I will transform Fagge if .... Muzakkari
SINCE the revival of that popular political concept, ‘Progressive’, a group has been identified as the progressive elements in Nigeria since 1979 when Chief (Dr.) Michael Imoudu was the leader of the Peoples Alliance and the unregistered Progressive Peoples Party.
The progressives are normally hooked to their personal ideologies whether they are nominal or active members of their respective parties. Today, many progressive politicians dominate the political scene with different approaches to salvage the commoners from the bitter grasp of poverty, starvation and hunger.
Alhaji Abdu Muzakkari, a one time Managing Director of the Triumph Publishing Company Limited (TPCL), conveniently fit into this identified group of progressive politicians who have doggedly stuck out their necks to emancipate as well as rekindling the hopes of the people.
“I personally did not declare my intention just because I lacked something doing or that I want to vie for the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP to amass health and it stops there. My objective is definitely beyond that presumption.
He said those who know him are very much aware of his principles as a person because if there is any business he seems to be conversant with, it is investing on human beings.
Though his coming at this material point in time to answer the clarion call of the Fagge people at least for the first time to vie for the exalted position shows his high level of sacrifice and political commitment.
Alhaji Muzakkari said he solely relied on the people’s good will since he lacks all it takes to support his candidature financially.
A reflection on what happened during the PDP primary election where he gallantly emerged victorious at the polls despite his financial incapacity shows how committed the Fagge people are about his contest.
A random sampling of people’s views pertaining to how and why Muzakkari has gone deep into the hearts of the rich and poor, children and women in Fagge serves as a political morale booster.
In this interview with our political correspondent, Abdullahi Yakubu, Muzakkari spoke at length for the first time to his darling paper, The Sunday Triumph a baby he nurtured and supported to stand on her feet when the going was tough, during his hey days as the company’s managing director.
Sunday Triumph: Can you please tell us something about yourself?
Muzakkari: Well, I was born in Fagge quarters here in Kano City in the year 1953 and attended Gidan Makama Primary School 1959, and later proceeded to Dambatta Senior Primary School from 1963 - 1965 and then moved to Rumfa college and passed out in 1970. Later, I proceeded to Kaduna Polytechnic where I spent two years pursuing a diploma in marketing.
Q. What about your experience as a civil servant?
A. Immediately I completed my diploma course, I joined Northern State Marketing Board where I rose to the position of an Area Manager in-charge of Bauchi, Borno and Gongola states. I later transferred to Zaria to take charge of the defunct Kaduna and Sokoto states.
I was moved to the defunct sokoto State. After I joined the Triumph Publishing Company, as Assistant Marketing Manager in 1987, subsequently, I became the Commercial Services Controller. I was appointed the Managing Director of the company in 1997. I served in that capacity until 1999, I later served briefly with the Kano State Investment and Properties (KSIP) as Manager in charge of administration. In the year 2000, I got an appointment with Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) as an Assistant Director. There, I was shouldered with the privatisation of fertilizer companies and briefly handled the privatisation of New Nigerian Newspapers, Daily Times and Nigerian Hotels. In 2003, I was promoted to the rank of deputy director and made the Head of Administration and served for a year and half. I was transfered to operations once again and concluded the privatisation of two notable fertilizer companies, National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria (NAFCON) and Federal Super Phostphate of Nigeria. After completing the transaction, I was transfered back to the administrative department as Head of Administration. I later resigned my appointment to join politics in the year 2006.
Q. What informed your decision to drop your civil service job and joined politics? Is it about money, prestige or what?
A. Infact right from the word go my people have been calling on me to resign my appointment to join politics but then I felt it was not yet time. But now that my official retirement date is 2008, I felt that there is no better time to take to politics than now. I don’t know what the Fagge people see in me and the reason behind this clamour.
Let me tell you there was even a threat that since they have been pressurising me to come out and contest but I vehemently kicked against such ideas, then there will be a time that I will come and ask for that and they will automatically turn their backs against my political aspiration.
As you are aware, I have since answered their calls and by the time my posters started appearing, there was no platform for my contest. And after due consultations then people decided that I should contest on the platform of the PDP. Besides, I have been a nominal member of the PDP since 1999.
Q. What will Fagge people be expecting if you eventually become a member of the Federal House of Representatives?
A. I think there is nothing new in all that I intended to do, most especially since I know the art of assisting fellow human beings since my school days.
Therefore, my main priority will be to embark on massive youth empowerment strategy as well as assisting the less privileged ones. I will use my position to look for job opportunities for those who are jobless.
Q. Why do you decide to contest on the platform of the PDP and not ANPP or any other party?
A. As I told you my choice of a political platform has nothing to do with my contest. Believe you me even if I decided to join APGA, Fagge people will still vote for me.
I don’t see the ANPP or any other party in Fagge as more stronger than the PDP but all that happened was the Buhari factor no more no less.
I can assure you that the people are not going to make the mistake of electing representatives who lack the interest of their people at the bottom of their hearts.
Q. How ready are you for the contest in terms of financial capability?
A. Honestly speaking, if it is money, I don’t think I have enough money that will enable me scale through. But I rely on the goodwill of the people. Let me tell you that my first poster especially the ones you saw on the streets were printed by committee of friends. More than one hundred thousand posters have so far been printed by that committee and not single one was printed by my humble self.
There are a lot of handbills, key holders, soap badges and other convenient that were donated by the people.
In a nutshell, I have never encouraged money politics in my life. I have been telling people to kick against it. It is very impossible to give every voter money before he votes you into office, but from the time I started to date I have seen how people have lovedme, politics is indeed interesting, even if I fail to scale through I know God has something bigger in stock for me.
Q. The act of legislation entails promulgation of laws, not about project execution, how do you intend to enlighten the people so that they will stop having the erroneous belief that a lawmaker must dish out money to them?
A. This is a very good question because it is good for the people to know this. But I know that despite that there are a number of opportunities that a legislator has especially in the name of constituency projects. One can even use his resources to finance one or two things in his constituency. But, basically, the position is just about lawmaking.
Today there are sign boards indicating constituency projects. These are works done by legislators. Assistance to the youths by way of creating a mini scholarship to them will help those in the universities and other tertiary institutions. Utilising one’s contact with other Nigerians with a lot of influence may help a serious legislator to gain employment for his people. If reasonable percentage of the jobless youth gain employment, then one can come back home and sleep with the belief that some people are established somewhere.
Q. Throughout your life you have been viewing politics from a distance and now you are deep into it. How will you make an appraisal of politics in Nigeria?
A. Though I have not been actively involved in politics all this years yet I mix with people and I know a lot about politics in my own way. Even before my declaration, when you come to my house you will see many people because I have been relating with them well.
When I became fully involved in politics I did not notice any change because I have been used to attending to people’s complaints only that now it is on a larger scale.
When you join politics, you will come across people with divergent views over a number of issues. Therefore, politics in Nigeria is very much interesting particularly in Fagge, because, Fagge is a mini Nigeria since it consists of all the tribes in Nigeria.
There is no tribe, different culture and religion that one will not find in Fagge local government. With my experience in the federal service because the place I left of recent (BPE) is also a mini Nigeria. There is no state that is not represented in the BPE.
We worked as a family. My experience from Northern State Marketing Board and Nigeria Groundnut Board, which are all federal establishments has been helpful.
Knowing the political trend in Fagge is another thing because it seems to be one of the political volatile local governments in the country. This is because one is not dealing with one tribe but many Nigerians. One has to device a means of walking with people without offending their customs and religions.
It is quite different with politicians in the remaining metropolitan local government areas of the state.
Q. Let me put it to you that your victory over the primary elections has become a source of concern not only to other contenders but even to the opposition parties. Do you see that as a source of encouragement? How do you plan to carry everyone along?
A. Infact I saw my victory during the primary election as a source of encouragement because I contested with a time tested politician, Alhaji Habu Ibrahim Fagge who once served as a commissioner in the state but yet defeated him.
Secondly, I must also state that once I am in the House as duly elected member of the Federal House of Representatives, I will definitely bring about a balance in the execution of development projects since Fagge local government is a mini-Nigeria where every tribe and different categories of people reside.
I feel siting projects whether in Sabon Gari or Fagge proper does not matter since that project will remain for the benefit of all the residents. That is why I don’t see any difficulty in handling the situation.
Here, permit me to recall the achievements of the former chairman of Fagge local government, Alhaji Sule Chamber. Anywhere you go whether in Sabon Gari in Fagge projects were sited devoid of any sentiments.
As a matter of priority, I intend to create a mini scholarship for some selected youths in the constituency so as to relief them of the burden of school fees and other educational problems.
For those who were born and bred in Sabon Gari, they are automatically indigenes of Fagge local government. There are those who have no second home but Fagge hence, they have no other place to show as their own local government by virtue of birth. They too will be fully supported.
Some tribes like the Yorubas, Igbos, Nupes and others who have blended to become Hausa and also reside in Fagge proper would also be supported at least for all to have sense of belonging.
When all these things are done based on equitable formula, no one would have any reason to cry. For instance, in the selection for the scholarship, one may decide to pick candidates from Sabon Gari, East, Sabon West, Rijiyar Lemo, Kwachiri, Yanmata among others.
Q. You were all along confident of PDP’s victory come April 2007, but internal squabbles within the party in 2003 blocked its chances and it was defeated in almost all the positions its members contested for by various PDP candidates. Have you resolved your differences now?
A. Let me assure you that with my coming, all these crisis have since been resolved not only in Fagge but in the entire state and country. What happened to the PDP in 2003 was not the crisis but the Buhari factor and going by what is going on in the ANPP now victory is on our side.
Q. What about your campaign strategy?
A. My strategy is not different from that of any party. We are going to give honour to whom honour is due. We are going to reach out to people and talk to them positively for them to vote wisely during the general elections.
We are also going to re-echo the issue of youth empowerment, environmental sanitation, provision of drugs in clinics, women empowerment, just to mention but a few.
My strategy also has to do with regulating the conduct of youths especially those with the bad culture of smoking dangerous drugs not to join our campaign train or that they should stop it. I would rather drop my ambition instead of allowing the youths to embark on massive consumption of cigarettes, Indian hemp and drugs.
I believe that whoever encourages other people’s children to smoke dangerous drugs, one day his children too will fall into similar trap.
Q. How do you see Alhaji Umaru Musa’s chances at winning the forthcoming presidential election?
A. Infact, Umaru Musa Yar’adua has a very good chance of winning the presidential election because if you watched the PDP’s convention held in Abuja, it was marvellous and PDP members spoke their minds.
Besides, when you look at the states and other sensitive offices PDP is controlling, none of the parties can boast of that.
Additionally, Umaru Musa’s choice by the PDP was done rightly because the man is very good and meant well for the people of this country and we believe that he will be the next president of Nigeria.
Q. National Population Commission (NPC) has released the 2006 census result with Kano state taking the leading position. How do you think this will help in assisting the state enjoy more from the revenue sharing formula?
A. I am not surprised that Kano has this numerical strength because people migrate to Kano on daily basis. There are more settlements all over the state. I assure you that even foreigners have abandoned their countries to come to Kano and reside permanently. Secondly, there is this issue of constitutional provision which had made it possible for the most populous state to enjoy more revenue than any other state of the federation.
In any case, I think, I have less to do in that direction if bringing something new is the revenue sharing formula since it has already been tackled constitutionally.
How do you intend to carry the people along if you subsequently emerge victorious?
A. Let me tell you that since one cannot identify the people who voted for him, there will be no room for discriminating against anyone. The most interesting issue is that people who have never voted in their life will come out to vote just because of my relationship with them. When one is in power, everyone will definitely come to you and you are for all. Even President Obasanjo can not reach every Nigerian along, not PDP members alone since he assumed the leadership of this country.
Q. As a student of business administration, how will you use your marketing experiences in favour of your constituency if you eventually emerge victorious?
A. I will make sure that Kano state is not left behind in anything. We will make sure that all that the state needed to boost its commercial status are actualised.
Q. Do you have any advise for the electorate?
A. I will only call on them to register enmasse. This is very important. Recently, the Abia state governor, threatened not to entertain those who refused to register. He promised not to pay salaries of all civil servants who fail to produce their voters registration cards.
These have been going on even in other states. Some states made it mandatory that there will be no registration of pupils in primary schools unless their parents provide evidence of their voters registration. Somehow, some states have vowed not to provide health amenities to communities until all illegible voters show evidence of registration.
I want to use this medium to call on people to vote for PDP. They should make reference to what the party has done in 2003 in terms of projects execution.
Q:Thanks for sparring your time.
A: Thank you too.