Reminiscences With Alhaji Magaji Mu’azu
Alhaji Magaji Mu’azu, who holds the traditional title of Ubandoman Gombe, was a principal auditor in the Northern Region. He said that as auditors they discharged their duties without fear or favour; hence they were neither afraid of permanent secretaries
Alhaji Magaji Mu’azu, who holds the traditional title of Ubandoman Gombe, was a principal auditor in the Northern Region. He said that as auditors they discharged their duties without fear or favour; hence they were neither afraid of permanent secretaries nor ministers. He was also the presidential liaison officer in the then Gongola State during the administration of Abubakar Barde. He said military governors did not interfere in their duties as auditors. He also spoke on other national issues.
You were a senior and principal auditor in the Government of Northern Nigeria, from 1960 to 1968. Were there many cases of fraud in government accounts in those days?
Yes, there were cases of fraud in those days, but they were not as many as we are hearing and witnessing now.
Who were your bosses when you served as auditor in northern Nigeria?
I worked under English men who taught us the job. It was during the time of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello when he was the premier of the Northern Region.
Auditors are known for issuing queries. Were there a lot of audit queries in those days? What were they about and how were the cases resolved?
In those days, queries were issued on mismanagement of resources, which were perpetrated mostly by some junior workers. They were prosecuted in the court of law and subsequently jailed when found guilty. But most of the queries were not for punishment; rather, they were meant to serve corrective purposes, to prevent members of staff from indulging in mismanagement.
How regularly were government accounts audited?
Government accounts were audited annually. At the end of each year, the auditors would work on all the accounts of government’s establishments.
How did other civil servants, especially accountants, see auditors? What was your relationship with them?
They were neither our enemies nor friends, they were simply our colleagues, and we treated one another as such. Therefore, they neither liked nor hated us because they also knew that we were just doing our jobs.
As auditors, were you afraid of ministers and permanent secretaries? Could they sack you for exposing fraud?
We were never afraid of them. Although there was mistrust between us, there was no threat of sack for doing our jobs. In fact, it was very difficult for a permanent secretary to sack any staff for doing his job.
Was there any special reward for an auditor who discovered a big fraud?
There was no special reward for us. We were just doing our jobs and did not expect any extra reward from the government. We were hired and paid to do our jobs.
You worked as an auditor-general under military governors in the Northeastern State, from 1968 to 1976; did they interfere with your duties?
There was no interference with my work, especially during the time of Colonel Musa Usman. All the military governors I worked with gave me free access and allowed me to do my job without any interference.
As a senior auditor in those days, when you compare the level of fraud during your time and what obtains in the civil service, educational institutions and even the military nowadays; what do you think went wrong?
What went wrong was that people forgot why they were in those positions. They forgot that they were sent there to serve the general public; instead, they end up serving their selfish interests, enriching themselves with public money. Now, people go into government with the intention to steal.
People are blaming the audit system, but there is nothing wrong with the system. It is the accountability system that went wrong. The accounting officers, the auditors, and even the permanent secretaries, are the people that are now supporting the lack of accountability in the public service.
Is there anything you think auditors can do to minimise fraud in the public service?
I think the solution is to jail anybody found guilty of tempering with public fund. By doing this, a lot of people will come back to their senses. If the auditors are serious, they can stop all these embezzlements of public fund. They should do their jobs without fair or favour.
You were the chairman of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Bauchi State between 1979 and 1980 when the late Alhaji Abubakar Tatari Ali was the governor. How would you describe the
then governor? How did he emerge the candidate of the party?
The late Abubakar Tatari Ali was honest and always afraid of being found wanting. He was nominated by majority members of the NPN. He contested for the primary election against the late Alhaji Abubakar Umar and won. He went ahead to win the governorship election in 1979.
You were the presidential liaison officer in the then Gongola State between 1980 and 1983. People said that such officers
had no work to do as the appointments were merely political compensation. What is your take on this?
Absolutely, this was mere allegation, it’s not true. We had a lot of work to do. As the presidential liaison officer in Gongola State, I was in charge of all the ministries and establishments under the federal government domiciled in the state. So we had much to do. We also helped the governors to solve most of their problems.
We were very friendly with the then Governor Abubakar Barde of Gongola although we were not from the same political party.
It was like having two governors in one state because it was said that you also moved about with siren…
(Cuts in) No at all, Abubakar Barde was the governor and I was the presidential liaison officer; that’s all. I did not use siren. There were 16 of us as liaison officers, out of the then 19 states in the country. It was only in three states that the then President Shehu Shagari did not appoint a liaison officers. The other allegation that presidential liaison officers were only sent to opposition party states is also not true. Liaison officers were also posted to NPN-controlled states.
Yes, I agree that we had enormous powers as presidential liaison officers. For example, I once queried a post-master in Gongola State. I told him that he was not working for the interest of the federal government but for Chief Obafemi Awolowo. I told him that I would sack him.
How would you compare the NPN with political parties that emerged after it, such as the National Republican Convention (NRC), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC)?
All these groups you mentioned are not political parties. They are all political associations; that’s all. What I mean is that they are all useless. This is because they have no powers, yet they call themselves political parties. During our time, political parties had powers.
You hold the prestigious traditional title of Ubandoman Gombe. What are your duties?
My duties are simply to assist the emir in discharging his duties. I was in charge of agriculture and rural development in the emirate. I also carry out any other function the emir deems fit to assign to me.
As the chairman of the Kingmakers Council in the state, how do you go about your duties? What are the qualities you look for in a candidate?
The first quality we look out for in a candidate who aspires to be an emir is his ability to lead the people, as well as his ability to be just and fair to all. We also consider his educational background and level of acceptance from his people. Furthermore, we look into the curriculum vitae of all the contestants. We give criteria and marks for each criterion. We score each contestant, and at the end, we submit the name of the candidate with the highest score to the governor.
Having worked for many years in the public and private sectors, and having held political, religious and traditional positions; what is your message to Nigerians?
My simple advice to Nigerians, especially the younger generation, is that they should always be honest. They should ensure honesty in whatever they do. They should dedicate themselves to their various duties. The standard of education is falling, but the youth should embrace good education because it is the only panacea to the many challenges we are facing in the country.