New Telegraph

Buhari’ll find it difficult in Nigeria after leaving office – Galadima

Until a few years ago, Buba Galadima was a strong supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari but all that has since changed. In this interview with OLAOLU OLADIPO, Galadima who is a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) spoke on the chances of the presidential candidate of the party, Rabiu Musa Kwankwas. To him, Nigeria should look beyond the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for salvation from the numerous problems plaguing it. Excerpts:

You were once close to President Muhammadu Buhari but somehow you went your separate ways. Now that we have a few months to the General Elections, has anything changed in terms of your perception of his government?

I am praying very hard for them such that we should manage them the way we will manage a bull in a Chinese shop. We are doing this so that they get out (of government) in peace without posing any problem to the country. I am praying hard for this.

In other words, nothing has changed from the way you view the government?

Nothing will ever change.

From the way you’ve spoken, it’s like you don’t believe that anything good can ever come out of this government?

Do you believe that anything good can come out of this government? I don’t think that there is any Nigerian who believes that anything good can come out of this government. The best thing for us as Nigerians is just manage them till they get out. It doesn’t even look like they have the capacity to manage our transition successfully. That’s my fear.

Your position is at variance with the views of those in government who believe that the current government has done well?

I am speaking for myself and they are speaking for themselves. This is the beauty of democracy. They have the right to hold any view, so also do I. I think the question is not what my perception is but what is the thinking of the majority of Nigerians about this government. Whether they like it or not and if they feel that what is happening in the country is good enough then the people should vote for the APC to continue (to lead them). If the people don’t believe that this government and the party is capable and anybody that they are putting forward to continue what they are doing now, the people should vote them out and elect credible people into government.

At what point did you and the leadership of the current government fall apart?

I have been answering this question for the past seven years and I don’t think that I need to delve into it again. That is history. All I am praying for is that this man (President Buhari) should finish and go quietly and leave the country.

Why do you say he should leave the country?

I don’t think he (President Buhari) will ever enjoy his private life after vacating office as the president. A lot of people feel so bad about him. He will have no friends after public office. If you don’t have friends then you are going to live a miserable life until death.

Let’s look at the country holistically with a specific view of preparations towards the forthcoming General Election, how satisfied are you?

As we speak I am in Lokoja, last week I was in Borno and Bauchi. I was also in Kano briefly. As far as we are concerned, the build (to the poll) is positive. We are only praying that the tenets of the Electoral Act and the gains thereof should be upheld by the Nigerian government. They (the gains and tenets) should also be upheld by the security agents and INEC such that we can have a semblance of free, fair and transparent grounds for all candidates.

Do you fear that there might be some form of compromises in the process?

Of course because the ruling government feels that it cannot win the election fairly and they can do anything.

Could you tell us why you decided to join the NNPP?

The reason is simple. I want to establish one fact that me and (Rabiu) Kwankwaso searched for that party five months ago and brought it to public reckoning. Today, it is the party to beat. This is because there is no single living individual in Nigeria today that has the popularity of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. Two, that there is no living politician today in Nigeria that has a record of performance while in public office as Kwankwaso has done in many facets of our national life. Three, that there is none of the candidates today jostling for the Presidency that possesses the same academic and professional qualifications like him. He is the only candidate that has studied up to doctorate degree level. He has a doctorate degree in engineering. Four, he is a man with vision and foresight based on his performance in Kano. Five, that he is a friend and close ally of the masses of this country. Six, that he has given the ordinary man the breathing space by giving opportunities to indigent students who are children of nobody to become somebody in life. If Nigeria is looking for who would take it out of the woods, the person is Kwankwaso. We should do away with politicians who see politics as investment opportunities.

But some people say that the NNPP is only popular in the North and not in the South…

Let’s agree that your assertion is correct. This question usually comes up to run Kwankwaso and NNPP down. The question is: are Northerners not Nigerians? Can they vote during elections? So, if Northerners vote for you and you have the majority spread, won’t you become the president?

You’re going round the country with Engineer Kwankwaso…

(Cuts in) As I am talking to you, I am in Lokoja now.

How optimistic are you with respect to the vibes that you have been getting from the people?

Have you ever seen any presidential candidate that goes to any place and he enjoys a huge reception from the people, the way the people of Lagos received Kwankwaso in Lagos a few weeks ago? Can any human being gather such a crowd in Alaba Rago? Is Lagos part of the North?

Looking at all the gladiators jostling for the Presidency with him, do you see any of them as constituting a threat to Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition?

As far as we are concerned, we have only two threats: the threat from the media that want to run us (NNPP) down every time. The press doesn’t even think that we matter. The positive aspect of it is that we thank the media for not exposing our strength to our political adversaries this early so that they (opponents) don’t shoot us down.

Two, that we have not stolen public funds like the others have done that they (opponents) go to buy people like chicken in the market. We are playing politics of ideas, politics of performance, of integrity and of foresight, which we have more in abundance than any other candidate jostling for the job.

As far as I am concerned, only God can stop Kwankwaso from winning the next election whether he has the spread or not because he has the numbers. Once we have the numbers then we can force a rerun and with that it is just a simple majority. Wait and see. You saw Atiku going to Adamawa a week ago. Please look for the video and keep it for when we will go there on the 9th (of September). It is only then that you can compare and contrast.

Apart from the former vice president, do you consider the upsurge in the popularity of former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, as constituting a threat?

(Laughs)…those (supporters) are ghost people. They don’t have any foothold anywhere including Anambra State. He has ghost supporters in social media. Many of his supporters are in Eskimo, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, USA and all countries outside Nigeria. You know that in social media, one man can post something multiple times and give an impression that many people are doing it. Has ever visited anywhere including Anambra State and gather 10,000 supporters? It’s okay, let’s wait and see what will happen on February 21, next year. No…no! How can I do that? We don’t even consider Peter Obi as a contender. We are talking about politics, practical politics. With all this noise in the social media, where has he gone to? Where are the youths that he has been talking about? I think we should be objective and open minded in analysing politics. We are here in Kogi and you can see the crowd that received us. Why can’t he visit places too and let’s see the crowd he would pull? I was in Nasarawa when a rally was held for him and the crowd was very scanty yet you people (the media) described it as a mammoth crowd.

What about the candidate of the ruling party, I mean Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu?

What I am praying for is to let February come, you will be surprised when we finally sieve the shaft from the grain.

You are very close to Kwankwaso; was there occasion when it was decided that he would step down for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu?

I had reason to speak with the person who posted that thing on social media yesterday, a gentleman called Deji Adeyanju. I asked him why can’t he be fair to himself and speak the truth? The question is; how logical would it be for Kwankwaso to put structures in all the 36 states of the federation. Candidates have emerged for the various offices and then go round the country committing huge resources and at the end of the day we will step down for Tinubu. Kwankwaso has been in politics with his Kwakwasiyya Movement for the past 32 years.

This is impossible when he (Kwankwaso) can see practically that the whole country is solidly behind him. We laugh when we hear all these things. If anything, we are urging Tinubu to work for us because we have the majority of voters queuing behind us.

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