Former National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change and now a chieftain of the New Nigeria People?s Party, Buba Galadima, speaks with Ismaeel Uthman on the fate of opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, the crisis rocking the Emir of Kano stool, and President Bola Tinubu?s handling of national affairs

In a recent interview, you said the APC is sending emissaries to compromise leaders of political parties, offering billions to them. Do you think the opposition will have its way in 2027 with this alleged inducement?

You should believe in the ability of God to do anything. Everything in an election can change a day before the election. One mistake by a frontrunner can make him the last. There is nothing impossible. We have seen a lot of things; we saw how Abacha died when he was about to become president, endorsed by all political parties. As strong as Obasanjo was, he wanted a third term but couldn?t get it. We saw how Goodluck Jonathan spent a lot of money for re-election but couldn?t get it. So, what is it that will surprise you in Nigeria?

What is your perception of the coalition of opposition being formed by Atiku, El-Rufai and others?

I don?t know why people call such an arrangement a coalition. These are just a few individuals who came together to form a group they want to propel into taking political power. And that is their undeniable right. Whether it will happen or not is left to God. It is Atiku who is bringing people from the PDP, while El-Rufai brought himself from the APC. As far as I?m concerned, these are the only people in the so-called coalition. The PDP governors have issued a statement that they are not going into any coalition with anybody, and the National Chairman of the SDP has also said the party is not merging with any political party. It is also on record that we (NNPP) were the first to reject such an arrangement. But we were called names by uninformed Nigerians; they said we were working for Tinubu because we said we were not joining any coalition of strange bedfellows.

We have gone through this before, and we know that it did not benefit Nigerians, and we are not prepared to test that path again. However, we are prepared to work with people of like minds, such that when we form a government, we know our direction because it will be based on principles and ideology. So, I don?t think people should lose sleep over this Atiku and El-Rufai coalition. I want to tell you that most political parties have their own internal problems, including the APC.

If the coalition won?t work, how would you advise opposition parties to go about the plan to unseat President Tinubu in 2027?

Most of the people in the opposition parties are not politicians. They are only interested in grabbing power and using it to enrich themselves and better the lives of their families. I don?t think they understand politics. If they did, they would know there is an area of convergence. Whether you agree with each other or not, at least we should pretend to be democrats. If we can do that, then we will take issues around the election process more seriously. Elections are the yardstick of democracy. There is no democracy without elections.

So, all of us can come together and fight for free, fair and transparent elections. And whoever wins, we will give him the chance to govern. But we are not doing that. Everybody wants to be president, so they form their own small kingdoms without principles. They do whatever they can and steal public funds. These are not opposition politicians; these are opportunists in politics.

If they are democrats, let us come together and fight for electoral reform that will guarantee one man, one vote. And once there is one man, one vote, even if your enemy wins an election, you will congratulate him, move forward, and wait for another chance. We should build confidence in the process and make sure that it is transparent.

How do you view the spread of political appointments and resource allocation in Nigeria under President Tinubu?s administration?

Right from Obasanjo?s time, I have kept on telling people that whoever wins an election should be allowed to pick a team that he thinks can help him govern the country fairly, bring about democratic dividends to Nigerians, build infrastructure, etc. I also told people 20 years ago that if Obasanjo left office and Nigerians found Iyabo Obasanjo, as the most appropriate person to be president, there would be nothing wrong with voting for her.

So, it doesn?t matter to me where anybody in office comes from. The most important thing is that he must deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. If there is no hyperinflation, goods are not priced beyond the reach of the ordinary person, and the cost of fuel is affordable so I can travel or take public transport; if there is good healthcare and there are good and affordable schools for my children ? do I care if Trump is the President of Nigeria?

But because we are not democrats, when you say something correctly, some uninformed people will say you are supporting one person. The press should also stop using the words North and South, calling people Fulani, Yoruba, Edo, Igbo, Itsekiri, etc. We can?t build a nation when we keep reminding people of our differences. It doesn?t matter whether you are a Muslim, Christian, pagan, or atheist. The Constitution of Nigeria says any Nigerian ? it didn?t specify religion or tribe ? can be anything. Once people are promoting unity, Nigeria will be a better place.

I can understand that some sections of the country, because they want to fight another section, are using all those primordial sentiments to garner support and run down the other part. But those times are gone. Nigerians are educated and informed enough to know what is good for them. If you use money to bribe people to vote for you, I will not blame you ? I will blame those who took the money and voted for you. Because you can?t force people to vote for you. You also can?t write the figures if they don?t vote for you.

We must work hard to build an electoral empire that would be fair to everybody. We must force the judiciary to stop listening to people in authority ? people holding transient powers ? and to do justice. At every point in time, we must ensure that the security forces owe their allegiance to Nigeria, not to an individual holding public office at a particular time. This is what will make Nigeria a great country.

Why do you think both the ruling party and the opposition figures have turned former President Buhari?s home into a Mecca of sorts suddenly?

Those are useless people; they don?t know their left from right. Of what use is Buhari to anybody now? How can I go to Buhari ? to say what? What did he do while in office? How can I go and seek relevance from Buhari? Is he relevant? He is not.

Do you mean the former president is not relevant in Nigerian politics?

Buhari is not relevant in Nigerian politics. He was defeated in 2019 by Atiku. Because they did not declare Atiku as the winner does not mean he didn?t win that election. When I see people going to Buhari, I just laugh. Who is Buhari? The man should just go and rest and wait for his death, and start doing astaghfirullah (seeking forgiveness from God) for dashing the hopes of the people of Nigeria.

You are one of the signatories to the formation of APC, and you campaigned for Buhari?s election in 2015. At what point did you see him as a bad person?

I was number four on the list of the people who signed the form for the creation of APC. But I later discovered that Buhari is the greatest fraud that has happened to Nigeria. He was fake. I realised quite early, but my mentor, Sule Hamma, always kept on advising me as a senior brother.

What exactly did he do wrong?

Buhari was the greatest fraud because he managed to conceal his true intentions for 15 years. No Nigerian could predict what he would do once he became president. We didn?t know his true colours. For years, Buhari preached that he was for the masses?the talakawas?without realising he was actually the saviour of the bourgeois. Isn?t that enough of a fraud?

What is your assessment of President Tinubu?s administration?

I don?t want to comment on that. Nigerians should comment on his administration. They should express how they feel about it. If they are okay with what is happening, so be it. The time to deal with him is when you are given the ballot paper. But despite all this, if people claim that you voted for them in an election and you know you didn?t vote for them, and you sat down, it means you have accepted the verdict of what they have done. If the politicians do anything that we don?t believe in, there are a lot of ways we can show our anger constitutionally. The only time you can hold any elected officer to account for his misdeeds is at the time of the election. Nigerians have never told you that they cannot cast their votes for whosoever they want. But those votes must be sacrosanct.

Some northern political leaders are embittered with President Tinubu?s administration. What do you think is responsible for the resentment?

You know some of us claim that we brought Buhari into politics. Everybody has got his own version of his contribution to bringing Buhari into politics. But there is one thing that is not disputable ? nobody remained as steadfast and unwavering as some of us did with Buhari for 13 years. Despite all that, when he got into government, the likes of El-Rufai kicked us out of that government because they are sycophants. Despite calling Buhari several names, they kicked us out.

My daughter worked in the Villa for four good years without getting a salary. She was not paid for four years. Now, Tinubu, who is a Yoruba man from Lagos, came, and my daughters called him with my phone. They told him the country is hard, that they had finished school and there was no job. He gave one of them a job. This was misinterpreted to mean I am working for Tinubu. Nigeria doesn?t belong to Tinubu alone; it belongs to all of us, and my children have a stake, and they can take any job. It is not a political appointment. In comparison to Buhari, who is a better man? Is it Buhari, who denied my daughter four years of salaries, or Tinubu, with whom we have political differences? Who is my friend between them?

I have been called names because of this. But if there is any politician of integrity in this country; I?m not praising myself; you can?t count three people without putting my name there. I have resisted juicy appointments from the time of Obasanjo, Yar?Adua, and Jonathan governments. I am still living in a two-bedroom flat after 50 years of graduation, despite holding public offices. I am living with integrity and honour. Whoever holds a certain view, apart from good governance, is just a misfit. Of course, people can continue to have their differences ? it is part of nature and part of our lives.

Is it true that Kwankwaso is joining APC?

I am an NNPP person, and a supporter of Rabiu Kwankwaso, and he has not told anybody that he is joining any party or coalition. However, we are talking to people of like minds across the country. By the time we come out with a formidable platform, Nigerians will know that the party to take over the government of the federation in 2027 has come.

You have many political associates who were members of the CPC in APC. Do you have any clue about the plan by the CPC bloc to dump the APC?

I learnt that the CPC group within the APC is divided into two: those who are opposed to Tinubu and those who are for him. I want to ask all of them in all honesty: is there any CPC man who has more CPC credentials and participated more in the formation and development of the party than Sule Yahaya Hamma and Buba Galadima? Is there any of them?

Today, are we in any of the equations? I also ask those who are not satisfied with what Tinubu is doing: why can?t they ask themselves, when they were in government under Buhari, what did they do for the CPC people they neglected? They should thank Tinubu for not running after them after holding public offices. Tinubu has given them a lot of concessions. Because if he likes, he can put any of them in jail. There is none of them he cannot put in jail if he wants. So, he did a gracious thing for them, and they should be grateful that they are free, walking on the streets of Nigeria. They should not carry their luck too far ? I mean those who belong to the Buhari group.

Do you think the anti-Tinubu CPC bloc is on a wrong mission?

They will soon find out. I think they should thank Tinubu and not fight him.

Could you explain the politics behind the controversies on the Emir of Kano stool?

Everybody knows that all issues about chieftaincy matters end on the desk of the governor. The issue of the Emir of Kano will end on the desk of the governor. Even if the Supreme Court removes Sanusi, nobody will appoint an Emir for Kano from Abuja. That can only be done in Kano. So, why are they wasting their time? Why do they want to kill innocent people by instigating one brother against another, or an uncle against his nephew? All the instability in Kano is being cooked up in Abuja.

You recently warned President Tinubu that meddling in Kano?s political affairs and the emirate crisis could ?destroy his presidency.? Could you elaborate on this?

When the grandfather of this Emir, Sanusi, was deposed in 1963, it was that issue, coupled with the wetie (political crisis) in 1964 in the Western Region, that led to the destruction of the civilian government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in January 1966.

President Tinubu has no business in deciding who becomes the Emir of Kano. But I also know that he participated in promoting Sanusi to be the Emir in the first place when Ado Bayero died.

What is your take on the withdrawn invitation letter sent to Emir Sanusi by the police?

Was there any reason for the police to invite the Emir in the first place? Why should they even call him? It is like charging Tinubu to court when a driver hits someone on the Lagos Mainland Bridge. What has Sanusi got to do with the killing on Eid-el-Fitr day? The man was riding on horseback one kilometre away when the problem happened. That?s why I said the instability is being fuelled by people in Abuja who have no political base, and who want to create one by force, by declaring a state of emergency in Kano.

There is a resurgent large scale of insecurity in the North. What do you think is responsible for this?

I think that some people are making a business out of it. The President should identify these kinds of people, because he knows who he gives money to ? money that is not being utilised.

You?ve cautioned against the creation of state police, suggesting it could lead to national disintegration. What alternative security frameworks would you recommend to balance state autonomy with national unity?

The police and military postings are done by people as jobs for the boys. They should be jobs for the nation, because once you post people not because they are capable or qualified, but because they are close to you or you want them to make money, then you can?t get good results. That is exactly what is happening nowadays. All postings are political ? for political gains or to make money for the boys.

The truth of the matter Is that we are all Nigerians, and we should place the country above all else and work for the development and progress of this nation. We should avoid using tribal, religious, sectional, or other primordial sentiments to judge people. (Sunday PUNCH)

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