What will be your priority areas if you become the President?
My major concern is education. A Kwankwasiya believes in education. Education is my priority and we believe also in creating job opportunities for people. When I was in Kano, anybody that was jobless probably did not go to school. We created job opportunities and an environment conducive for business to thrive in Kano State. What we did in Kano State is there for everyone to see. We took measures to ensure maximum security of lives and property.
What is the stage of your collaboration talks with LP and the others?
From the discussion that was going on, the issue is who the presidential candidate will be when the political parties come together at the end of the day. Some of our representatives thought there should be criteria in terms of age, qualification, offices held, performance, etc. Most of the people on the other side thought there was a belief that the presidency had to go to another part of the country. Nobody is against the presidency going to any part of the country because we are national politicians; we are not local politicians contesting for local government positions in the state. The population of the NNPP is built on an individual that the people believe in. Therefore, people of like minds decided to come and join me. Under that circumstance, the committee believes that if that person is not the presidential candidate, the implication is that we will only help another person in another political party in northern Nigeria (Atiku), which will not be in the best interest of the party.
I like people of the South-East so much that even this Kwankwasiyya you hear, many thought it is Okonkwo and Sons. They said because an Hausa man can’t say Okonkwo and sons, he now turned it to Kwankwaso. One thing the South-East must learn, in addition to many other things, is that the South-East is good in terms of business; very hard-working, industrious but one area they must learn is politics. They are at the bottom line of national politics. If you look at the situation, they have lost out in the APC and the PDP. They have no presidential, no vice-presidential candidate. The only opportunity the South-East has to be president or vice president is with the NNPP. Coincidentally, the party was registered by an Igbo man from Anambra State 21 years ago. It is even their party, and it is only that I took it up and my growth did not start from the South, it started from my local government area about 30 years ago in Kano State.
What will be your advice to the people of the South-East?
This is the golden opportunity they have. If they lose this opportunity, it will be a disaster even for the country because the young men and women there think they are being sidelined. I have attained my current position because I worked very hard based on thinking, planning and projection of things. That’s why I am relevant to my local government area, state, etc. What the South-East doesn’t know is that if they miss this opportunity, it will be a disaster for them because they will continue to say they are been marginalised but no one is marginalising them. Leaving the APC and the PDP was a strategy, and the South-East must learn how to play politics. If I decide to become vice president to anybody in this country, the NNPP will collapse.
Why will the NNPP collapse?
It is because it is based on what we built in the last 47 years of very serious hard work. Thirty years ago, I was Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. Before then, I was in the civil service for 17 years. That is what is holding the NNPP now. Someone was telling me that even if our friend wants to withdraw to accept VP, some people in the South-East will not accept. This is not strategic. Look at what happened with some of our friends in the South-West; they are very strategic especially my friend, Bola Tinubu. Eight years ago, he was strategic enough to say, ‘You take it for eight years and after eight years, I will take’. Now, whatever happened in those eight years, at least, he is holding the ticket of the ruling party in the country now. So, people have to be strategic, otherwise the implication of the South-East not being part of the NNPP is the total marginalisation. But the question is who marginalised them? Nobody wants to take any blame, and they will start hanging it on the Yoruba, Hausa or the Fulani or some others.
As the politics is today, this is the only opportunity for the South-East. I love them and I want to work with them. If for example, under the equation, I’m supposed to be the vice-presidential candidate and it will add value to the ticket, I will be very happy. The job of the vice-president is a very big one, especially in a responsible government. When I was in Kano State as governor, my deputy governor, (Abdullahi) Ganduje, was everywhere doing everything. When I finished, despite all the odds, I handed over to him. I think the problem in the South-East is a political issue and it must be tackled politically. If it goes like that, the Igbo will continue to detain the Igbo every Monday (sit-at-home) and other people in the South-East and kill others because of additional frustration.
What do you think is the way out to stop the agitation in the South-East?
The best for the South-East is for them to come and partner, maybe after eight years, after our term, they will say, ‘This man is the best for the country because he has stopped the security challenges of the country’. Nigerians will say ‘these are the people’, and eight years is just like two years. Eight years will come but if you are not prepared for it, it will come and meet you worse than eight years ago. They (South-East) have to be strategic.
Can the proposed alliance be termed as dead as many have claimed?
We are still flexible on the issue of running mate up till 15th of this month (July). We are waiting to get the right person. I’m so happy that there are many Nigerians. We have many options in the NNPP in the South to choose a good vice-presidential candidate; one of them is the Labour Party man (Peter Obi). Left to me, if it will solve the problem of the South-East and minimise the challenges of the region to the barest level, that’s why the NNPP wants to take its vice-president (from there). Under normal circumstances, anytime we are sworn in, because the problem is political, he (vice-president) will call the people and sit with them. At least, someone is there. If he likes, he can talk to them in Igbo (language) and see how it can be resolved. I am from the northern part of Nigeria and of course, everyone can tell that the solution to the happenings in my region is at our fingertips. It is just about talking to the people. As I said, no one is talking to them (people of the South-East). The Nigerian security agencies are above all the bandits, terrorists we have seen. It is just a matter of doing the right thing. We have the answer at our fingertips. If we add the political will, our young men and women who are in uniform will go and do their job.
