Follow Us on Google
National Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Comrade Aliu Jaliu Charanchi, has warned that if Nigerians fail to unite and rise to confront terrorism, it would consume the entire country.
According to him, terrorists have gradually berthed in the South-West, and would continue to spread if they are not confronted and decimated.
Speaking with VINCENT KALU, the CNG coordinator called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explain to Nigerians what he has used the trillions of naira he has borrowed to do, as well as the savings from fuel subsidy removal, and monies generated from taxes.
The 2027 general elections are here. What are your expectations?
Initially, we had some expectations that suggested that the political atmosphere of the country might likely change, but with the current development from the new political parties and the opposition leaders, I don’t think anything will change.
In the previous election, we saw the division of the opposition leaders. It is most likely that we are going to experience the same thing because Atiku is going on his own way, likewise Obi and Kwankwaso; they are going their different ways.
Going by the analysis of the 2023 election results, it seems that nothing much will change in 2027, because Tinubu will still get away with his political votes in the South-West, Atiku will most likely get most of the votes from the north, then Obi may likely also take those from the South-East and South-South.
Even though most Nigerians are complaining, feeling very uncomfortable with this administration, and so, are desperately looking for change, but I don’t think the opposition political leaders are ready to give that change.
Definitely, Nigerians are yearning for a change because things are not going the way they are supposed to. Nobody needs to be reminded whether we are living peacefully in this country or not; whether the economy is moving into the right direction or not. Nigerians are suffering, nobody is doubting it; insecurity is everywhere, nobody is doubting it. The economic hardship is everywhere. Nobody is doubting it.
Basically, the challenges now lie among the leaders of the opposition parties. We can only come out of this quagmire, if the leaders of the opposition parties come together and unite under one umbrella, and not for their own personal interests. However, so long as the opposition leaders are desperate; looking only for their individual way out, then we are not getting out of the problem soon.
Have you given up based on the political realignments against what you have just said?
There is very serious tension in the country. As I said earlier, Nigerians are not comfortable with this government; nobody is comfortable with this administration, but the opposition leaders are not ready to deliver the most peaceful changes that Nigerians are craving.
If care is not taken, we may have problems from the manner the ruling party is emasculating the opposition political parties, and everybody that is not within their system.
The APC is working on the possibilities of getting away with everything – whether Nigerians like it or not.
Going by this scenario, it seems that the ruling party is dragging Nigerians toward what we don’t like in this country, which is revolution. If Nigerians cannot get peaceful changes; definitely violent changes are inevitable.
What should define the 2027 election?
We strongly advocate that campaign messages go along the line of non-ethnic and non-religious alignment. If we are pushing the country towards religion and ethnicity, definitely we are digging graves for ourselves.
The campaign messages to Nigerians should always be competency, capacity, capability, and integrity. Let’s go for someone who is more likely to unite the country than to divide the country, either by his words and deeds or by his own political realignment; either based on ethnicity or religious sentiments. Let’s go for somebody who is likely close to neutrality, especially in terms of religion and ethnicity.
We should avoid those that thrive on our divisions, we should avoid those that are campaigning along these lines, and go for those that are campaigning towards unity, peace, competency, capacity, and capability.
Nigerians already are suffering and also are in a very bad situation.
If we keep on pushing Nigerians toward religion and ethnicity, definitely the outcome of the Nigerians’ anger will not be good for us.
But, if we are pushing Nigerians toward competency and capacity, Nigerians may a little bit unite because we are suffering over the same issue or problem.
If we are pushed towards what will unite us, it’s far better than what is going to divide this country. Whether we like it or not, it is only when we have this country that we can call ourselves Nigerians.
We don’t want a situation where Nigerians will be like Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Libya or other places
Whatever it is, we should rather utilise and harmonise the little peace that we are enjoying in this country than divide it more and more.
What do you think the APC will be campaigning with, and what will be the messages of other political parties?
The messages of other political parties are very clear – Nigerians are suffering, there is hunger in the land, insecurity is everywhere. The economy is in bad shape. Electricity is nowhere to be found after all the promises. Everybody knows about all these things.
But, for the ruling party, I doubt if they have anything to tell Nigerians. Are they going to tell Nigerians that they should wait more? Are they going to tell us that they will still push fuel from N1,400 to somewhere else? Are they going to tell us that all through the economic hardship, things will still be difficult? What are they going to tell us? What are they going to promise us?
So, I doubt much if the ruling party has anything to tell Nigerians. All they can tell Nigerians is to exercise more patience, but for how long? We have found ourselves in huge debts with the manner of borrowing going on. We are not paying fuel subsidy, but still the government is borrowing, borrowing and borrowing. We are not even seeing what they are doing with the monies they are borrowing.
Today, Nigeria’s debt is estimated to be over N150 trillion. What are they doing with it? Where is the money saved from fuel subsidy?
Where are all the monies from taxes that Nigerians are paying today?
So, I don’t think the ruling party has anything to campaign with. That’s why they are tilting towards manipulating elections, which is their only way out; it is the reason they are creating divisions in the opposition parties. See what is happening in ADC, PDP, LP and other parties. Most Nigerians believe that ruling party is connected with the crises in the opposition parties.
That’s why the APC is all out to do whatever that is humanly possible or even not humanly possible to ensure that they grab the power; they are not even after winning the election, but grabbing the power.
Tinubu should learn from his other colleagues. Let’s go back to what happened in Peru between 1990 and 2000, when the then president had spent 10 years in power; corruption was there, the judiciary compromised, security compromised, and everybody compromised in that country, but where the president didn’t expect that something would leak out from was where it leaked out, and that marked the end of the tyrant regime of that president. So, Mr. President needs to learn from his other colleagues in foreign countries. He has emasculated Nigerians, and pushing them towards something that they cannot bear, and where they cannot get out from.
Nigerians are not happy with the system. Like I said earlier, there is no electricity, no security, no economy; and everybody is suffering, and there is no hope that sooner or later that Nigerians will get out of this quagmire.
APC has completely messed up this country; they have messed up the democratic process, they have messed up the security situation, they have messed up the economy, they have messed up everything they met that Nigerians were enjoying.
The APC members are praising Tinubu, noting that his reforms are yielding great dividends, and also citing the Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway and Badagry-Sokoto expressway, and others as some of the projects being executed with the borrowed funds. What is your take on this?
The Tinubu allies must praise him because they are part and parcel of the problem; they are part and parcel of those that are enjoying the suffering of other Nigerians today. They are singing on your mandate we stand. Even the members of National Assembly are also singing that song. It is the most sycophantic song ever sang in this country. What are they telling us; what are they going to tell us? Is it only the Badagry-Sokoto road that we are talking about, where over one trillion naira is packed to only one contractor, while other small contractors are suffering without knowing where actually the 2024 budget and 2025 budgets are?
The MDAs are complaining. The most important sector like the Nigerian Army is able to secure only seven per cent of their arms procurement in the last year’s budget. The same way, the Minister of Health, Alli Pate, complained that out of billions of naira in 2025 budget, that he was only able to get some millions for his ministry. It is same thing with other MDAs.
The problem of Nigeria is that we have the most useless politicians in this world. We have the politicians that don’t know the value of themselves, neither do they know the value of their country, nor the value of the people that are living in the country.
They don’t respect anybody, all they respect is their pocket, or their seats. All they always protect and respect are their pockets and their seats. So, they will keep on singing that mandate song because they have nothing tangible to tell Nigerians.
Tinubu administration is completely messed up. Tinubu and Buhari have messed up everything in this country; they are the worst administrations Nigerians ever experienced. The economy was better before them. The security situation was better in those day, as Nigerians could travel. Nigerians could go to the petrol station and refuel their cars, refuel their motorcycles. Nigerians could move at least freely even in the night, but now, nobody can move freely in the Northern Nigeria.
Who can move? From where to where are you going to move? Go to the filling stations and see how empty they are. It is so in all parts of the country.
Today, the exchange rate is about N1400 per dollar. Is that where Tinubu met it? Go and ask the civil servants, are they enjoying it? Nobody is enjoying it. Ask the contractors, are they enjoying it? They are not enjoying it.
The simplest question we shall ask this administration is, where are the 2024 and 2025 budgets? Mr. President needs to explain this to Nigerians.
It is our right to know where these monies are because we are not seeing them anywhere. Where are the monies saved from subsidy removal? What is Mr. President doing with them? The billions of dollars he keeps on borrowing, where are they? What is he doing with them? What of the monies generated through taxes, where are they?
These are the kind of questions that those people around him should answer. Where is the electricity that Tinubu promised Nigerians, which he said we should not vote for him if he didn’t provide?
Go to Abuja – Kaduna Highway, it is still under construction, likewise all the other roads that we are talking about. Which one is completed?
None of the roads you have mentioned is ever completed with all monies that he is borrowing.
There are controversies with the appointment of INEC chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan. The opposition political parties have also alleged that he has sympathy for the ruling party. What’s your position on this?
The opposition parties are complaining, and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs is also complaining. At least, two strong bodies in the country are complaining. Then what is Amupitan still doing there if he’s not a supporter of the APC? If the SCIA can complain, as well as the opposition, definitely something is wrong with this gentleman. Is he the only person that has occupied that seat? If I’m not mistaken, there are almost about10 chairmen of the nation’s electoral commission, it is only two or three that are Muslims and nobody complained. Why is it only Amupitan? See how he rushed to remove the name of David Mark from the list because he already has his stand.
If you say SCIA is for Muslims, then what about the opposition parties? I don’t think there is any strong opposition party that is today headed by a Muslim. ADC is headed by David Mark, NDC is Seriake Dickson. What of Labour Party?
Amupitan should go, we don’t trust him; he can compromise this election. In a sane country where the interests of their people are respected, this person should have been replaced by someone we believe can be neutral and fair.
I read the statement of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs. They stated clearly that Amupitan must go. But we are not saying that a Muslim must replace him, but let it be another person.
If Tinubu has listening ears and he believes that he is governing Nigerians and he wants Nigerians to be happy with him, then this gentleman should go.
A top ISIS Commander, Abu Bilal Al-Minuki, was reported killed during a joint operation involving U.S. and Nigeria forces. What’s your reaction?
It is now a serious challenge for Nigerians to believe the government because they have been saying that they killed this person, they killed that person, but at the end of the day, the person resurfaces. That’s why nobody is even jubilating about it.
If it is true that they have killed this most wanted terrorist in this country, then it is a nice development because it is what Nigerians are always waiting to see, and we commend their effort and salute their effort if it is true.
However, our fear is that let this gentleman not resurface again because we have seen a situation where a lot of bandits or some people have been reported killed, but later they resurfaced, without any comment by the authorities that have declared them killed.
This government needs to first bridge that distrust gap between them and the citizens; that trust is not even there. If you spend a whole day telling Nigerians that you killed so and so persons, and Nigerians will only hear you, but would not believe you unless there is concrete evidence on ground, then something is wrong.
Nobody is enjoying the terrorism that is ongoing, particularly in the northern part of Nigeria; nobody is enjoying the kidnapping and nobody is enjoying the banditry. We are all working towards eliminating the scourge. We are working to return peace to Nigeria; we were enjoying peace before. There was no other region that was more peaceful before than northern Nigeria, where we could travel freely, moved freely. We were enjoying ourselves, and were always smiling, but come to the north and see how everything has been destroyed. The economic situation of the region is at its nadir. The security situation is very bad that nobody can sleep with both eyes closed.
This is disturbing us much more than anybody in this country, and we are always praying for God to send us a messiah; a messiah to wipe out all these terrorists.
People in the north are desperately searching for peaceful solutions for this banditry, terrorism and kidnapping. A lot of efforts have been made by our people within their communities to see if they can get rid of all these idiots.
So long as Nigeria and the American government mean business in joint operation to wipe out these terrorists, it’s a nice development, and we commend their effort. But our fear is that let these gentlemen not to surface again.
Just recently, Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped dozens of school children and teachers in Borno State, while bandits abducted about many students and teachers in Ouo State. What is your view on this, espkecially the spread of terrorism in the South-West?
That is what we have been telling people that we shouldn’t tribalise these banditry and kidnapping issue. Let us give them one name – criminals. These people are criminals irrespective of wherever they are from.
Let us not believe that it’s only the Fulani that are behind all these crimes. Let us search widely beyond the Fulani people, to find out who those criminals are and wipe them out.
It was north before, but it is now gradually moving to the South-West, and if care is not taken, it will go around like this, and the entire country will be under these useless elements. Yesterday, 11 people were killed in Wuga Ward in Bakolori Local Government of Katsina State. Even the media people are not interested or reporting of these killings in the north, because here in the region, we are just used to it; it is becoming the abnormal norms. That’s why we are always telling Nigerians that we should call these criminals by their names, and unite to find a common solution to eradicate them. If what we are seeing today is not affecting you, you may be the victims tomorrow. Insecurity is everywhere in this country, and has been walking with two legs in the north, and today, it is about walking with two legs in the South-West. So, leaders, Nigerians and all those call themselves stakeholders must arise to ensure that they defeat these elements of terrorism that are beginning to manifest in other regions of this country.
Slowly and slowly, if they allow this to continue, it will grow bigger to an extent that we cannot do anything about it.
It was initially Boko Haram in the North East, thereafter, banditry began to develop particularly in Zamfara and Sokoto, and now, almost all the states in the north are experiencing banditry and kidnappings. So, it’s something that we never prayed for and we pray that God Almighty bring to an end these calamities. Everybody should arise to ensure that we bring this mess to an end. Let us not tribalise this issue of banditry.
