m using this opportunity to call on the Federal Government and Ministry Education to please restore teaching of history in our schools so that the younger generation can learn to love this and contributions of heroes towards the development of the nation.