No Hideouts for Bandits in Nasarawa

Today, we have Dangote in Nasarawa State and in the next few years, we’ll be producing one-third of the total consumption of sugar for Nigeria. We have Olam that is already producing rice and Azman looking to also start producing rice in the state. We have Dams and are looking to develop them for power generation.

What are you doing to stop illegal mining and exploitation of these solid minerals and resources?

We have been monitoring most of these mineral sites. We have invited most of these miners and now have records of who they are. We have been engaging the miners and the community in order for us to monitor and stem the tide of illegal mining in the state. I have met with the illegal miners, who have turned a new leaf and now legally mining, and this has seen us generate a lot of revenue from these mining sites. We have encouraged mining by ensuring that we construct the road to the site. We don’t want to have a situation where people come with helicopters and take out what have been mined without records. For that reason, we’re constructing roads to these mining sites so that we can also monitor. We’ve also engaged the communities so the mining companies can pay royalties and also be socially responsible to the host communities.

What major projects are currently under way, and how will they benefit the citizens of Nasarawa?

We have two kinds of projects. We have projects of the various structures that are ongoing by the government. Some of them are revenue-yielding projects. We also have the Mega Bus terminals to reduce traffic in and out of Nasarawa. We have Keffi Market, which is almost completed. We have some that may not be yielding revenue presently but will in the future.

The Dam-Farin Ruwa in Wamba Local Government will provide for irrigation. The waterfall will serve as a tourism site in Nasarawa State. So, we constructed a road that has been completed and would be handed over next week. That encouraged the federal government to award a contract for the construction of a dam and its construction has commenced.

We invited a delegation from the Ministry of Arts and Culture led by the Minister, Lai Muhammed, to see how we can promote the site and idea of investment in an event and tourist centre to attract people to the site. So, when people have events on the hill, they can enjoy a good view of the waterfall. Tourists can also visit.

In addition we also want to attract a hydropower investor. Initially the Abdullahi Adamu government started to see if they could generate 25 megawatts of power, and now we want to generate 40 megawatts of power at two different locations. It all depends on how the arrangement goes.

There are on-going agriculture-based projects by the investors like Dangote, Flour Mills and Azman. We have some Chinese companies carrying out mining projects on the sites and the only indigenous publicly quoted mining company in the country based in Awe local government, mining lead and zinc. We will work with, support and partner investors so they can create employment for our people and develop the state.

Nasarawa was very safe and peaceful. But recently, there have been cases of insecurity, tribal and banditry issues, and fresh reports of Boko Haram terrorists regrouping in the state. What do you think is responsible for that?

Abuja is an attraction for some of those bandits. If you look at where they hide and commit some of their crimes, they hide in places where Abuja becomes accessible to them. That’s why you have heard that some motorists coming from the east to Abuja were kidnapped. Part of the regrouping when they left the north east was to come to Abuja to see if they could take some kind of revenge, and so Nasarawa State has the hills that some of these bandits hide.

A lot of the hills are huge, virgin and no people live there and so they can move to such locations and have camps. No bandit can go to the middle of Ikoyi, because there’s no free land, but in Nasarawa they have hideouts. Thanks to President Buhari, who has been supportive. Luckily, all the security operatives and our son, the Inspector General of the Police has also been supportive in attacking the hideouts where they regroup, whilst they have demolished these hideouts.

So, you just find one or two of them here and there. Luckily for us, we have our vigilantes. Our traditional rulers have been very hard on the criminals. The Fulani have re-grouped and come up with strong vigilante, and because they know the areas they have been going around attacking and destroying these bandits. That’s why the bandits are on the run now here in Nasarawa. They don’t have any hiding place.

A few days ago, a sitting governor’s was ambushed and attacked by Fulani Herdsmen. This sends a signal and raises heightened concerns that even you governors are unsafe if you continue to watch and do nothing. Doesn’t that disturb you?

Immediately it happened, I was one of the first few governors, who called to sympathise with him, because he’s my neighbour and brother. Today, I was going to visit him alongside a few governors in the North Central, but I understand he was invited to Abuja and that’s the only reason we were not there to see him. Most of the things being said are being investigated. But I think we have seen more people being attacked.

President Buhari was attacked in Kaduna. General Bade was also attacked. There were instances where people just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But the attack on Governor Ortom is an unfortunate situation and I think the government is doing everything to be on top of it so that it doesn’t happen. Attacking very important personality, the common man or school children is an attack on all and I think it should worry us. It’s not good.

Zamfara Governor, Bello Matawalle, has offered to resign if taking such a step would bring a lasting solution to the high level of insecurity in his state. Should every governor in the North assume this posturing?

Not many Governors think like him. You know most of us are fighting the crime. Is resigning a solution? I doubt it. The lives of all citizens are the responsibility of the Chief Executive and every governor must worry about the safety of his people. I know there are governors, who would go the long haul to ensure the safety of their people. I am in that fold, because I’ll do everything to make my state safe and comfortable for my citizens, but resignation doesn’t solve the problem

Your predecessor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al’Makura, was believed to have demystified governance. How have you managed fitting into his supposedly big shoes?

We consider ourselves transition and I consider myself one of the very few governors to have that kind of luxury transition. I spent a month with him in his office and around the state. Till date, I have an excellent relationship with him. I have completed most of the projects he left behind.

Even the projects that those before him started, we have completed some of them and carrying on new projects, although concentrating more on projects that have direct impact on the people either in form of revenue or prospects.

Last night, I was with him and we discussed several issues. Today, I’m at the forefront of campaign for his election as the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). I enjoy a wonderful relationship with him. We are lucky in Nasarawa State.

But, are the odds in his favour for the APC chairmanship?

If indeed Tanko Al’Makura is ‘big shoes’, then he has the capacity. The All Progressives Congress (APC) came into being as a result of an alliance. I was never a Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) person. I was an Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) person in 2006 through 2007, when I contested for the office of Governor in 2007. I returned to the corporate world.

Tanko Al’makura came in and joined the CPC. He was the only governor, who joined the alliance. He was part of the alliance that formed the All Progressives Congress (APC). He knew what happened! Most of the meetings were held here. He understands the whole process and he is a very close ally of the President. Because of his knowledge of the alliance and the association, he understands what to do to carry the people along in order to keep the flag flying.

He’s been a governor for eight years and he did very well to the extent he’s being named the architect of modern Nasarawa State. He’s passionate about development. I don’t know any enemy he has within the top contestants, but my predecessor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al’Makura has the capacity to heal the wounds and re-focus the party.

How are you consolidating on his achievements?

He started an airport and we will complete it. If not for Covid-19 and the fact that we’re waiting for the controlled cabin, it would have been completed and fully operational. He started some road network and we have completed them. The only one remaining is the road from Kwandare to Keffi, and because of the challenging economy, paucity of funds and large investment required to undertake the project, we haven’t been able to complete. Its only one road project he left half done that we haven’t completed.

May 29, 2021 will mark the sixth year since Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari took office with a promise to safeguard the lives of the electorate, fight crippling corruption and improve livelihoods in Nigeria. More than half a decade later, analysts have described president as “weak” and see him as having “failed” in his mandate. That doesn’t rob off well on your party. Does it?

The President came on three legs: security, corruption and the economy. If you want to be fair to him, you can’t rate him a failure. We don’t have perfect security, but I don’t know who does, because yesterday somebody killed 10 people in Atlanta. In the areas of security, I don’t know where is perfect.

Could it have been better? Yes. But is he a failure, definitely not. Even if you say some people in Nigeria are corrupt, you cannot look at Mr. President and say he’s corrupt. For people who are close to him or know him, they know he wouldn’t tolerate corruption. However, has he been able to fight corruption to a certain level? Yes. Has he fought corruption completely out of the country? No!

At the time he came in, most states in the federation owed salaries for months. When he came he revived the economy. I came from the corporate world and by the time he came into power, I was the Managing Director, Dangote Sugar. If you look at the share prices of most of these institutions that were declaring profits of say N40bn, now they declare profits of over N200bn, including the banks. Since he came in, food production has doubled. We no longer import rice. As an APC man, I’m proud of what the President has done. Has he solved all the problems of Nigeria? No. Has he even gone fifty per cent solving the problem? No.