2023 PRESIDENCY: NOBODY CAN STOP ME –Yahaya Bello

Governor Yahaya Bello, Nigeria’s youngest state chief executive recently spoke to editors in Abuja on a number of  issues, including the call for rotation of the Nigerian presidency, the zoning controversies, delay in installation of Attah Igala, his 2023 presidential ambition and insecurity in some parts of the state. The governor, fondly called GYB, even though many of his associates are openly sporting apparels boldly imprinted with PYB (acronym for President Yahaya Bello), rather than delve into the fraud allegations from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would rather dwell on process in his administration which makes it impossible for that magnitude of fraud to ever happen under his watch. “In Kogi, our approach is simple: If we release one naira to buy this phone (pointing to his mobile phone), then this phone must be brought here. If the phone is not bought, then the one naira must be here. If the one naira is not here, the phone must be here. But if the phone is not here and the one naira is not here, then heads must roll. It’s that simple.” According to him, having adopted this open procurement process, carried out a total reform of the civil service and blocked several avenues of leakages, “Kogi’s IGR had risen from its previous level of between N250m and N300m, to about N1.7b, before this glorified malaria you people call Covid came up.” For GYB, however, fighting corruption is not necessarily about vindictively probing previous administrations in the state. He says this position is informed by his conviction that his election, rather than an opportunity to witch hunt, is a call to service. To utilise available resources to do just that. “If you want to move forward, and you keep looking backwards, you will crash. If, instead of moving forward, you keep pausing to look at the back, you’ll lose mileage.” That, the Kogi helmsman reasons, is the hallmark of true leadership – which, by the way, he insists is no leadership if it does not have a human face.  STEVE NWOSU was at the interactive session. Excerpts:

On the viral video of him rebuking the Chinese contractor, handling renovation of Kogi Specialist Hospital

All our projects in Kogi State are of world-class quality. In fact, we price contracts in Kogi State as if we are pricing tomatoes in the market. As if we’re haggling over Maggi. That is how we sacrifice- we go to that extent. We don’t encourage waste. If you come to Kogi State and you inflate prices for us, we have our ways of knowing.  So, why would you come and tell us that you can renovate our specialist hospital – you came up with a design, passed through the system and then we agreed – I want to believe that the contract passed through due process. In any case, all those that have hands in it would have themselves to blame. What he (the Chinese contractor) delivered to us is completely different from what he promised. I will not tolerate that. Whatever happens, we will make sure the public knows about it. Projects are not made from heaven – there are provisions for failures or one defect or another, but not deliberate acts of sabotage. And a sound healthcare delivery system is one of our thematic areas. I’m sure that you know that we don’t have any case of coronavirus in Kogi State and that’s the reality because aside from what we are doing in the delivery of health projects, we sensitise our people. And then, somebody will come from China, where this coronavirus emanated from – we don’t know whether he wanted to import coronavirus into Kogi State by doing that kind of shabby work. Our people are happy with us that we have blocked coronavirus from entering Kogi State and then, somebody is trying to prepare grounds for it to come. We will not tolerate that. There are several Chinese companies that are doing well in Kogi State. So, I’m not condemning Chinese companies. But that particular company is not representing China the best way it should. Majority of the quality jobs we have today in Kogi State were done by Chinese companies in addition to our local content. When they are doing the contracts, we ensure that we put enough supervision in place so that they do the job according to specifications. That was just what happened and I will be doing more of that in the days to come.

On legacy in Kogi

Our administration is about the people and as much as possible, we will continue to muster the political will to be fair, just and equitable in all our actions. That’s what we have been doing in Kogi State and there is cohesion, unity and togetherness. Today, in Kogi State, division along religious, ethnic lines or class does not exist again. And that’s the legacy I want to be remembered for as governor of Kogi State and I pray and wish that Nigeria has all of these too so that we can live together as one indivisible entity.

On high number of youths in his government and the culture of recycling old politicians in government

First, I came into office at the age of 40 – that is the first reason. Two, we appreciate the contributions, and the sacrifices, of our past leaders – elders and others – we didn’t jettison them. There are few of them in my administration and we constituted Elders Advisory Council. But we know clearly that the energy that this office requires is far beyond what some of these our elders can give. When you want to get those jobs done, you have to get those that have the energy to do them. But for the experience to get it done, we rely on the elders’ advice. And that’s why we didn’t jettison them. We put strong, energetic and forceful ones ahead to bulldoze and make the way and the experienced ones trying to counsel them, hence, the results we are having in Kogi today.

On if his 2023 presidential aspiration is being propelled by Not Too Young To Run Act

The Not Too Young To Run Bill was signed into law in 2018, I believe. And I became governor in 2016. So, from day one, I got my priorities straight. I wasn’t waiting to be called to the table when I know that my money is part of the money that was used in preparing the broth. So, I was not just sitting at the table, but in that particular case, I sat at the head of the table. And then, God blessed the movement. Let me tell you, nobody, like our elders have always said, nobody will call you to the table and say “here is power, take it’. You must work for it. Nobody is going to say this is the right thing, work for it. You must sit down, do research, discover who you are, your capacity, ability and then, put it into practice legitimately. I began to prepare for the office of the governor since 2007 – after the general election. I was getting myself prepared and waiting for the opportunity to present itself. So, some level of my preparedness met opportunity and I waited for no one. Rather, I struck and God completed the rest. So, I will urge every one of us to be prepared at all times. We should be prepared for whatever we want to do – take much of our time to prepare and little time to execute, rather than using little time to prepare and longer time to execute because you will achieve nothing. So, the Not Too Young To Run Bill that was signed into law graciously by President Muhammadu Buhari only buttressed what I had long demonstrated or put into practice with my team. So, I will say the Not Too Young To Run Act trails us; we have taken the lead. On the question of whether our elders have failed, I will say they are trying their best. You can’t do more than your capacity. In science, there is what you call the normal curve – when you plot the x and y axis together. There is a time to rise and you get to the peak and then, you must decline naturally. It’s a natural law and you must respect it. So, our elders have done really well; they helped found this country. They fought for the unity of this country. At least, some of the infrastructure, policies that we are seeing today, we inherited it from them. Even, if they are obsolete or outdated now- that’s the best they could put on the ground then. So, it is now incumbent on us, the younger generation to take the country from where it is today to the next level. If I was sitting idle then and expecting my late mother to come and prepare food for me, probably I would have died long before she even passed away. If you are sitting down waiting for that until you are called to the table, you are simply wasting your time. Severally, I have called on Nigerians – young Nigerians, women that let’s stop being used as political hallelujah boys. Some of these political hallelujah boys have turned to political hallelujah men today and that has been their mentality. They can’t detach themselves from it. So, I think our leaders, elders, fathers – current and past, have done their best. We appreciate them. Honestly, I appreciate them. But it is time to move forward. And if you look at the appointments that we have all over the world today, basically they are held by the younger generation. So, why should we sit down here and begin to cry ‘Not too young to run, our elders have failed us’? What are you doing? If our elders have failed us, you are equally failing yourself by not making attempt to take over. You are equally failing yourself by going to those elders to collect token and you begin to castigate and run down your colleagues that are trying, pushing and not sleeping. You see the members of my team, if I don’t sleep, they don’t sleep. Like 3am, 4am, I will wake up, say my Tajud prayers and if I call you once, the second time, you are in trouble because time is ticking. Time is waiting for nobody; every second that passes shortens our lives. It has passed and can never return, so why must you wait? Do something, but make sure it is constructive. So, I appreciate our elders – some did excellently well, some tried their best, but their bests are not good enough. And some have actually failed us. All the same, even that failure counts for someone, because if there is no failure, you won’t be able to recognise success. So, looking at their failures and seeing that it could have succeeded this way will be another force that will propel us to act right now.

On Development of Lokoja, the State Capital

I don’t know the last time you visited Lokoja or Kogi State. But if you go there now, you will see a lot of changes. In any case, the hinterlands of the state were neglected in the past. So, instead of me to make the Government House in Lokoja and the environs beautiful and call the media – probably use a helicopter to bring them – and they land in Government House and I show them the beautiful environment and they put it on the television and social media as my performance, we concentrated on the hinterlands. We want to ensure that they also feel this government. But we are back to the city. The Ganaja bridge is under construction even though it is supposed to be done by the Federal Government. It is part of the township projects of road rehabilitation and construction that is ongoing. When next you come, you will not be able to recognise Lokoja Township again. But if you are using the other roads that criss-cross  Kogi, but belong to Federal Government, to judge me, that will be unfair.

On agitations for rotation of the presidency in 2023

A lot of people are agitating – in the South and in the North that power should come to them. They are right, because it is within their constitutional rights to say ‘I want to be’ or ‘should be.’ But one of the greatest monsters that we are confronted with today is the issue of ethnicity. How can we be saying that ethnicity is the bane of our development and then, we are championing it for a big cause? That’s the way I look at it. And if you put that aside, most of the areas that are agitating have produced the president one time or another and the question is: ‘how did the presidency that you got in your area help to eradicate insecurity, poverty and what have you?’ Poverty does not know ethnicity or tribe. Insecurity, underdevelopment does not know region or section of a country.  At all times, we always refer to world best practices – we always say that when it suits us. But when we want to pursue some narrow and very myopic interests, we will stop talking about world best practices and begin to talk of ethnic sentiments. In fact, we will also jettison the constitution that is the ground norm of this country and begin to champion ethnicity. And sometimes, some of those championing those things, you should ask them, ‘how have they put those things into practice in their local communities, especially in some local governments or some states where one section dominates all through? And then, at the national stage, either because you are losing relevance or seeking popularity, you want the people to believe that you are still fighting for their cause, that is the only thing you can talk about? Nigeria today is largely divided along ethnic and religious lines and there is insecurity despite all the efforts of Mr. President. So, what we need today is unity, security, economic prosperity and if we get those things, nobody would care where you come from. All the ethnic groups in Nigeria today, if we go to Europe, you will see us behaving like brothers and sisters. In fact, we are brothers and sisters. But the moment they land in any part of the country, that is when you will begin to know that this one is a Yoruba man, this one is Hausa man, this one is Igbo man or this one is a Muslim or a Christian. I think sometimes when some of these our leaders are talking, we should process it very well before we take it to heart. You say democracy is a game of numbers, let the number speak – that is what is in the constitution. And let me urge our brothers – members of the fourth estate of the realm – you are the gatekeepers, you set the agenda, the tone, please, by now, you should have checklist – very fair and objective checklist of who should be the true president of this country. When I speak for the North, you speak for the South, I speak for the Igbo, you speak for Hausa, I speak for the Ebira, you speak for the Igala, who will speak for Nigeria? Who will rescue Nigeria? And that’s how we are encouraging corruption, nepotism, insecurity, disunity in this country. Let’s not wait till later – waiting to take action later is dangerous, it might be too late. Set the agenda now, promote it in the media, and don’t allow us to take the decision as politicians. Please, set the ball rolling; hammer it – who will tick all the boxes? Who will tick only one box and who will tick 50 per cent of the boxes? And don’t allow somebody to throw himself out and say what he is not. Let nobody who believes in secession come out to tell you that he believes in Nigeria – listen to him and look at his past antecedents. We need a true Nigerian, who will unify our people, fight insecurity head on. We have our records going into it. However it is, a tortoise cannot change his shell or a leopard cannot change its spots. It is not possible. You can go to Wikileak or whatever to change it, but we know. We have our records. Let’s get serious and drop this sentiment.

Nigeria is like a plane that is on the tarmac and it needs to take off – over 200 million passengers are on board. It needs somebody to fly again, safely from one destination to another and you are asking about religion or whether a young or old man should pilot it? We want the best pilot that will fly the plane, no matter the turbulence, stabilise the plane and land it safely. Let the truth be told at all times, however, bitter. I will never change from who I am- that’s my own colour too.

So, gentlemen of the press, you are the ones to set the ball rolling. If you allow us (politicians) to continue to drag it, may God save this country. You can’t eat omelette without breaking the egg. Let’s break the egg, so that we can eat omelette. If you don’t do that, but you are waiting for who will pay the media today, carry negative news about this man, that one, bring the picture of EFCC and bring Governor Yahaya Bello so that he will be seen as corrupt, you are simply wasting your time. If we are waiting for Mr. President to tell us what to do, that may not be the right thing. He is doing his best, but he can’t do it all. He is just one out of over 200 million Nigerians. If you are waiting for one politician to come and decide your fate, then you are doomed. We have qualified technocrats, passionate and patriotic Nigerians, not anyone that was part of the problems of this country that will now say he wants to come and save the country. What did he do before that he is now coming back to save the country? We shouldn’t listen to them. I’m not saying somebody cannot repent. But when you repent three or four times? We have to beware!

On the EFCC N20 billion bailout saga

The reality is in our website – Kogi State website or Kogimedia.net – the details are there – the details are there, we didn’t hide anything. The bank statements, including payrolls, the utilisation in 2018, as we received it, are contained there. You just do your research and if you call any worker and if he said he did not receive that money, then, you can bring it to the media. I want to believe that it is misplaced priority or chasing shadow in that particular area, on the part of the EFCC. Let’s just jettison it and focus on more important areas in front of us.

On Northern Governors’ resolutions on  2023 presidency

Let’s follow what the constitution says. The constitution guarantees every Nigerian to aspire for any position as long as you are qualified. Two, before you are declared the winner of any position whatsoever; you should meet all the necessary criteria. If you meet them, you are declared the winner. And that is the position of the northern governors. I don’t think there is any ambiguity in that position. Somebody is saying ‘if they zoned the presidency to the South, GYB, you will not be able to contest again. If they zoned the national chairmanship of APC to the North central, GYB cannot contest again.’ I simply said: even my own brother, the Professor, who brought me up and is more or less like my father – same father, same mother – if he is the chairman of our party today, he can’t stop me from contesting. It would amount to breach of the constitution to stop any one from contesting- why don’t you simply test your popularity instead of bringing up some mundane issues? If you want to fight, fight. Let’s get into the ring and slug it out.

The governors simply brought out to Nigerians what the constitution says and I don’t think there is anything wrong in that. There is equally nothing wrong in my brothers from the South, saying ‘we want to be the one that will produce the next president.’ There is nothing wrong in asking. All it requires is to build alliances, consensus, agreements and understandings. Once that is built, an arrangement can be worked out on that basis. But power is not a ‘must thing.’ We should not forget that power is in the hands of the Almighty and He gives and takes it away from whosoever He wills. So, why are we playing God? Who even knows who will last till 2023? Nobody knows. Sometimes, we claim to be religious and then, we act ignorantly. Sometimes, we claim to know the law, but we are the ones breaking the law or acting ignorantly. Sometimes we try to behave as if we are elites, but it does not show in our character or in our actions or words.

On Defections of Femi Fani-Kayode and others to APC

FFK (Femi Fani-Kayode) is my brother. He is a Nigerian. He is free, under the constitution, to belong to one association or another and at any point or another. The way he has joined APC is the same way that we have our other brothers that have joined and more are still coming. You need to sit down and understand this game; nobody goes to school to learn politics. All you need to do is just to sit down, watch, deduce and act. Everyday, I analyse every leader that we have in this country. I look into their past, antecedents; I look at what they are doing currently and I can tell you what they will do tomorrow. That’s why sometimes, when I’ve observed them, I would say, this will happen and it would happen. And they would call me and say, ‘you said so’.

On insecurity and empowerment of youths

Let me commend Mr. President and all of his policies and those that are implementing these policies, especially as far as the social intervention programmes are concerned. I think what Mr. President has done; I think no other president has done it in this country in terms of direct interventions for youths, women, farmers, traders, technicians and what have you. I will only urge the information outlets of the Federal Governments to come out more and bring out those facts. If you go to our own websites today, we told you that the N20 billion bailout funds, this is how we utilised it. You go to our loan account, how we took it from that account to various other accounts and from there, to various beneficiaries’ accounts. I am urging the Federal Ministry of Information, especially to come out with some of those facts so that you will see the multitude of Nigerian youths and those below poverty line that have been reached by this administration. It is unimaginable!

I know that there are one or two things that can be done, and we will have a huge leap from today. So, what I will simply urge Nigerian youths to know is that unemployment is not a licence for crime or criminality. Today, I will say categorically, that I don’t buy foodstuff again from the market. My family members are feeding from my farm. And don’t say it’s because I am a governor or I’m a big man, that my farm is mechanised. But even growing up then in the village, I can’t remember us going to buy yam, beans, corns or some other ingredients. I can tell you that I know how to prepare dawadawa from raw locust beans. I know how to prepare it. But our people no longer want to pass through certain things. Rather, they are waiting for the Honourable or His Excellency to come home.  Some of these my officials have done several empowerment programmes. Some people would come, you would give them money and poultry-related equipment, including birds. But immediately, they leave the place, they would just drop everything or they go and sell it. Many of these aides have bought tricycles or motorbikes to give some of these our youths to do commercial business. But they will sell those items and return to you. Some of them will go and snap very gory pictures and ‘say this is my sister, this is my brother, this and that and is in hospital,’ but when you ask ‘which hospital? So, so and so person is coming to pay the bill,’ the next thing is that he will start begging you. That ‘there is nothing like that. How much do you have? Give it to me.’ We need massive national reorientation; we have to massively re-orientate ourselves. And then, sometimes, they will even be threatening you – ‘you will come back and seek for re-election’ or ‘you cannot even come back home; we are waiting for you.’

But, of course, they can only wait for those who have crossed certain age. But for some of us, you can wait for us and let’s ask ourselves questions. That’s why you see today, in Kogi State, that our youths are very productive because we tell them our own experience. I have also hawked items before and sometimes; we come back from school and pluck cashews behind our house, wash them, and go to the market or along the streets, sell them and come back home. We have done all of these. We kept livestock, poultry- farming activities and that was enough for us to feed. Today, one million naira is not enough for some of these our brothers to buy phones – they go to hotels, buy food, and all the money is gone. Anyway, we have shown that we will not condone that in this state and because they have seen that we mean business, our youths have taken to serious businesses that will improve their lives.

On efforts to fight insecurity in Kabba and environs

When I began to fight criminality, I was harder in the Central part of Kogi where I came from; then, the next is Kogi East where I would even move  with soldiers, go into the jungle, we would confront them, we would shoot at another. If they shoot at us, we will shoot at them, we neutralise them, clear their camps. We neutralised all the hardened criminals. That’s how we were able to send Boko Haram, ISWAP or even some sleeper cells of ISIS away from Kogi State. Now, for Okun side, we used to refer to the area as very peaceful until recently. I can’t rule out politics from what is happening now.  But, like I said, it is not everything that we do for the people in terms of security that I will come out to the media to say. Ever since the jail break, I can tell you that we have gotten some of the perpetrators – not just the detainees or inmates that have returned to the prison, but the masterminds of the jail break; we have captured some of them as we speak. I thank the police, the DSS, the Army and the Navy. But we are going to trace it to all those who hired them to come and carry out the dastardly act. And I can assure you that we will neutralise them.

Having said that, I can tell you that peace and security will be restored to that part of the state – but I have to read riot act to officials from that place, the traditional rulers, the youth leaders and other community leaders that heads will roll the next time something like that happens again.

Secondly, for every one single unfortunate incident that happened, we have foiled hundreds of similar incidents unannounced in Kogi State. But fighting insecurity is not in the media; just make sure that everywhere is peaceful and secure. Just about 24 hours ago in Abaji, our Nigerian Army, police and vigilante group cross our border to neutralise their cells, but we will not report it in the media. Those bastards that are coming from Zamfara, Katsina, crossing over to Nasarawa because there is no place to hibernate here in our place but in Nasarawa, which is at the state border with us – we crossed over to neutralise them there. We are having the full cooperation and understanding of all Nigerian armed forces, including the police. But our vigilantes are gallant; they are ready, they know the terrain, and they provide the credible intelligence with which we are fighting crimes and criminality.

Because the people want to live in peace and we agree with that, we have installed the Obaaro of Kabba, which used to be very chaotic, peacefully.

On delay in approval for installation of new Attah Igala

Until and unless the people are ready, there is nothing you, as a leader, can do. As we speak today, there are tonnes upon tonnes of petitions on each and every stool that is vacant today in Kogi State. I’m a respecter of the traditional institution and at the same time, I respect everybody’s opinion and views. But when people are already at one another’s’ throat and you know that certain decisions that you are going to take as a leader will lead to crises, which you would now use the funds that would have used for development to quell, you know that lives are going to be lost, property are going to be burned down and the rest, what do you do? You suspend it until they themselves know they are hurting themselves.

Today, I am the governor and even if I am from that part of the state, I can’t be Attah Igala. I can’t be governor today and also become the Attah Igala. That is a stool that is so revered and I respect it so much. I hold it in a very high esteem. If I cannot install Attah Igala peacefully in a way that they will be using it to make reference to my administration, like they are using the Obaaro of Kabba to make reference to our administration now, I will not do it. So, the people, when they are ready, we will give the go-ahead. And that’s the same for other stools that are vacant in Kogi State today.