- Says he’s ready to sign the Electoral bill after necessary adjustments by National Assembly
- Aware of Nigerians’ sufferings, pains
- Unhappy with the state of power supply
- Formal education not an automatic ticket to govt jobs
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday vowed to flush out criminals ravaging the country’s North West region, saying the government has already taken steps in that direction.
He gave this assurance during an exclusive interview with Channels Television aired on Wednesday evening, saying: “So, I think the only language they understand – we have discussed it thoroughly with the law enforcement agencies; the security chiefs, the Inspector General of Police – is to go after them; the terrorists.
“We labelled them terrorists, are we are going to deal with them as such,” President Buhari said during the interview, lamenting why people who share similar cultures would go against each other.
He said that there have been successes in the fight against banditry in the region, noting that he has had a series of meetings with heads of security agencies in a bid to tackle the issues.
“And I believe if you go to those constituencies in the North West and North Central in the last four weeks there are improvements in the security,” the Nigerian leader added.
The President’s comment on banditry in the regions is coming as the Federal Government declared and gazetted the criminals as terrorists.
On Wednesday, government had published a Gazette proscribing the existence of bandits groups, restraining any person or group of persons from taking part in activities of any of the bandit groups.
Before this recent move, the Federal High Court in Abuja had late last year declared bandits as terrorists following an ex parte motion the Federal Government filed before it through the Ministry of Justice.
The development followed calls from several quarters for government to declare bandits as criminals.
Aside from high-profile Nigerians, the National Assembly equally urged President Buhari to declare bandits as terrorists.
Also, state assemblies had earlier called on the Federal Government to proscribe the bandits who have kidnapped hundreds of people and killed many others in the North West and North East.
I Am Absolutely Aware Of Nigerians’ Sufferings, Says Buhari
During the interview, the President said that he is absolutely aware of the suffering and pains Nigerians go through to feed themselves and their families under his administration.
However, he encouraged the people to see agriculture as an option, saying: “I’m absolutely aware of it (the suffering of the people). “But like I said, look at the vast population of Nigerians, only 2.5 percent of the land revenues are being cultivated.
“We realised this rather too late, but we have to go back to the land (agriculture).”
During the interview, President Buhari also spoke about a number of burning issues including security, economy, and politics, among others.
He assessed his administration’s performance since he assumed office in 2015, especially in the three key areas of security, improving the economy, and fighting corruption.
The President believes the situation has improved and his administration has continued to improve the economy, despite the nation’s dwindling resources.
“For Nigerians to be fair with this administration is to try and find out from the time we won the election in 2015 till now, in the three promises we made – improving security, improving the economy, and trying to fight corruption; securing the country in the North East, if you ask anybody from Borno State, from Yobe State, from Adamawa State, there are a number of local governments – about 18 – that were in the hands of Boko Haram, no local government now is strictly in the hands of Boko Haram or ISWAP. So, in that respect, we have done something,” he asserted.
“In the economy, don’t forget and I challenge so many people to go and check with the central bank or NNPC. The production from 1999 to 2014 was 2.1 million barrels per day. When we came, somehow the militants were unleashed in the South-South.
“Production went down to half a million barrels per day, and coincidentally, the price again collapsed to about $37 per barrel. But look at what we did within the time frame and the resources available to us relative to the government we inherited.”
I Am Not Happy With The State Of Power In Nigeria – Buhari
He also expressed displeasure with the state of electricity in Nigeria.
Nigeria currently has the capacity to produce 13,000 megawatts of electricity but currently, Africa’s most populous nation produces just 4,000 megawatts on the national grid.
The President had in May 2018 queried the spending of $16 billion on power projects during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
But speaking during the exclusive interview, the President reiterated his administration’s resolve in providing infrastructure for Nigerians, including improving electricity.
When asked if he is happy with the nation’s capacity of electricity production, the President replied in the negative.
“I am not because I identify that no country can develop without infrastructure and infrastructure means road, rail and power,” Buhari said.
“This government is working very hard on the road. Try to imagine what was happening between Lagos to Ibadan six months ago and what it is now.
“We are doing from Lagos to Kano the rail, road from here to Kaduna to Kano. So we have to get the infrastructure right and then Nigerians will mind their own business. But when the infrastructure is not there, the roads are not there, the rail is virtually killed, no power, what do we expect people to do?”
The President also shed more light on why the electricity supply is yet to be stable in the country.
While noting that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is 100% government-owned, he noted that his government inherited the Distribution Companies (DisCos).
According to the President, the owners of Discos bought them based on geo-political zones rather than merit.
He added, “The people that own them, who are they? They are not electrical engineers, they don’t have money, it is just a political favour.
“To remove a system and reintroduce one is no joke. Luckily we have the TCN and that is the transmission. If we can get our technology right, we will cut the cost on transmission and the likelihood of sabotaging the lines and so on.”
On the controversial Chinese loans, he defended his government’s decision to source loans from China, saying anyone willing to help Nigeria’s infrastructure is welcome.
According to data from the Debt Management Office, Nigeria has borrowed $2.02 billion as loans from China from 2015 and the country’s debt portfolio from China has risen to $3.40bn as of March 31, 2021.
Buhari stated that whenever there was a need to secure more foreign loans, his administration would do so.
The Commander-in-Chief equally erased fears in some quarters that Africa’s most populous nation might be plunged into a debt trap.
“We take that (loans) where it is necessary. I told you now of something, what it is used to be between Lagos and Ibadan alone not to talk of the rest of the country.
“But we got the Chinese to help us in the rail and the roads, how can we turn that down? If we had turned that down, maybe between Lagos to Ibadan, you will have to walk.
“So the Chinese are welcome, anybody that is prepared to come and help us and our infrastructure to do the roads, the rail and power will be welcomed.”
Electoral Bill Away from the Chinese loans, Buhari also spoke on a wide range of national issues including his decision not to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
Buhari had declined assent to the bill, citing the inclusion of the direct primaries mode of elections.
According to the President, he will sign the bill if the National Assembly makes the needed adjustment.
“All I said (is that) there should be options,” he said. “We must not insist that it has to be direct; it should be consensus and indirect.”
Asked if he would sign if the lawmakers effect the change in that direction, he affirmed, “Yes, I will” I will sign.
He added, “There should be options, you can’t dictate to people and say you are doing democracy. Give them other options so they can make a choice.”
Education Not An Automatic Ticket To Govt Jobs, Buhari Tells Nigerian Youths
He told Nigerian youths to use their education and exposure to improve themselves and not see them as tickets to depend on the government.
He said: “I wish when they go to school; when they work hard; when they earn their degree, they don’t do it thinking that government must give them jobs.
“You get educated because an educated person is certainly better than an uneducated person even in identifying personal problems. So, education is not just meant to hang on to the government to give you jobs and then what the colonialists indoctrinated in us to believe – have a car, have a house; start work by 8:00 am and close by 2 pm.”
