[lg policy] Nigeria ’s major problem is corruption, says Birmah

Wed Nov 10 16:07:29 UTC 2010

Nigeria’s major problem is corruption, says Birmah
Politics Nov 10, 2010

By Sam Eyoboka
ALHAJI Dauda Birmah, former Education minister in the Abacha regime
and commissioner, Federal Character Commission between 1995 and 2001,
is currently aspiring for the position of president on the platform of
the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).

In this interview, Birmah, stressed that corruption has wreaked a
serious havoc on the Nigerian nation. He believes he has the solution
for the nation’s multifarious problems. Excerpts:

There is this allegation that ANPP is has not been playing the role of
an opposition and that the series of  crises that have been rocking
the party have not placed it on a right footing to offer a better
leadership than the PDP. What is your reaction?

The crises recorded in our great party are not exclusive to ANPP. The
ruling party has a dose of it also. But I want to tell you that the
new leadership of the party headed by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu has determined
to give a positive direction. In the first place I decided to join the
party in 2001 because I looked at the PDP and discovered there is
nothing more it can offer. Some people in the party decided to join in
the PDP-led government in what they termed as unity government.

But some of us did not buy that idea.  The new leadership of our party
does not subscribe to such an arrangement, the new leadership wants to
do things differently. Our party has been positioned for better; we
are not just trying to play the opposition role but to take over the
reins of power at the centre. We are going to win the next election.

Do you think you have any chance of winning the nomination of your party?

Yes, there are other aspirants in the party and every one of them is a
force to reckon with. I cannot tell you categorically that I am going
to win the nomination, but I am hopeful that the ANPP delegates will
vote for me. If I win, I am going to make fundamental changes in
government.

It is said today that corruption is about the greatest challenge of
this country. What is your take?

Corruption remains the greatest problem of this country. The first
thing any person who wants to retrieve this country will do is to
fight corruption. This corruption has continued to wreak a terrible
havoc on the country.

This corruption has hindered the development of all the sectors of the
nation’s economy. The problem of corruption is responsible for the
decay in education, the level of unemployment and general poverty in
the country. We must fight this monster which has created
unemployment.

Birmah: Gunning for the presidency

All our money is going to foreign banks and is being held hostage
there. If you bring all that money here it will go a long way in
reducing the level of poverty.  The economy was far better in the
Abacha days. His regime was not a bad government contrary to what some
people were saying after his death, they started to invent lies
against him.

At his death, we had $8, 9 billion as foreign reserves, but the regime
that succeeded him handed over $3.4 billion. In his days, it was N78
to a dollar, but he was targeting N62 per dollar before he died. How
much is it today? Even the money they recovered after Abacha’s death
where did they keep it. It is the same corruption. We must be sincere
in the fight against corruption. The EFCC and other related agencies
must show more commitment. If you fight corruption in the day, and
sleep with corruption at night, that is not fighting corruption. We
must send PDP on sabbatical in 2011.

Despite the amnesty deal and the fact that Goodluck Jonathan from the
South-South is the president of the country, yet there are still bomb
blasts. What is your reaction to this? The moment people feel excluded
they become violent. If their agitations are not listened to, they
begin to throw bombs. If they are excluded from governance they
continue their agitation. What the government should do is to find out
why they still plant bomb even after they said there was an amnesty.

The question is what the states in the Niger Delta have done to
improve the living standard of people in the zone, what of the local
governments, and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The
bombs have continued even now, do you know the contents and level of
implementation of the amnesty deal? It is a matter of looking at the
programme again and making sure it is not cosmetic but real amnesty,
then you will be taking care of that threat.

Do you believe in the PDP zoning arrangement and where does that leave
you as an aspirant under ANPP?
The zoning problem of PDP is one area I want to steer clear of. They
created the monster called zoning and it is going to consume them and
I am not qualified to comment on that. Let them stew in their own
juice.  I am in the race because I believe I have something to offer.
Power can go to anywhere. I am from the North and want to win, any
other person can still contest, it is a free ticket, after all, we are
in a democracy.

What are your dreams for Nigeria assuming you are voted into power as president?

I have watched with sadness how our dear country has drifted over the
years back to the Dark Age. Electricity is almost non-existent. If
voted into power, I will tackle the problem of corruption, number two,
revive education sector that has totally collapsed. To get the country
on its feet, we must revamp our educational system. If you invest in
education, you produce engineers, doctors, teachers and experts who
will join hand to move the nation forward. I was the education
minister for seven months and I said Nigerian educational system was
bastardised by satellite campuses. I was the first person to notice
that. Today, we have Open University system.

I also introduced the French Language policy so that every Nigerian
can have the opportunity to be bi-lingual. When I left office it was
abolished. If I am elected president, I will reintroduce it. I also
brought focus on Teacher education so that you first of all produce
teachers who will teach others. Building schools without the people to
teach is an effort in futility. I shall also pay serious attention to
power and energy. We have gone back to the Dark Age where there is no
electricity to drive businesses. You know if there is constant
electricity, crime level will reduce because small businesses will be
on to reduce unemployment. We shall also harness the gas resources and
put it into use instead of the constant gas flaring.

We produce a lot of gas that are not been channeled into proper use.
We must also invest in agriculture. It is high time we developed
agriculture; this will halt the rural-urban drift. This will also
reduce crime because many people will be attracted and engaged in this
sector.
We shall also look into infrastructure. Here we make sure that the
railways are rehabilitated and made functional, waterways etc. This
will reduce the menace of heavy-duty vehicles and their resultant
carnage on our roads.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/11/nigeria%E2%80%99s-major-problem-is-corruption-says-birmah/

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