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Onuoha Ukeh and Iheanacho Nwosu
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, has opened up on how he was able to restore peace in his state.
He also spoke on the persistent calls for restructuring, saying that those who are insisting on it are unserious and insincere.
He spoke on various issues.
You have been on the hot seat for about five to six months now and people have seen what you have done in the aspect of lowering the high temperature that was in place when you came. How were you able to do this especially when people say that but for the Supreme Court judgment, you would not have emerged governor?
As you say, that is what ‘other people’ are saying but I believe that whatever God wants you to be, that is what you will be when His time comes. So, I believe that this is the time that God has destined that I will be the governor of the state and there is no surprise there. I believe that it is the will of God and I believe that it was because of the prayers of the people of the state. When the former administration was having crisis, people prayed to God for intervention and eventually I emerged as governor, so I believe that I would be the solution to the problem of the state.
By the wisdom of God, within a limited time, I initiated a lot of ideas and policies that can curtail insecurity which we have implemented and so far, we have had huge success in that regards. We had a meeting with security agencies including the Assistant Inspector General of police who is in charge of Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi , traditional rulers, herdsmen and bandits who were all in attendance and we thank God that we have strategised further. The legacy I want to leave is that it was during my time that we had lasting peace and so far, we have achieved a lot. Before, you could not travel from Kaduna to Zamfara even with your security; they will block the road and kill you and your security. We have 14 local governments and today you can leave the state capital and go to any of the local governments without fear that you will be attacked.
In the last few months, have you been able to identify the root cause of the killings and why they had to take place?
If I didn’t identify the root cause, I will not be able to tackle the problem. The issue of security is not something that you will discuss on the pages of newspaper. It is like you own a restaurant and you go and tell others your recipe. Because of how delicate the issue of security is, I can’t discuss it fully. I know that you would want to know what I did and how I did it but I cannot go into details. But I want to assure you that in dealing with the issue of security, you must be very sincere and make sure that you are truthful to the people that you are dealing with. The issue involves different communities and groups and you have to bring all of them together and hear from all sides.
Zamfara is a state that practises farming and we harbour Fulani and other ethnic groups and we used to live in harmony without any problems until crises creeped in. When I got the information about what transpired between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers, I had to initiate the peace process by first calling for a meeting with traditional rulers to hear from them first because they are the custodians of the people of the state. Then I called the vigilante groups and the farmers and heard from them, and then I called the Fulani themselves. After the conversations that we had, we decided to invite those that operate from the bush called ‘bush boys’. Many of these bush boys have spent many years there without coming to the city and are able to carry out their activities in hiding.
We called them and begged them and assured them of our sincerity. They will watch you for some days to know whether you are sincere or not; this is because the previous governments initiated what we did but there was no sincerity of purpose. We heard there were situations where they will tell them to come to the city to discuss and on their way going back, they will send security to kill them. Since then, they stopped coming to the city anytime they are asked to come and have a meeting with the government because they felt that the government was deceitful. When I carried out my investigation and found out what the issues were, I assured them that this is not the same government that deceived them and promised to do justice to all of them.
The first thing I did was to ban all the activities of the vigilante groups because they were already mobilising their people in all the communities to get more weapons to kill Fulani and they caused a situation whereby no Fulani person was able to enter the city. If they are seen, they will kill them, so, people were taking the law into their hands and we needed to stop that. When we met with the traditional rulers, we told them that if any person is found killed in their domain, they would be held responsible.
It was initially speculated that it was the traditional rulers that were fuelling the crisis
Yes. What happened was that the former government empowered the traditional rulers to recruit vigilante groups so that they can help them fight the bandits. I was a former chairman of the National Security and Intelligence and I was involved in many investigations in the House of Representatives of such criminal acts, so I know most of the issues of investigation particularly in the issue of this kind of attitude.
We told the traditional rulers to disband all the vigilante groups in their domains; I gave them time to do that. There were times that if the vigilante groups saw an innocent Fulani, they will kill them and take their cattle. There were times they will go to their huts, chase them away and carry their wives, kill them and take their cows. So, when the Fulani saw how serious this government was, because the root of the conflict was the vigilante groups that owned their own uniforms and weapons and were fighting the bandits, when the Fulani saw that we were serious, they decided to listen to us. By the time I banned all the activities of the Yan Sakai and the vigilante groups, that is when we started having breakthrough. We started getting back people that were kidnapped by the bandits and those that stayed with them for five months before I emerged as governor. They were returning them to the government without paying any ransom and they started surrendering their weapons to the government because we had already built up confidence for them.
On the issue of Emirs, we have a report indicating that some of them were involved in these activities and I had to dethrone one of them after the committee that we set up found out that he was involved in the crisis. Another committee was set up which was chaired by the former Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar; they concluded their investigation and submitted the report and we assigned another committee to do a white paper on that report in order to make sure that we do justice to all.
Are you concerned about the outcry and criticism that followed your decision to negotiate with bandits? The feeling was that you were patting bandits who killed hundreds of people on the back rather than ensuring that their victims get justice.
Why did people not talk about the fact that the late President Musa Yar’Adua granted amnesty to Niger Delta militants? I was in the House of Representatives when amnesty was given to Niger Delta militants, so I know. Were Asari Dokubo and Tompolo not among those granted amnesty? Even in the US, they had to come back to the table to negotiate with the Taliban so that they can discuss peace. So dialogue is always the best thing to do and my religion accepts it. I don’t care what people say because I only followed the teaching of Prophet Mohammed.
Besides security, what other things have you been able to achieve in the socio economic development of the state in the last five months?
We have constructed a lot of township roads within the municipal and connected many local governments. We have awarded over N2 billion contract to construct Dam Marki, Ruwan Doruwa and Kamuro road. We have also awarded a contract for RUGA settlements for the three senatorial zones for N28 billion and one of it is almost 65 percent completed. We also have a poverty alleviation programme which was initiated by my wife by giving poor women N20, 000 to start businesses and 1,800 women have so far benefited.
We also have a comprehensive programme for youths and we have 3,800 of them across the 14 local governments and we have 1000 youths that were each given 10,000 monthly to start businesses for themselves.
We are also making plans to have an airport. From Sokoto to Gusau is almost two and a half hours, while it will take about an hour to get to Kebbi and Kebbi has an airport. We already have investors who are ready to invest. We also have investors whom we have given a place to build a five star hotel. Also, Nexim bank has pledged the sum of N1 billion dollars for a project that includes the construction of the airport, railway, dams, electricity etc and they are coming to Zamfara very soon to start these projects.
In the past 20 years, none of our hospitals had ambulances but within the first 100 days of my administration, each of the hospitals was given an ambulance. We also purchased a lot of drugs for the hospitals across the 14 local governments. We have also given out contracts of about N5.7 billion for the award of construction of primary schools under the Universal Basic Education. We also purchased 200 trucks for distribution among all the security agencies to help sustain the efforts of my administration to ensure that the state is secure.
In an era where the economy is shrinking and federal allocation is getting smaller, where are you getting the funds that you are using to carry out these projects that you mentioned and the ones that you still plan to do?
Zamfara is a state of agriculture and solid minerals and it is one of the richest states in Nigeria. We have all it takes to rebuild Nigeria and not just the state. I was in Sochi and so many reports were presented which showed that the state is one of the richest in the country. We have gold, tantalite, platinum and so many mineral resources which if well mined by the Federal Government, it will get its own royalties and the state will also get. When we travelled with President Muhammadu Buhari to Sochi, Russia, some investors showed interest and the President is also very serious about bringing in people who will come and invest in the state. Recently, my Special Adviser on Solid Minerals was in Switzerland meeting with high profile people who own mining companies around the world and they are also showing interest to come and invest in the state. It is what is giving us the courage to want to have our own airport so that investors can just fly from wherever they are to Zamfara, do their business and go back.
The President has also given his approval for a rail line from Zaria to Zamfara to be activated so that when we start these activities, we can use both rail and air. We have a lot of potential which we intend to utilise.
You met a state that was in disarray and there were people responsible for that. Are you going to call them to answer for their misdeeds?
During my hand over, there was a transition committee set up for that purpose and they have submitted their report and another committee have been mandated to do a white paper on all that transpired in the state. I assure you that we are not going to leave any stone unturned, we are going to deal with any person who intends to loot the state or mismanage the resources that the state has because they are not mine but for the state. So, we are just waiting for the white paper to be presented to the government and then we will implement the recommendations.
The previous administration recently accused you of making some bogus claims in an attempt to deceive the people that you have achieved a lot…
Unfortunately for the last administration, his own deputy governor who was with him for eight years was made my transition committee chairman just to be fair to all. Most of the people who worked in that committee were in his government, so they know what they did and they reported back to us. His deputy governor is aware of all the spending that the then governor carried out and as the chairman of the transition committee, he was the one who brought the report. In fact, the amount that the governor claimed he left behind in his handover notes is even higher than the amount the deputy governor gave but he doesn’t know that former members of his staff have already indicted him. I believe that he didn’t read his hand over notes because if he had, he would not have given it to me. They brought a large document to him and he was laughing, clapping, signed the documents and handed them to me not knowing that he was indicted in the documents.
Poverty is a big issue in the country to the extent that Nigeria has been rated as the poverty capital of the world. What are you doing in specific terms to tackle poverty in your state?
The only way to tackle poverty is to create job opportunities for the youth. We are very rich and each state has its own potentials. Let the Federal Government tap from whatever each state has. Let the Federal Government forget about the issue of oil and let us concentrate on solid minerals and agriculture. There are many states that have these resources, what we just need is to get investors to come and invest and from there, jobs will be created for our youths and poverty will be reduced. If we don’t diversify, Nigeria will be in trouble.
There are some people who sympathise with you and feel that politically, you are in a tight corner because the state is more APC than PDP. Many are predicting that you will soon consider making realignment, are you considering it or you feel PDP can always give you what you want at any point in time?
I have been in politics since 1999. I was a member of the House of Representatives for 12 years. In 2011, I was the only member out of 7 of us from the 14 local governments that won election, while the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) won the state seats and the senate seats in my zone. I directly represented former Governor Yerima and while he was a senator on the platform of ANPP, I was in PDP. We are from the same local government and all of the seven members lost their seats in 2011 and I was the only person that won mine. Being in the opposition is not new to me; I don’t fear anybody and I can win elections on my own. Most of the APC members will defect to PDP soon. Currently, my local government chairman has already defected. I am a good fighter and I fear no one. I was in politics before Yerima and Yari. Power is given by God.
In 2015, I was supposed to be the governorship candidate of the PDP but I was defeated by seven votes. If I wanted to defect, I would have done so a long time ago but I am not defecting to any party. I am in PDP and I will remain in PDP.
You were part of Yerima’s government and it was known for introducing Sharia into the system which many believed took the state backwards. Are you likely to make sure that the Sharia comes into full force?
People are deceiving themselves when they say Sharia law took the state backwards. As a governor, all you need to do is to please your people and make sure you do what they want. If your people say this is what they want, who are you to say no? If you made campaign promises that you are going to do that, then you have to do it for them because they voted for you. If majority of them are agitating and asking for Sharia, then you have to give them what they want and that was what Yerima did.
I have a committee that I just inaugurated and we have given them the responsibility to go and look at the laws we have and make recommendations.
What is your opinion over the agitation to restructure Nigeria?
The talk about restructuring is a game of interest. Some people just come up with something and say this is what I want but if you look at their heart, it is not what they mean. So many groups and even comedians always come up with one demand or the other but by the time you call them and settle them, that will be the end of the story. Their demands will be dead on arrival. I don’t believe that those calling for restructuring are sincere and I don’t believe that they are serious about it. If people were sincere, we would have sat down and decided on what we want without any bias.
Most of those calling for restructuring have been insulting parts of the country, accusing them of committing one crime or the other. We are in one country and God has already brought us together and we must remain together. If there is any situation, every part of the country can sit down and agree on how to move the country forward.
Is what you are saying possible given that nothing has come out of the report from the 2014 National Conference?
Do we have any improvement or inclusion of issues like climate change in that report? We have had a lot of changes since 2014, so we have to sit down and make amendments to that report according to the issues we have at hand presently. For instance, most of the killings in the North are not as much as it was in 2014 when the conference took place, especially in the North West, so all these issues have to be properly taken into account so that no one will feel cheated. But now, they can bring the report down so that everyone will take a good look at it and if there is any amendment, it will be reflected.
In 2014, amnesty was still in place for the Niger Delta militants but now in 2019, we also have amnesty in the North. The Niger Delta is still enjoying the financial dividends of amnesty caused by the environmental degradation, killing and vandalism. We also have vandalism and killing in the North, but is the North enjoying the same as the Niger Delta? No. So these are some of the issues that are very critical. It’s not just about someone waking up and saying let’s go and do this and start shouting on the pages of the newspapers.
If we are sincere, we should ask what all the geo political zones currently need and then we put them down and implement them. For example, I say I want to do RUGA and others say they don’t want to do RUGA. The reason why I want to do RUGA is because most of the problems of herdsmen are in Zamfara State. They will leave Zamfara, go to Osun, Sokoto, Kaduna and go and operate and come back to Zamfara. But by the time I do RUGA and put all necessary amenities in place for them, they will not have the need to leave the state and be roaming the country; they will stay where they are. They will not see the need to move. These are the issues and I hope you understand.
