A former Chief of Air Staff and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, General Saddique Baba Abubakar, in Saturday’s election, in this interview with journalists, talks about the frightening wave of violence that has characterised campaign, accusing supporters of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state of being the brain behind the problem. ISHOLA MICHAEL brings the excerpts:
From all indicators, all is not well with your party (APC) and its campaign team. What is the actual problem?
I find it extremely necessary to talk to you because of the incident that happened in Duguri which very unfortunately, is being misrepresented. For the first time in the history of politics in Bauchi State, we are seeing thuggery taking full control of the activities of those who are entrusted with providing security to the citizens, I want to say that, I have been in the security sector for 42 years and I left Bauchi as a young boy of 19 years to go and join the Nigerian air Force (NAF) to protect the lives and property of Nigerians and to also ensure that the territorial integrity of Nigeria and its national sovereignty is not undermined by any forces, and by the special grace of God, I finished my services after 42 years and I am back home now to Bauchi. I want you to take note of this information.
There is an allegation that your campaign has been violent?
For somebody, who has been in the security sector, who has been in the forefront of ensuring that the lives of Nigerians are protected, their property are protected, for anybody to allege that my team will be going out to kill anybody, I think that person must be out of his or her mind. I am sure that you must have seen several clips in all the 20 LGAs I have visited, wherever I go, I urge my supporters not to shed anybody’s blood. It is there for everybody to see and I challenge the state governor to show me just one clip where he told his people not to shed anyone’s blood or take the life of any person. I am a 3-Star retired General, so I know what it means to really protect the lives and property of the people. Therefore, I have made it abundantly clear severally that the politics we have in Bauchi is to build but not to destroy. So, we have urged our supporters, as I said repeatedly, you can go online and see it, I have never urged and will never urge anybody to shed the blood of another person because of politics. We are in the 21st century which is a knowledge-driven century. This barbaric attitude does not fit this century.
What do you want from the governor in order to have a peaceful election?
What we want His Excellency and the PDP to do is to persuade the electorate; to persuade them that they should vote for their political party, not to think that by intimidating people, they are going to coerce everybody into surrendering because they have seen very clearly now that they will lose the election. The people of Bauchi State have substantially spoken that the PDP has failed; what we want the governor to tell the people of the state, is to explain to the people why he is not paying salaries. That is what the people of Bauchi State want to hear. The people of the state want to hear why there are 1.4 million out-of-school children. The people of Bauchi are more interested in him giving them explanations as to why the attendance in both primary and secondary schools is abysmally low. The net attendance in the state is 29.9 percent while the national average is 68.7. The people of Bauchi State will be more interested in hearing the PDP government explaining to them why those that have left service are not paid gratuities and pensions; why some people are collecting salaries and some are not collecting; why payment of salaries is contracted to consultants. These are the fundamental issues that people want to be addressed.
You claim it is PDP supporters that are attacking your team. What is your proof of the allegation?
We have every proof but when it is time, we will prove it. Let me just emphasise that their diversionary technique of sending thugs to attack us and then coming out again to blame us will not make the people to really lose focus on the main issues. In Bauchi town, I went round and saw schools where children are sitting on the barefloor inside classrooms and we have leaders. These are the issues and no matter how much you try to distract the attention of the people, they will ever remain focused on those fundamental issues. So, all the attack on us in Akuyam, in Duguri will not save you as a party and as a government.
Were you really attacked by the PDP?
I want to say clearly now that we were attacked. Let’s start with Akuyam, it is the hometown of the PDP state chairman. The second place we were attacked was Duguri which is the hometown of the governor, the centre of PDP activities. In all other LGAs we visited, nobody attacked or shot at us. Meanwhile, the governor went to my LGA, Giade and he was well-received; nobody intimidated him; nobody insulted him; nobody shot at him nor killed anyone. But if you look at all these locations, they are PDP locations; even in the Duguri axis, we have been to Kundak, and so many others, what we saw was a jubilant crowd welcoming us. Nobody was attacked. Why in Duguri? Why in Akuyam? These are questions they need to answer.
Are you in anyway feeling intimidated by the situation?
No, I want to say that the APC will not be intimidated. We will look at all the situations and I have told all my supporters to exercise maximum restraint and make sure that they did not attack anybody. Whether they like it or not, by the grace of God, this PDP government will be dismantled by the people; the collective will of all the citizens of Bauchi State cannot be intimidated by bullet. So, please Governor, if you are listening to me, you are supposed to be in charge of the security. We are following very closely all the activities of the people who are working for the PDP in the state and I believe that the people of Bauchi State will finally speak on March 18.
Can you tell us what actually happened in Duguri?
In Duguri, my security details were shot. We have Mohammed Wunti, who was shot in the stomach. Babangida Adamu was shot in his hands and then, Sani Ali was shot in his leg and back. Two of the guys, (Wunti and Babangida) have been operated on; they underwent surgery last Friday and they are recuperating. I visited them at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH). I saw them; I met them and we were able to support them. The last person, Sani Ali, needs a MRI scan, which unfortunately, is not working in Bauchi but if we cannot get it here, we are making arrangements to fly him to Abuja for it. These are the people that were shot. You can go and verify, not the so-called claim of 15 people injured. Who are they? Tell us their names. At the end of the shooting exercise, our security men pursued the guys, the thugs and were able to recover two rifles, and I am sure security agencies normally issue licences before one can own a rifle. We will hand them over to the Police for investigation.
What is your reaction to the claim by PDP that you were the first to launch an attack?
Like I have said, we cannot be intimidated. You cannot fight the collective will of the people by shooting them. Whatever you must have heard are blatant lies that the PDP Campaign Director General Faruk Mustapha and Governor Bala Mohammed are busy spreading and I believe that our people are intelligent enough. All those who are following the events across the country are also intelligent and they will be able to decipher it, what is real and what is fictitious.
From what you are saying, your party appears intimidated and confused
Nobody will intimidate the APC, I mean nobody. What I urge the governor to do is to explain and provide answers to the questions I raised. They are also intimidating traditional rulers and title holders. In some of places we went, all the traditional rulers were not available; they disappeared because they were scared. I think His Excellency is a democratically elected governor; he should not turn himself into an emperor. We don’t want emperors in Bauchi State. Don’t go about intimidating people, threatening them that if they receive me, that you will sack them. Even his brother in Duguri, he was not there; he ran away but I went inside the palace because it is not the person but the stool and instructions that I respect, I don’t care whether or not you are there. I went there, greeted the person that said that he was representing him but shortly after I left, he came back. It is extremely sad.
What is your advice to APC supporters?
I want to appeal to APC supporters not to be distracted by this fictitious claim of the PDP. As a state, we are united that this government has failed and that we are going to send it packing. By the special grace of God on March 18, the people will speak and on that day, I hope they will not come out with thugs because we are also monitoring what they are doing. I am sure that the security agents are equal to the task as they are also monitoring the situation. I call on my supporters wherever they are in Bauchi State not to shed anybody’s blood. I challenge the governor to make this simple sentence. I have said it in all the 20 LGAs. I challenge him to come out clearly and say this is what I told my people: don’t shed anybody’s blood; don’t take anyone’s life. That is a challenge and I hope that he will say it but I know that he will not.
What is your final word to your supporters?
I want to say that this democratic process is not a war; we are not fighting a war and I have told my supporters that we don’t fight a war with billboards, posters; no, not with those. It is about knowledge, explanation, persuasion for them to believe you and vote for you based on the situation on ground. In sha Allah, the APC will win the election and dismantle the unjust government and make the people be free again and be the custodians of governance, unlike now, where just a few people sit at the Government House to decide the fate of the millions of people in the state.
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