By Doris Obinna
At a time when President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated another set of 46 ambassadors for confirmation, a former Nigerian envoy, Ambassador Fatima Balla Abubakar, has said there is need for new ambassadors to be posted out.
According to her, since former ambassadors were withdrawn, nothing much had be happening in the country’s foreign missions.
A chieftain of the APC, Abubakar, who was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Botswana, spoke on this and many others, in a chat with some journalists.
For some time, you have been out of the political circle. What happened?
I have, indeed, been active in politics since leaving service in old Gongola State, now called Adamawa State. I have contested elections at various times for the Senate. In 2003, I was in the PDP because that was the strongest platform available. After I lost in 2003 under PDP, I was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana. I assumed office as ambassador in 2004. By 2007, I resigned my ambassadorial position and came back to contest for the Senate the same year on the platform of the Action Congress (AC). I did not succeed. By election time in 2011, AC had become Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and I contested, again, under the party.
All the attempts you made failed. Is it as a result of the fact that you are a woman? What would you say about women in politics?
It is really not easy for women in politics. If you don’t have credibility, if men can easily push you around, you won’t go far. Women are largely disadvantaged in politics due to lack of economic power. As a woman, whether you are married or not, only a few people can support you. Our support base as women is very narrow. A woman can only get support from her closest relatives, i.e. her husband, father, brother, uncle, son or daughter. People who are not family don’t support women, unlike what happens with men. A rich man with no blood relation can decide to support a man, invest in his candidacy and bankroll the whole process.
Could you tell us about your life as an opposition politician?
I have been in opposition since 2007. I contested for the Senate under opposition, AC, and then in 2011, I contested again under ACN. So, since 2007 I have been in opposition until now that my party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has formed the Federal Government. I thank God for making it possible. But being in opposition is not as bad as people think. It’s good because we were doing well; perhaps, more than we are doing now. That’s my own personal assessment.
We were very focused and determined; that’s why we were able to give PDP a run for their money. Maybe it’s because we were not responsible for all the problems of the country. Therefore, we were just focusing on our party, our people and giving the country a credible alternative.
You are member of the ruling APC. Have you ever had encounter with President Muhammadu Buhari, who could be referred to as the national leader of the party?
President Buhari is not new to me. Actually, I came across him several times, long before he emerged as the presidential candidate for APC. I was a member of a group of persons, who used to meet in his office, to discuss how to make him a candidate of the APC. I was in that group and we met several times, before the primaries.
I can tell you categorically that all those uncomplimentary things people say about Buhari are not true. For example, they say he is largely unfriendly with people. This is not true. President Buhari is a very simple person. When you meet him, you will be amazed. You will actually discover the depth of his simplicity, very down-to-earth and he takes his time to listen to whatever you have to tell him. I cannot confirm to you that he uses everything you tell him, but that depends on the individual. He is also a good listener and he can be easily approached.
What of the president’s wife, Aisha? What relationship do you have with him?
She is my sister, having come from the same state. She’s an intelligent woman, very composed and, as you know, very beautiful as well. She is somebody who has passion for helping others. She readily extends her hands to help people she knows need help and that is why she is going from one IDP camp to another. She is into philanthropy with her pet project “FUTURE ASSURED.” As the name implies, her passion is to secure the future of the less-privileged.
I am easily amused when I read in newspapers some view that Aisha is a very flamboyant woman and, perhaps, expensive in her lifestyle. It shows some people don’t really know her well and have not followed her lifestyle. She actually isn’t flamboyant because there is nothing in her that shows she is flamboyant. She comes from a decent and simple family. Look at the way she dresses. She dresses decently, the Islamic way, fully covered. I have not seen any change in her behaviour or mode of dressing, from when she was outside or inside the Villa. She has remained the same, simple, kind and pleasant.
Could you assess the Buhari government in close to one and half years?
To a large extent, I believe the president has done well. You know why? He has been able to fight the insurgents to a standstill, hence that today we are at peace in Adamawa and many other places. I think having achieved that, those of us that were affected directly are very grateful. Within the one and half years, PMB has been able to set up a government. Right now, more people are being appointed. The problem of the budget is now sorted out, even though recession has affected the capacity of this government to carry out certain policies and programmes due to lack of funds. But the fight against corruption is successful. And I believe some things are being put in place to sort out our economic problems.
What do you say about the position of the PDP that the government has failed?
I have heard what PDP people said. But they are wrong. They said that the war against corruption was targeted against them alone. Well, when you talk of corruption, and PDP people are saying their members are the target, of course, their members will be the target. You know why? They were those in government before Buhari took over. Massive amounts are being recovered from former PDP appointees. APC was not in government. How can you go and pick any APC member, who was not in government and start trying him for corruption? Granted that there may be a few APC members who have cases to answer and you can be sure that this president will not shield any known case. He will properly investigate cases of corruption, irrespective of the party the accused person may belong. If the pendulum swings more on the side of PDP members, it is because they were the ones in government for about 16 years, during which time most of them were on rampage mismanaging and misappropriating funds. Now that they are asked to give account of their actions while in office, they are complaining and accusing the president of being selective. Surely, those affected who are in APC will have their day, sooner or later.
Are you satisfied with the government appointment of women?
There are fewer women in this government and women are agitating to get their 35 per cent affirmative action. Thirty-five per cent of appointees should be women. We need more women in decision-making positions. Our hope and prayer is that as new appointments are made, more women will be appointed to positions of decision-making.
Buhari has been criticised over his trips abroad. What do you think?
I think his travelling was and is absolutely necessary. He needed to go round different countries, especially the G8 countries to explain the political situations in Nigeria. Nigeria cannot operate in isolation. Also, his trips to those countries, especially the countries where some corrupt Nigerians hid their loots, was to negotiate with those governments and seek their support and assistance in repatriating those monies to Nigeria. Some of the countries have agreed to return the monies. In China, he was able to attract some kind of loan to fund certain aspects of the economy. So, I believe those trips were necessary.
Could you assess the country’s foreign service?
As to whether our foreign service is doing well, my view is that as at now, we have not done so well, the reason being that since the last batch of ambassadors were recalled, since over a year ago, there have not been ambassadors in any mission of Nigeria in the world. When you don’t have ambassadors to the different nations the relationship between you and those countries is almost not there. It is, therefore, expedient that ambassadors should be appointed and sent out as soon as possible to continue with the bilateral relationship and other relationships with the host countries.
What do you think of the civil service?
I do not think we have a vibrant civil service now, but that is as a result of corruption. There is too much corruption in the civil service. For example, a minister would not be corrupt without the connivance of the civil servants. It is the civil servants, who make it possible for the political appointees to engage in corruption. The situation is bad. There is a need for complete re-orientation of the civil service. Indeed, we do need a very deep reform and we need to have people who are honest, intelligent, incorruptible and experienced to do a complete assessment and audit of the civil service. Even though there are rules and regulations that guide appointments, terminations and so on, which might cause a constraint, it should still be done.
Labour laws should be looked into, as it pertains to the civil service and get the National Assembly to make laws that will correct the present anomalies so that we can have efficient, effective and a corrupt-free civil service.
There are agitations for separation or restructuring of the country. What is your take on these?
I don’t understand the problem of those calling for separation in Nigeria. Those talking about restructuring, what is their grievance? What is restructuring and how do they want to restructure? Restructuring can only bring destabilisation and confusion. Rather, I think there is basis for unity. Personally, I think that each of the zones cannot live without the other, North East, North West, North Central, South East, South South, and South West. I can’t see how they’ll live without one another because when you go to any state, you’ll find people from all parts of the country. For goodness sake, if we divide the country, how are we going to sort this out? I think we are better when we stay together. We can together find other alternative sources of revenue. Nigerians are very intelligent, hardworking and imaginative people. When we are in our country, we don’t use our intelligence, but when we are in another country, we suddenly become superstars and geniuses. We are better and stronger together. Nigeria should remain one.