Why my departure from NDA was emotional – Gen. Tarfa
Retired Major General Paul Tarfa has held many positions of authority in both military and civilian capacities, such as Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Railway Corporation. However, he is more famous for his stellar career as an officer of the Guard
Daily Trust: You are remembered as an embodiment of discipline in the NDA. How did you feel when you were posted there?
Maj-Gen. Paul Tarfa: It was an honour to go to the NDA as commandant, as it entails a lot of things. First, you must be professional enough. You must be knowledgeable, and you must be somebody who lives and breathes the profession. I enjoyed being there, to contribute a little, especially in shaping the character of the cadets.
At that time, the NDA was still growing, and many things especially infrastructure were lacking. Roads were not very good, accommodation not enough. Water systems, planting of trees, general welfare of soldiers and officers, all those things needed improvement and I am glad we did very well to improve on all of them. I don’t have any bad memories as the cadets were young people, and we were there to train them in the right direction.
DT: Your former cadets are now generals, etc. How does that make you feel? Maj-Gen. Tarfa: I was a cadet at one time, and those who trained me, if they are still there will say General Tarfa was my cadet. It was a privilege in the first place. To the glory of God, we are seeing what they are doing now, they are doing very well and we feel very proud. Those that we were privileged to have trained always come and say ‘you trained us sir’. That is one of the pleasures of having been a commandant. DT: It was an emotional
moment for some people when you were leaving the NDA. Why was it so? Maj-Gen. Tarfa: I’m happy you asked this question. It was very emotional as there were people who felt I did well for them, especially those doing menial jobs, like sweepers, gardeners and so on. Many of them benefited during my time because they acknowledged that I improved their lives, and so when I was going, they were in a dilemma over what was going to happen to them. I accommodated a lot of them, and they were happy.
DT: As a former MD/CEO of the Nigerian Raily Corporation, what do you think should be done to revive railways properly?
Maj-Gen. Tarfa: The government said its intention was to get every state capital linked with the railway lines. I hope it is going to happen; this ought to have been done long ago. However, it can only happen if we take corruption out of it. If we take a look at the short span between Abuja and Kaduna, I was told that the amount spent on that distance could have done the whole length of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano. So, if it continues like this, God knows how far we can go. If you take corruption out of this, it will be the best form of transportation.
DT: As a Civil War veteran, what is your assessment of the insurgency in the North East, with particular reference to your home state of Adamawa? Maj-Gen. Tarfa: President Muhammadu Buhari came to power when a lot of people had lost hope in the North East. Boko
I am against the mere pronouncements by the EFCC chairman, that billions or trillions have been recovered. Tell the people where the money is going to, and not just making statements on the pages of newspapers
Haram entered my house three times in my village, Garkida, in Adamawa State and I lost nine members of my immediate family. My niece, her husband and two graduate sons, my brothers lost five members, the villagers were harassed, some ran into the bush, some of them died of snakebites, schools were closed, no water, sickness everywhere among others.
Buhari came in and he did very well by appointing the right people to do the right job considering what it was three years ago. The hardship was reduced as Boko Haram retreated and today we are saying Boko Haram is defeated. Boko Haram was not only a threat to my village or Adamawa, it was a threat to the North East and the entire country.
Today we go to Churches and Mosques and so on in peace. Buhari tried to put a halt to corruption which is inimical to the poor man, killings, kidnappings among others, but of course, there are some problems here and there but it was not as it were during the previous administration. Hate speech has reduced, and yet people are saying he should go. I don’t think Buhari came into power to solve all the problems of the country, the country will continue to live even after his eight years, the problem will still be there so why are they saying he should go?
People used to say ‘why change a good team with a team you don’t know how it will perform’. My view is that he is doing a good job and he should be allowed to continue if he wants. After all, it is a democracy.
DT: What do you think should be done to the money recovered from looters? Maj-Gen. Tarfa: The money and property collected from criminals should be judiciously channeled to public use. Government can build roads from Warri to Sokoto, Ughelli to Kano or Katsina, from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri and so on all over the country, and the names of those who looted the money should be boldly written by the side of the road to deter others from such acts. This is better than saying money
has been recovered and nobody sees what has been done with it. DT: What is your advice to President Buhari? Maj-Gen. Tarfa: My only criticism and suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari are that he should appoint responsible panels for building or improving hospitals, for constructing and maintaining roads, for construction and maintenance of dams and so on, and people will hail him. That is better than putting the money back to the state for thieves to steal. I am against the mere pronouncements by the EFCC chairman, that billions or trillions have been recovered. Tell the people where the money is going to, and not just making statements on the pages of newspapers.
DT: What is your reaction to the controversial correspondences of generals Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, to Buhari?
Maj-Gen. Tarfa: General Obasanjo should have met the president on personal basis. I support Buhari to seek for a second term and let the electorate decide to either vote him or not. Buhari cannot solve the problems of Nigeria; they would still be there even after eight years in office. On the letter, or letters written by Babangida to Buhari, I did not read them. I deliberately decided not to.
Whoever said President Buhari should go is just expressing views, and mine is that there should be continuity. When he leaves, then somebody else can take over. But nobody should tell him to go.