The elite has compromised the country - Buhari

by Aare Oluwaseun Akinwande  As part of Nigerian Village Square's interview series with all aspirants for the 2011 Presidential election, former Head of State, General MUHAMMADU BUHARI sat down for an hour-long interview with members of the NVS editorial team. Below is the unedited transcript of the interview.   OPENING STATEMENT   The institutions that support democracy have been compromised... So, what we are saying is that we are going to take the fundamental things and try and rebuild the country.       Question: Thank you for taking the time to be on the NVS HotSeat. General, we will start right away. You are talking to two Nigerians of a certain generation, who went through all the experiences of military rule in Nigeria. I mean if you look at the bracket from 1983 to 1999, that is a huge chunk out of the life of your two interviewers, so they come to this with a certain mindset about former military leaders wanting to come back as civilian presidents. But that notwithstanding we thought we should give you the opportunity to earn your first two votes today. Why should Pius and Moses who are interviewing you - why should they vote for you? General Buhari: Well, they may not be living in Nigeria, but I believe that their concern about Nigeria is as genuine as that of those of us who are here. Firstly, the physical and material insecurity in the country. The most important and fundamental thing that any government can do from 2011 is to secure this country. There is so much abduction and assassination. There is so much corruption. The institutions that support democracy have been compromised: the Nigerian police, the judiciary, the other law enforcement agencies, the civil service. Infrastructures have gone. You know it very well— there is no power, factories have closed, people have lost their jobs, [and] there are no roads. So, what we are saying is that we are going to take the fundamental things and try and rebuild the country. This is what we are saying. VISION FOR NIGERIA AND SPECIFICS Question: Well, thank you for that answer. This is Moses. You talked about a number of problems that the country currently wrestles with. Those are familiar problems that require immediate solutions, but projecting into the future, the issue with Nigeria is that we don’t just need to act today to solve our immediate problems; but we also have to develop strategic plans for the future. So, along those lines, let me ask you this question, General. Where do you see Nigeria, what is your vision for Nigeria in the next 20 years— say in the year 2030? General Buhari: Yeah, if you will look at population projections, you look at social institutions, especially education, health care, infrastructure and, above all, power… [We need all these] so that factories can re-open, people can get employment, there will be less unemployment and consequently there will be less crime and [we can have] the other infrastructure [such as] health care, drinking water, good roads. Now, in 20 years’ time we want to see that relative to the growth of the population, that at length, that  the resources, both human and material, have to meet to make sure Nigeria makes the necessary impact in the global community. We have the people. We have the resources. Therefore, there must be the discipline, the leadership that can inspire and lead the people to make sure that there are achievable economic conditions that will provide employment and material security to generally uplift the country. Question: Okay, thank you General. This is Pius. So far you have spoken in broad terms about what is wrong with the country? You have identified the problems and you have articulated what needs to be done [and] where we need to go. But the problem is that you need to tell us how you are going to do some of these things concretely. Let me take you back. You said factories need to reopened, for instance. Now we need to know how you hope to reopen the factories. Just give us an example. The textile industry, for example, in the north - how would you move from step A to B to C to D and ultimately ensure that these factories reopen and not just reopen haphazardly but in a sustained manner. What are your plans? General Buhari: Well, I am still within the textile industry where I have an idea about…. The textile industry was employing about 300,000 Nigerians five, six years ago but now are employing less than 25,000. Why? A number of reasons. You are asking me how we can get them reopened to employ people and provide goods and services.     ON POWER     Power is the number one priority     ..five years is long enough for Nigeria to see any impact and we haven't seen any yet.     If the money (on Power) had been judiciously used, the results would have surfaced - there would have been a lot of factories open, there would have been a lot of people working - under an effective leader.         We have to do something drastic about power because they will have to be able to operate effectively and at least break even. Now, without power, with the [current] state of power, it is almost impossible. There is a lot of publicity in the last four years or so that there has been money voted—about seventy billion naira— to help the industry to do so. It is just like throwing bad money after good money unless there are infrastructures in place for these industries to become viable and sustainable. So power is the number one priority. What is happening to our power stations? What is happening to our hydro power stations- Kainji, Shiroro, Jebba? What is happening to the planned Mambilla hydro power station to complement the thermal power station and integrated into the national grind, and so on? There are a lot of stories about it but five years is long enough for Nigeria to see any impact and we haven't seen any yet. So what the next government will do, if it is a responsible government, is to make sure that whatever resources has been voted on this issue of power is used judiciously and all the infrastructures must be made to be working again, and then new ones are commissioned and sustained. This is our only way out because we don’t have the technology to provide power by solar, but what we have on the ground we should get them working and then build new ones. Then, the money voted for it we have to find out where it is, because a lot of money has been voted for it. We have been hearing of hearings in the National Assembly about the money voted relative to what is happening in the power sector itself. All this has to be done very quickly.   WHAT MAKES YOU MORE QUALIFIED THAN OTHERS? Question: Okay, General, this is Moses again. You have outlined a number of  things that we need to do, that the next leader needs to do to resuscitate our industries and to get people back to work. My first question… I’m going to ask a two-part question. The first one is, what makes you more qualified than, say Atiku, Ibrahim Babangida, Goodluck Jonathan and all other contestants for the presidency declared and undeclared? What makes you more qualified to do these things than they? The second part of my question is, you talked about power being very central to the resuscitation of our industries. I’m sure you are aware of how much has been spent by the Obasanjo regime, the Yaradua regime and how little, if any, power generation improvement we got from it. So, how is your approach to power different from the approaches of Obasanjo and Yar’adua and how do you intend to fund that approach?           We will expose the incompetence of the ruling party         General Buhari: Well firstly, there is no limit to the number of Nigerians that can aspire to lead the country, based on the constitution and the Electoral Act. Now, according to the Nigerian constitution , political parties are the platform, and you mentioned Jonathan, Atiku, Babangida and myself and why I feel that I may be better than them. Well, they belong to their own party, I belong to my own party. It is up to my party to nominate me and it is up to Nigerians to accept me by the way I try to I sell myself to them, to ask for their vote and I think ditto for the other aspirants. So, I think under the constitution it is very clear, legitimate and there is nothing to worry about. The only thing is to let Nigerians listen to and understand our manifestoes and ask from the ruling party what they have done in last 10 years, what they have done to Nigeria, whatever they are going to do next they have to base it on that because they have been responsible. For us that are contesting with them, we will try to expose the incompetence of the ruling party and therefore produce an effective manifesto which Nigerians will listen to, that we are going to do better. I think this is the normal thing. Now your second question on— if you can remind me. POWER Question: On power. What will you do differently from the Obasanjo and Yar’Adua approaches and how would you fund your approach because funding it is very crucial. General Buhari:Well, I have just told you that there has been a hearing in the National Assembly about the resources, the amount of money voted during the Obasanjo regime and the Yar’Adua regime on power. That hearing or the recommendation of the hearing has never seen the light of the day and we need to know. But that, we cannot wait for. What we need immediately is to look at what is on ground and what can we do to salvage the situation. That will be the focus of our manifesto on power. What is on the ground Nigerians know, but what has been spent by the previous administration that you mentioned Nigerians don’t know because they didn’t see the improvement, but they were told of the money spent, but what we will do is to immediately proceed to improve power. We cannot wait for the investigation that will show that the money was judiciously used or not. If the money had been judiciously used, the results would have surfaced - the issue of power in Nigeria now should be a different thing. There would have been a lot of improvement in power, there would have been a lot of factories open, there would have been a lot of people working - under an effective leader.     ON CORRUPTION     Nigerians are fed up with the indiscipline and the corruption of governance, and this is our greatest hope against next year’s elections - that they need change. They need a serious team to be in charge of the country     Corruption has become institutionalized and cutting it down is going to be quite painful, but I assure you that it has to be done     There must be some decency in the amount of money public officers are paid. National and state assemblies should accept a downward review of payments and allowances           CORRUPTION Question: General, this is Pius again. The immediate threat, as the greatest threat to your vision for Nigeria, as you have articulated it thus far is the problem of corruption, and the thing with corruption in Nigeria is that you don’t even know where to start. So, my question is what do you propose to do differently? How do you plan to tackle corruption beyond what I will call drop-in-the-ocean approach of the EFCC that we have had thus far? How do you plan to move against…? General Buhari: Yes! As you said, it is an established fact that Nigeria is notoriously corrupt. Most of the institutions have been compromised, but mercifully Nigerians are fed up with the indiscipline and the corruption of governance, and this is our greatest hope against next year’s elections - that they need change. They need a serious team to be in charge of the country, they want good governance and I assure you (that one thing I know) is that Nigeria is not short of rules and regulations about accountability and transparency in dealing with government businesses. What we have to do is to ensure that our institutions from day one will go back to our rules and regulations about accountability whether it is public funds or private ones. Institutions have to account properly and clearly according to the laws. We have adequate laws. Our problem is implementation, and the implementation is the corruption of the institution. The elite has compromised the country as a whole. We will persuade the Nigerian elite that they have the capacity to turn the country around because they are knowledgeable they are energetic - All they need is to be encouraged and believe in the country and therefore deliver the institutions they are managing. So we have to secure this country and manage it. Question: Thank you general. I have a quick follow up in terms of specifics. I am Pius again. I am happy that you mentioned the elite. My problem is that elite corruption as we have written previously in our editorials in the NVS. Elite corruption; there are many dimensions to it, and one dimension is legalized or institutionalized corruption where what they are doing is perfectly legal. For instance, the issue of the allowances, the outrageous allowances of the members of the National Assembly. There is no doubt about the fact that there is corruption, and you will be operating in this setting and not in a military setting, but in a democratic setting where your ability to intervene in what they are doing is severely limited. So how do you propose to go about issues like that: where corruption is perfectly legal, it is built into budgets and institutions of state? That aspect of corruption is just as dangerous as all the other features of corruption. So how do you propose to handle this institutionalized and legal corruption ? General Buhari: Well, the institutions that you have commented on, that work on payments and allowances of the legislature their allowances and so on, they are playing a constitutional role of indexing salaries and allowances according to the country’s earnings. The same institution will have to be asked to review it and this must be given a lot of publicity which Nigerians will support what our government will do if we are elected to make sure that money realized which should go for social service, get industries up, infrastructure, should not be given to the people in the National Assembly and their counterparts in the 36 states of the federation. So I think this is a very serious issue, and it has been topical here back at home and I think it will form part of the election campaign manifesto, which will be really articulated and sold to the public. There must be some decency in the amount of money public officers are paid. We can't just sit here and allow public officers to just share our revenue and kill all social services. That is not how to rule the nation and I believe that whoever eventually becomes members of the national and state assemblies should accept a downward review of payments and allowances.   FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL Question: Thank you General. Finally, tell us something quickly about the freedom of information bill. How do you propose to enhance the process as part of your anti-corruption drive? Obviously, the more Nigerians are informed of governance and what they propose to do… General Buhari: Well, this issue, from what I saw from the Nigerian press, has been on for a number of years. I am afraid that when we get there we have to look at it and see what is happening in other viably democratic countries and perhaps make some changes. But from my experience, what I will appeal to the press is to do a lot more investigative journalism when it comes to issues of corruption of institutions and individuals in high places. Nobody, either in Nigeria or outside, can deny the fact that the Nigerian system is very corrupt, and this is extremely unfortunate. So, for that reason I think it needs an honest effort on the part of the press to do their investigative journalism so that real cases of corruption can be exposed, so that institutions like ICPC and EFCC can get a lead from the press who gets a lot of public opinion. This is an extremely important part of our campaign and manifesto.   SECURITY Question: Thank you general. It's Moses. I want to ask you about security. One of the things you mentioned earlier is the insecurity of life and properties and the situation has worsened recently with kidnappings going on, with armed robbery, with all kinds of insecurity. As a person with military background, if you are elected as the president, how would you approach insecurity within a democratic environment, that is, using tools that do not violate the human rights of people and do not incense the human rights and civil society communities, that is protective of the right of the Nigerians but at the same time going after the bad guys, putting them in jail and making sure that they longer terrorize Nigerians? How would you balance those two seemingly conflicting aspects of your profile while still being effective in tackling the security issues?   General Buhari: Yes, I am sure when we started this interview I said our manifesto mentioned how we are going to secure and manage this country. By that it should have rang a bell that Nigeria is insecure physically and materially. Physically, as you mentioned, the kidnappings, armed robbery, and then materially, we are looking at systematic looting of the treasury in all the three tiers of the government - local state and center. The corruption has become institutionalized and cutting it down is going to be quite painful, but I assure you that it has to be done because, resources of the country must be judiciously used for social services. There is no point allowing people to take the money out of the country and leave the country high and dry. I believe we will get the cooperation of all Nigerians to ensure that  The Police, the EFCC, the ICPC should do their job. They should be constitutionally ready to do their jobs. I believe they are well staffed. They are being well-funded. And also the police, there has to be retraining, re-equipping and seriousness should be encouraged by promotion and those that  crime persists in their area of responsibility should be in position to answer for their inefficiencies.   SHARIA AND ETHNIC/RELIGIOUS CRISES Question: General, this is Pius. I am almost tempted to ask you point blank what your current plans on Sharia and perhaps you know that it is one of the most polarizing issues that we are facing in this country now. You have been associated in the past with some controversial statements with regards to that. So how do you propose to create a framework, a national framework, for religious harmony in the country and a framework that could ultimately take care of all the flashpoints and the crises that we have from time to time? So Sharia and ethnic tension in the country, what is your take on that, General? General Buhari: Well, the Nigerian constitution is very clear about that, and I believe as you know that there are twelve states in the federation that follow Sharia because the constitution allows it. The constitution allows that if their state assemblies agree on certain sharia laws to be implemented then those states are allowed to do it. I'm afraid this court of sharia is being more politicized than..(coughs) or more political than religious because if you could recall there are cases in Sokoto and in one other state where a court overruled the decision of the Sharia court where a woman was to be stoned or to be executed, you know, for having sex outside marriage. So you can see that the constitutional courts which are not Sharia courts are superior to Sharia court, and people who have taken their cases from the Sharia court there have victory from it. So, really, there has not been a Sharia in the constitutional problem from the time some of the states in the country decide to practice Sharia. It is always the constitutional courts that become superior over Sharia courts, although sharia courts technically are constitutional so really, there has been more of politicking than religious issue of Sharia. People are just using it, but for whatever political reason they are using it I don’t know because the case of this woman in Sokoto and some other states where people have challenged the Sharia courts in the civil court and they won their cases. So I hope you are following this very closely because you are supposed to interpret or inform the people of what actually is happening about Sharia in Nigeria. If you can go and study it further you will find out even when the British came and conquered the caliphate, they did not interfere with sharia - they only stopped two things - stoning and chopping of hands. They had to stop the chopping of hands for those who stole and stoning for those who have sex outside marriage. These are the only two things that the British stopped.     ON SHARIA     those who are talking about sharia are failing to implement it because they would be the first victims of sharia because sharia does not tolerate stealing of public funds.         So nobody ever interfered with sharia other than stopping the stoning, but sharia means so much discipline that those who are talking about sharia are failing to implement it because they would be the first victims of sharia because sharia does not tolerate stealing of public funds. It does not support injustice in any form. so those who making too much noise about sharia are afraid of Sharia itself. So, this is all I can say about Sharia. I don't think sharia has any more problems in this country, because nobody is stopping or denying Muslims from being ruled by sharia. It's more of their business now than business of other Nigerians. Question: So, I have two quick follow-up questions. General, you mentioned the constitution and you do know that there is this saying that Sharia is incompatible with the constitution of the Federal republic and I was wondering if you have anything to say about it. I have even read people going as far as claiming that Sharia is secession by other means. The second question is… religious violence. All these religious clashes we have had in the country, especially in the Northern part of the country. My fear is that part of the problems is that there is no discipline and punishment that comes through that and, as I know, from Maitasine down to the Boko Haram, nobody has ever been arrested, tried and jailed. So do you propose to have a workable format of discipline and punish for our problems of religious crisis? General Buhari: Well, once again, you can’t blame people who abide by Sharia or don’t abide by Sharia. You blame the institutions, mainly the Police, to arrest and prosecute. For example, there is a certain story yesterday or the day before yesterday where the president has received a report on the crisis in Plateau State. Now, there has been at least five of these crisis. There have been around four reports. Where are they? Where are the reports? Why is the government at the state and federal level are afraid to implement the report of the commission they have instituted on religious and tribal clashes in the country which are more regular, I agree with you, more often in the North than in the other parts of the country. You can’t blame the people there. You can blame the law enforcement agencies. If there is a crisis in Plateau or in Kano or in Ibadan, it is up to the police to investigate and prosecute and I am not aware of any state where the government, the Federal government which controls the police and the other enforcement agencies, has stopped them from investigating or prosecuting anybody. So why are the law enforcement agencies not doing it and why is the Government not making the law enforcement agencies to do it? You have to go back and put the blame on the Federal government, because if there were a crisis and 100 Nigerians were killed, the Nigerian police are constitutionally empowered to suppress the crisis, investigate it, arrest and prosecute. If they don’t do it, so why is the Federal government not enforcing it? Question: General, I hope you’re aware that some years ago there was a controversy around a statement credited to you somewhere in Sokoto state in which you are reported to have said that Muslims should vote for Muslims. Now whether you were misquoted or not, whether you were misrepresented or not, that has caused some anxiety and some concern, understandably, to some Christians in the south of the country, in the Middle Belt, even in the north itself. So how do you intend to sell your candidacy to those people who have perceived you wrongly or rightly as a sectional candidate who is popular in the North because he is seen as the champion of Islam and Sharia? How do you propose to appeal to people who are concerned legitimately and anxious about you being a president who will implement Sharia nationally or who will limit the rights of Christians and promote the interest of Muslims? I want you to speak to those people. General Buhari: Well, that perception remains. I know in 2003 I wrote to many Bishops and I could recall I visited (inaudible) in  2003 and 2007. As you said, it happened in Sokoto in 2000 before I participated in elections. The person who reported me by tribe is a Yoruba man, by religion a Muslim. He was not in Sokoto and does not understand Hausa, maybe he still doesn’t. How he got the story I don’t know. And the comment I made was that people in Sokoto know their people, that when the ban on politics is lifted they should choose the people that will represent them responsibly. This is common sense: if someone aspires to rule this country, he cannot afford to offend even pagans or even atheists—those who don’t even believe in God. These are the people that will vote. How can I say Muslims should not vote for Christians? Then do I expect Christians to vote me, a Muslim? I wrote to the Bishops. I explained to them, but I think, as you mentioned, perception, people hold on to their perception. Even the church leaders were careful to explain to their flock that there is no way any leader will, at the federal level, antagonize any of the religions. So, I wrote to the Bishops to explain but I am still very surprised that the perception remains. So there is nothing I can do about it, but I will continue to explain my position. And I have backed it by facts that I have served the country’s military for 25 years. I did all the command and staff work, as a platoon commander to General Officer Commanding and the only still surviving officers that commanded three of the four commands in the Nigerian Army. And the Nigerian Army is about 75% Christian and nobody has ever said I took a decision against anybody because of his religion or his tribe. There are other tribes in the whole command. So, if for politically it sticks that I don’t like Christians, well it is very very unfortunate, but my performance in office at all stages has portrayed me as an impartial person, and I have believe that whoever is still bringing that case up, for whatever vote, will definitely fail in a free and fair  election. The question of me being a sharia advocate and a hater of Christians has never happened and it will certainly fail.   INDIGENESHIP AND CITIZENSHIP Question: OK, General, this is Farooq Kperogi formerly of Weekly Trust. I have a question on this controversy over indigeneship and citizenship, especially in the Northern part of the country, where I also come from. There is this enduring debate on who is an indigene and who is a citizen, and this manifested in the crisis in Plateau. But what happened in Plateau is an outward manifestation of a deeper trouble with every part of Nigeria, to be fair. What is your take on this? What do you think Nigeria should implement. People have emotional attachments to their communities and then the whole idea of citizenship is kind of new to us. It is not as enduring in our part of our the world as it is in the West. Do you think people have the right to indigeneship of places they are indigenous to or should everyone be free to contest elections anywhere, in any part of the country they are born? What is your solution to this lingering problem of indigeneship, settlership, citizenship? General Buhari: Well, I think this is a betrayal of the Nigerian constitution by local authorities and some states at various levels. And, again, this shows the incompetency of the administrators. There is the case in Plateau where some of the people don’t even know the states they came from - they don't know anything other than Plateau state because their parents and their grandparents were born there. They built houses there, they are business people. But because their names sounded like not a local name, they have problems in terms of education, employment at state and local government. It is an unfortunate situation which shouldn’t be tolerated. It shouldn’t be tolerated by the Federal Government, and again I am going back to the police. The police in this place should have investigated these cases. We said that between 1991 and today there were 5 major clashes. None of the reports have seen the light of day. I squarely blame all the federal governments that were in power for, you know, for not having effective judicial inquiries into the issue. Ideally, Nigerians have the right to stay in any part of the country and if they have stayed long enough in the area they can aspire to any political office by registering and participating in their constituency. I think we can only blame the Federal government that failed to investigate properly and prosecute those who perpetrate such evils against the federation.         Nigerians have the right to stay in any part of the country and if they have stayed long enough in the area they can aspire to any political office         WAI, DECREE 4, EXECUTION OF DRUG TRAFFIKERS Question: General, that was a perceptive response but let me very quickly ask this: when you were head of state between 1983 and 1984 one of your signature policies was the War Against Indiscipline (WAI). Another was Decree 4 and the killing of drug barons. What will you do when you become president? Will you return the War Against Indiscipline as a policy? What is your policy on drugs and what will your relationship with the media be? General Buhari: Yeah, you are talking about a different system when we had war against indiscipline and the fate of drug traffickers in the country. Now, under the current democratic system, what is in the constitution is what will endure. It is what we will be superior. The only difference is style. I will insist that the Police do their job to arrest and prosecute and the judiciary will punish the offenders according to the constitution, I can’t do more than that under this system. In the military we have laws that guide our conduct in the form of decrees and edicts and we work according to them and those in charge of the country just have to endure. So it’s the same thing under a different setting. The constitution is all-embracing. So it is in the constitution what will happen to drug traffickers in Nigeria. Question: Ok General, let me quickly ask a follow-up. Part of your attraction to a lot of young Nigerians that I am familiar with is your zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, your insistence on things being done right. Now if you are going to give in to the current system by saying that you will allow the police to do their job, that you are not bringing back the War Against Indiscipline, people will wonder what is the difference between you and other candidates. The only reason General Buhari is popular among a lot of young people is your policy; your war against indiscipline was successful, your fight against corruption was successful. So you are not going to bring in your past antecedents as head of state, things that make you popular? You’re going to be like any other president— to allow the constitution and things to go the way they normally are? Do I understand you to be saying that, General? Well, I think I’ve answered this question. What we would do is to make the institutions functional, especially the police, the civil service and other agencies and the judiciary, because our constitution and other regulations are comprehensive enough and the people understand it. The problem is the execution, and what I am saying is that it is going to be a question of time. Our time would be zero tolerance for corruption, as you said, and we will also fight against indiscipline. Indiscipline and corruption are the two great problems in Nigeria, and I think it has gotten to a level where Nigerians are fed up and really want a change. They want leadership. They want transparency. They want accountability. And these are what we are going to give Nigerians, God willing.   PRESIDENTIAL FLEET AND PRIORITIES       My concern about Nigeria is fundamental.       Question: Thank you General. This is Pius again. Just to take off from where Farooq stopped. You also have a reputation for being a very simple man. I have heard people who know say, “He is a very simple man.” And I think you’re going to have a problem being a simple man if elected with 9 planes in your presidential fleet. There is going to be a problem, I think. The idea of a simple man who has 9 planes, that is the size of Ethiopian Airline in general and it seems that since General Obasanjo we have a practice of every president adding to their fleet, you know. He added 2, I believe, and Goodluck Jonathan is going to add 3. So how are you going to cope with the planes, sir? General Buhari: This is a funny question. My concern about Nigeria is fundamental. What has the planes got to do with it? Our people cannot go to school. They cannot go to good hospitals. we don’t get our priority right in this country. When we don’t have electricity, when we don’t have drinking water, I assure you we will do away with wastage and get our priorities right.   CLOSING STATEMENT Well my fellow country men and women, next year is going to be a watershed for us and our country. We believe in God. We want Nigerians to have the courage to exercise their fundamental right, to go and register, to go and vote in their wards, and to ensure that their votes count, which I respectfully demand from all Nigerians. Thank you very much.

MQBA - Part 4 - Prince Tony Momoh

QUESTION 40:  You often sound like a Muslim fanatic or fundamentalist.  Are you not thereby encouraging religious intolerance and conflict in Nigeria?

ANSWER: I never pitched Islam against Christianity.  Never! What I told my people at a book launch in Sokoto was that in 1904 or thereabout when the Europeans overran the country, they removed the criminal aspects of Sharia.  They removed the beheading and cutting of limbs.  These were the only sections that they removed.

If Sharia has degenerated, it was the fault of the Nigerian leadership, not the Europeans or anyone else.  One British official serving in old Sokoto Province was so appreciative of the Sharia that he said a teenager could take gold trinket through the caliphate, from Sokoto to Adamawa, without fear that anyone would molest her on the way.

I said at the occasion that conditions, and therefore God, were forcing us to go back to how it used to be.  I stated there too that the people must be alert and make sure they do not vote for people who would come seeking their votes only to disappear after their victory; and to return four years later to seek fresh support.

Make sure you elect honest people, I said.

How can anyone turn that round to say I told Muslims not to vote for Christians?  Are there not dishonest Muslims as there are dishonest Christians?

I discussed it with President Obasanjo when he said there were accusations against me about Sharia and I refused to retract what I said.  So I told him what I said.  And he asked if that was what I said and I said yes.

I told him I would rather deal with a religious person, any religion, than deal with an irreligious person.  A genuinely religious person understands what hurts his fellow man and knows that God does not approve of anyone hurting his fellow man unjustly.

God is for justice and honesty and those are the types of Nigerians I talked about but people wanted to play dirty polities with what I said.

Q 41.    What guarantee is there that you won’t pursue a program of ethnic cleavage and exclusion if you become president?

A. There are too many unfair assumptions flying around.  If I have not worked in the system, then it would be reasonable to fear such presumptions.

But I have and I showed myself without pretensions.  Even the present system guarantees greater security, balance and equity for all in the polity.

Now look at the crisis in the appointment of the auditor general of the federation.  How many times did the Senate reject the appointment of the nominee of Mr. President? And the Senate told the president why it would not approve his nominee.

First, the minister of state for finance who is a Yoruba has been the de facto minister in charge of the ministry because the minister was indisposed for a long time.  The governor of the CBN is Yoruba, the Accountant General is Yoruba, while the head of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation is a Yoruba

So, out of the five pillars controlling the nation’s finance sector, four are headed by Yorubas.  You would think that Mr. President would be sensitive to the plurality of the Nigerian state and act accordingly.  He insists on a Yoruba man heading the auditor general office.

It is sheer downright tribalism.  The checks and balances in the constitution should make Obasanjo to act differently but he chose to do otherwise.

And this is in a democracy.  You go to my records and see if you will find abuse of power or favoritism.

Q 42.  The fact is that your regime had more Muslims and Northerners at the helm of affairs.

A. Appointments into the Supreme Military Council are based on existing command posts.  The general officers commending (GOCs) were automatic members.  So, apart from General Babangida who was Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and General Abacha who was Army Chief of Staff, Admiral Aikhomu was the Chief of Naval Staff and General Domkat Bali was also a member.  Both Aikhomu and Bali are Christians.

Q 43.  Corruption has become the worst affliction in present day Nigeria.  Obasanjo promised on assumption of office that he would fight it.  How do you intend to tackle it?

A. Luckily, the ICPC is a constitutional institution.  I don’t like it being weakened.  The government I will lead, God willing, will give ICPC full backing to be effective.

As I said, there are enough checks and balances.  All we need is the will to do what is right.  What has been lacking is supervision.  The executive, the legislature and the judiciary have supervisory roles in checking corruption.

So far, these institutions have failed to act.  Under my leadership, there may be, not may be, there will be sanctions because corruption has damaged Nigeria and Nigerians in all facets of life.

Outside Nigeria, we are held in contempt.  Our green passport is not respected anywhere.  Even the red passport for diplomats is nothing outside.

I do travel and so I’m in a position to know.  And it is all because the government failed to apply sanctions, which are provided for by the constitution to make sure that the country is protected.

How many people are reaping from the corruption that has laid siege on the entire nation?  May be one percent of the population.  Why should we allow one per cent to ruin the life of 99 per cent others? Why? Because they are the ones calling the shots?

Q 44.  The Nigerian dream is a prosperous economy with efficient infrastructures.  But the economy is in a sorry state.  The World Bank has said so.  The Central Bank has said so and only the other day, the Nigeria Labour Congress said the same thing.  What can you do about the economy?

A. Things have changed greatly since I was head of state 20 years ago.  We had no line of credits before we came in.  What the military handed over to the Second Republic was a stable economy but what we found after four years was pathetic.

Although things were bad then, yet they are not as bad as they are now.  The debt profile then wasn’t too bad.  The second republic government resisted the international pressure to devalue the naira excessively.

That is one credit to the administration, which I always mentioned.  Because there were no lines of credit, essential needs could not come in.  Machinery and spares and lots of other materials could not be imported and so industries were collapsing.

When we came in, we embarked in setting apart funds for basic needs and that became oxygen for industries.

What I hope to do is another emergency recovery exercise but this time around things may not move as fast as in the military because the process of getting things done differs.

But I believe I will make the National Assembly to see the urgency and co-operate because the situation now is critical.

We must reactivate production lines, create employment.  We have enormous potentials but we have not had the right kind of leadership, a committed leadership to energize us.

We must return to the basics.  How is the debt profile affecting us?  It is not going to be a quick fix but a systematic and sustainable push.

Q 45.  So you will be asking for a second term to make the desired impact?

A. No! No.  Don’t excite such an inference.  I had explained that government is not a switch-gear that you can switch on and off.  Nobody should insist on staying on just to see his policy come to fruition.

The most important thing is to put an efficient structure on the ground.  And truth is that if you do it, people will know and will remember.

To insist on a second or third or tenth term is sheer dictatorship and often depicts a character that has little or nothing to offer.  At that point, people have reason to suspect that someone has a hidden agenda.

Q 46.  When you were head of state, the Naira was strong.  Have you a magic wand to revive the Naira if you become the next president?

A. I do not have any magic wand.  We built on the strong will the second republic leadership displayed by maintaining a strong Naira.  Alhaji Shehu Shagari had resisted the pressures from some powerful international financial institutions to devalue the Naira on their terms.

So, when we took over, we maintained the same stance.  The people pressing you to devalue your currency make their living from currency sales.

If you buy their prescription, they make good.  They know they have sold you poison that may or may not help your case.

Today, to get one dollar, you have to put down N140.  That is ridiculous.  Nigerians deserve better.  One thing Abacha did well was resist international pressures and keep the naira at between N80 and N85 to a dollar.

With the current N10 margin of N130 to N140, you can’t plan an effective import schedule.  People are shouting about human rights abuses and democracy.  There is no worse human right abuse than sentencing people of families to hunger.

Government knows that devaluation is a tool for impoverishing the population and any government that readily applies it grossly abuses its people.

Q 47.  The program of privatization and commercialization according to government sources is moving on well.  But there is public outcry over the exercise.  What would you do with the exercise if you become president?

A. The TCPC report, which was done by the late Dr. Zayyad, had very competent hands to package it.  I was told that if government would follow the report, the exercise would be a success.

But government decided to jettison it and now, there are all kinds of allegations including sharp practices in the sales.

One of the obvious flaws in the exercise was abandoning the original idea of getting foreign capital into the economy by selling the shares in foreign ventures.

Instead, money from our system had been deployed to buy over the ventures, thereby heating up the local money markets.

We will review the exercise with a view to finding if there were breaches.  We will not repudiate contracts arbitrarily but we must be sure that the terms and spirit behind the exercise were not breached.

Some people gathered and bought with money from within the economy.  They have to prove they performed above board otherwise the ventures would revert to government.

Privatization was to draw money from outside and not take what already is within to take control of our common legacy.  That was not the purpose.

Q 48.  The state social order is founded on the ideals of freedom, equity and justice.  These terms are more familiar to democrats than autocracies.  What do these words tell you and are you comfortable with them?

A. These are terms that one can’t get away from as I said earlier.  And I blame Nigerians for our terrible history and experiences.

The type of atrocities committed on the weak, on weak Nigerians are unprecedented.  I can’t think of any other country in the world that would tolerate what our governments do to the citizens and get away with them.

Nigerians may be one of the most timid nationals in the world.  There is too much wastage by the state that injures the citizenry gravely.

Take for example, Obasanjo has 45 ministers.  I don’t know the number of advisers, special assistants and aids.  Each of these has four to five cars, which are fuelled and maintained daily by government.

In the same ministries that this horde of officials is supervising, there are the directors-general, permanent secretaries, executive directors and other grades of directors.  Offices are duplicated twice or more.

We can’t afford such wastage.  Let us put the money to economic uses, into industries, into agriculture, commerce and we will be amazed at the outcome within three years.

We don’t need 45 ministers to run the ministries.  What are the advisers doing? What does each director do?

Let’s have their job description.  Many don’t have offices and live in hotels that cost fortunes weekly.

Q 49.  Most of the appointments are for patronage.  Parties are built on patronage.  How can you cut the perquisites of office and hope to have the support of your party men?

A. You recall that when the late Chief Bola Ige was appointed into Obasanjo’s government and the man protested some of the goings on in the government, a PDP chieftain told Ige to keep his peace, that he was invited to come and chop and should see no wrong or evil!

Many of the appointments are immoral.  You keep dozens of people in luxury hotels, provide them cars and what not and pay them fabulous sums at the end of every month because they are party stalwarts.

For me, I will talk to the party and remind us the reason we are in government, which is to serve the greatest number.  The public voted for you in trust, believing you will put their interest first.

I will explain to the politicians why we can’t have so many ministers.  For instance, if you take a gang of noisemakers and make them ministers, all they will give the public is noise, tons of words without meaning or value.  If I become the president, I will do things differently, the way they should be done.

STOP PRESS

As we were going to press, we saw this piece on page 8 of the Vanguard of Wednesday, March 26, 2003.  It speaks for itself.

BISHOPS ABSOLVE BUHARI OF CORRUPTION …

UMUAHIA: The Council of Bishops of Nigeria has investigated and found the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential flag bearer, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari, upright, according to Archbishop Rogers Uwadi.

“Against the backdrop of accusations of impropriety against Alhaji Buhari, we carried out a private investigation and found him upright.” Uwadi, who is the Methodist Archbishop of Umuahia, said on Monday in Umuahia.

“We Bishops in Nigeria have carried out a thorough investigation of your past activities and found that you have not corruptly enriched yourself,” Uwadi told Buhari who paid him a courtesy visit.

Uwadi said that the clerics were not carried away by political smearing against Buhari.  “We are sensible enough not to be swayed by all the political brickbat,” he said, accusing the press of not conducting investigations into issues that affected the nation before publishing them.

He prayed for the successful conduct of the forthcoming elections, urging INEC to conduct the elections as scheduled.

“Whoever works against that would be disappointed by the power of God,” he said.

Speaking earlier, Buhari said that if given the mandate, he would take the oath of office with the Holy Qur’an, so as to conduct his assignment honestly.

Buhari pointed out that the recent murder of the party’s stalwarts, including Chief Marshal Harry and its senatorial candidate in Imo, Mr. Ogbonnaya Uche, had caused damage to the political situation in the country.

On the other hand, however, the unfortunate incidents had strengthened the party in every part of the country, he said.

APPENDIX: PROFILE OF MUHAMMADU BUHARI

BUHARI, Major-General Muhammadu (rtd), fss, GCON, GCFR, former head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria; born December 17, 1942, Daura, Katsina State; married Safinatu Yusuf, 1971; four daughters.

Education: Daura and Mai ‘ Adua Primary Schools, 1948-52; Katsina

Middle School, 1953-55; Katsina Provincial School (now Government College), Katsina, 1956-61; Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna, 1962, Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, United Kingdom, 1962-63; Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, India, January-November, 1973; Army War College, USA, 1970-80

Career: Commissioned Second Lieutenant, 1963; Platoon Commander, 2^nd Infantry Battalion, Abeokuta, 1963; Platoon Commander’s Course, Nigeria Military College, Kaduna, 1963-64; Mechanical Transport Officer’s Course, Army Mechanical Transport School, Bordon, United Kingdom, 1965; Commander, 2^nd Battalion, United Nations Peace-keeping Force, Congo (now Zaire) early 1960s; Mechanical Transport Officer, Lagos Garrison Transport Company, 1964-65; Commander, 2^ndInfantry Brigade Transport Company, January-July 1965; Adjutant/Commander, 2^nd Infantry Battalion, 1965-67; Brigade Major, 2 Sector, 1^st Infantry Division, April-July 1967; Brigade Major/Commander, 31 Infantry Brigade; 1970-71; Assistant Adjutant-General, 1^st Infantry Division Headquarters, 1971-72;Colonel General Staff, 3^rdInfantry Division Headquarters, January-September 1974; Acting Director, Transport and Supply, Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport Headquarters, 1974-75; Military Governor, North-Eastern State (now six states), 1975-76; Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Energy, 1976-78; Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, 1978-79, Military Secretary (Army), Army Headquarters/member,  Supreme Military Council, 1978-79, General Officer Commanding, 4^thInfantry Division, Nigerian Army Headquarters, 1979-80; General Officer Commanding, 2^nd Mechanised Infantry Division, Nigerian Army Headquarters, Ibadan, January-October, 1981; General Officer Commanding, 3^rd Armoured Division, Jos, 1981-1983; Head of State and Commander-in-Chief, Nigerian Armed Forces, 1984-1985; ousted from power and retired on August 27, 1985; Executive Chairman, Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund, 1994-1999.

Award: Man of the Year, The Nigeria Road Federation, 1999.

National Honour: Commander of the Federal Republic; Grand Commander of the Federal Republic, 1992.

Decorations: Defence Service Medal; National Service Medal; General Service Medal; Republic Medal; Loyal Service and Good Conduct Medal; Forces Service Star; UN Peace-keeping Force, Congo, Medal.

Hobbies: Tennis, squash, golf.

MQBA - Part 3 - Prince Tony Momoh

QUESTION 18:  Questions about your integrity were raised over an alleged missing N2.8 billion when you were head of the Petroleum Ministry.  Can you answer that?

ANSWER: As I said earlier, there was a judicial enquiry headed by Justice Irikefe.  Everyone was invited to submit memoranda or bring evidence to help the commission discharge its mandate.

I know that the then managing director of the NNPC, Mr. Marhino presented records of sales and receipts for the period under probe.

The two main accusers, Fela and Tai Solarin came and gave evidence.

Solarin said he heard it in a bus while Fela said he read it in a newspaper.

Q 19.  Still on your integrity, there was the issue of 53 suitcases that were allegedly cleared during your tenure without proper customs check?

A. The officer who became my head of protocol, Alhaji Daura was a diplomat in Saudi Arabia.  He had three wives and many children.  He was appointed my chief of protocol and he was coming back with the family.

Even his wives’ handbags were counted as luggage.  What sort of illegal business would a Nigerian diplomat be carrying on in Saudi Arabia to make so much fortune that he would not want to declare?

It was this Atiku Abubakar who was at the Ikeja Airport at that time and he allowed this misinformation to go out and spread.

Q 20.  Concerning your tenure as head of PTF, it has been alleged that you favoured the North to the disadvantage of the South in the execution of projects?

A. We executed road projects from Maiduguri to Kano, Abuja to Jos, Abuja to Enugu/Port Harcourt, Elele-Port Harcourt, Abuja-Benin, Lagos-Ibadan, and township roads in Abeokuta.

In Abeokuta and in Lagos, we constructed 230 kilometres of roads including drainages.  We did roads in Victoria Island and Ikoyi.

We executed water projects across the nation.  The general water works in Lagos with a giant generator was our effort.

We did construction projects in most of the universities and polytechnics.  We supplied books, vehicles and other vital requirements to schools.

Q 21.  Sharia has stirred a lot of trouble in our nation’s recent history.  Why is this so and why do you give Sharia your full support?

A. The first question I always ask opponents of Sharia is how many non-Muslims have appeared before a Sharia court? None.

In Bauchi, Kaduna, Zamfara and many others that have adopted Sharia, both the penal and the traditional codes are still in force.  Those who say that Sharia is barbaric have my sympathy because they criticize from ignorance.

If you visit cultures that are different from yours, you should be humble enough to find out why people do certain things.  Muslims should have no apology for choosing Sharia because it tallies with their faith.

Those who chose to marry or own wealth guided by customs of their predecessors are at liberty and so too the followers of English legal system.

The constitution allows all of us space to operate Sharia, customary and other legal systems.  Sharia states do not molest non-Muslims in their midst.

The media, I think, is responsible for the bad blood that Sharia has generated.

In Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some others, Nigerians and other nationals have been caught committing crimes against the state and they were sentenced to maximum punishment under Sharia rules.

In America, there are rules on consumption of alcohol or smoking but in Nigeria, we allow our children to smoke.

The Obasanjo government has as its greatest economic achievement the building of the largest tobacco factory in Africa in Ibadan.  But will Mr. President encourage his children to smoke? Certainly not.

The things that Sharia condemns are the same things that every faithful hates because God hates them.

Q 22.  You were in Saudi Arabia during the last Hajj and reports say that the Saudi Government raised millions of dollars for your presidential campaign.  One paper reported that you got $2 billion.

A. How much of that do you want?  (All laugh).  I don’t think that it is right for people to say things to hurt their fellow men.  How will Nigerians feel if they read that this government is sponsoring a candidate in an election in any of our neighbouring states?

First, any government that does that is irresponsible.  Secondly, if the government did not do it, it will be totally embarrassed and that would bring strains in relationship between their states.

Q 23.  Do you wonder why so many people hate you?

A. No.  I am loved by the people.  I have traveled round Nigeria and I have been well received wherever I visited.

Q 24.  Will you deal with public officers who run foreign accounts if you become president? And don’t you have one yourself?

A. One, I don’t have a foreign account now.  I closed it years ago.  Two, the constitution requires a public officer to declare his assets on assumption of office.

So, if an officer declares a foreign account, he knows he would have to close it and operate a domiciliary account instead.  If he does not declare it, he would be battling with his conscience.

Q 25.  The issue of foreign accounts is serious.  Right now, many top officials fly out at the end of every month to put money into their accounts overseas.  These officers include governors, legislators and ministers and some of them are championing your campaign now.  Will you be bold to confront them if you become president?

A. I will not be a president to pander to dishonesty or lawlessness.  Someone may be stealing today but tomorrow something happens and he stops.

Someone might have stolen because everyone in the department was stealing.  He goes to another unit and sees every one working conscientiously.  He is likely to imbibe the new culture.

If we have more honest leadership, much of the ugly trends in our society would disappear.  People are waiting for trust-worthy leadership and that is what I will give.

Q 26.  How will you strengthen the Code of Conduct Bureau?

A. In other countries, nationals willingly obey the law.  In Nigeria, we want to be forced.  I feel sanctions must be applied and unless this is done, others will not see reason why they should obey orders.

Government cannot cope with people breaking the law.  If good examples are observed from the top, however, positive changes will come and gradually Nigerians will start to obey orders as a way of life and not by compulsion.

Our trouble is with the elite.

Q 27.  You are not a rich man and politics in Nigeria today is about big money.  This is more so in the presidential race.  How do you intend to be taken seriously when you are not rich?

A. It would seem that Nigerians don’t read or learn from history.  Sir Tafawa Balewa was prime minister.  He was not rich before or on leaving office.

Alhaji Shehu Shagari was president.  He was not rich before or on leaving office.  Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had no money when he became president in 1999.

The only Nigerian who had money and won election to the highest office was Chief MKO Abiola.  Yet, he did not actually get into office.

I think money is not the determining factor.  If anything, Nigerians seem to have decided against moneybags.  So if Obasanjo and Atiku are now moneybags, putting out billions for their campaigns, they can rest be certain that Nigerians will reject them.

Q 28.  There are reports that the Abachas are contributing to your campaign funds.  Would that not be a contradiction of your avowed honesty?

A. If honest questions are raised on my trustworthiness, I would ask the questioners to go and check my records.  As for Abacha and the Abachas, only time will tell if there are not those worse than they.

It would seem that public contempt is such that if the paper were to say a word of sympathy about the Abachas today, it would be accused of receiving stolen money!

Q 29.  You have been campaigning only in the Northwest.  How do you expect the rest of the country to vote for you?

A. Of the 19 states in the North I have been to 17 excepting Taraba and Gombe.  I have been to three in the East and South and to Ondo in the Southwest.

Q 30.  President Obasanjo’s campaign train has been attacked and stoned in states considered as ANPP strongholds.  Why are you antagonistic in your campaigns?

A. Well, I read in the papers that the president’s campaign team was attached in Kano, in Yola, in Kaduna and I think there was a fourth state.  Incidentally, all of them are PDP states.  I think it was a message to the PDP.  It is as if the people were saying look, you have failed us.  Don’t come back here!

Q 31.  Will you probe the Obasanjo administration if you step in?

A. Government is a continuous thing.  You step into office, you continue from where your predecessor stopped.  If a government awarded a contract for N10 million and you come and discover that the contract is not worth more than two million, you have no moral right to fail to stop or cancel it.

Q 32.  How can you contain Alhaji MD Yusuf who has been in politics before you and did successfully challenge Abacha whom you served?

A. First, I was not serving Abacha.  I was called to a national service.  It was for me an honour and a duty.  Two, Alhaji MD Yusuf has not been in politics longer than I have.  I was there earlier and at the highest levels.

Q 33.  There is an allegation that MD Yusuf is a plant to distract you.  What do you think?

A.  Alhaji MD Yusuf was a former Inspector General of Police.  Nobody can plant him.  He alone can plant himself.

Q 34.  There is a report that indicted your tenure as boss of PTF.  What is your reply?

A. Well, I was told about it by a friend.  I’ve not seen the report.  I was never invited to any panel.  The government simply is not sincere about fighting corruption.  If they found something incriminating against me, they should forward it to the relevant agency.  No, the Obasanjo government is not honest.  They have names of officers that soiled their hands, who stole directly from the treasury.  Someone was caught with N300 million and they just allowed him to walk away.

Q 35.  Corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society.  The Obasanjo administration promised on assumption of office that it would fight the monster but it has failed to do so.  What will you do to fight the menace if you became the president?

A. Nigerians are destroying Nigeria with the virus called corruption. I don’t think that any regime can survive or make impact without fighting corruption.  And our case in Nigeria now has reached the limit.  Credible NGO’s around the world have given reports of the level of corruption in our society.  Nigeria now occupies the unenviable number one position in the world.

Q 36.  How do you fight the menace?

A. We don’t need any new structures or new laws.  The existing instruments are enough.  All you need is discipline, lead by example.  If your assistant engages in corruption and you wash your hands off him, others will know that you mean business.  Otherwise, it is business as usual.

Q 37.  The Niger Delta region is the most aggrieved section in Nigeria today.  You are going there to open your campaign.  What have you for the Niger Delta region?

A. Journalists who inspected projects in the Niger Delta region asked me how much government has put by way of reinvestments in the area.  I replied that I could speak about funds under OMPADEC.

I told the journalists that from Gowon up to OMPADEC, the Federal Government was giving statutory vote to the Niger Delta area under the derivation fund.  Where is the money?  That is a question to ask the leaders in the area.

The rural communities in these areas are truly disgraceful.  The elite in these places take the money and buy properties in Port Harcourt, in Lagos, in Abuja and outside the country.  Why can’t they plough part of their allocations to the rural areas?

The central government claims it is handicapped by the constitution, which does not give it power to supervise states and local government accounts.  This is a lame excuse.

There are many ways the centre can make the constituents to keep proper accounts and if they don’t, the law takes its course.  But if the central authority is not disciplined, how can it ask states and local governments to act judiciously?

These people start by diverting public funds into the parallel market.  If government were alive, the law enforcement agents would step in and break the sharp practices.

So, corruption is the cause of the unacceptable poverty in Nigeria as well as in the Niger Delta Area. I believe that if the 13 per cent derivation were channeled properly, things would change rapidly in the area.

If any additional help would come to the people, it will follow from constitutional developments.

Q 38.  Odi is part of the Niger Delta crisis.  Are you going to make a statement on Odi?

A. I have not been to Odi but I have been to Zaki Biam.  I cannot sit here and start to promise what I would do for Odi or Zaki Biam without first knowing the damages.  A promise is a bond.  It is not something anyone should make for expediency.

Q 39.  Would you support restructuring the Nigerian Federation so that each component part could develop at its own pace?

A. I was against sovereign national conference because as the lawyers would say, there cannot be two sovereign powers in a state at once.  If Nigerians wish to discuss new ways to determine relationships among and between the peoples with a mind to fashioning better harmony, I am in full support.  But I won’t support the establishment of two parallel authorities because that will be an open invitation to chaos.  Besides, we must consider priorities.  What Nigerians need now and urgently are in the areas of security, food and infrastructures.

Q 40.  You often sound like a Muslim fanatic or fundamentalist.  Are you not thereby encouraging religious intolerance and conflict in Nigeria?