Senator Saidu Dansadau feels strongly that deployment of troops to Zamfara state following sustained killings by armed bandits is hardly the solution.
Rather, he insists on declaration of the state of emergency.
In this interview with PATRICK ANDREW, he speaks on sundry issues
Sir, you had pleaded with Mr President to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State because of recurrent mass killings by armed bandits, he has responded by deploying troops of 1000 personnel to ensure there is security in Zamfara, are you satisfied with that? No, we are far from being satisfied because our believe is even if Mr.
President deployed the entire Nigerian military to Zamfara State so long as Abdulaziz Yari is on the seat as Governor there is no way the Nigerian military will achieve the desired success.
Anything short of declaring the state of emergency in Zamfara state we will never be satisfied because the situation will be going from bad to worse.
And we are being vindicated from the day l had the press conference which is about three weeks ago and now not less than 250 people have been killed.
As I speak with you about 18 towns and villages have fled their abodes and the criminals have completely taken over their towns and villages.
It is too long a time for the people of Zamfara to continue to wait until May 29 when Abdulaziz Yari will leave office.
The people of Zamfara may perish, Zamfara may cease to exist, and in fact the Nigerian nation may lose Zamfara state as part of the territorial part of Nigeria.
So if Mr.
President will summon the courage and accede to our appeal and also heed the advice of well meaning Nigerians and declare a state of emergency the better for him and the better for the nation and better for the people of Zamfara state.
Some would think you are being over demanding since you have not allowed the troops to carry out its operation first? Is it the large number of troops that the people of Zamfara state require or is it the safety of their lives and property that they need? In fact, the latter is what they need so that everyone can go about their normal business.
A situation where the ordinary farmer cannot go to his farm, where in one week 18 towns and villages are completely sacked by criminals while the troops are still there what is the use the troops in Zamfara? We know the impediment it is the present bureaucratic structure in Zamfara so long as the present elected structure remains in Zamfara there is no way we can have peace and ensure the safety of lives and property of the people.
We, the people of Zamfara, know the situation and it is only fair like the saying goes he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches.
We know the problem of Zamfara is Governor Abdulaziz Yari and his deputy.
So long as they are in office, there is no way the people of Zamfara can be saved.
Anything short of declaring a state of emergency in Zamfara state is not acceptable to the people of Zamfara, won’t help the people.
So, Mr.
President should not border himself and wasting the nation’s resources by way of personnel and expertise on the criminals in Zamfara state.
In fact, he is tarnishing their image because when you used to have a Lt.
Gen as head of operation and now for almost three weeks you have a Major General and things are deteriorating.
Surely, it is tarnishing the image of the Nigerian military, which is in fact dangerous to the nation.
We are in other words exposing probably the weakness of the nation’s military.
The action that needs be taken has not been taken.
Before the air men can make effective operations the ground troops must be there.
But in the case of Zamfara, it is not there: the Governor and his deputy.
So not until the weak structure is removed will the operation be successful.
Apart from the state of emergency is there no other option that can be pursued to ensure the safety of the people? There is other option other than declaration of the state of emergency.
Yes, we are in a democracy.
But it is the nation’s constitution that makes provision for the declaration of the state of emergency and what the constitution had contemplated that can justified state of emergency have The ordinary Nigerians are waiting for 2019 to teach both the PDP and the APC political lessons.
These parties will bring out their money and the people will take their money but will vote in credible and God fearing persons.
manifested themselves in Zamfara state long ago: break down of law and order, absence of safety of lives and property, all these have manifested themselves and the state has long been ripe for the declaration of the state of emergency.
Sadly, for whatever reason, President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to declare the state of emergency.
The people of Zamfara do not hold Abdulaziz Yari responsible for the lives that have been lost, we hold President Muhammadu Buhari liable for the lives being lost daily in Zamfara state, because Abdulaziz Yari had confessed the situation is beyond him.
He had resigned as the Chief Security Officer of the State which makes the President the Chief Security Officer of the state.
So the ball has since been in his court and it is fair to take safety measures.
We are blaming him (Mr.
President) for all that is happening in Zamfara from the day Abdulaziz Yari said he has resigned from being the Chief Security Officer of the state because from that day President Buhari as the Commanderin-Chief and the Chief Security Officer of the country is the Chief Security Officer of Zamfara state.
So he is responsible for what is happening to us in Zamfara state.
The state govt has accused you of being part of the problem in Zamfara alleging that your actions are solely political, is it true? That’s the opinion of the spokesman of the governor.
If we should close our eyes and keep quiet and our people continue to be killed is it only then we would be non-partisan? No, we won’t do that.
We won’t be intimidated by inaccessible allegations neither be deterred from our efforts to continue to mount pressure on the federal government to do the right thing.
There are ongoing political realignment, collaboration and alliances, but it seems your party NRM is not in the picture? Yes, that’s quite correct, we are neither in the coalition with the PDP nor alliance with the APC because we have an identity, ideology and philosophy which we are not prepared to compromise.
We had not registered the National Rescue Movement for us to be dissolved into any other party.
We are a political party with distinct ideology and principles and we believe our ideology, principles and philosophy are what are required to take Nigeria to the Promised Land.
Therefore, we know God is behind us and that we will reach the required destination, will win the majority of states and at the same time win the presidency.
As far as the Presidency is concerned, it is our belief that the presidential candidate of this partythe NRM- is the candidate that will defeat Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates and be sworn-in on May 29, 2019 as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
We don’t rule out electoral alliance but count us out of any coalition.
However, any party that wants to come and dissolve to join us such party is free.
The reason is that we are not prepared to remove a comma from our constitution and manifesto because they are well thought out documents.
Our philosophy and policies are designed following painstaking analyses based on the research on the socioeconomic challenges confronting this nation within the last 40 years.
So, it is not an adhoc thing, not a fire brigade constitution.
The NRM is a political party planned and factored to address the socio-economic needs of the country, so that Nigeria can carve out its place in the comity of nations.
In view of growing vote buying syndrome in Nigeria, where is the place of ideology that you have talked about? You are very correct, as in the case of the recent election in Ekiti that the INEC has admitted was dominated by vote-buying.
This can only be possible in one state where a political party can commit its resources, both human and materials, into that single state but if you are going for a general election or presidential election it is not possible.
Most importantly, Nigerians have seen in practical terms the dangers of money politics, have learnt from a hard way and therefore they are looking for a way out and there is no doubt that the only way out is to play politics of ideology where extensive use of money is substantially reduced, where credibility and passion for good governance, for providing services are the order of the day, rather than politics being turned into a business enterprises.
This is because politics as a being enterprise is what has brought us to our knees today.
The ordinary Nigerians are waiting for 2019 to teach both the PDP and the APC political lessons.
These parties will bring out their money and the people will take their money but will vote in credible and God fearing persons.
We are optimistic that Nigerians will learn lot of lessons in February 2019.
When open campaigns start we are going to talk.
We are going to reveal to Nigerians what they don’t know that have been happening in the present administration that they never thought will happen.
By the time we reveal that I don’t think President Buhari and the APC will get one third of the vote that their presidential candidate got in 2015.
