A former National Secretary of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima, talks about the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, and intrigues ahead of the 2023 general elections, among others in this interview with DAVID LAWANI and BEN OGBEMUDIA, in Abuja.

How would you assess the performance of the present administration in the last seven years?

I believe that the verdict on this government is essentially negative, by all measurable parameters. I don’t think there is any right-thinking person or reasonable Nigerian that will score this government by any parameter on any issue more than 10 per cent. Therefore, one will be fair to say that both the head of government and the government has performed below the expectations of over 90 per cent of Nigerians, in all facets of our human endeavours. So, with this, we cannot pretend as Nigerians that all is well, and there is a likelihood that this government can ever be well-rated. For me, I put this government into the dustbin of history. And I am looking forward to a new Nigeria in 2023. Our people should reason, think and vote wisely for their future.

You were one of the close allies of President Buhari, but it appears your relationship is no longer cordial, what happened?

That is the past. We cannot forget about the past. The past can only be used as a yardstick for measuring the future. It doesn’t matter what went wrong between us and him. Not me alone. Anybody that has worked for him, has thrown that person away. In African culture, that is called ‘ingratitude’. Somebody helps you, and you turn your back against him. That is evil. You have read Machiavellian’s book; ‘48 Laws of Power’, and you just try to undo the person. Those who do this do not only believe in our culture or both, but God himself said we should worship Him, and He will read us (Aljana) when we eventually pass on. If God himself can come out to say there will be no reward for worshipping Him, I don’t think there will be people who will be professing religion.

Maybe he is more restricted to the Aso Villa?

No, I don’t blame any individual around him, because whatever they do, he accepts. The truth is that they only read his frame of mind, and act in that way. He has been everything in this country; military commander, state governor, minister, head of state, and now president. He must have known the nuances and intrigues of the palace. Therefore, if somebody has come to tell you that this person is bad, or good, you will take it with a pinch of salt and try to investigate so that you will satisfy yourself that the person is correct. But what I presumed has always been wrong is that he believes the first man to come and complain is right and takes it as the gospel truth. And he will never investigate, he will never confront you. And when he confronts one or two people with issues raised about themselves, they defend themselves. I think people who lie will never accept doing that. So, he is an experienced man.

At nearly 80, can he claim that he doesn’t know about the palace intrigues?

No. He certainly knows what is happening around him, and what is happening around the country. I will give you an instance. Before the APC convention, he travelled out and they waited for him to come and anoint his successor, he came back and spent a night, and they discussed it, he then flew again to Spain. He hoped that they would announce his successor that he had anointed in his absence so that he would deny any knowledge when he comes back. Unfortunately, the party played a fast one by allowing him to come back so that he would face it. But instead of allowing the National Assembly to do the politicking so that they can tailor it towards his thinking, the chairman decided to betray him by announcing the meeting with members of the National Working Committee (NWC). I want to believe that when the pot became so hot, he denied the national chairman over what he said. I have said several things in the last seven years. Has any member of this government ever come to deny what I have said? The truth of the matter is that whatever I said to the press, I have an impeccable and verifiable reason for evidence to support my view. And since they don’t dispute what I said, I kept quiet. That is because if I bring that impeccable and verifiable evidence, it will tarnish their image. You can see the kind of problem that we find ourselves in.

How would you react to an Ogun APC presidential aspirant’s claim that he was instrumental in President Buhari’s election in 2015?

He did bring Buhari from retirement. We brought Buhari from retirement and we worked with him for 14 years. With each election, he was scoring over 10 million votes. And we did this without a penny, without any government, without infrastructure, and without anything. It is only our terms and intelligence. We did this under an intelligent, seasoned, and experienced administrator in the person of Alhaji Sule Ahmad. He was the Director-General of the Buhari Organisation for those 14 years. It was at that point that Tinubu, Kwankwaso, and others saw the viability of supporting Buhari and making him president. So, Tinubu contributed because, if not for Tinubu, Buhari wouldn’t have defeated Kwankwaso at the primary party in Lagos. That one is on record. And I challenge anybody to counter my assertion. That whosoever has been close to Buhari has been edged out in this government. Whoever tells him the truth becomes his enemy. And I will just give you an example of Governor Rochas Okorocha. He was allowed to speak during the APC presidential convention, and you can see his oratory, despite his score of zero. His crime was that he dared to contest against President Buhari. There is nothing. Yes, Tinubu and Buhari had a gentlemanly agreement in the presence of two people. And I can mention them today now that it is over. In the presence of Bisi Akande and Bello Masari. Masari stood by Tinubu because he knew of that gentleman’s agreement to support him to become president. They could not hand over the country to Tinubu because he had to go through a democratic process. That was what informed Mansari’s dogged position in supporting Tinubu, despite knowing that President Buhari’s people won’t use his eyes to see Tinubu. Yes, Tinubu made his contribution, but when you quantify his contribution to our own, it is just like a drop of water in the ocean. We garnered 12.5 million votes without a penny from Buhari. When Tinubu and five other governors supported Buhari, how many votes did they add? 2.8 million! After spending billions of naira, after using a private jet and using paraphernalia the government had. But all put together, the only thing they added was 2.8 million votes. That is just one-quarter. So, he cannot claim that he made Buhari. Others have made Buhari before he came to assist in finishing the race.

What are the chances of NNPP and its presidential candidate in the forthcoming election?

Well, I am a strong supporter of Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, and former Ambassador Plenipotentiary with the ranking of class ‘A’ ambassador, a former senator, and a former defence minister. It is for these credentials that I pitch my tent with him because I believe all those you are referring to as serious contenders, none of them has Kwankwaso’s credentials. Which of them has scored half of Kwankwanso’s credentials? It was only Bola Tinubu who was governor and senator. He was never a minister, a presiding officer of the NASS, or an ambassador. Atiku was only a vice president. So, when you are looking at ranking people Kwankwaso stands taller, mightier, and heavier than all of them put together. And, Kwankwaso has got the best support, more than any politician in this country. That is why my home is not NNPP, but Kwankwasiya.

How will you assess Kwankwasiya among these names on social media; Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, and Kwankwasiya?

It is because he didn’t steal public funds. That is Kwankwaso for you. He didn’t steal public money. Let any of them justify where they got the funds to do what they are doing.

Who do you think has a better chance of winning the 2023 presidential election?

You can win, and anybody can win, especially if you are destined to win. But as far as public support is concerned, none and all of them put together have the support of the masses of this country like Kwankwaso. We are practical politicians, and we are not social media politicians. Agreed that these two, APC and PDP, have been established parties with the government with structures, but it is not the first time. Kwankwaso was winning without a councillor. In his second coming in Kano, he never had any councillor in place. He never had the chairman of a council in place. He never had a member of the House of Assembly, Reps, or Senators. He came alone with only his portfolio of performance, and he became a governor in Kano. Nobody ever left the government house after eight years and came back in the history of this nation. Kwankwaso did that. So, as far as a verifiable attribute of performance is concerned, while in public office, what all of them have, putting their records together, is not 10 per cent of what Kwankwaso has.

Ekweremadu: Immigration reveals identity of alleged organ donor

How would you assess the result of the Ekiti governorship election, do you think it portends what is to come in the 2023 election?

What was the result? I said it doesn’t portend anything, because, on the last day of nomination, we asked whether the APC was present. They were only present on the final day of closure. This is because we wanted to make a statement. We participated, but you saw it when Kwankwaso went to Lagos three weeks ago. Did you see him? Can all these candidates together garner that kind of support? It was not a referendum between Kwankwaso, Tinubu, Obi, and Atiku. It was a referendum between the locals of Ekiti.

What is your advice to Nigerians for the 2023 election?

They should look for one thing. Not what I will do, but what I have done. Verifiable, and who cares for their welfare while in public office. This 2023 election is going to be a class war between the oppressed and oppressors. We will see who and who is more in number. It is not how much money you stole; it is only for you in your family, not for me. And whoever has spent money to win primaries should rest assured that he will have to retrieve his money before thinking of you.

Why do you think this government has not been able to deliver on security?

You should ask President Buhari the question. But if you ask me about Kwankwaso, I will tell you. Kano today is the most peaceful state in the whole of Nigeria. Yet, it is supposed to be the most volatile because of its population. So, why is Kano peaceful? Somebody laid a foundation for that and what is that foundation? The issue is that during Kwankwaso’s coming, all the bad boys on the streets were mopped out. He sent most of them to reformatory schools. He rehabilitated them. He taught them skills. He gave them start-up capital and monitored their progress in the businesses they do. They are today not only useful to themselves, their families, neighbours, and the people of Kano, but the whole of Nigeria. Today, those ‘ruffians’ taking him by the tail to drag him on the streets of Kano are now employers of labour. All the bad boys have been rehabilitated. That is the magic. So, can we have such a person who can state what he has done not only in Kano but for the nation? Or, out of emotions and sentiments, primordial sentiments, you must go for a Hausa man, Igbo, or Yoruba man? The issue before us in 2023 is who has the capacity, the strength, knowledge, and foresight to gather all of us together with a large heart and chart a course for all of us, irrespective of religion, tribe, and where we come from. The ordinary man in the Benin market, Ariara market, Onitsha market, and Oshodi, in Kano’s Sabon Gari market, don’t care whether you are Igbo, Benin, Igarra, Ibibio, et cetera. They are doing their normal business together. All they need is a peaceful atmosphere to do what they want to do. Now, if I ask your publisher to go to Benin, he will have to spend days praying that he arrives in Benin City safely. I cannot go to Kaduna. I lost so many people in my village. I couldn’t go because I was afraid.

What is the root cause of this?

Insecurity and the economy are not the root cause of our problems, they are only the symptoms. The real issue before us is a leader with foresight and a leader with a goal, and a large heart to accommodate everybody. If you say, oh, I am APC like the Buhari government is doing, only the APC people will benefit. And for you to do and be forgiven for your crime, is that why you will have to join the APC? They chase away innocent people who are not in the APC.

Is that the new Nigeria we want to build?

This is why we have a party called New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). This is because we want to build a new Nigeria. Once those primordial sentiments of religion and tribe with where you come from are not there, you can be president of Nigeria because of your capacity and performance. Which of these leaders has foresight? Which among them? Only Kwankwaso.