Buhari is targeting security, stability and prosperity - Tony Momoh
Former
Minister of Information and Culture in General Ibrahim Babangida’s
regime, long-time associate of President Muhammadu Buhari and chieftain
of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prince Tony Momoh, shares some
insights with correspondent OGIEVA OYEMWENOSA on Buhari’s
administration, pro-Biafra agitation and more…
There appears to be a mounting sense of doubt at the socio-economic direction for the country in this administration. Why do you think this is so?
You have heard the president say he is the one that Nigerians voted for and he is responsible to them not to me or you. He is not owned by anybody and he was there in 1983 to 1985, he has experienced it. He is the only person since independence who sought to be president of Nigeria and succeeded. No other one - Tafawa Balewa wanted to be a broadcaster, he became prime minister. Shehu Shagari wanted to become a senator, he became president, Obasanjo was in prison praying to be released at the end of the day he became president. Late Yar’Adua wanted to retire to lecture in Ahmadu Bello University. He became president. Jonathan was taken from Bayelsa to Abuja and made Vice President and then later became acting president and president. Buhari when into politics and wanted to be president in 2003, he failed. In 2007 he failed. In 2011 he failed and in 2015 he succeeded. Do you think that type of person will be rushed into doing things he does not believe will make Nigeria grow? I can assure you - no.
There are three steps in Buhari’s scheme: S+S=P - that is the equation. S is for security, he will secure Nigeria, the other S is for stability, he will stabilize Nigeria through infrastructural development and the outcome of security and stability is Prosperity and Nigeria will prosper. At the End of the day, if Buhari doesn’t perform, stone us because he is going to perform.
When people begin to appoint ministers for him, program economic measures for him, begin to tell him what will happen in education and other ministries, you give the impression that he came to be president without preparing. I can assure you he prepared to hold office by coming out with a book called project Nigeria and that book he has always had since 2002 when he entered politics and he is going to implement this program.
He has a contract with every Nigerian, all the ethnic groups and I have said it, the South-East will be more in his party than any other group. Why? Because he is going to develop their area more than PDP ever did. Buhari knows where he want Nigeria to be and he has the opportunity to do it now and please let him. We are talking of four years and yet and people are saying he is very slow. One thing people don’t know is that those who are corrupt, those who did money laundry, those who diverted all sorts of things - they know where the heat is.
Buhari believes that anybody who took Nigeria’s money must return all the money, and should be punished for taking the money and denying the people of facilities they would have had if the money was used for them. Look at what is happening with arms procurement. People went collected billions of dollars and sat down to share the money and people where dying in the North-East. Those who had no arms with them ran into Cameroon, they put them under court marshal and sentenced them to death and they didn’t give them arms.
When they are dealing with such people, Nigerians are saying it is because they are in government. Those in government are the ones dealing with the money, those in APC had no access so will you say because there was no APC among the PDP that had the opportunity to serve Nigeria that pocketed the money should not be dealt with. Buhari has said he is not against anybody but everybody must bear consequences of their actions and when things are happening as media men find out why it is affecting your friend or colleague.
Don’t you think Nigerians have the right to know who have returned looted funds since the money belongs to the Nigeria people?
Government doesn’t talk; it is the media that talks. You are given the responsibility to monitor governance on behalf of the people. Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria and through the constitution the government generates its power and authority. The motto of government is keep our secret, secret and the motto of the journalist is publish and be dammed but publish the truth.
I have been editor, I have been a trainer of journalists and trainer of trainer of journalists and there is no where people volunteered information that was not meant to enhance its own status.
So, if government has been talking about people who have returned looted money, find out. Go and find out if any money has been recovered; go and find out how much it is. Find out who returned it. It is not the duty of the government to start publishing anything. What if they publish and for one reason or the other it is wrong. They can be sued. The point I am making is that yes the people have the right to know and the people have the right to be told - who does the telling?
You said Nigeria has a special anointing to be united. Please reconcile this statement with the current agitation in the South-East that they want to go.
What of North-East; you know where God has a programme, Satan is always at work; darkness is always at work. But the work of the darkness is always temporary and God’s anointing is permanent. You can delay it but you can’t subvert it.
When America said Nigeria will collapse, I said Nigeria will not collapse. But they are correct in their prediction but in Gods anointing, Nigeria is the only county packaged in the first half of the last century that has not collapsed. All other federations worldwide have collapsed - USSR, Slovakia but Nigeria has not collapsed because Nigeria is packaged to help grow the earth and the young ones will be the one to do it. Nigerians are knocking on the door of paradise; only they are in the forefront of doing so.
Still on Biafra…
They have the right to protest as any other group has the right to protest because that is their own reaction to what they considered as injustice. But the fact is protest has a limitation. There is what they call free speech plus. If in exercising your freedom of speech you punch my nose, that’s where your freedom ends and if people say they are expressing themselves and start destroying peoples car, there is a burden set up to ensure people are free. Those cars you destroyed, those building you scattered, those people you killed - did they wrong you? So in doing what you do, ensure you do it in accordance with the law. All over the world people protest but you don’t molest people when you are protesting because if you do, you have no right to the freedom you claim. I myself will rise to my feet so I sympathize with them, that is freedom of expression they are exercising but when it includes destruction, then it will not allowed.
There appears to be a mounting sense of doubt at the socio-economic direction for the country in this administration. Why do you think this is so?
You have heard the president say he is the one that Nigerians voted for and he is responsible to them not to me or you. He is not owned by anybody and he was there in 1983 to 1985, he has experienced it. He is the only person since independence who sought to be president of Nigeria and succeeded. No other one - Tafawa Balewa wanted to be a broadcaster, he became prime minister. Shehu Shagari wanted to become a senator, he became president, Obasanjo was in prison praying to be released at the end of the day he became president. Late Yar’Adua wanted to retire to lecture in Ahmadu Bello University. He became president. Jonathan was taken from Bayelsa to Abuja and made Vice President and then later became acting president and president. Buhari when into politics and wanted to be president in 2003, he failed. In 2007 he failed. In 2011 he failed and in 2015 he succeeded. Do you think that type of person will be rushed into doing things he does not believe will make Nigeria grow? I can assure you - no.
There are three steps in Buhari’s scheme: S+S=P - that is the equation. S is for security, he will secure Nigeria, the other S is for stability, he will stabilize Nigeria through infrastructural development and the outcome of security and stability is Prosperity and Nigeria will prosper. At the End of the day, if Buhari doesn’t perform, stone us because he is going to perform.
When people begin to appoint ministers for him, program economic measures for him, begin to tell him what will happen in education and other ministries, you give the impression that he came to be president without preparing. I can assure you he prepared to hold office by coming out with a book called project Nigeria and that book he has always had since 2002 when he entered politics and he is going to implement this program.
He has a contract with every Nigerian, all the ethnic groups and I have said it, the South-East will be more in his party than any other group. Why? Because he is going to develop their area more than PDP ever did. Buhari knows where he want Nigeria to be and he has the opportunity to do it now and please let him. We are talking of four years and yet and people are saying he is very slow. One thing people don’t know is that those who are corrupt, those who did money laundry, those who diverted all sorts of things - they know where the heat is.
Buhari believes that anybody who took Nigeria’s money must return all the money, and should be punished for taking the money and denying the people of facilities they would have had if the money was used for them. Look at what is happening with arms procurement. People went collected billions of dollars and sat down to share the money and people where dying in the North-East. Those who had no arms with them ran into Cameroon, they put them under court marshal and sentenced them to death and they didn’t give them arms.
When they are dealing with such people, Nigerians are saying it is because they are in government. Those in government are the ones dealing with the money, those in APC had no access so will you say because there was no APC among the PDP that had the opportunity to serve Nigeria that pocketed the money should not be dealt with. Buhari has said he is not against anybody but everybody must bear consequences of their actions and when things are happening as media men find out why it is affecting your friend or colleague.
Don’t you think Nigerians have the right to know who have returned looted funds since the money belongs to the Nigeria people?
Government doesn’t talk; it is the media that talks. You are given the responsibility to monitor governance on behalf of the people. Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria and through the constitution the government generates its power and authority. The motto of government is keep our secret, secret and the motto of the journalist is publish and be dammed but publish the truth.
I have been editor, I have been a trainer of journalists and trainer of trainer of journalists and there is no where people volunteered information that was not meant to enhance its own status.
So, if government has been talking about people who have returned looted money, find out. Go and find out if any money has been recovered; go and find out how much it is. Find out who returned it. It is not the duty of the government to start publishing anything. What if they publish and for one reason or the other it is wrong. They can be sued. The point I am making is that yes the people have the right to know and the people have the right to be told - who does the telling?
You said Nigeria has a special anointing to be united. Please reconcile this statement with the current agitation in the South-East that they want to go.
What of North-East; you know where God has a programme, Satan is always at work; darkness is always at work. But the work of the darkness is always temporary and God’s anointing is permanent. You can delay it but you can’t subvert it.
When America said Nigeria will collapse, I said Nigeria will not collapse. But they are correct in their prediction but in Gods anointing, Nigeria is the only county packaged in the first half of the last century that has not collapsed. All other federations worldwide have collapsed - USSR, Slovakia but Nigeria has not collapsed because Nigeria is packaged to help grow the earth and the young ones will be the one to do it. Nigerians are knocking on the door of paradise; only they are in the forefront of doing so.
Still on Biafra…
They have the right to protest as any other group has the right to protest because that is their own reaction to what they considered as injustice. But the fact is protest has a limitation. There is what they call free speech plus. If in exercising your freedom of speech you punch my nose, that’s where your freedom ends and if people say they are expressing themselves and start destroying peoples car, there is a burden set up to ensure people are free. Those cars you destroyed, those building you scattered, those people you killed - did they wrong you? So in doing what you do, ensure you do it in accordance with the law. All over the world people protest but you don’t molest people when you are protesting because if you do, you have no right to the freedom you claim. I myself will rise to my feet so I sympathize with them, that is freedom of expression they are exercising but when it includes destruction, then it will not allowed.
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