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2027: APC Luring Leaders of Opposition With Billions to Trade Off Their Parties, Says Galadima

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2027: APC Luring Leaders of Opposition With Billions to Trade Off Their Parties, Says Galadima

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Engr. Buba Galadima is a member of the opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). In this interview with OLAOLU OLADIPO, he talked about the state of the nation, President Bola Tinubu’s recent trip to France and its likely implication for the North.

Excerpts:

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You are a member of the opposition NNPP and an ardent critic of the current Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government…

(Cuts in) Yes I do but when you look at it very well, you would discover that I haven’t criticised the government very much. What I do is to let Nigerians and the international community know my opinion on some critical issues within the country but what I will do, will be to give this government the opportunity of being in government for at least two years before giving any form of criticism against it. It (my scorecard) will happen but not now.

The year 2027 is almost ending, has there been any area where you feel that the current regime has done well?

The president promised us (Nigerians) good life and abundant living but I have not seen that on the horizon. There is this saying of a dog who was told that there was festivity going on in his house and he answered them by saying that he would have to see such on ground before he could believe what he was being told. This is the situation that we find ourselves in this country. As far as I am concerned, with regards to where I am, nothing has happened and nothing is happening. Maybe things are happening in other places in the country but nothing is happening where I am.

What are the critical areas that you feel that the government should face as a matter of priority if the country is to witness progress?

Everyone in this part of the country that I am, will like to see facilities and infrastructure such as motorable roads. Look at the state and the condition of Abuja-Kaduna Road that Buhari failed to do in his eight years. Now, one and a half years into the government of President Bola Tinubu, he has not shown any sign of doing anything on that road. This is the reason why we have a lot of banditry and other forms of criminality going on on that road.

Criminality exists because when you are travelling on the road, you stop at a bad portion, people can pull you out of your car and take you away. This government has not been able to do anything to better our lives. There is growing insecurity in the country. As we speak, I don’t think anyone can sleep with his eyes so close. Not even in Abuja, the capital of the country. These are critical issues that affect the common man. Boko Haram is back, ISWAP is back. We have been hearing that they (the government) have been using bombs to neutralise them. This official report is wrong because these criminal elements have been running around wreaking havoc across the North.

In other words, you haven’t seen any form of improvement anywhere?

Yes! The cost of food items has skyrocketed, as we speak today, the ordinary Nigerian cannot eat two meals per day. I don’t know any positive things about this government.

The president himself has admitted that a lot needs to be done and that the people are suffering but he has been calling on Nigerians to show some understanding that the sufferings would soon give way to enjoyment when the fruits of the various reforms his government has been carrying out begin to bear manifest. What do you say to that?

(Cuts in) So, the hungry man should show patience and understanding when government officials are enjoying themselves? They should show understanding when they see that government officials are living in luxury? So, they (the common man) should be walking on foot without food in their stomachs?

What would your party have done differently if it won the last election?

We could have addressed the issues of exchange rate in a systematic manner. We wouldn’t have withdrawn payment of subsidy on petroleum products without studying the situation properly and dispassionately. We would have blocked all the loopholes in the payment system to free up funds for development of the country.

The President was recently in France on a state visit and his host, President Emmanuel Macron, lauded him, saying the president would turn the fortunes of the country around just as he did in Lagos. What do you have to say to that?

The question we should all ask ourselves is, which fortunes did he turn around in Lagos? Everything you see in Lagos today was put in place by the Federal Government not Tinubu or the governments that came after him. I will advise the President to be extremely careful in his dealings with France. I am saying this because France is drawing him close because they want to use him to change the governments in Niger Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso. He will have problems on his hands because people from the (Northern) part of the country will not support him in his journey. We can’t support President Tinubu because of what these countries did to us during the Civil War. He has to be careful in his relationship with France. All of us in the North are looking at him (President Tinubu) with some suspicion. At least, as a friend, I can tell him this.

Are you saying the visit did not go down well with the people of the North?

Of course! We are not happy that he chooses to befriend the French Government. The French have been the enemies of this country. If you can recollect, the late President Charles de Gaulle was the only European leader that recognised and supported Biafra during the Civil War. The presidents of former French colonies such as Niger, Benin and Mali opposed him. That was why the country was able to win the war. As a people, we must remember the good deeds of these countries. That is how we feel. For the president to dine with the enemy of our people, won’t sit down well with us.

Let’s go into politics, what’s your assessment of the political space under the current government? Would you say the space is shrinking or expanding?

It is shrinking because the government is doing all it can to demolish and weaken opposition political parties. This is not good for democracy. I would like to tell those in the government doing this that they can never succeed. Look at what the Federal Government is doing to the people of Kano and we are aware and looking unconcerned. Let me assure them that at the appropriate time, we will respond to them. When the time comes, they will realise that they have made a mistake by taking on the wrong people.

The Federal Government and its agencies have always premised their action in Kano on the dictates of the Rule of Law…

(Cuts in) The doctrine of the Rule of Law to them means that they will appoint Emir for the people of Kano? Is the Rule of Law that would prompt the President to instruct security agencies in Kano not to support the activities of the state government?

You sound rather bitter, do you have any other specific examples that you can give apart from the issue of Kano Emirate tussle?
Are you not aware that a certain private individual enjoys more security protection than the Kano State governor who has been elected by the people of the state?

Who is that individual sir?

You don’t know the individual? Those in government know who the individual is.

Are you saying this is happening because the people of Kano State voted for the NNPP?

What else could have prompted them to do so? I can assure those in Abuja that the people of Kano State will continue to vote for the NNPP. That’s one assurance that I can give you.

You are close to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf…
(Cuts in) I’m not close to him. I am just close to justice.

To the best of your knowledge, has there been any form of protest by the Kano State Government to the Federal Government on these injustices?

I am very sure that the President has a lot of channels from where he gets information. I don’t need to tell him or the Kano State governor needs to.

Recently, I spoke with the National Publicity Secretary of your party, Mr. Ladipo Johnson, who pointedly told me that the ruling party is responsible for the ongoing crisis within your party. Do you agree with him?

Do you need a soothsayer to tell you that they are the ones factionalising the PDP by using the judiciary to give the upper hand to one side? Are you not aware that they are the ones who are also factionalising the Labour Party? Do I need to inform you that they are the one that neutralised Peter Obi? You don’t know that they are giving hundreds of millions of Naira to some dissidents in the NNPP that the media is even recognising as a faction? We are also aware that they have emissaries that they sent to leaders of political parties so that they can align with the ruling party in 2027. They (the ruling party leaders) know the people they are sending. Their emissaries are promising billions of Naira to the leaders of the various opposition parties.

Are you saying the president is afraid of a free and fair contest in 2027?

The answer is for you to decipher.

In all these, how confident is the NNPP towards 2027?

If it is free and fair, we believe we will win because in the last election, they suppressed us, they didn’t put our name and logo on the ballot.

Source: New Telegraph

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