Omoniyi Salaudeen

Senator Rufai Hanga is one of the respected opinion leaders in the North-west part of Nigeria. In this interview, the Kano-born politician takes a swipe at the heads of ministries, parastatals and agencies of government for their impunity which, according to him, is responsible for the prolonged delay in the passage of the 2018 budget. He also gives a damning verdict on the national coalition movement being spearheaded by former president Olusegun Obasanjo, saying it will fail.  

The passage of the 2018 appropriation bill by the National Assembly is dragging on. The legislature is blaming the delay on the refusal of heads of ministries, departments and agencies to defend their budget estimates. What is the implication of this prolonged delay on the fragile economy?  

It has a serious implication on the economy. In fact, whoever is delaying the passage is being insensitive. It is also disrespectful to the National Assembly.  I Everybody has got his own responsibility in running this government. The ministers and the government are supposed to work harmoniously. But unfortunately, some people are out to sabotage this government. The impunity of some government functionaries is becoming something else in this country and it’s not helping the government. It is sabotage. Some of them believe that the president is not in charge; so they are disregarding him. My opinion is that Mr. President should sanction them. He should do something about it. He gave them instruction to go and defend the budget, they refused. It portends danger to the government.

Do you suspect any sinister motive for all of this?

The National Assembly can take measure to compel them to do the needful. The biggest is to refuse to approve their budgets. Once it is not approved and the budget is passed, it becomes illegal for them to do anything. And if they do, they can be sanctioned. The impunity of these departments is very unfortunate. It is not helping the matter, it is not helping the president, it is not helping the government. In fact, it is sabotage. They are sabotaging the president. It is a disregard to the National Assembly for them to refuse to go and defend their budget when they summoned them.

Isn’t there a way the president and the heads of these agencies interface on a matter like?

They are supposed to brief the ministers and the ministers then brief Mr. President. For the president to give order and for them to flout it, it is not only a disrespect to the president, but a disregard to the government. Some of them believe that the president is not in charge and so they are disregarding him, they are disrespecting him. And it is unfortunate.

This issue of impunity and disregard to the president is not limit to the MDAs alone. You recall that the IGP was also accused of disregarding the relocation order issued by the president during the recent killings in Benue State.   

In that case, Mr President only mentioned it based on what he was told in Benue. There is a misunderstanding there. The relocation to Benue was misunderstood by the governor. The directive really was not that the IGP should relocate permanently there. He went and was there for few hours before he moved on to Nassarawa for on-the-spot assessment of the situation there too. And, of course, you cannot go to Benue and turn your eyes away from what was happening in Nassarawa because it is not only that the two states share a common border but also common problem. You recall that there was exchange of blames between the governor of Nassarawa and governor of Benue.  So, IGP went to Benue and also visited Nassarawa. Because of exchange of words between the governors and the IGP, they told the president that he was there for two hours. There is a proof that he wasn’t there for just two hours. He actually complied with Mr President’s directive. I am sure the president must have been briefed later; otherwise, he would have reprimanded the IGP.  

You have said it in our previous interview that when Buhari gives you responsibility, he doesn’t look back. Could that be the reason people take him for granted by defying his orders with impunity?

It is true. They are defying his order because of his nature you just mentioned. I have worked with him and I know the kind of person he is. From what I understand, people don’t let him know some of the things that are happening. And that is my worry now because that kind of thing is not helping him. I hope he knows that. I think people around him should be more open to him. They should change their style and approach before it is too late.  

Will it then not be necessary for him to make a scapegoat of those who have developed this kind of impunity?

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It is high time he took the necessary measures to stop it before it is too late. For example, In September last year, there was a caucus meeting of our party and Mr. President made some promises which he has not done up till now and nobody cares to remind him. He said he was going to appoint more ministers and constitute new boards. This is March, he has not done it and nobody reminds him. If this is done much later, the impact of it will not be there. Everybody is taking things for granted. By the time they realise all this, it will be too late. I don’t think they are giving him the right advice.

Why do you think that the issue of farmers/herdsmen crisis is intractable?

My suspicion is about the way it is being handled. It is not being handled properly. That is why it is escalating because nobody seems to know the root cause. There have only been speculations, blames and counter- blames. I think it is not being handled well enough. Two, I want to also believe there is sabotage somewhere.  

Now, a little about politics. Can you say that APC is good enough to go for another election now?

 Certainly, APC will go for elections. But I don’t think it has the goodwill of Nigerians it had before. And I don’t think it will have the goodwill of Nigerians as it was before. We in APC have to work harder and pray more. If people listened to ideas and advice, some things will not be like this. We are in a very serious situation now. And it is very unfortunate.

What then is your opinion about the reconciliation committee set up by the president headed by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu?

I think the committee was killed two days after it was set up. It was a failure ab-initio. I understand that Asiwaju went to Sokoto, I don’t think there was anything achieved. I don’t think he has achieved anything in Kano. So, where is the reconciliation? It’s already a failure. He started the job very well. Unfortunately, it was derailed immediately it started. I don’t think the committee is functional anymore.

You are a stakeholder in Kano State. What makes peace and reconciliation impossible in the state chapter of the party?

There should be a meeting point. But I think people on the other side have already made up their minds. The Kwankwaso side has really made up their minds because they are already in national coalition. Last week, they had a meeting with Obasanjo. And from what we are hearing from Kwankwaso supporters, there is no going back on coalition movement. They have made up their minds to leave the party. Already, they have been printing posters without any party logo. Somebody close to me from their side told me that reconciliation cannot change their minds. And, this is apparent from their actions and utterances.  

What is your perspective of this coalition being spearheaded by Obasanjo?

Obasanjo, to me, is a trouble shooter. His antecedents show that he is a non-conformist because there is no government he has not written to, there is no government he has not criticized apart from his own. All his live he has been criticizing governments. This coalition is coalition to nowhere. It is going nowhere. He just wants to create chaos and problems. It is going to fail. I don’t think they will achieve anything because majority of Nigerians do not trust him. This is somebody who came out of prision with less than N200, 000 and now owes trillion; he owes the largest farm in Nigeria. How can he explain the source of all this? He cannot. Leaders like Awolowo, Nnamad Azikwe, Ahmadu Bello, Aminu Kano died without anything. People are not stupid. His coalition will fail.

Then, what is the political future of those who are following him like Kwankwaso?

They will fail and begin to struggle for relevance in other political parties. I assure you, they will fail because they are not doing it in good fate. It is being done in bad fate. They will come back cap in hand looking for a political party where they can perch.