Alhaji Yerima Shettima is the leader of Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, AYCF. In this interview with Ayodele Olalere, he spoke on the challenges facing the North as well as the plan by the region to ‘hijack’ the 2023 presidency from the rest of the country.
He also spoke on the state of insecurity in the country with rising cases of banditry, killings and kidnappings from Zamfara to Kaduna, from Kano to Borno, and recently, the South-west part of the country.
Recently there has been increase in killings all over the country. The issue of banditry started in Zamfara State but now it has spread to other states in the North. The South-west is gradually feeling the heat. What is responsible for this?
It is nothing but bad leadership. Those are issues that if government is up and doing and if there is a proactive measure on ground, it wouldn’t have escalated to this level. We have situations where you have leaders that are not sensitive to issues that affect their people. They only assume that once in politics, they begin to look at issues that concern them in terms of trying to use tax payers’ money.
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As a result of that, a lot of things went down the drain. People are made to become reactionary than be proactive and to that extent, we have a situation not only in one or two states in the North but rather almost everywhere in the North, there is war going on.
If you go to North-east, there is issue of insurgency. If you come to North West, there is issue of banditry and kidnapping. If you go to North-central, you have issue of herdsmen and farmers. It is disaster. Some of these stories are issues that are beyond tribe. They can best be described as issues that are related to war. If there is a war, all sorts of crimes go along with it.
Nobody is sure to sit down comfortably without panicking. Nobody is guaranteed of living till the next day. Nobody is guaranteed of sleeping with his two eyes closed. That is the situation in the northern part of the country. In spite of the fact that we have one of our own being the head of state, the situation is out of hand and that is the true picture of it.
You mentioned leadership issue. Is it leadership at the state or federal level?
It is leadership both at the state, national and local government levels. There are serious problems in the sense that if we had got it right, rather than putting everything in the hands of an individual, if we have functional institutions, those issues would have been better off than it is today. Everything has been built around individual and that is why we are having all sorts of reactions coming out of it.
Suppose we have workable institutions that are very viable, all these issues would have been addressed. You cannot have an institution working under this federal arrangement. I am one of those who advocate for devolution of powers; maybe because I have background in struggle. I had participated in struggle and be in the trenches for the past 20 years.
I should know what this country needs to do for it to work. You cannot leave everything, such as security, foreign policy, economy and so on in the hands of the central working government. When the problems are too much, when everything has to go to the centre, with the population of over 200 million, definitely there must be shortcomings and loopholes.
In the case of security, you and I know that even in developed countries, they do not rely on federal police. There are community police and state police. United States of America has Sheriffs and so on. But in Nigeria, how can you take a Divisional Police Officer, DPO, Muhammed Musa from the North and you bring him to Ijebu-Ode or Ile Ife and you want him to perform as police officer. He can’t perform.
He doesn’t know the terrain and communication is another problem. And you took another Ayo from Lagos and took him to Gwosa in the North; how can he perform? You only take him there to be a scapegoat to either be killed or compromise security and come back peacefully without results. Those are the only things you can get in a federal system like ours.
But when you have devolution of power where the centre is less attractive, where the states have their own internal security, it is easy to address any crime being committed in a community. The community would have known there is stranger in their midst. They would know those who are saddled with the responsibility of security because they are indigenes of that community.
If there is a crime being committed in that place, not by a stranger but somebody within the community, they will easily fish him out. With that system, we can do well. That is what is obtained in other places like America that we applaud them when we see them. The reason they are able to unravel any crime being committed is because they don’t rely on federal police.
In case of economy, you do not expect to see states doing better because they rely on federal allocations. They wait for resources from the Federal Government to be shared. Where the centre only collects tax from the states and no state waits to collect funds from Abuja, you can rest assured that with their internal revenue, they would do a lot of things and save lots of money and create high competition between them and their counterparts. There is no state in this country that does not have one or two things to manage.
They don’t have to wait for oil money from Niger-Delta to survive or Abuja to allocate money to you. They will begin to harness their own resources. Lagos is what it is today because Lagos does not rely on funds from Abuja. They harnessed the human and capital resources they have and manage it well. Today without federal allocation, Lagos State can survive. Kano, to an extent, can also survive.
So, what is happening to other states? Like mining in Zamfara, it is a whole lot of things. If we can harness it and do it in a legal way, it is as good or better than the oil in the Niger Delta. But today, the licenses are in the hands of irresponsible people who are only interested in taking lives of people and ensure they get people distracted and tap from that resources.
It will be very difficult for a country such as ours to strive and make any meaningful impact. We have tried it, we have seen it in 1999 when Obasanjo came on board yet we are still in the trenches till now fighting for better government. I have spent half of my life in struggle so you can’t tell me anything. I have worked with people and activists such as Chief Anthony Enahoro, Wole Soyinka and Beko Ransome Kuti. We were young students; we worked side by side during the dark days, during NADECO so what else could somebody tell me.
Today, we have chunk of people, who have not known anything in their lives; not made any sacrifice to bring about democracy and have not suffered for it and paid any dues for it, but now they see it as a way of making business. They just make money and go home, while some of us who had suffered in the trenches are suffering.
Some of our colleagues are no more today. Some were incarcerated; some are even alive but they are not kicking normal. They have one trouble or another. Their lives have not been the same after several detentions. This is a situation we have at hand.
You have some class of people, who just came from nowhere; some were abroad or in their comfort zones when we were fighting and they just got the opportunity through their godfathers. Some are now governors and senators.
But the finger has been pointed at northern governors and leaders for not empowering their people like what we have in the South-west. Many of them collect allocations but do nothing to economically empower their people?
You are right. Ordinarily, even without talking about the governors, let’s look at the top level. Despite our long stay, I mean northerners, in power, people of northern extraction have actually occupied presidency for a while, why is insecurity higher in the North than other parts of the country. The security chiefs are from the North. Why are they not working tirelessly to ensure this thing is nipped in the bud?
Despite the long stewardship by northern leaders at the centre, today the rate of poverty in the North is higher than any part of the country; in fact in the whole of West Africa. The poverty level in North-west and North-east is far more than any part of West Africa. When it comes to the issue of education, it is even worse.
We have lots of problems. Our people are just there, things are not happening. Some who have made attempts to do some radical things during military are direct victims. These are some of the systematic problems. But that is not to say that it will remain like this forever. But we need to be up and doing and do it right.
If you had followed some of my interviews, I talked about issue of power shifts. I have said this cannot continue anymore. The issue of anybody imagining that the North would fold its hands with the way 2019 election went, and with the number of votes coming from the South is zero. Probably it was a deliberate action from the South West, that since they encouraged other parts of the country to vote for President Buhari, knowing full well that he is going to be there for another four years, they felt they should leave the North with their trouble and allow Buhari to waste the northern eight years after which the South will take over power. I said it will not happen like that.
The South West assumed that since Buhari will spend four more years to make eight years after which he will go, they felt if they allowed any other competent person from the North, which is Atiku Abubakar to become president, such person would insist on spending eight years. So, the South felt they could manage Buhari for another four years. So, indirectly they have become wicked against their fellow brothers in the North, knowing Buhari is not competent.
If the South thinks they are waiting till 2023 and expect the North to fold their hands and allow them to bring their own in the name of rotational presidency, it will not happen. This new four years of President Buhari is a total waste. The problem we are facing in northern part of the country and issue of insecurity is a clear pointer that the only thing that is before us, after it has been robbed, is we cannot fold our hands as northerners and allow us to be shortchanged.
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This government has no good intention to make the country better. You think the North would fold its hands and allow one South-west godfather to come over and maneuver his way to 2023 after we have been shortchanged on this one? The super ministry was given to the South. The South is well developed and doing something better.
The South did not even consider that if the president does not realise what he’s doing, they can advise him and put him through. They think in 2023, we (northerners) will fold our hands and you South will take over. We will tell you we have the strength in terms of numbers under this democratic government. We will ensure this issue of regional arrangement or rotational arrangement that is not constitutional but a gentleman arrangement cannot be seeing to be above the constitution. We will stand by the constitution. On that basis, the North will come up with another candidate in 2023.
Will that not throw up another crisis in the country because by then the North would have had their eight years? The South-east is even clamouring to produce the president in 2023?
The South East is not ready yet. When we are done, we will look at their case but for now they are not prepared. Are they ready for anything? Do you see them talking about it? Certainly we would ensure we have our fair share.
But definitely, it has to be turn of the South-west?
It can’t be. Is rotational arrangement constitutional?
But there was a gentleman agreement?
It is an arrangement between few of the political class; it is not constitutional. It cannot be seen to be above the generality of the people.
If the North produces president in 2023, would that not mean shortchanging other parts of the country?
I actually have sympathy for the South-east but within themselves, they know they are not ready. You cannot be having organizations, such as IPOB and you cannot checkmate their excesses. They keep threatening the unity of this country and they think with the experience of the civil war we had, Nigerians would fold their hands without them showing remorse and regret that action and demonstrate publicly to Nigerians that the war was uncalled for.
But people will also point to the Fulani herdsmen and the Boko Haram crisis, coming from the North and yet the North has presidency?
Those are mere criminals. They should be dealt with as normal criminals. Their actions or inactions do not point to the fact that this is what we really want. Don’t forget we are the direct victims of all these crimes. The banditry and kidnapping is high in northern parts of the country. The insurgency is also there and that is our internal problems. But it will fizzle out in time.
But not everybody in the South-east is also supporting IPOB?
I wouldn’t know that. In 2017, I made a statement during the issue of quit notice between IPOB and Arewa youths. I made a statement, concerning the quit notice given to Arewa people and I made it on purpose to sample the views of South-east people. At a point, they folded their hands and they believed Nnamdi Kanu was fighting for their cause. But I pointed it out to them that the guy is a fraud; that he was running them down.
We are thinking of building a nation but the way Kanu was approaching issue, abusing the sensibility of Nigerians, I told them one day he would put them in trouble. All of a sudden, within two months, he made a statement against the North; he called us animals. I said this guy is biting too much. I told them in spite of the way we accommodate easterners in the North yet none of their leaders came out to condemn him for abusing us.
When the pressure was much, it was then groups like Ohanaeze came out to say they were not part of IPOB and did not believe in their ideology. We did it in good faith not because we wanted to unleash terror. I have never supported anything violent. Buhari is a president but I am opposing him because there are injustices under his watch. If I were one of these biased people, I wouldn’t be raising any opposition.
In 2023, we will insist on producing the president and we will use our numbers to achieve it. When we get rehabilitation and stabilise, we can now begin to negotiate.
Are you now saying the South-west did wrong for supporting your brother for a second term in office?
In 2015, because of interest of people, they mounted pressure on Jonathan’s government. We were part of it, believing that government was so corrupt and there was a need for somebody to take charge. Our belief was that changing power to the North and for Buhari to take over could be an answer; because of his integrity, things would change. But today, the situation has even turned worse.
In 2015, the South-west tried but the 2019 election has clearly exposed them. What was the number from the South that came out for the election when some of us were totally opposed to the coming back of this government?
For us, we feel the South-west think we are fools. Instead of bringing new person with an arrangement to do four years, the South-west decided to support Buhari for another four years. In 2019, despite all the rigging; in a state in the South-west that has over 20 million Nigerians; we got less than one million votes. Is that what the South-west wants to bargain with to get power? Even from other states, it was the same.
If the South-west had come out to vote massively, we would have gotten another better candidate from the North to become president and we would have known the South-west meant well. But to just sit down and look at us say na their wahala, make dem carry their wahala. No problem o, Buhari is trying’.
But the Federal Government used the military to intimidate people, the reason many could not come out to vote?
Did the Federal Government just use military? Was it not in connivance with some people within the South-west, the so called godfathers, who forced attacks on innocent Nigerians and refused them coming out to vote? We all saw what happened. Do you call that democracy? You can’t force your wish on people. Today in spite of the evidences, the INEC still gave itself a pass mark.
I will take you back to the issue of banditry. You are the president of the Arewa Youths. Findings revealed most of these criminals involved in banditry are youths. As leader, have you not talked to them to stop and what is the northern leadership doing about it?
As a leader of youths, I have my limitations. Do I have guns and funds? Or do I have any protection to penetrate these guys. If the government cannot do it, who am I to do it? Mine is to advocate for them to stop it. There are other fundamental issues. The way the North is today, the rate of poverty is high, coupled with the fact that unemployment rate is higher than in other parts of the country. Worst of all is this issue of our backwardness in terms of education. You should have expected that these things will be the order of the day.
Government must enroll a policy that will look and focus on the North for total rehabilitation like it was done during the Yar’Adua and Jonathan administration. They focused on vandalism in the Niger Delta. We could see how the government was focused and that is what is expected in other parts of the country.
They should make education compulsory. Children must go back to school and parents must be held responsible if any child is found roaming the street. If you do that, we will begin to have light at the end of the day. It will reduce the crime rate. But with the way it is today, only God can help us. For now there is no solution on ground.
That brings us to the issue of restructuring. The present government does not believe in restructuring?
Devolution of power is the key issue in it. I am an advocate and student of restructuring and I believe strongly in it. This is the only way you can address the issue of unemployment and security. In the early 60s, we had parliamentary system of government. The South-west is ahead in education simply because Awolowo did it for them under the same system as Premier of the South-west region.
Today, our entire financial institutions are in the hands of the South-west. Business is in the hands of the South-east and power is for the North and yet, you are saying we should leave the power for you. Where do you want us to go? The only thing we have at hand, you say it’s rotational and we should allow you to take it. How is that going to be possible? My brother, be fair.
We are talking about Nigeria. Nobody wants to go anywhere. Nigerians are not really ready to separate, they want to be together. I see it, I feel it. Anybody who thinks the country will break is a joker. The issue of inter-marriage has taken over. I got married to a woman that is not from my place. My first wife is from the South-south despite my background as a typical Hausa man from Zaria.
But we are living peacefully. Over 50 per cent of Nigerians did not marry from their place, which is destiny. We should look at a system where everybody will work together, not a system that protects the interest of a few. This is not right.
