Alhaji Muhammad Aliyu Adamu popularly called Abba boss by his friends and political associates was a strong member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kwankwasiyya faction, but when he was not allowed to run for the House of Representatives, he dumped the party and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC). Abba Boss in this interview with ALIYU ASKIRA expresses fears that if President Muhammadu Buhari hands over to a weak successor in 2032, the country will collapse.
Background
Abba Boss is my nickname; my real name is Muhammad Aminu Adamu. I am 71 years old; born in Fagge Quarters, Kano metropolis. I attend Gwagwaruwa, Kuka and Rano primary schools before proceeding to Barewa College. After Barewa College, I had a sting with Lever Brothers Nig. Ltd., before joining the then Bank of the North. Somewhere along the line, I was later sent to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to read a diploma in banking. I continued working with the bank until I became a management staff before I travelled abroad for a degree in accountancy and financial management. I later obtained a diploma in accountancy and financial management before doing a one-year attachment with Raleigh Company, United Kingdom and after one year I returned to Nigeria to take up an appointment with Raleigh Nigeria, makers of Raleigh bicycles who were later the major shareholders. Aminu Dantata asked me to handle his shares in his oil company where I rose to the position of project director before retiring to my private business and politics. I am now the chief executive of NANA Farms which I invested over N100 million in and I have more than 50 working staff; the N100 million is a bank loan.
How in your view are the country’s political parties faring?
The two dominant political parties in Nigeria today, the PDP and APC since the third and fourth republics, are operating like a family business or cult. They are virtually the same – both of them lacking in strong manifestos, programmes and policy direction for Nigerians. Insecurity is today threatening to make Nigeria a banana state, our education is in a shambles and food is beyond the reach of the common man.
That is why I don’t care which section of the country will produce the next president. When Buhari was the military head of state, with the late Maj.-Gen. Tunde Idiagbon as his chief of staff, Nigeria became a disciplined country and we were respected all over the world. But today even with EFCC and ICPC, you can steal whatever you want and if the EFCC or ICPC comes after you, all you need to do is to join the APC, the ruling party; this is unfortunate.
You once aspired to represent your people in the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP, but later left the party and joined the APC. What really happened?
Our politics is nothing to write home about; there is no freedom of choice. So, when Kwankwasiyya PDP did not give me a ticket, I left and joined the APC. I, however, discovered that they are all the same; they don’t elect people, but appoint people, the only difference is that Kwankwasiyya is a more organised group. It’s like one family; it’s only that there are several factions and so they are not coherent.
So, how do we make our political system great?
Well, if things continue like this, Nigeria will be a failed state. Our economy is in a shambles; we are not supposed to be importing food when we have vast lands for farming. Our education sector is crumbling; I saw a school that has five hundred students in one class; 250 students facing the North, while 250 facing the East. I had never seen this in my life; corruption is all over the place today. I can tell you with all sincerity that you need to pay between N4 million and N6 million to get a job in NNPC or Central Bank. The other day my son asked me to give him N6 million to buy a job in NNPC or CBN, but I refused because if he goes there he will definitely steal money having paid millions to secure the job. Our system is so corrupt that even our security agents prefer to collect money and allow bandits to kill our people. Today, the NNPC and CBN have most of their staff as children of the rich; some of them don’t even go to work. We can’t continue like this if Nigeria is to progress as a country.
But Nigerians massively voted for Buhari because he is not corrupt; are you not satisfied with his style of administration?
Buhari might not be corrupt, but he is surrounded by corrupt and incompetent people and people have been calling on him to sack these people, but he has not. As an elected president, he has the powers to do as he wishes. Today, in most parts of the North, you can’t travel at night or in the evenings. The North is completely under siege, but the president can still make tough decisions and make positive changes before handing over. That is why as far as I am concerned anybody can be president in 2023, I don’t care about zoning; all I want is someone that will deliver; a very tough president we should forget about religion and sentiment, and let us not crucify only Buhari because most of our governors are not performing. They collected billions as a bailout, they collected Paris Club, they are collecting monthly allocations from the federal government, but see our roads, our education is a disaster, our hospitals have no drugs, our graduates are roaming the streets and this is why we have all these kidnappings here and there. Most of those doing these are Nigerians, after all even Abubakar Shekau is a Nigerian; so if we do not create a good environment for our people, insecurity will continue. I have a friend, a white man, who always calls me asking, Aminu how is the harvest this year, and I will say it is good; then he will say if there is food there is peace, but now there is no food so there is no peace.
With this rich background and experience, why don’t you seek to go to the Senate or the House of Representatives to contribute your quota to the growth and development of the country?
Well, my intention before was that if I got to the National Assembly, I would be giving out all my salaries and allowances to my community and by now I might have engaged thousands of graduates. I would have empowered women and the less privileged, but my brother at 71, I prefer to be in my farm even though I am still in politics. My children are working with me on my farm and I give them very good salaries so that they wouldn’t complain. I have this doctor friend, one day I went to his clinic for a minor treatment and he told me that many people had been coming to the clinic for treatment, but couldn’t pay their bills. I then asked him if he wanted money so that when they ‘come you will deduct it from it?
But he said no, that some that can even pay will not once they are aware that somebody has kept money for that purpose. I further asked what we should do and he said ‘if such people come I will call you to pay the bill.’ Honestly, that doctor earned my respect, and I gave him a retainership fee of quarter of a million. So, basically I am also into philanthropic activities; that is why I refused to stay in the GRA. I live among the poor so that they can always reach me, I have three farms and they are all doing very well.
Are you are doing this all by yourself or it’s a family inheritance?
When I was going overseas on a scholarship to study, the man in the ministry asked to know why I did not proceed to the university earlier because of my good results, and I told him I was from a very poor family. He then advised me to go there and face my studies and come out with very good results; so I have tasted poverty, that is why I am always ready to assist the poor. I want my children to take after me.
Finally, how rich and how comfortable are you?
I told you I took a loan N100 million for my three farms. I am not as rich as people think I am. I never own N200 million of my own, my account is not swelling, but I am happy. Let me tell you a story of a friend of mine who was a manager in the defunct National Supply Company Kano. The guy was collecting money left and right and centre became so rich that he had so many cars, but one day, I saw his drivers moving his cars into my premises I called him to ask what was happening and said ‘my father who is a deputy commissioner of police is coming to see me, he is a straight forward man, if he sees the cars and the luxury I live in, he will deal with me; I parked an old Peugeot in front of my house for him to think that that’s my only car.’ Similarly, the same no nonsense policeman has a son in the police and one day the son went to him to give him Sallah ram, but when his father saw his big stomach, he said the stomach is not because of his salary and so he should go away with his ram. So, I decided not to be corrupt and my children too, I am giving them the best of training.
You said our political system needs drastic changes; how should we go about it?
It happened in Mali, when Malians said they didn’t want their president, all efforts to convince them to back down failed and the president was removed. In Nigeria here, see the fantastic work Governor Zulum of Borno state is doing despite his lean resources; he has proved to be a sincere leader. In Kaduna, Governor el-Rufa’i is transforming Kaduna into a beautiful city by constructing qualitative roads even though he has his problem. So, if our people are serious they can check our political leaders for them to live up to expectations.
If after this interview you receive a call from the presidency with the president asking you to advise him about Nigeria, what advice will you give him?
First, insecurity; the president should be decisive and deal with the criminals that are killing and kidnapping our people. This is because they are Nigerians and they know them; then food, there should be enough cheap food for the masses to afford because when people are hungry they are bound to be violent, they can do anything to feed their families. These are some of the things I will tell the president, most of those around him are not sincere; some are corrupt while others are incompetent.
