Kaduna Governor is simply jittery of my speeches and actions, says Sani

Civil rights activist and All Progressives Congress (APC) senator representing Kaduna Central zone, Senator Shehu Sani, spoke on how the President Muhammadu Buhari administration tends to reposition the economy, why he is always criticising the administration of Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, his purported suspension and threat of expulsion by APC in the state and other national issues

What is you assessment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s one year in office?

There are areas of achievements and there are areas that need improvement. The federal government has recorded successes in areas of fight against terrorism and corruption.

It has also recorded achievements in the propagation of the ideals and vision of probity, accountability and good governance.

President Muhammadu Buhari has done a lot in the areas of restoring hope, dreams and confidence of people and trust, in terms of governance, which is a direct result of his shuttle diplomacy, and the very fact that a clear message has been sent to people by government that corruption cannot be tolerated in government again.

But, where improvement needs to be made is the very fact that Nigerians are now suffering an untold economic hardship. It has been difficult for people to feed, pay tuition fees of children and for tenants to even pay their rents. Many people are out of jobs and many companies are retrenching.

But this could be attributed to the realities of the economic situation of the country today, where oil that used to be sold at $130 per barrel is now below $50 dollars per barrel, while our foreign reserve as of the moment is $26 billion dollars.

The hardship suffered under Buhari government today could be regarded as the inconveniences experienced at a construction site and at the end, things will be better.

He has said repeatedly that he understands and shares the suffering by Nigerians and that is a word from a leader.

So, accepted that Nigerians are suffering, he has appreciated the sacrifices Nigerians are making. But this sacrifice will deliver result at the end of the day, because Buhari is a man worthy of being a leader and worthy to be followed as a leader.

I know that there are some mistakes here and there, but at the end of the day, we should have the confidence that our economy will bounce back to life.

Today, billions of naira has been recovered by this government from those who looted the treasury, which is also commendable.

So, it is in the best interest of Nigerians to continue to support the Buhari administration so that he can succeed.

Your party recently suspended you based on your radical posture against Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Buhari. What is your reaction?

Well, first of all, it will be of pride for me for my children and grandchildren to go through the history of our time and to see that their patriarch was in government and never stopped speaking on behalf of the people.

And it will be a good part of my life for my children and grandchildren to read that I have lived up to my calling as an activist, freedom fighter and one who spoke the truth on the street and in the parliament.

I was never suspended, because the action taken by the so-called State APC was not in line with the constitution of the party and that was why the National Vice Chairman, representing the National Secretariat, came here and read the law to them. But later, they went about insulting and abusing him.

Also, the state government is simply jittery of my speeches, my words and my actions.

Each time I am going to speak to the media, the governor and government lose sleep. They panic because they are on the wrong path.

I know that since we took over power last year, we had a strained relationship. So, the so-called state APC is simply singing and dancing to the tune of the state government.

But, you ask, where is the state APC? Have you ever heard of the chairman of APC in Kaduna State? It doesn’t exist, because the chairman that was recognised bythe National Secretariat is different from that recognised by the governor.

Secondly, nobody can stop me from expressing my views and nobody can suspend me from the party. He is simply a coward who has spent most of his life abusing, attacking and criticising leaders.

But when it comes to his turn, he is afraid. He thinks that by the so-called suspension, I will be silenced, but he is wasting his time, because even expulsion cannot stop me from speaking.

You have been in Kaduna for long and you know me right from my days as a student union activist to this very day as a sitting senator.

You know my history very well and you were there when I spoke against Gen. Ibrahim Babangida when he was in power and I was arrested and persecuted.

You were there when I spoke against (the late Gen. Sani) Abacha when he was in power and I was arrested and persecuted. You were also there when I spoke against Chiefs Ernest Shonekan and Olusegun Obasanjo during the third term saga. You were there when I went to prison in 1995 and came back in 1998. You have my history when I spoke against Senator Mohammed Makarfi as a governor and you have my history when I spoke against Namadi Sambo as a governor.

So, it did not start today. When those in power offend the rights of the people, I will stand up and speak. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.

Democracy guarantees every citizen’s right to speech, expression and views. And we cannot criticise the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former President Goodluck Jonathan for trampling on free speech and for us to be in power to do things differently.

That is where we differ. That was why as an activist coming from a civil right movement, there is no way in 2012 I would be on the street protesting against the increase in fuel price and for me to be in parliament today and support it. I can never do that.

That was why I was against the increase in fuel pump price and I shared the same position with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), which led to a lot of threats coming to me.

But I am not deterred. If prison couldn’t stop or change me from my beliefs, certainly not suspension or expulsion will stop me now.

What are the underlying problems and issues responsible for the disagreement between you and governor?

I think the disagreement started right from the primary election for the senate. He had a different candidate that he wanted to be a senator.

I contested against five candidates and I defeated all of them, including his own favourite, who was the incumbent at that time.

After the general election, the cracks became evident when he refused to recognise me, choosing to recognise the former senator I defeated and other political office holders.

So, I tried by all possible means to ensure that the cracks were not visible, but he seemed to be behaving deceptive and dubious until I decided that it should be open for everybody to see.

He is a political paperweight; he is a green horn who doesn’t know anything about politics in Kaduna. He became a governor because Buhari raised his hand to be governor. He couldn’t have won the primary election if Buhari didn’t raise his hand. He is a man who hides under the shadow of Buhari; he wants to be seen as a Buharist, while he is not.

He will tell you that I am the only person fighting him, but everybody knows what he is. He has fought with the Muslim clerics, Christian leaders, teachers, workers, politicians, youths and even with the masses of the state. He considers himself as the most brilliant, intelligent and whoever is with him should be his boy.

You see, the way some people define loyalty is for elected officials too be loyal to the governor. God forbid this! I will never be that kind of person.

He came into Kaduna with programmes and policies that are completely alien to the people of the state and that are even against their socio-economic and political interests.

I want you to observe this, in all the 19 northern states you will see hundreds and thousands of people decamping from PDP to APC. Have you ever seen anybody or group of people in PDP in Kaduna decamping to APC? No, because he has already destroyed the party. He has alienated the party from the people.

We didn’t come from any other places, our parents were born here in Kaduna and we live in Kaduna here. So, nobody can come and tell us anything about this state. He has spent most of his life in Abuja and now he came in here because he is a governor.

He is not the first governor here and I have sent a clear message to him that as far as I am concerned, from now we will continue to operate at different frequencies.

The governor has initiated different reforms and programmes. What is your assessment so far?

I don’t want to dwell on his programmes and policies, but we need to go to the grassroots and ask 10 people their impression about him.

I can assure you that nine out of the 10 will tell you that it is unfortunate that they have wasted their votes for him.

Already, people are talking of the politics of 2019 elections. With the policies and programmes of your party in the state, do you think APC has the chance of coming back to power?

Well, the truth is that a house divided against itself cannot stand. If after one year in power, you do not see or heard of any group or people moving from PDP to APC in the state, this will tell you the feelings of people.

When we won elections last year, thousands of people trouped out to the streets, beating drums, singing and dancing and even slaughtering cows, chickens and rams.

Now that we have spent one year, on the anniversary day, which street in Kaduna did you see anybody celebrating? It was as if people were even mourning.

In 2019, people are not going to vote based on party lines, but for individual candidates. There is no doubt about that. If you are good and your party gave you ticket and people assess you to be good, they will vote for you.