Alhaji Hussein Idris Kashim, a real estate developer and an entertainment guru is one of those who are eyeing the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Kogi State.
A grass root politician, who cut his political teeth under the tutelage of late strongman of Kogi politics, Dr. Steeve Achema, Kassim, runs one of Abuja’s biggest nightclubs, Basement and another entertainment outfit, Crush Cafe in Abuja. In this interview with Timothy Enietan-Matthews, he bore his mind on the state of affairs and the politics of fear in Kogi State, his ambition to govern the state and other sundry issues, declaring that his ambition will liberate the youths of the state from the politics of fear and intimidation.
Excerpts:
Power Shift
I am one of those who do not believe in the clamour for power shift because it is not something you just wake up and implement. Those who are asking for power shift should also understand that the Igalas are coming from a state where they were over marginalised as a result of population.
The first thing we need to do is to build the state in such a way that we will be able to see every ethnic group in the state as one. We need to first see ourselves as Kogites before any other thing. We need a governor that will be flexible and able to build a successor that would have built bridges across the three senatorial zones in the state, irrespective of where he comes from. Let people from different zones and ethnic groups be able to see each other as one. It is not supposed to be politics of exclusion as it is been practised at the moment. If every part of the state is carried along and adequately catered for, the clamour for power shift will not be there.
We did that before under the late Dr. Stephen Achema with Senator AT Ahmed. Anytime our group is to sit down to take decisions, people always demand for the presence of AT Ahmed before decisions are made. AT made decisions that were binding on us in Igala land and we accepted that, because we were able to build the proper foundation that allowed an average Igala man to see AT Ahmed as an Igala person. If this is not done, then we are yet to start.
People say some of us do not support the call for power shift but they have forgotten that we are only being sincere. It is better to say it the way it is than to go around deceiving people. Any Igala man that comes to you that he supports power shift is only deceiving you and he is insincere and unrealistic. He does not even believe in what he is saying and at best, making mockery of his fellow human being.
It is not possible for me to make mockery of an Okun person or the Ebira because I need them to be governor. We must be prepared to tell ourselves the gospel truth and face the reality. It was this same conspiracy that made Alhaji Abubakar Audu governor for the second time in 1999 because the leadership of the PDP in the state gave the governorship ticket to Architect Olorunfemi. You cannot be governor of Kogi State without the Igalas and AT Ahmed made that clear before now. This is not peculiar to Kogi State; it happens all over Nigeria.
Cause of underdevelopment
One of the problems we have in this country is that it is believed that we are practising true federalism in Nigeria but the reverse is the case. Some states have more than enough resources that can generate enough revenue and even remit a percentage to the federation account. But until we start putting round pegs inside round holes, we will continue to remain the way we are.
In Kogi State, it will interest you to know that, the area called Nataco in Lokoja, where travellers converge day and night, generates about N380 million everyday informally. I did a research on it and at the appropriate time, I will come out with a document on how I arrived at that figure. And that is without the state government’s contribution in anyway. If the government can put some money into that area and make it conducive, it will realise so much money from there.
It is a major problem for governors to be dependent on what comes from the federation account. Some of us who are entrepreneurs have been able to build wealth from the streets and we know what it means to create wealth.The problem is not that some of our leaders do not know what to do, but they believe if they do the right thing, it will give financial freedom to the people who may turn around to question their authority. It is like a popular saying in my place, “leave them hungry and they will do whatever you say”.
If Kogi can produce 10 courageous young people like me, we will rewrite the history of the state.
My Vision for Kogi State
The first thing I will do as Kogi State governor is to create an enabling environment for good governance to thrive. My first 100 days in office will not be about construction but I will convoke different town hall meetings through which the people of the state can make inputs into our programmes for the state. We will bring in credible stakeholders who mean well for the state. These Town Hall meetings will produce a working document that will be acted upon. Also, at the end of every month, we shall document and release to the public what the government has been able to do for that month.
Aside that, I shall embark on an aggressive Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, because I honestly believe what accrues to the states from the federation account will continue to decline. There is nothing virtually left in the account, so nobody should expect much. I am actually happy that the country is at this point so that those looking for elective position can start to look inwards.
There are many things in Kogi State that are very viable apart from the mineral deposit. For instance, Lokoja is a transit town with thousands of travellers stopping over in the course of their trips. We need to make something reasonable out of that.
The state is home to so many tourists attractions that we can capitalize on and turn to sources of revenue. All the colonial relics in the state are just wasting away instead of the successive governments to turn them into goldmines. We are going to take advantage of them. We will brand tourists attractions like the confluence and other places and make them attractive to people within and outside the country.
Another aspect is that all the filling stations in the Northern part of the country today go to the Southern part of the country to get fuel supply; but we as the bridge between the North and the South, with certain individuals from the state who have made so much money from the sector, should be able to tap from it. What stops a responsible government from inviting somebody like Chief Jide Omokore to come and invest in a tank farm in the state. Give him free land and he will bring added prosperity through job creation and revenue to the government. What goes to the South every day is N300 million. In a month, you have N9 billion naira. If he is paying 20 percent to government, you know what it translates to. Nobody is thinking about such things because all they do is to wait for allocation to come from the federal government.
What Stands Me Out
I will say one of the things that stands me out is the fact that I am young. I belong to the same generation of the greatest number of eligible voters in the state. I also run a real estate firm in Abuja and I do not know any Kogi person resident in Abuja that has been able to affect lives the way I have done. This is a verifiable fact. Today, in my organisation, I have about 62 graduates in my employment and over 60 percent of them are from Kogi. I believe in empowering people, because that is the only way you can build an empire.
So I believe my relationship with people will work for me because I come from a solid political background. I am also a young person who knows what is trending, so it is a major plus for me.
I believe it is time we broke free from the old ways of doing things and look forward with hope. We cannot continue the tradition of saying ‘yes sir’ to the father and also ‘yes sir’ to the son.
I am ready to rebuild the state and unify our people. The fight will not be an easy one, but I know that with God on my side and the well meaning people of Kogi State, victory is assured.
One of the implications of my quest for the governorship of Kogi State is to bring about an electoral freedom for the teaming young people in the state. It will liberate the young people in the state and open the field for every eligible young person. Someone needs to open the way for others to follow because our leaders have been able to put fear into the hearts of people. Many of them did not take me serious initially but they have now realized that it is a double project.
Moving against powers that be
I belong to a party that does not look at how powerful you are but your credibility and the programme you have for your people. If it was on the basis of power or wealth, Buhari wouldn’t have been the presidential flagbearer of our party, the APC. He was the least spender, but people believed in him. Among all those who have indicated interest in contesting for governor of Kogi State, I remain the only one that has not worked anywhere either in the public or private sectors and have had no issue with anybody. I am a young person doing business and I have been able to build my own outfit reasonably. In Abuja today, when you count 10 real estate firms, my company will be among the 10.
We are looking at issues the way they come; we are not looking at names because we have realized that some people are beginning to become aware that they can help in changing things in their own ways. What is important is building a network of people through solid relationship with people at the grassroots. And the truth is that most of the people we consider as powerful and big men in Abuja are nobodies at home while those of us who are small boys here are the real powerful ones at home.
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