From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Apparently relying on an Hausa proverb, which says that the witch, who had eaten 99 people, has all the powers to catch any witch tormenting the entire people in a particular area, former lecturer, Mallam Mohammed Garba, has said that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has the capacity to be the next president after President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, having been contesting the position for a long time.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, Malam Garba who was a lecturer in the department of Mass Communication, Kaduna Polytechnic, and currently a public commentator on national issues also spoke on ASUU/Federal Government crisis.
He also called on leaders at the various sectors in the country to give back financial support to their alma-maters as it is being done in other climes to boost economic base for development of the nation’s universities. Excerpts:
Let’s look at this political permutation which is saying that power may likely return to the North. What is your stand on this?
What is wrong if power returns to the North for the presidency, and to Southern Kaduna as in the case of Kaduna State? The issue is that, does the person has the capacity to run a macro economy? Simple. Running an economy is not discriminating. Dangote is in Lagos doing business, is he a Southerner? But originally he is from the North. But as far as we are concerned, he is a Southerner now. Most of his investments are in the South. I think the issue of whether power should come back to North or South is because of the culture of stealing among political class. We encourage our own to go and steal from the national purse so that we can have a chunk of the national cake as well. And their own too should go steal from the national purse. Other than that I think it is not fair. How many people from Southern USA became president. Probably Jimmy Carter or who. All others are from the North. So what are we saying?
There is this fear of incumbency factor about the 2023 general election since the president is of the ruling party even though he will be handing over. Do you also entertain this fear?
There is nothing like incumbency factor, we are the ones who created it. In democracy, everyone is bent on coming back. There is nothing wrong with that. But the idea of incumbency factor is Nigeria nonsense. Are you now saying that APC will use incumbency factor to rig election, is that what you are saying…?
No, that is not what I am saying; what I am trying to point out is that many Nigerians are of the views that insecurity has robbed this government of some of its achievements. Don’t you think so?
I feel unsafe because I have not been paid my pension, and that is my greatest insecurity. I don’t travel often to Abuja. It is those who travel often that are bothered about insecurity on our highways. But I can tell you that the greatest insecurity in Nigeria is stomach infrastructure. The other insecurity is the one at the train station. So, it is double wahala for those Nigerians who don’t even have food to eat. The major insecurity in Nigeria is hunger. And Nigerians are hungry because we are the capital of poverty in the world.
Some Nigerians are saying that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, should go and rest having taken shots at the presidency several times without success. What do you have to say to this?
You have been eating food since they gave birth to you, why don’t you stop eating because you have eaten enough food. That is the answer I will give you.
But it is different from power?
Let’s wait for the presidential debate I mentioned. Let’s see what he has to offer. Probably, he has a better idea to run Nigeria because he has seen it all. Maybe, like you know, it is said in Hausa proverb that a witch that had eaten 99 people has the power to arrest another witch. So may be Atiku is the proverbial witch that had eaten 99 people. He doesn’t want to eat the 100th people because if he doesn’t want to die. Maybe Atiku will become a consultant for catching witches. Maybe this time Atiku will be the one to catch witches who are bedeviling this country.
Various political parties are now campaigning for support. How do you see political activities now?
There is recurrent decimals in the political scenario. We heard that some governors were in Uyo for campaign with private jets. Where did they get the private jets. You are aware of money that were given to delegates during primary elections. All the delegates for the primary elections were given money. That is a recurrent decimals as far as our politics is concerned. It is money politics, stolen money politics. So, we cannot come out of it. We cannot build our economy from stolen property. Probably that is the only thing I call tell you about this because I don’t think much will be coming out of it. If we have a presidential political debate it may put all the presidential candidates in a better perspective of what they can do to better the country and the citizenry. If there is presidential debate we will ask among other questions, if they are going to run capitalist economy.
There is this cry in the air by some Nigerian youths that they want a youth as the nation’s president, that they are tired of old breed politicians. What do you have to say?
Do they want youth to be their grandfather. It means that you have to go through certain knowledge base. Go and learn how to run governance no matter your age because you are going to be a public official. Look at what happened in France; how old is their president, Emmanuel Macro? Is he not a youth? He is running one of the biggest economy of the world. So, where are our youths, what are they doing? Let them excell so that we can see. Let them not be Daddy or Mummy’s pets that they are now, wherever they are. Let them challenge their fathers on how they are running their homes first before coming out to challenge other people’s fathers. This is what I want them to know. It is not the issue of youths. It is the issue of ability, it is the issue of can do; can you do it? If you have the ability and the will you can do it. I think that is the point.
It is apparent that the 2023 politics is divided along religious and ethnic lines. Do you think this is healthy for our democracy?
Are you saying that it will lead to war, do you see any Muslim and Christian fighting now because of 2023 general elections? It is those who don’t have serious issues to lead Nigeria that are hiding under our differences. There is nothing wrong being a Muslim or being a Christian. The point is that Nigeria belongs to all of us. Do you enter a market and begin to look for a Muslim or Christian trader before you buy your goods. So, why don’t we look for a good politician than what his religion is. Look at his track records, his antecedents and his relationship with people, and not his religion. There was Muslim-Muslim ticket before; look at MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe. They were both Muslims, Nigerians did not kick against their ticket. It is probably the people are not good enough if Nigerians are now kicking against Muslim-Muslim ticket. Let the issues count, let the issues count, and not religion.
I was going to ask you about Muslim-Muslim ticket, though the criticism has been over-flogged. What is your view on it?
I have already mentioned it. Let the issues count. Those who are saying Muslim-Muslim ticket, are they really Muslims, do they believe in Islam, if they do, why are people stealing government money, did Islam say they should steal money? And those who are Muslim-Christian, are they saints, are they not stealing too? Are we not a corrupt country? Are they really championing the course of Islam or Christianity? The issue is not because they are Muslims or Christians. We are not even sure they are real Muslims. So, who is fooling who?
For almost nine months, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members were on strike. All appeals from the Federal Government for them to call off the strike fell on deaf ears. What is your reaction on ASUU strike now that they have come into agreement with the government?
You see, it is not a matter of my reaction. It is a matter of certain basics. The point is that, like Nigeria government, the university system has been bastardised. And so government and ASUU don’t respect each other. They keep on arguing, and that is why they have refused to agreed to disagree. That is why the strike had taken too long. If the consulting aspect of university is working, you don’t need any finance from government. And those who have graduated who call their universities their alma-maters, if it is in Silicon Valley in the USA, you find young men contributing $200 million to their universities at a go. Where are those calling their universities alma mater who are now in government, they have stolen the money and they are not bringing the money from government or from their pockets to contribute to their alma maters. Secondly, when you send your child to a university abroad, be rest assured that they don’t teach Nigerian students or foreign students everything. The foreign students are only taught peripheral knowledge. They give you certificate and you return home to Nigeria with nothing in your head. The professors in UK university, for example, know what to teach foreign students, he does not teach them everything. And people don’t know. Your child finished from UK university, and he doesn’t have the knowledge like the UK citizens. And that is why when they come back here to Nigeria, they don’t perform. So, I think it is better for them to know that our universities are Think-tank. When we talk of private universities, they are using foreign curriculum. Why should a Turkish secondary school in Nigeria teach Nigeria value, never. Why should they come up with a university and teach Nigerian value, never. So, if we don’t finance our universities the way ASUU is telling the Federal Government, we will wake up one day to see our universities as glorified secondary schools or glorified former primary schools of the 1960s. That is what it means.
It appears you are discouraging Nigerian students from going to overseas university?
I am not discouraging Nigerian students…
We also have lecturers going overseas to teach. What about that?
The lecturers who are going overseas to teach are going on sabbatical. A sabbatical leave is a global phenomenon. There are also teachers from abroad who come here to teach. Go to Ahmadu Bello university and find out. Alot of professors are coming here to teach. There is a platform where foreign lecturers can teach through the computing system, through the zoom being used by the media. What I am trying to tell you is that this is the universal culture. But if you send your child to foreign universities, they have a way of holding the knowledge. But they cannot come to Nigeria on sabbatical and teach nonsense. So, also you cannot go abroad on sabbatical and teach nonsense. There was a case of a Nigerian Professor who went to Malaysia to teach, he ended up learning. He was behaving like a student because he didn’t have anything to offer. And if you are talking about brain drain, some people argue that brain in the drain is better than brain drain. So, why wasting away in Nigeria. And what you don’t know is that by the time you go there you end up as their spy. They will turn you into a spy because of the money. Do you ever hear of foreign universities giving Nigeria aid. But they are giving aid to other businesses. If you don’t finance your universities how do you want students to be educated?