Hon. Ibrahim Bello Rigachikun, a chieftain of the All Progressives
Congress, APC was the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Cooperation and
Integration in Africa/NEPAD in the 7th National Assembly and is presently a
private legal practitioner. He is also the National Chairman of the Buhari
Like-Minds Movement of Nigeria. In this interview, with Vanguard’s Dirisu
Yakubu, he bares his mind on the lingering feud between Governor Nasir El-Rufai
and Senator Shehu Sani, the Southern Kaduna killings among other issues. What
is the problem between Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Senator Shehu Sani?
A lot of people love our party in Kaduna State, and it is very
unfortunate that this is happening today. We expect these two highly respected
men to reconcile their differences especially since elections are over. But in
my perspective, I often say that this is the first time in Nigeria political
history that four or five political parties would merge forces into a single
political platform that ultimately became what we call the APC today. Do not
forget that Comrade Shehu Sani came from the defunct Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC) while Nasir El-Rufai came from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
You see, each man is protecting his political structure and I believe
the leadership of the party in the state which could not comply with the
manifesto and constitution of the APC is partly to blame. For instance, the
party constitution makes it clear that when a seat is vacant, filling same
should not be automatic but that election should hold. The Deputy Governor of
Kaduna State was the Chairman of the APC in the State, and he became the Deputy
Governor. The Secretary of the party became a Commissioner and is now the Chief
of Staff to the Governor. So, the flagrant disobedience of the laid procedures
by the party became a huge challenge at the onset. So, if there had been
reconciliation with those seats legitimately filled, I do not think these
problems would arise today. We, the stakeholders have shown concern by drawing
the attention of the party leadership in the state to what is happening because
if things continue this way, we may have problems in 2019. Whether we like it
or not, we need the cooperation of the governor, and that of the senator for
they both have their strength. I must say that I am convinced that
sooner than later, the two would reconcile their differences in the interest of
the party. Has there been any conscientious effort by stakeholders to bring the
two together? It has been quite difficult to bring them together because the
leadership of the party at the State level is not strong enough. The party
leadership has not been able to broker the peace largely because of this. It
would be very heartwarming if they can sheathe their swords to keep the peace.
This is a crisis that ought to have been over two or three months after the
elections, but here we are. Like I said, it is time to put their differences
aside, and those who can call the senator and the governor to order should
please do so now. But politically, some people are quite happy that the two men
are fighting each other because that in itself is a source of food for them. Do
not forget that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. It is
rather unfortunate that people like us are no longer seen as relevant because
were the reverse the case, we should have waded in to settle this matter a long
time ago. The only option is reconciliation but as things stand today, the
opposition is very happy with what is happening to us, and they are praying for
peace to elude us from now till 2019 when another round of elections would take
place. Governor El-Rufai was once quoted as saying that he has identified and
paid off some people from neighbouring countries instigating the killings in
Southern Kaduna, but there is still no solution? Well, the governor may have
put in his best in trying to quell the violence rattling that axis, but at the
same time, it is very possible that those he compensated may not be the ones
responsible for the killings. If you remember a few years ago, some people even
claimed to be members of Boko Haram and succeeded in duping the immediate past
government, all in an attempt to end the insurgency. But when President Buhari
came, he vowed not to have any dealing with any individual or group until he’s
sure that they were the real Boko Haram. So when dialogue began, there was this
confidence that something positive would happen and that culminated in the
release of some of the girls a few weeks ago. Like I said, the governor may
have dealt with the wrong people because I believe that if those guys who were
paid some compensation were actually responsible for the killings, they won’t
come back to unleash more violence. Yes, there are criticisms against the approach
adopted by the governor, but we should understand that no chief security
officer of a state would fold hands in the event of such killings within his
State without doing anything. Unscrupulous elements So, in his quest to restore
peace, he embraced the window of hope but which unfortunately failed to work.
Do you share the argument particularly by the state chapter of the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) that most of the victims of the killings are
Christians? This is the most unfortunate thing about this tragedy. Tribe and
religion have nothing to do with what is happening in Southern Kaduna. When
these killers come to unleash terror, they don’t look for Christians or
Muslims. They carried out their assignment and ran away. This is not a war but
a campaign of violence by some unscrupulous elements. So, let’s stop the blame
game and help the government in its effort to bring about lasting peace to the
troubled zone. If we must see the end of this problem, I plead with our leaders
to stop sectionalizing issues by tribe and religion because this would not help
us. Are you impressed with the ongoing fight against corruption given claims it
is sectional? I don’t share the belief that the fight against corruption by the
present administration is a selective one. Without a person like Muhammadu
Buhari in the saddle, I don’t think we would be where we are today. No past
administration attempted what the present administration is doing today in the
effort to make Nigeria a corruption-free nation.
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