INTERVIEW: Jonathan’s failure gets worse by the day – APC presidential aspirant, Sam Nda Isaiah

Sam Nda Isaiah

Sam Nda Isaiah is a man that has carved a niche for himself in the media industry. Having worked with a number of influential newspapers a period of two decades, the vastly experienced veteran journalist founded his publication, LEADERSHIP Newspaper, which prides itself as Nigeria’s most influential newspaper.
Nda Isaiah, who chairs a host of other companies, has interest in one more thing: he wants to become the country’s president in 2015. Already, he has declared
his interest to run under the All Progressives Congress platform; he is the first to publicly do so. In an interview with DailyPost’s Wale Odunsi at his Abuja residence, the media mogul spoke on burning national issues and his agenda for Nigerians.
Q. Let’s start with the state of the nation. The burning issue at the moment is insecurity in the land. What is your view?

ANS. Well, we have been talking and we will continue to talk. The state of insecurity is obvious; there is nothing more to say. The situation is really unfortunate. It is bad. Nigerians are so scared, confused and desperate because, now, terrorist acts can take place within same spot within a few days. It shows that those that are supposed to protect us are not just there. And this brings me to what I have always said. We all know -and it is clear- that Nigeria has one of the best Police Force, the best military. And this has been confirmed severally because when they go for peacekeeping operations, they perform excellently. So what happened that they are now running away from Boko Haram? The police have virtually collapsed in places like Yobe and Borno. This government, this president has not been giving security agencies budgeted allocations. It is as simple as that. The highest amount they got was 18 per cent of approved budget. Now, I doubt if they even get up to 10 per cent. With this kind of situation, how are they supposed to fuel their vehicles? I want somebody to challenge me. How much of their budget do they get – the Police, the Army, Navy, Air Force, the para-military and SSS? We cannot be using these intelligence service assets as they are now to fight terrorism. We cannot be using the method of 1960 to fight the crimes of 2014.
The reality is that the nature of crime has changed and we must also change accordingly. In fact, don’t’ be surprised that the CID we had in those days might even be better than the police we have now, and this is due to corruption. It is obvious the present administration is not prepared to win the fight against terrorists with the level of corruption in the administration.
Q. Many analysts and commentators believe the ongoing National Conference is a mere jamboree. Do you share this view?
ANS. Of course, I said it from Day 1. The president can achieve anything he wants without convening a national conference. Some of the things that are being agreed upon now, did we not know about it before? Did we need to spend N10billion to know we must have true federalism? Do you need a committee to know there is corruption in the country? It is just the attitude of this administration of forming committees and groups that is killing Nigeria. I don’t know why he enjoys abdicating his duties. Even to go and look for our daughters, the missing Chibok girls, he has formed a committee. To do what? If you feel something is right and it’s in the best interest of the people, do it.
Q. In his recent media chat, President Jonathan accused the House of Representatives of literally abandoning their job for politics. He made the statement in respect of the lawmakers’ resolve to probe alleged N10billion expenses by Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke…

ANS. (Cuts in)! Exactly what I said earlier. We have a president that is not bothered by corruption, a president who protects those stealing our money. Why is he not even alarmed that the issue of N10billion came up? If your National Assembly is accusing an official of misappropriating N10billion, the first thing you should do as president is to get angry. Then let the person prove he or she is not guilty. But he is spending much time defending the Minister, saying they’ve called her more than 200 times. So what? Isn’t that their job? Why is he angry? Rather than be worried, he is accusing those doing their job of playing politics. The problem we have with the president is that he cannot even pretend about doing a good job. I thought he would pretend to be outraged; I though he would pretend by urging the lawmakers to investigate and show us the result even if he would go back to tell them not to do anything. At least, act as if you are dissatisfied about the corruption allegations.
Q. It is easy to criticize the government of the day. Considering the present challenges facing the nation vis-à-vis your 2015 presidential ambition, are you ready to tackle the problems head-on?
ANS. Yes. I agree it is easy to criticize but I want to assure you that what is happening now is not inevitable. It is not; we can’t be this helpless. If you have the will, tackling issues is doable. An average president should be able to do more than what our president is doing. Once you tackle corruption and let budgeted money get to agencies it was meant for, all you need do is monitor. Even state governments don’t get full allocation. They barely get 50 per cent; even that is supplemented from our reserves including excess crude. What’s happening to the oil we are selling every day at over $100 per barrel. Our problem is corruption and it has always been an issue in this country but what we have is sheer insanity. We are selling so much but nobody is seeing the money. The money is not even getting into our coffers. We are talking about insecurity. You need to get the equipment, empower the personnel. But, of course, you cannot achieve this when you are stealing $20billion. They say there are Boko Haram members in Chad and Niger, but how many times have you heard of attacks there. Good governance is key. If you are committed as a leader, have the right mindset and see it as a legacy, such that you want to do things that will make people remember you for good, you can do it. So tackling insecurity is very possible. Why wouldn’t there be so much crime if it is not punished at all by the government? Or if the president will be defending corruption and attacking those that are trying to probe the menace? At times I wonder how we got into this rubbish. I’m not saying the job is easy and I have not said I look forward to having a good time. In fact, being a president is not a job to be enjoyed, because the challenges are much. But it depends on how you want to be remembered.
Q. About three weeks ago, Adamawa State governor, Murtala Nyako alleged that there was a state-sponsored genocide going on in the North. Do you think that kind of statement, which some have described as inciting, is appropriate at this time?
ANS. You know why I don’t have a view on his statement? It is because there are so many things that cannot be explained, so many things. I have not studied the letter to say whether it is true or not. But the most important thing now is to protect the life and property of every citizen irrespective of tribe or religion. I don’t blame Nyako for what he said; people say things when desperate and we are all desperate at this point. But I can tell you that many people believe what he is saying. My problem is, the failure of the president gets worse every day. Just few days ago at Nyanya, there was a case of a hijack of a bus used by schoolgirls, which means that since this thing has been happening, they’ve not been able to ensure safety of a tiny part of the country. How am I supposed to feel secured? How do they convince us that they are securing the whole country? Operatives are using some dane guns to challenge militants using sophisticated weapons. Honestly speaking, I am so distraught. I haven’t thoroughly read Nyako’s memo. Security is not possible when you don’t adequately fund relevant agencies. Imagine Jonathan and his supporters saying part of their achievement is that they’ve been able to restrict the insurgency to a part of the country. What do you want the people there to think or say?
Q. The emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states will expire this month and there are calls by some persons for full-scale state of emergency, which means appointment of sole administrators. Do you think the emergency rule should be extended or not?
ANS. There is nothing like full-scale emergency; the president has no powers conferred on him by the constitution to change elected governors. The constitution spells out how a governor can lose his seat. It includes impeachment, insanity, permanent disability and death. Don’t forget, full emergency rule means the rights of the people will be suspended. Mind you, violence has increased. The situation that caused the declaration has not been curtailed. Look at what the sect is doing on a daily basis in broad daylight! So what do they want to achieve with the emergency rule? It is a serious problem. And why are they blaming the governors if all the security agencies report to the president? Why do you want to remove governors? Is it because of the forthcoming elections? Is it because the states are controlled by the opposition? The president does not have the right to remove a governor anyway and, if he tries that, he can’t survive it.
Q. Recently, the Ijaw Youth Council warned the Lamido of Adamawa and some Northern elders to stop threatening secession. They accused the North of having nothing but feeding from Niger Delta’s oil wells…
(Cuts in) I cannot reply Ijaw Youth Council; I cannot go to that level. But one thing that is clear is that nothing can break this nation. This country is bigger than anybody including the president. Nigeria is beyond him. So all I will say is: no one, no group can divide us.
Q. The just concluded congress of your party, the All Progressives Congress, witnessed violence in some states. There were also allegations of rigging. Were those normal teething problems or signs that there is internal crisis?
ANS. There is no way three to four political parties will come together and not face some issues. It is normal and I can assure you that we are getting stronger by the day. Those trying to make a big issue out of it are ignorant because there is no perfection anywhere in the world. But the APC is stronger and better.
Q. Presidential aspirants usually have their own agenda, a list of priorities that they intend to vigorously pursue in office if elected. Can you tell Nigerians your agenda for them?
ANS. First, we must unite the people. Let’s not deceive ourselves, there are those who believe they are being marginalized, segregated and cheated. Such tribes and regions tend to adopt lackadaisical approach to national growth and unity. Unfortunately, what you find these days is tribal sentiments and religious bias. So we must ensure that everyone has a sense of belonging. Secondly, security must be handled with the seriousness it deserves. There can’t be economic boom if the land is in tatters. We must secure Nigerians at all times. Thirdly, we will run a broad-based government that will have the input of all stakeholders. I won’t say I know it all, but I will welcome advice and accommodate ideas from every person that is willing to play his or her part in nation building.
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