Senator Alex Kadiri is no doubt a household name in Kogi State and one of the top political leaders in the state.
In this interview with DAILY POST’s Timothy Enietan-Matthews, the former University Don ex-rays the cause of the stunted growth of the state, heaping the blame on the quack leadership, as exemplified, according to him, by the leadership style of former Governors, Abubakar Audu, Ibrahim Idris and the current Governor, Idris Wada.
The governorship elections are coming in Kogi State and like you said earlier, your heart beats each time you enter the state; what is really happening?
There is nothing happening in the state; we are only saddled with quack governance, bad governance put in place by us because nobody can tell me that Governor Idris Wada imposed himself on us. He stood in an election with other people but we closed our eyes when the time came for us to make the decision. It has always been whoever brings money is the best candidate.
You have been in the struggle for a better Kogi State for a longtime; what is the motivation for your courage to still want to go ahead?
If you are conversant with the history of Kogi State, I was a prominent member of the Kogi State Movement for which Ahmadu Ali was chairman. I was the Assistant National Secretary; I was assisting T.W.E. Bako, the elder brother of Bishop Bako. He was the secretary only by title because I was doing all the work. If you come to my study, all the papers we used in preparing the memo we gave to the National Assembly in 1981 are there. Ahmadu Ali does not even have them but I do.
My vision for this state since 1980 has not changed but nothing positive has been done for me to clap my hands for anybody aside the Kogi State University in Ayangba.
We thank Audu for it of course, but he merely used the infrastructure already put on ground by the World Bank. Kogi State University is standing on the site of the World Bank Agricultural Project, where they had an airstrip. All the houses the lecturers are living were built with the loans collected from the World Bank. The state is still paying back and it is part of the debt every government must pay. The loan may not be fully liquidated in the next eight to nine years. We do things as if we are mad, if not, where is the land in Lokoja to put a university? The Federal University in Lokoja could have been taken to Kabba and upgrade the College of Agriculture. It is good to have a university in our capital but where is the land? The land they could have used is where Obajana Cement Factory is located. So why not take the university to where it would be more desirable.
Talking about the present government, you said he did not impose himself, he was elected; did you foresee this present inactivity?
I saw and said it and I am been crucified for it till today but God has been kind to me as I do not do contracts both at the state, Federal and local level. This is why I get away with whatever I say.
I have nothing against Wada as a person; in fact, I had a relationship with his father. Even when Wada’s house got burnt in Life camp here in Abuja, he and the First Lady moved in here with me and stayed for over eight months. That did not still colour my views about him. I said what needed to be said at that time but nobody will listen. They said I was not stable upstairs, they said I was envious.
It is rather unfortunate that everything I said when Wada came to office has come to pass; a state will need to be governed by somebody who has no questionable character and health, that is how it happens in other parts of the world.
Wada and the First Lady who lived in this house with me have not deemed it fit to visit since he became governor, but I have lost nothing.
Your party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, has a large array of aspirants; is there no way the aspirants can come together to form a formidable front to present somebody that is clearly electable for the election?
Well, in the developed world, your suggestions would have worked, but in Kogi, it will not work. Anywhere you have a large gathering of citizens like in Kogi, it is very difficult to have this kind of situation to work out. In 2010 and 2011, there were fourteen aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and later, we increased the number to seventeen and they made me their Chairman and we were having meetings almost every two weeks.
We kept talking until Wada was selected by Ibro as his candidate and since we could not settle for anybody, it became a fait accompli.
Once you have ten million naira in your account, which is the amount for the forms and the fact that people greet you and come to eat in your house, you now believe you are popular and believe you can be governor.
What is your vision for the state?
My vision is this and I wish you have been following my history since 2002 when I was in the Senate; I called a meeting of major stakeholders in Ayangba on how to bring peace to Kogi.
I saw the dangers that Okun and Igbira people are now seeing today in 2015 and I said to my kinsmen, Igala people can no longer keep hanging on to power as we are not the only people in the state and for us to have peace with our neighbours, we must ensure that everybody participates in the political system.
At that time, Abubakar Audu was governor and he had about sixteen commissioners and twelve were Igala. Most of the Permanent Secretaries were Igalas. No Okun or Igbira person has ever been appointed the Account General, Chief of Staff, Permanent Secretary, Government House or Commissioner for Works of the state since 1991 till date.
What obtains in the state is that some offices have been reserved for Igala people because they believe that they are the most important ministries. Why can’t somebody from Egbe, Isanlu or Iyamoye be the Accountant General of Kogi State? These are the issues the meeting dwelled on. At the primaries of 2003, the Igala people used that meeting against me, saying I was too soft but if people had listened to me then, all these drums of war that people are beating would be unnecessary and if we had continued talking from 2002 to 2004, then the problem of power shift should not have been an issue at all.
I still believe that the Okuns, Igbira and the Igalas must sit down at a round table and decide how the power should be shifted because it must be done either quietly or by force, which I am trying to avoid.
I am frightened with the way things are because the leaders of the Okuns and Igbira have declared that anybody that works with or for an Igala in the coming election would be treated as a traitor. I honestly believe that this is not good for the state, as one charlatan from Igala land who will hand onto this words and start making trouble.
I still believe in what I believed in 2002 in 2015 and I want to be the vehicle for actualizing that objective. I also believe that any ruler in the world who wants to be remembered does not need to be in power for eight years. I do not intend to be governor of Kogi beyond four years, I want to bring understanding between the Okun, Igala and Igbira people which I think I can do in two years.
The state is seen as very blessed with so many natural resources and so much potential in tourism but nothing has been done about this; what can be done to tackle this?
Do you know why Ogun State is where it is today? The wealthy people of the State do go back to the state and create opportunities that get people gainfully employed but in Kogi, that is not the case as nobody is challenging them to do such. We have people at the helm of affairs in several blue chip companies but they are not doing anything as regards creating employment opportunities in the state.
One major problem one finds annoying among youths in Lokoja the state capital is the culture of going around politicians without any visible thing doing? How can this be tackled?
Again, bad governance and I will keep calling names as they have nothing they can do to me as I cannot die twice. You cannot enter Abubakar Audu’s sitting room wearing shoes, his commissioner sits on the carpet; only him is allowed to seat on the chair. When the youngsters comes to his house, he comes out throwing bundles of 500 naira notes and they start fighting, leaving the place with broken heads.
The other man, Ibrahim Idris, I forgave him for all his sins but again, we made it possible for him to be there. Whatever he did in government, you cannot blame him as he was not technically qualified to be governor of any state. He brought a lot of wrong things to his government. This included using money to get worshippers, giving contracts to the wrong set of people, money sharing and thuggery became a culture during his time.
Wada tried to stop it but had to follow suite as people told him, he would not come back. How will a governor go to his village to spend the weekend and he will place somebody at his gate to be sharing money to people and these young people, because of the level of unemployment, will gladly queue up to collect 500 naira.
This is why we are saying that Kogi should try and pay those who have gone through the Universities and Polytechnics some stipends. The money used for cocktails and unnecessary travels should be cut off. It should be noted that until we are able to get this youngsters gainfully employed, we are not just sitting on a time bomb, we are inside it.
You said something about the EFCC not doing anything about the looting in Kogi State; is it that the people involved are too big or what?
The people involved are not too big but we have a very weak system in this country. The EFCC, ICPC and the Police are all very weak, compromised and ineffective. That is the tragedy of the country and adding to that, the judiciary is also weak. I am aware that some cases have been in court for the last ten years without any headway.
A country with weak and compromised judiciary can never develop. If you put a saint as the head of EFCC, that person will be compromised. Look at Ribadu, from the office of head of EFCC, he ran for president and last time for governor. Where did he get the funds he is using?
Obasanjo used him to disgrace some individuals. We know a good number of these people are corrupt but there are better ways of dealing with them
In what ways?
If I know Mrs X is corrupt, I do not need to handcuff him on Television but I can establish a special court to try him. That way, the trial will be fast and fair and it will instill fear into those who intend to steal. Note that those who have stolen will never go to prison as they have the means to block such. We need to reform our laws and get those who are competent to be in charge and you will see changes.
The APC primary election is fast approaching; what are your chances?
Only God knows, like I always do, I am never shy from a fight; if it was in other climes, people will say, sit down, we will give you this ticket but such things do not happen here. I believe if you are looking for an honest person to govern the state, somebody everybody believes is competent with a history of holding several public offices and has not been found wanting in any of them, then I am. What Kogi needs is the man on the white horse, who could change the inequality that exists in the state and as such, I do not need to bribe my way through.
Some people believe that former Governor Audu Abubakar, who is the leader of the party in the state, is still eyeing the office of governor, making many to wonder why he is not giving others room to contribute their quota to the development of the state. What do you think about this?
When you mentioned Audu, I choked, not because I hate him, I like him for a few things and he too, no matter what he thinks about me, he may like me for a few things too. Of course, he must know that I am honest, upright and fearless; he must at least admit those things about me.
How can a person be the leader of a party in the state and still be an aspirant? Secondly, this man has been governor of Kogi on two different occasions and all the problems we have been talking about all day can be attributed to him in person. So why are we shy? It is his attitude that has been the problem of the state; so we should treat him with a long pole.
Also, he is a member of the board of trustees of the APC which is the highest organ of the party, higher than the National Executive Committee. How can you come down from there and contest for a place in your state?
I believe it an insult on the collective psyche of the people of Kogi State that a man who has been governor twice wants to be governor again in a state that has a population of about 2.3 million people.
Don’t you think the primary election is likely to be skewed in his favour?
I have read the position of voters over this matter and I think they are right; election is not something you force people to participate in. We need to look at the pedigree of the aspirants, the money they are throwing around, what is the source of the money? Nigerians should ask questions.
Looking at the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, how well do you think he has performed in the two months he has been in power?
At the beginning of this interview, I said this corrupt society that we live in will like to push Buhari into a corner and at the end of the year, Nigerians will make up their mind that this man is not good. So even if he performs in his second or third year, nobody will listen anymore because they already made up their minds that he is incompetent.
But I do not think that Buhari is incompetent. I believe that what has been happening at the National Assembly is affecting the way he is doing things. Some people have put spanner into the wheels of his administration too early and this is the problem of the third world. The man who was elected has not taken off well and people are projecting.
David Mark and his 7th Senate approved some advisers for Buhari before they left but he has not been able to name them. The effect of this is that some of the load that should have been taken off him is now weighing him down. If he was not a soldier, he would have broken down.
Why has he not named his advisers since the list has been approved?
I think that he foresaw the problem in the National Assembly, that was why he rushed the list but the question now is that why has he not announced the names and send them to different areas, even if he was planning to reduce the ministries.
One other thing he has done I do not like is that he has made certain appointments without spreading the reach across. When appointing people to fill positions like the CSO, Chief of Staff, you have to pick people you trust but when you are stretching your hands into DSS, Police, Immigration and so on, you have to look at a broader picture and I am not sure if he has looked at the broader picture in the fourteen appointments he has made.
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