2019: Why Buhari’s victory over Atiku will be tough – Tanko Yakasai

 Elder Statesman Tanko Yakasai has predicted that the 2019 presidential election will be a straight fight between President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He warned that the sentiments that appealed to majority of Northerners who gave Buhari victory over former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, are no more there for the president in the 2019 election.

In this interview with VINCENT KALU, Yakasai, a founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), called on President Buhari to act like Jonathan by not interfering with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the coming elections.

What are you expecting from the political parties as the presidential and National Assembly campaigns kicked earlier in the week?

Unfortunately, in Nigeria political parties issue what they call manifestoes. Most of these manifestoes are the creation of the political parties themselves. They contracted people to write anything they feel will appeal to the masses, and they put it there just to get the votes. As soon as they got the votes, they forget their manifestoes, and we have seen it so many times. I hope that the two leading contenders will make realistic manifestoes that they can implement, and not general statements, but concrete issues.

The issue that is very critical is power. Without power, we cannot develop. People come and say they were going to provide power, but they don’t, and we still remain where we were.

I remember when APC said that in matter of six months that they were going to provide power, but how many years after, it didn’t come to pass.

Also, either early this year or late last year, I read that we were adding additional 9000 megawatts of electricity, and recently, I also read that Power Holding Company of Nigeria is struggling to reach about 4000 megawatts. What happens to the remaining 5000 megawatts?

Let the politicians that are contesting elections make honest, genuine promise that by the end of their tenure, they would be proud to say this is what I have achieved.

Corruption fight is going to be an issue in the campaigns. The ruling APC will insist that it is fighting corruption, but the opposition PDP will likely taunt them with unresolved graft cases in government circle. What do you say to this?

Look, I have said it many years ago that corruption fight by this government is only to intimidate political opponents and perceived enemies. If you are honestly fighting corruption, why is it that somebody who was questioned yesterday on account of billions of naira, the day he declared for the ruling party nobody remembers his alleged corruption again?

In fact, the moment anybody talks of corruption fight, my head aches; I just develop headache; the lies are too much for my head to accommodate, until I see the real thing. For instance, there are 36 state governors in Nigeria; I don’t remember the number of ministries we have, I know that a governor was fighting a senator of the same party, and eventually he emerged recognised candidate by INEC of that party in that state, the man has been serving senator and is alleged to be corrupt and he is not invisible all these days, that he could not have been arrested or questioned.

If there were going to be any promise to fighting corruption, at least with the people in power today, people would have seen the result. It should not be only members of the opposition party or opponents of the government that should be arrested, but everybody. To me, in all honesty, I cannot see this government fighting corruption. The case of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Lawal Babachir is enough to convince any doubting Thomas that the government is not sincerely fighting corruption. 

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