The Nigeria Rescue Mission (NRM), national chairman, Senator Saidu Muhammed Dansadau, has attributed incessant killings and destruction of lives and properties in Zamfara state to alleged failed government of Governor Abdulaziz Yari. He also thinks the federal government’s looters’ list is a fraud. In an encounter with PATRICK ANDREW, the former lawmaker speaks on these and other sundry matters. Excerpts:
Zamfara state has been under siege by armed bandits leading to mass killings, aren’t you worried by the development?
The development is due to failure of governance in the state which is informed by insensitivity of the governor of Zamfara state who has failed to listen to the pieces of advice by elders and those who meant well for the state.
It is also coupled with the fact that he junkets all over the country and all over the world. He wouldn’t stay in the state to perform his primary responsibility which the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowered him to do.
If he had stayed in office like other governors do, the situation would not have gone that bad. These criminals, who security agents are aware of the fact that majority of them are not Fulani that live in the country in the last 100 years ago.
Criminals have just discovered that Nigeria borders are porous. They have just discovered that Nigeria does not have serious government at all levels. They have discovered that in Nigeria you can commit any crime and go scot-free and that’s why these criminals began to troop into Nigeria from near and far within Africa in order to make brisk business through killing of innocent citizens, kidnapping, cattle rustling, because nothing would happen.
Basically, these are the fundamentals of remote and immediate causes of unprecedented bloodshed. Unfortunately, political leaders are insensitive. They don’t care. To them, everything about security in Nigeria is okay.
Therefore, my appeal to Nigerians is to see these armed banditry and other criminalities as a national challenge. Not just a challenge, a national socio-economic challenge because our people have been rendered poor. They don’t have access to power anymore.
Any villager that is known to possess asset worth two million can no longer sleep in their homes. Once the sun is set, he has to leave for the bush with his wife and children for shelter. Some of them have been bitten by snakes, some stung by scorpion. So, what people read on pages of newspapers and social media is less than one percent of what actually happens in terms of crimes.
From the day Governor Abdullaziz Yari announced that people with illegal arms should be shot at sight, there is no day when at least 10 persons have not been killed in Zamfara state daily. It happens every day and there is hardly a day up to 30 persons have not been kidnapped. This is besides highway robbery in Zamfara state.
Villagers cannot go to their farms this year and that is a serious challenge we are facing. Where you are not allowed to cultivate your farm, you have to pay a levy or a form of tax to them. So that was why I said earlier that Nigerians at all strata of the society should see insecurity as a national challenge. We should stop sentimentalising these issues.
If we don’t see it as a national challenge, armed banditry would metamorphosed into serious crisis against the entire country within the next few years. Already, these armed bandits are spreading to the South. Those perpetuating these criminalities are not Nigerians and that is why we should stop sentiments. We should see it as a national challenge and a calamity that all of us should come out seriously and fight.
What advice would you give to President Muhammadu Buhari in view of mass killings in parts of the country as we approach 2019 election?
If I were to be a governor or a President, I will ensure arrest and prosecution of criminals. As I speak with you, they are criminals arrested in the last three years and they have not been taken to court. What government does not realise is that taking 100 criminals to the bush for execution is not as potent as sentencing a criminal to death who is hanged publicly for everybody to see. It serves as a deterrent to others and that is the only way to fight crimes.
Prosecution and conviction are potent ways of fighting crimes because a Fulani man by his tradition and culture hates to be imprisoned. They have that superstitious belief about staying in prison as an aberration. A typical Fulani man prefers killing his two children to sentencing one of his children to two years imprisonment because of the strength of their superstitious belief.
How can we have a democratic government for 19 years and thousands of people have been killed and a large number of arrests have been made and uptil now, no single person has been convicted. Not to talk of convicting a criminal to death penalty to face public execution. We don’t appear to be a serious nation and that is why these criminals trooped in to do whatever they like. They know they can kill one thousand Nigerians and go freely.
Are you now substantiating what President Buhari told the Archbishop of Canterbury in London that criminals unleashing terror on Nigerians were trained by the late Myanmar Gaddafi of Lybia?
It is not true. They come from many African countries. It is wrong to apportion blame on a particular country. It is a combination of criminals from various parts of Africa. I think President Buhari’s should blame his government for not doing what it takes to arrest criminals. Buhari is not doing enough by drafting Nigerian military to trouble spots and I repeat that the solution is prosecution and conviction.
Three years since he took over as President, nobody has been jailed or sentenced to death. I can testify to a man who killed people massively who has been arrested and detained for 9 months. Why can’t he be taken to court and sentenced to death by hanging or firing squad? Once that is done in one, two or three places, you see peace all over. That is what we are appealing to government to do.
Buhari has declared re-election bid for 2019. What’s you take on that?
He is not being fair to himself. Also, he has been very unfair to the members of the APC, and more importantly, he has been unfair and unjust to Nigerians who are at the receiving end of his bad governance. What has happened from 2015 till date has shown that he is incapable of governing Nigeria. He is incapable of governing Nigeria at this age of technology. He lacks the knowledge and capacity.
In fact, he lacks most of what it takes to make him a good leader that can transform the society. He is a weak leader and a leader that discriminates. When it comes to punishment, he cannot be a good leader. A leader that is unfair and unforgiving cannot be a good leader.
In respect of the war against corruption that sycophants are saying he is succeeding, let him tell us how many people have been convicted. Of all the corrupt officials that have been arraigned before the court of law, how many of them have been convicted?
But government has said they have recovered some looted funds even named the alleged looters, is that not an achievement?
Where is the money and how much were you told was recovered? They are not transparent. For somebody who has been acknowledged as honest to have collected money that is not his own, but public money and for three years, he has not told Nigerians how much he has collected is suspicious. Otherwise, what I expect of the person of the calibre of President Buhari is to declare how much government has collected from corrupt officials every three months.
Let him tell us that in this quarter government collected this amount of money. That is what we call transparency. On account of that we have the basis to ask where the money is and what the money has been used for. So concealing to Nigerians who are owners of the money an amount so far collected is corruption in itself.
This means Muhammadu Buhari’s government is corrupt. Having collected money that does not belong to you as it is it could be stolen. It is either happening now or about to happen. Or does he think Nigerians are stupid that they will continue to vote for President Buhari with this kind of situation?
Are you saying that he is not going to win 2019 presidential election?
He is going to be defeated in a manner worse than Goodluck Jonathan was defeated. If he defeated Jonathan with 3 million votes, he is going to be defeated with 10 million votes. Buhari’s tenure will expire May 29th 2019 by the grace of God. God is not with him.
So what next should happen to looters’ list?
It is nothing, but intimidation. The list is to intimidate potential presidential candidates ahead of 2019 pools. Why would he release looters’ list without releasing money collected? It is the money we want. What are we going to do with the looters? It is his own responsibility to take them to court for prosecution. Looters’ list is part of the strategy to harass and coerce people to support him in 2019 elections.
What is your candid advice to Nigerians as we approach 2019 general election?
It’s one. Nobody should use sentiments when voting. Nigerians should vote based on conviction of credible candidates.
