Posted by By KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna on
Second Republic Governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, has x-rayed the current administration in the country and concluded that despite wide acclaim about the capability of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, he may turn out worse than former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Second Republic Governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, has x-rayed the current administration in the country and concluded that despite wide acclaim about the capability of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, he may turn out worse than former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The firebrand politician, who is also the national chairman of the Conference of National Political Parties (CNPP), further accused President Yar'Adua of using the rule of law and due process to the undue advantage of some powerful Nigerians.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun in Kaduna, the former governor threw up examples to justify his verdict that Yar'Adua is worse than erstwhile President Obasanjo.
For instance, he said, Yar'Adua was yet to explain the difference of his N836 million worth within eight years he was governor of Katsina State.
'Of course (Yar'Adua) is worse than Obasanjo, because unlike Obasanjo, he is not capable. Obasanjo may be a crook; but he may also be a capable crook," he said.
Lamenting on the state of the nation, Balarabe, an accountant told Daily Sun: 'As I have always said, every aspect of the state of the nation is negative because of the bankrupt and irrelevance of the socio-economic system controlling all development in the country, which inevitably has produced a corrupt, thieving and wasteful political leadership."
Asked whether Yar'Adua falls into any of these categories, the notable politician was emphatic in his reply.
'Of course. And my justification is this: In 1999 when he became governor of Katsina State , he declared his worth being N64 million. In 2007, after he was sworn in as president, he declared being worth N900 million. And he has not yet explained the difference of N836 million within the eight years he was governor of Katsina State .
'Secondly, how can he avoid being regarded as one of them when after being President for almost one year now, he has not done anything to deal with the thieves. In fact, by his handling of the EFCC, he has demonstrated support for those alleged to be thieves.
'In other words, due process and rule of law are now being used to the advantage of the alleged thieves. Yar'Adua is unable to deal with this in spite of the fact that he is the executive president of the country. This is how Obasanjo failed and finally came to be regarded as the worst corrupt President Nigeria has ever had going by the numerous revelations arising from various investigations.
'Something has just happened now to show that Umaru Yar'Adua is not capable of dealing with corruption, stealing and waste in the system. What has happened now to prove this again is the fact that provisions for the remuneration and other benefits of legislators amounting to N45 million annually for a senator and N35 million for a member of the House of Representatives and Yar'Adua assented to the bill. Obasanjo would never have done that in spite of his shortcomings. Now, it has become a law and he has to implement it."
Musa also commented on Yar'Adua's decision not to probe the immediate past administration, saying that it proves that he is incapable of understanding the depth of the problem.
'So that people will not think that we are just being opponents and critics, let us talk about the solution to the problem now that we know that there is this disabling level of corruption and bureaucratic anarchy in the system. These crises of nation building are the direct result of the socio-economic system controlling all developments in the country which is based on self interest as opposed to public interest."
'We must, therefore, change the system in favour of one based on public interest, primarily and legitimate self interest, secondly. This change is not possible now that all the three arms of government lack minimal credibility. It means therefore that the government must be changed. Now, this change cannot come through any bourgeois democratic system based on election in Nigeria which has been bastardized.
'Therefore, the change can come about only through the people of Nigeria asserting themselves consciously and in unity. This means either a peaceful, fundamental, democratic revolution or socialist revolution. There is no way this country can survive with these problems and a bankrupt desperate, self-centred, violent and self protective political leadership."