Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani, National Chairman Action Democratic Party (ADP) is also the president Unity Bridge Association, a socio-cultural organisation wielding the north central states together. In this interview with EMEKA NZE, Sani says the Middle Belt zone is politically awakened and prepared to have a shot at the number one seat of power in the country, having not held power since civil rule began in 1999.
Would you like to speak about this cultural body that is galvanizing the north central as a formidable political force?
The issue of north central as a region that has not been able to come together in a manner that we can effectively engage in national politics and the fact that the region is blessed with natural resources, if you talk about agriculture, this is where you have it in abundance, you talk about solid minerals, you have it equally in abundance, you talk about even oil and gas. North Central can best be described as the food basket of the nation, enough to feed this country and export to other countries. Human capital, we have highly educated and skilled professionals . This is also the zone that, unfortunately, does not have the kind of cultural organisation that will serve as a platform for the sons and and daughters of this zone coming together as one, irrespective of religion, your culture and state. So that’s what informed the formation of what we call The Unity Bridge Association of the North Central. The Bridge was registered with CAC. We had 3-point agenda namely, cultural integration of the zone, meaning that how do we bring the zone together as one entity that has identifiable characteristics of culture, binding people together, because that’s what culture is supposed to do. Another point in the agenda is how do we fast-track the economic development of this zone so that we will be able to take full advantage of what God has given to us as I have enumerated. And the third one is the political emancipation of the North Central. How do we engage with national politics so that we do not in anyway obliterate the unique features of the people of north central and be able to take advantage of those uniqueness to engage with national politics so that we will now be able to take advantage of what will accrue to us by way of negotiations, or election or selection or appointment on the political platform. To do that, it’s part of the initiatives that led to the formation of the Action Democratic Party (ADP). I happen to be the convener, the founder of the Bridge and obviously did not lose sight of the fact that unlike the southeast that has Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the southwest that has Afenifere, the south southsouth, they have PANDEV, the north also have the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). So we believe that given our uniqueness, we cannot be just subsumed in the Arewa Consultative Forum’s narratives. We should be able to bring out our own identity, more so, if the country by convention, you have 6 geopolitical zones, so if we allow ourselves to be subsumed in the so called north as a bloc without identifying ourselves as one political entity that should be able to stand on its own and fight for itself, then we would have shortchanged not only ourselves but also generation unborn. So that’s what lead to the BRIDGE association and it has been a very effective tool.
What is the membership analysis of the bridge? Are they just members of your own political party, the ADP or they are drawn from different political parties?
No. the Bridge was existing long before ADP. ADP was formed long after the Bridge was formed. We are 3 years old, having been registered in 2017, that’s when we got our certificate. But the Bridge has been there since 2016. So it was there long before the party.
Since your party was born, has it affected the operations of the Bridge? Are the members of the Bridge drawn from other political parties or are they strictly from your party?
Just like you have in Afenifere or Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the same thing applies here. The main objective is how do we take from the national politics. How do we provide that platform and that’s why we have the Bridge so that you from APC, you from PDP, from ADP or whatever party you may be, we will sit down once in a while and say what is happening in your party? How do we take advantage of you being there? We want to from time to time come together, the north central indigenes from PDP, the ones in APC, the ones in ADP, the ones in whatever other party will come together as the north central people then strategise.
What is the relationship between the Bridge and the recently established North Central Peoples Forum (NCPF)?
You see, that’s why I mentioned that the Bridge is a cultural organisation with specific objectives and registered with CAC. The NCPF is not registered with CAC, that is purely for political engagements. It’s like a pressure group to ensure that north central gets its fair share from the national politics, like you have Afenifere. Afenifere is not registered with CAC, Ohanaeze is not registered with CAC. They are purely political organisations that are there to fight for the indigenes of the zones. The Bridge transcends politics. Like you know very well, there’s nothing we can achieve in the setting we have today without you having political power, you can’t have economic progress in the way you want to have it or social integration and things like that, that’s why the Bridge is so much aware that you need to have a vibrant political organisation in form of a political party like ADP, in form of north central zone pressure group that can fight. So you can simply say we are fighting from three-pronged kind of attack. This is why when I learnt about the NCPF, I said it’s very good because we need people to talk, to let Nigerians know that the north central is not just about Arewa Forum.
Apart from proximity, what are the other binding factors of the north central zone?
The propelling factor that binds us together is the fact that we share a common destiny politically, because in the political arrangement of Nigeria today, things are assumed in accordance with the 6 geo-political zones. When they are zoning offices ,that’s one thing they use to zone offices and like I said, yes we may have economic issues, social issues but for you to make any impact in those arena , you need to have political power , you don’t need to be an appendage of another zone , otherwise you won’t get anywhere.
Is the north central just waking up from slumber after several years of being an appendage of the core north?
Like the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. We have discovered, like every other region, we have restiveness all over the country today . We are talking about restructuring, restructuring is about how do we take care of ourselves. People are no longer talking about that entity called Nigeria, they are saying lets see how we can weaken the centre. So if the centre is weak and you are not ready to take your destiny into your hands in order to effectively ensure that your people are not shortchanged, so it is necessity that had made the north central today to wake up to say let us take our destiny in our hands.
So far, what had been the level of consultation?
The level of consultation is very very wide and deep because Bridge has a structure in all the states, we have the chairmen, the secretaries, and what have you. They meet from time to time to dialogue and discuss and the consultation is at the highest level. We have a constitution, we have board of trustees of the Bridge made up of personalities like former governors, senators are all part of this.
Do you think the governors will give you total support?
They have no choice, they don’t have any other region than this and they too will benefit immensely if the people of the zone are united. It will be to the advantage of the governors because they have political ambitions not only to be in the states but to also play at the national level. If you are not organised in your zone, how do you play at the national level? Nobody will reckon with you. So they need it more than any other person .
Ahead of 2023, what is the programme of the Bridge?
If at all zoning was about equity and fairness and giving every Nigerian sense of belonging, then I think this time around, this moment, not next time around, it is the turn of the north central, not any other zone. I can show you a map here (produces a map). You can see that each zone has had a civilian representation. The only zone that has produced not president, not a VP, is the north central. So if zoning in a civilian arrangement is about equity and fairness, north central zone should have it this time.
There is the common belief that the middle belt will always do the agitations but when the time for action comes, they would always lose their voice and get subsumed by the core north. How true is this?
To a very large extent, it’s true and I will tell you why. All along ,the north central zone has never had a political party where they hold sway ,that the decision of the north central will carry the day. This is why we are shortchanged. That’s why we went out of our way to create a platform, perchance, if we are not allowed like it has always been because we do not control those major dominating platforms, perhaps we can coalesce, come here to our own platform where we can decide as north central and say this is what we want.
What you are saying is that the north central is now prepared to challenge the core north which has always dominated it?
Very much prepared. We have a political platform which is ADP, we have the Bridge which is a cultural association , we have the North Central Peoples Forum, which is a political pressure group, so we are ready, we have the tools, the ammunition, we have everything now. We can match them action for action. I
