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| Hussaini Mairiga |
One of the three factional leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Kano State, Hussaini Mairiga, in this interview with TED ODOGWU, urges the party’s national leaders to resolve the lingering crisis in the state.
You were recently quoted to have described President Muhammadu Buhari as a failure. Why did you say that?
Yes, because all Nigerians felt that as
soon as Buhari came to power, they would feel some relief after the
hardship from the immediate-past administration of Goodluck Jonathan.
But from all indications, Jonathan’s Government is better than our
government. Meanwhile, the prices of all goods and services in Nigeria
have gone up, particularly essential commodities. Each time one buys a
product from the market and goes back the second day; one will notice
that the price has drastically increased. It’s indeed failure to him
and us, the APC members and followers of the party. The painful aspect
is that we turn a blind eye when our own is doing something wrong. Each
time the President goes wrong, it’s better to tell him right away than
to wait until he leaves government before cataloguing his misdeeds.
Some Nigerians agree with
you but some people have accused you of making the statements because
your sources of illegal wealth have been cut off by the President. Is
that what this is all about?
Those blaming me for speaking the truth
should tell Nigerians what I have done wrong. As long as I live, I will
not stop speaking the truth. However, I must make it abundantly clear to
my critics that I am a bona fide Nigerian. I am a businessman, I am
popularly known as Mairiga (dealer in clothing). Anybody, who knows me,
identifies me as Mairiga, as well as a farmer. Nobody will describe me
as a stranger in Nigeria or a smuggler. I am not an oil smuggler but
simply a farmer and a seller of clothing materials. As a pious Muslim, I
must always speak the truth, no matter whose ox is gored. As long as it
is the truth, I must stand by it. And if anybody sees me doing
something wrong, I will appreciate they make efforts to caution me from
my misdeed.
You recently advised the
President to open the borders because people are hungry. Some people say
it will only make us remain backward and that we have relied on
importation for too long. They say you must have been benefitting from
illegal smuggling.
As soon as Buhari mounted the saddle of
leadership, he closed the borders and ordered Nigerians to go back to
the farm. My question is how can you tell people to go back to the farm
without the machinery they need to do that? I remember that the Federal
Government introduced a programme known as ‘Back to Farm’’. However,
prior to the commencement of the rainy season in Kano State, no farmer
had been given one kobo for the commencement of the programme.
Fertiliser currently costs N10,000 per bag or a little more. My question
therefore is how can somebody have the borders closed and tell you to
go to farm without fertiliser and farming tools? Does he want the masses
to die? Before the President passes an order, it is reasonable for him
to put some palliative measures in place, which he failed to do. During
Buhari’s administration between 1983 and 1985, they used to exchange oil
for rice and essential commodities, which is called trade by barter. He
has not brought anything for the people to eat but he has hastily
closed the borders. Do you want the masses to perish from hunger? Is the
President not eating in Aso Villa? Also, is the President’s wife not
eating? My argument is that before the President closed the borders, he
should have put palliative measures in place. The truth is that people
are dying by instalments in their houses because of hunger and
starvation following the current harsh economic realities.
I am not telling people to continue to
rely on imported products but my argument is that before closing the
borders, the people should have been supplied with all the necessary
essential commodities, including fertilisers and other things required.
After one year, there is a tendency that they will start to stabilise,
then the President can comfortably close the borders. I am not saying
that it is improper to close the borders but if you fail to provide the
basic necessities for the masses, there is therefore no justification to
close the borders. The Federal Government’s policy to close the borders
is not wrong but there should be an arrangement to stabilise the
system, particularly in food sufficiency in the entire country. As long
as there is no food, there is no moral justification to close the
borders and stop food from coming into the country. That policy is
wrong. There should be stability in food supply or sufficiency in the
nation. Where there is no food, it would be unjustifiable to close the
borders and stop food from coming in. There must be food sufficiency for
everybody before the closure of the borders. However, the policy is
good because Nigeria should rely on its internally-generated products
and that has to be done when there is stability in basic necessities of
life.
Are you trying to score
cheap political points with your recent criticisms of the President as
some people are wondering why a member of the APC would be publicly
criticising a leader of the party?
Yes, those people do not know who
Hussaini Mairiga is. I have been with President Buhari since 2002, when
he veered into politics and I am still his supporter and follower. I
will therefore not close my eyes and overlook his other side because he
is the President of the nation. He is a human being like me and was
given power by almighty Allah, and by tomorrow, Allah may bring him
down. Any person who is an administrator that I follow, I must tell him
whenever he goes wrong. Certainly I will not start criticising him after
his tenure in office. I have to tell him the truth and I often call my
friends in government on phone for them to advise the President on what
Nigerians are actually facing. I also personally call on phone but they
often refuse to respond to my numerous calls. The truth is that I was a
member of the then All Nigeria Peoples Party (now defunct). Speaking
from my experience, I observed that the party executives always hid the
truth from Buhari because they wanted to get something from him. But as
for me, I am not lobbying for any position from him and therefore, I
have to tell him the truth, no matter how bitter it is, to enable him to
right his wrongs.
Don’t you think criticising him now is premature since it is a new government that is trying to restructure?
What is the big deal about a new
government? It’s indeed the tradition of any political party to make its
mark from the first year and the second year in power, as the third and
fourth years are for politicking and rigorous campaigning. As a
result-oriented politician, the first and second years are enough to
make headway, while the remaining two years are for politicking. Based
on this reality, I have no alternative but to talk to Buhari and tell
him the truth. Even if I am victimised for doing so, It is okay as long
as I am fighting for the Nigerian masses. I would not mind stepping on
toes as long as I am speaking the truth.
But is it fair for you to describe Buhari as a failure when he has not even spent two years out of his four-year tenure?
What I am emphasising is that the
Buhari-led administration is almost one and a half years old and it has
about six months more to attain two years in office. My argument is that
after two years in office, political campaigns will be flagged off.
President Buhari therefore has barely six months to achieve something in
order to take Nigeria to another level. I am worried by the situation
and that is why I have to tell him the truth to enable him correct it.
In essence, every politically-elected government to has two years to
perform. After the first and second years in office, the third and
fourth years are used by politicians to seek and clamour for juicy
positions. At that time, politicians will hardly concentrate on
governance.
Why have you been so hard on
the President when you know that the price of oil, which is the
mainstay of our economy, has reduced drastically?
During Muhammadu Buhari’s administration
as Military Head of State between 1983 and 1985, the price of a barrel
of crude oil was below what it is today. Despite the unattractive price
of oil at that time, Buhari’s administration made substantial progress
to move the country to another level of economic prosperity. What is
also worrisome is the claim that a lot of money has been recovered from
corrupt public officers and to date, nobody is aware of where the money
is being channelled to? To this extent, the government’s inability to
perform is inexcusable. The same government kept drumming into the ears
of Nigerians that about N3tn has been saved with the Single Treasury
Account. Also, the same government kept announcing that a lot of money
has been recovered from people who stole from the government and all
that. Therefore, the question is where has all the money been channelled
to? Why is the government crying publicly that there is no money?
What about all the
atrocities and other corrupt practices we hear were committed by the
immediate-past government, shouldn’t the previous governments also be
blamed for the mess Nigeria is experiencing today?
I am not blaming the previous
administration and I must also point out that I am not a member of the
Peoples Democratic Party. But let me tell you the truth, during the PDP
government, it was only insurgency that was the most critical situation
in Nigeria. Apart from security challenges, the masses were able to
afford their needs. A 50kg bag of rice sold for between N7,000 and
N8,000. The price of kerosene per gallon, at that time, sold for not
more than N200. But currently, the price of kerosene sells for N1,200
per gallon. The same measure of garri that was sold for not more than
N150 currently sells for N500. It’s good to face the truth. During the
PDP administration, prices of essential goods and commodities did not
hit the roof top as it is today. The bottom line is that the Buhari-led
government has to urgently do something to alleviate the ongoing level
of untold hardship and poverty in the country so as to bring relief to
Nigerians who are currently in critical condition.
What is your assessment of the ongoing anti-graft war of the Buhari’s Government?
That is very good and I am giving him all my support. I am with him.
What do you make of the
budget padding scandal, especially as a Film Village to cost about N3bn
and to be sited in your state (Kano) was included in the budget?
I don’t want to meddle with legislative
functions because I have never been a legislator, so I have no comments
on that question. All I can say is that our legislators should have the
fear of God while performing their constitutional duties. They should
realise that the masses are experiencing untold hardship and there is
the need to join hands together to resolve the ongoing economic crisis
impoverishing Nigerians.
As a follow-up, the Federal
Government recently announced that the budget was not padded and some
people have accused the government of protecting Dogara. Do you agree
with that insinuation?
This is a similar question you asked me earlier and my response remains same.
What is the latest on the APC crisis in Kano which created factional chairmen, including you?
We have three factions, not two. One is
under the leadership of Haruna Doguwa. There is the Kwankwasiyya, the
Abdullahi Sanusi-led faction, known as Gandujiya and lastly, I Hussaini
Mairiga from the All Nigeria Peoples Party/Congress for Progressive
Change. Let me sensitise you, the APC crisis is not only in Kano. I must
tell you that the current crisis bedeviling the APC is worse than that
of the PDP because as I speak with you, the party is grappling with
crisis in about 20 of Nigeria’s 36 states. But let me inform you, the
national APC has not deemed it fit to set aside one day to settle the
disputes tearing the party apart in the states. What is more important
to them than anything else is to search for contracts. They don’t care
about anybody in the APC. Also, just recently, I heard that in Ondo
State, the party is divided into two. There is also crisis in Kaduna,
Kogi and Zamfara states, indeed in a lot more states than I care to
remember. Actually, the APC has a lot of problems in the entire country.
The party is not even thinking of how to reconcile the feuding parties
in the states. This is simply not a party but we have to still move on
because it is our party. I am from the ANPP. I surrendered my
certificate for the merger deal. But let me tell you, the APC has to do
some major tasks to reconcile all the feuding members. It’s not only in
Kano, it is happening in about 23 states.
Is there any possibility of reconciliation with the other factional chairmen of the party in Kano?
Yes of course, because I am from the
ANPP and I want my party to win in all the states of the federation, so I
have to do it but I will however not be party to injustice. I will not
condone selfishness, I will not agree with anything that will not help
my people or something that will take us 20 steps backward.
Is it your submission that there is currently injustice within the rank and file of the APC in Kano?
Of course, there is. You should know
what has happened in Kano. I have written letters, spanning over two
years to the national headquarters of the APC, protesting injustice. The
national headquarters of the party did not for once respond to any of
my letters because it has been backing the government since Rabiu
Kwankwaso’s administration. After Kwankwaso’s tenure, it is now backing
Abdulllahi Ganduje’s administration. This is what is happening in
Nigeria as people are sheepishly following those in government. As soon
as one leaves power, he will be criticised. This is not how to govern,
we need to come together and unite, as we have been proclaiming that in
unity we stand and divided we fall. We need transparent justice in our
daily activities.
How would you describe your relationship with the two other parallel APC factions in the state?
The relationship is of course cordial:
one person is from Gandujiya, another is from Kwankwasiyya, while I am
from the (defunct) ANPP party. We are always together; as we do exchange
pleasantries each time we meet at gatherings or at public places, but
the truth is that there is crisis in the Kano APC.
What in your opinion is tearing the Kano APC apart?
The trouble started during the Rabiu
Musa Kwankwaso-led administration. He merged our party, the ANPP into
APC. He used his powers to pocket everybody. Kwankwaso appointed only
one person as the leader from the wards to oversee the 44 local
governments. Also, it was Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso that singlehandedly
appointed all the 44 local government chairmen. In addition, Kwankwaso
was responsible for handpicking all those to be elected to the Federal
House of Representatives at the national level, so that is the genesis
of our crisis. Till date, Kano State is grappling with the protracted
political crisis.
What are your recommendations on reuniting the three APC factions in the state?
I am appealing to the national
headquarters to urgently dissolve all the three APC factions in Kano,
including mine and replace the factions with a Caretaker Committee for
at least one or two months before arranging for a fresh, free,
transparent and credible election. Finally, the current crisis
bedeviling Kwankwasiyya and Gandujiya, if not urgently addressed, will
make us lose the state to the opposition. The followership of both
movements are busy engaged in fighting one another as they now wear red
and black caps to distinguish the warring groups, as it was done
particularly during the just-concluded Minjibir re-run bye-election,
which the APC won. The national leadership needs to urgently proceed to
Kano to resolve the ongoing crisis; otherwise the APC will lose the
state to the opposition as the Kano APC is not united.
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