To be honest, I am not here to judge who
is right or who is wrong; rather what we are looking for today in Plateau State
is peace. The President has spoken and the indigenes of Plateau State are happy
that the state administrator is here working. I think he is a very experienced
former governor of this state. I think the work he has been doing is very
fantastic.
The Plateau peace conference commenced on
the 18th of last month. Do you think bringing people from different local
governments to come and talk in Jos, will achieve lasting peace in the state, or
what do you think should be the road map to peace in Plateau State?
Well, the road map to peace on the Plateau
is for all the indigenes and non-indigenes to go back to the drawing board and
see how we can live in peace. We had lived together in peace and harmony for
decades before. I believe we have learnt from our mistakes and we can now all
come back together and unite as one and continue to live in peace. Jos is a
metropolitan city. Jos is an open market to everyone that comes here, we can go
back as we were before and unite ourselves again, regardless of our religious
and political differences, come together and really understand that we are one.
I don’t think there will be problems. We should be our brothers’ keepers, we
should come back together and work for the progress and unity of Plateau State.
The peace conference is directed towards
charting a new course and future for the state, and one of the issues to be
discussed is the indigeneship/settlership problem. Every ethnic group in the
state is expected to be represented at the conference and be armed with a
position paper. Have your own people, the Anagutas been able to discuss and
arrive at anything?
Well, I just came into the country and I
have not had the chance to dialogue with the Anagutas on such issues. But all I
can say to the two representatives from each of the local governments that are
going for this meeting is that they should sit down together and try to find how
we all can live in peace, so that our children can come and see what has
happened and where we are going, so that we can grow in harmony and enjoy very
much in happiness.
How would you assess democracy in the
country so far?
Democracy in Nigeria just started, and I
will urge every citizen of this country to actually have patience so that
democracy takes its course. Sometimes, we hurry in trying to compare ourselves
with the western world, not knowing that we just got our independence in 1960.
If you look back at where we started, you will see that we have excelled and I
hope that now that we have had a very stable government in the last five or six
years, that it will continue like that so that foreign investors will not be
scared of coming into the country to invest. Because that was the major problem
coup de-tat and things like that. But now that we are beginning to have a
stable government, I hope that in the next decade, we will have more foreign
investors coming and democracy will come to stay.
There is this clamour by some political
leaders in the Middle Belt that they should be given a distinct identity from
the North. What would you say about that?
I think this area at this point is very
sensitive and I think I will like to stay away from it at this moment.
Looking at what has happened in Plateau
State of recent, it seems the Plateau elders have no focus considering the
manner in which they variously pursued the matter?
If you talk about the elders, we have a
lot of elders, but I think what has happened in Plateau State, is going to wake
all our elders up. I think we should just give sometime and wait to see what
happens because I believe that we will have a lot of changes very soon. I think
our elders have worked very hard. So I applaud them for what they have done so
far.
Many Nigerians in diaspora are beginning
to think home in terms of development and investment. You have been in
Washington for long, what are you and others abroad thinking of the state of the
economy of Plateau State and how you can help to see that the state gets back on
its feet? Secondly, some people are clamouring for the return of the presidency
to the North in 2007 while some are saying it has to go to the East with some
saying it should be in the Middle Belt. What is your position on this?
Most of my fellow Nigerians are beginning
to see the need to come back home and bring back what they have learnt from
other parts of the world. Let me start with myself. It was in view of this that
I decided to come home and run for the congress election (House of
Representatives) last time although I lost the election, but that did not stop
me from my networking, trying to see how we can bring investors into the state.
But knowing what has just happened and what is going on in the state now, I
don’t think this is the right time to discuss foreign investors coming but I
know with what we are doing, in the nearest future, I promise that the Plateau
you are seeing today will not be the Plateau you will be seeing tomorrow,
because we have great plans for this state. If you look at the entire states in
the federation today, you will notice that Plateau State is so blessed. We have
one of the best climates that I believe allows a lot of investors and foreigners
to be very proud to come and be part of it.
The question about the zoning of the
presidency should be left to the entire citizens of Nigeria. I can always speak
for myself and wherever the entire citizens of Nigeria feel they are going as
regards the zoning system, that is where I will go. Because I want all Nigerians
to stand and speak with one voice.
How soon are you starting your campaign
towards 2007 and under which political party?
Well, I feel that as a genuine citizen of
this state and with the state of emergency in place, I will first of all
sympathise with those who lost their beloved ones in the crisis that led to this
situation we find ourselves today.
As for campaign, I will start it when it
gets to the time to campaign.
Considering your experience at the polls
during the political contest of last year and looking at where you are coming
from, do you think you have the capacity to withstand Nigeria’s system of
elections?
I believe a Nigerian is always a Nigerian
no matter how far he has gone. Adapting to the system is something I did very
fast when I came for my first election, about two years ago. Home to me is
always home. I am always at home. Like last year, I made six trips home. And
this year, I have started and I am looking forward to coming back in November
and in January. So coming home and understanding and interacting with people
makes me pick the culture very fast and I adjust as I can. But for the electoral
process situation in this country, I have always been in support of Option A4
which I pray that the federal government might adopt. Option A4 is a better
system of voting, it makes things easier, it makes things genuine, it makes
things very honest. So I pray that the federal government looks at it again! As
for my experiences then, my loss has instead, prepared and strengthened me for
tomorrow.
