Akume wrong, there is vacancy in Aso Rock – Galadima

Amid the defections of federal lawmakers from the opposition parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party at the federal level, a move which appears to be a boost to the chances of the APC in the 2027 polls, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, recently stated that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027 as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has to complete two tenures in office.

In this chat with Alhaji Abubakar Galadima, a leader of the New Nigerian People’s Party, NNPP, first aired on Arise Newsnight, he dismisses the assertion, saying the SGF was only trying to protect his job. Excerpts:

What is your take on SGF Akume’s statement that the North should wait till 2031 for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to complete a second tenure in office?

Well, in the first place, I wouldn’t want to discuss Nigerian issues on the basis of North and South. I am a nationalist and will remain so until I die. But, the issue would be about equity and justice and for me, Akume, a sociologist, and brother of a historian should have known better. If he looks at Aso Villa which he said there is no vacancy, he should know that other people were there before, namely: General Buhari, General Babangida, Chief Shonekan, General Abacha, General Abubakar, Chief Obasanjo, Yar’ Adua, Jonathan, and now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

So, if all the 10 former presidents and heads of state that stayed there are no more there, he should also know that one day, sooner or later, President Bola Tinubu would also go. Nigerians behave as if they don’t understand history. If you are talking of region, Akume is one of the people I respect very much because as governor of Benue State in 1999, he was one of the foremost northerners that worked for the interest of the North.

In fact, he was more northern than the Caliphate because Akume spent most of his time defending the New Nigerian Development Corporation, NNDC, and Bank of the North. At a point, only Benue had commanding shares in Bank of the North. For him to make a somersault over what he believed in before, I just laugh and say, well, the man is protecting his ‘garri’ (cassava flour).

Did he really make a somersault? His words were clear based on opinions on a gentleman’s agreement by political parties since 1999. He was talking about rotation of presidency between the North and South, two tenures of four years each (eight years total).

I thought you would go back. You started from the end. I don’t want to discuss North and South, but if that is what you want us to educate Nigerians on, by 2027 the South would have ruled this country (since 1999) for 18 and a half years, while the North has ruled for only nine and a half years, eight years of Buhari and one and a half years of Yar’ Adua which means, automatically, that you can revert to the North so they can make up for the deficit, if that is what he is talking about. But I believe in who has delivered on his promises to Nigerians. Has that man occupying that seat ameliorated the condition of the people? We would ask Akume for their scorecard.

What have they done for Nigerians? Are we practicing monarchy? I thought it is democracy. That’s why I don’t want to talk about North and South. What I want to talk about is who delivered on the dividends of democracy to Nigerians. If President Tinubu delivers very well and Seyi, his son, would be the best person to succeed him, for me, I have no problem. But, what the people feel now in their bodies will determine what they vote in 2027.

There is big vacancy in Aso Rock. In fact, there is no body occupying that seat in 2027, according to the Nigerian constitution. So, Akume’s assertion is only laughable. When I heard it and looked at him talking about that, I said, “Ha! My friend is protecting his ‘garri’”.

How does zoning impact on governance in Nigeria? Is it that important?

Are they doing equity? Have you asked Nigerians on the street if there is equity in what is happening in Nigeria today? The day of reckoning is coming in 2027. I don’t believe in zoning and I have done that because I was a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1987, Constitution Conference in 1994, and I have been a member of the National Conference in 2014. So, I should know better. We designed this constitution.

I know every letter of it. The issue of importance is whether there is going to be vacancy in 2027. I want to tell you that there is no amount of intimidation by anybody, even at the point of killing, that can stop Nigerians from producing an alternative presidential candidate and I want to say that Nigerians should know it today that they are sending emissaries to compromise leaders of political parties, offering tens of billions to leaders of political parties.

Including your party, the NNPP?

Of course, we are a registered political party.

Did you accept the billions?

I said ‘offering’. They are promising that to all political parties to align with the agenda of the present government so that in 2027, there will be no candidate. You see how they are trying to decimate political parties? They have decimated the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the ground, they have decimated the Labour Party, LP, they have decimated the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. We don’t even know which…

They haven’t decimated your party?

No, they can’t because we are too smart for them. Of course, you know that they are trying to destabilize Kano State but Alhaji Kwankwaso is their nightmare.

Are you saying that Nigerian politics is not influenced be region, religion, ethnicity, etc?

Is that our wish?

But that’s what is obtainable…

It can be influenced but I have been fighting against that and I don’t believe in that.

How have you been able to fight it through?
Me?

Yes.
I have been detained, questioned, locked up, including treasonable trials several times.

But there’s no success?

Rome was not built in a day. I may die anytime and somebody will take over from me. For example, if you eliminate Buba Galadima,100 Buba Galadimas will spring up. That is the law of nature. We will continue to fight for justice, we will continue to fight for the ordinary people, we will continue to fight for Nigeria until we drop dead.

Is your party inspired by what happened in Ghana where an opposition party won?

It is not whether my party is inspired or not. I am extremely happy that through the ballot box, Africans can change government. That is good whatever. But, in this country, all of us must stand up and ensure that such happens in our lifetime and in our country. That is not for politicians alone.

We must all join hands with politicians and ensure our country delivers on democracy. We are not being ruled by monarchy.

People are saying that your principal, Alhaji Kwankwaso, is interested in contesting the 2027 presidential election. Can you confirm this?
He is a Nigerian from the North and the constitution has given him the right to contest if the opportunity is there. Kwankwaso is a Nigerians and if he feels he is strong enough and got enough support, he will contest. What stops him?

Why do you think the North is vehemently opposed to President Tinubu’s bills on tax reforms, particularly you, even as the business community doesn’t oppose it?

It is not about the business community because they don’t lose anything. And, it’s not all the bills that are bad, but the major issues is that the bills are anti-people, because when you increase VAT by 1%, the cost of things will skyrocket and it’s the ordinary man who has no capacity to even feed himself that will suffer most. The business man, each time you add whatever, he will also add it to the cost of his goods. He doesn’t need to complain. What pains me is that some Nigerians, even though it hurts them, they will say “yes, we support the president because Mr A is the one that is opposing him”. We are a country, we should talk for the good of everybody and not because Mr A is opposed to something I have to like it or not. That’s not how to build a nation.

Are you a united party?

Yes. Go to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, website and Google it. Who are the leaders of NNPP, which logo do they use? People can’t just say anything because they are sponsored by the APC.

That is the function of the political parties and that is also why you are here to explain.

Are you throwing investigative journalism to the winds?

No sir. We are not throwing it to the winds. We provided a platform for every voice.
Why should people be opposing what Tinubu’s government is doing with France? It’s an issue that we must address.

Tinubu should know that France was one of the countries that wanted to dismember Nigerian during the Civil War.