Hon. Ahmed Usman Liman is a member representing Musawa/Matazu federal constituency of Katsina state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He spoke with JOSHUA EGBODO on the need to rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram members and other security matters.
On impact of 2020 budget
The 2020 budget implementation has just started, so it is too early for people to feel the impact because this is just the first quarter. By the time we enter the second quarter I think things will improve tremendously and that is when people will begin to fill the impact of the budget.
We, the lawmakers, were able to do our job by passing it on time. So I am hopeful that there will be significant improvement in the 2020 budget implementation and people will definitely feel the impact, more in this one than that of the 2019. We’ve really factored in a lot of infrastructural development into it.
Border closure and positive change
Well, I am from a border state, although not from a border local government or constituency. However, I have been discussing with a lot of people at the border point and they said there are great changes because those contraband goods and small light weapons used to be smuggled into the country have been reduced drastically, even though the attacks by the bandits on communities still persist.
On a general note, the border closure has yielded positive results, in spite of fresh attacks coming from the bandits who are presumed to have come from neighbouring countries. I can, therefore, say that the border closure by President Muhammadu Buhari is a welcome idea.
Rehabilitation and amnesty for Boko Haram members
Rehabilitating Boko Haram members or terrorists is a good thing in the sense that we want them to live normal life but the question is: how do you rehabilitate them? That is because you just can’t go in and take them where they are kept in custody and say you want to rehabilitate them into the society. They have to undergo rigorous screening by the security and medical personnel to ascertain their mental capabilities before you can think of rehabilitating them. This is because of the atrocities they had committed in the past.
Therefore, that is why they need to undergo some processes before they are rehabilitated and allowed to live as normal people among us.
In the first place, when they were going into that syndicate they had senses but their senses are now twisted and distorted owing to their involvement in serious atrocities. Their indoctrination and agreement reached with the miscreants makes them to change totally from the normal way people live to a different way entirely.
Therefore, getting them back and rehabilitating them is not a simple thing and that is why they need to be checked by psychiatrists and security personnel before they would be rehabilitated back to the society.
Should service chiefs be sacked or retired?
I can say I support the change of the Service Chiefs, but not their sack, obviously because of their service to the country and their experience.
Secondly, they have put in their best for a number of years even though their best to the country now is not good enough. What I might suggest is for them to be retired, so that they can go and rest. Also, the president can ask them to resign their service and remain heroes because they can still be called upon for advice on security issues.
Another thing is that they need to leave so that the junior ones can have the opportunity to move upward. Besides, they have reached the top and have done their best to the country. The military has gallant men and women who can do better with fresh ideas.
They also need to be tested to see if they can improve on what their superiors had done for the country in other to make a difference.
Your experience as a teacher and now politician
As a teacher, I had been dealing with sections of the society which is to educate the students and impart knowledge to them but as a politician, I deal with the larger society of people, irrespective of age, class and business orientation.
Politics involves everybody now. You have to meet all classes of people and interact with them in order to win elections; and of course, listen to their demands so as to proffer solutions to them. It is quite interesting and the difference is great. In terms of stress it is almost the same thing.
As a teacher, you are always on alert to see how your students are doing and also in politics you are always on alert to see what goes and comes in order to satisfy the people. You have to be proactive because you are representing them and you are their voice. You need to operate an open door policy: whether you like it or not and also lower your standard to accommodate all classes of people so that you will work together for their good and they too will see your efforts and be satisfied with what you are doing for them.
Your legislative interests
My legislative interest is on education. As a teacher, I want to legislate on laws that would improve on the standard of education in the country, which would also help in administering the educational curriculum in the country as well as issues and activities in our schools in both the tertiary and secondary schools.
We need to review the curriculum to accommodate other aspects in our schools today because many of the things used today are outdated. You can see that the standard of education is falling and this is really bad. We need to improve on education otherwise it will collapse completely. As we know, education is the basis of human life and the foundation of everything we want to do in life. So we need to improve on it for the betterment of the society.
Your constituency challenges
The challenges are too numerous, because we have challenges in the areas of education, health, infrastructure and employment. I told them during my campaigns that I have two things that are very important: one is education and the other is having something to do or earning a living.
With your education you can have something doing so that you will live a better life, because if you talk of health the one that is educated knows how to take care of himself because he knows the importance of being healthy but without education you are nowhere in life and without having something doing you cannot have your ends meet. That is what I went round telling them during my campaign; that they need to get educated for them to have something doing.
For that reason I have started tackling it by providing scholarships to students in junior secondary schools and also providing empowerment programmes to my constituents by giving farmers irrigation and pumping machines, sewing machines and little token to some individuals to start small scale businesses on their own in other to earn a living and improve on their standard of living.
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Therefore, getting them back and rehabilitating them is not a simple thing and that is why they need to be checked by psychiatrists and security personnel before they would be rehabilitated back to the society.
