Maj.-Gen. Zamani Lekwot (retd.), a
former Military Administrator of Rivers State under the Murtala/Obasanjo
regime tells DAVID ATTAH about his incarceration after the Zango Kataf
riot of 1992, granting of amnesty to members of Boko Haram and other
issues
There have been a lot of killings in Nigeria by the Boko Haram sect. What is the way out of this problem?
My view is not different from other
people’s views. There is nothing new to say. Mr. President has finished
the talk, he has offered dialogue and as the philosophers, if you have a
problem, put the problem on the table for discussion. In such
situations, dialogue is the best medicine. I support dialogue; I believe
in dialogue, it’s the only way for all parties to be given a fair
chance to state their cases. When I was in the Presidency, your
colleagues asked me this question and this was the answer I gave them.
Dialogue is the best way out of this problem.
There have been divergent views on the proposed granting of amnesty to Boko Haram. What is your view on this?
Amnesty is a component of dialogue
So, you are in support of it?
Why should I be against it? I have just
confirmed to you that I support dialogue. You can’t just give amnesty
like that, I’m sure there would be things to discuss. In my view,
amnesty is a component part of dialogue.
Recently, you led the Southern Kaduna people to the Presidency, what transpired at the meeting?
There is no secret about it, first as
elders from our community, it was our fundamental right to visit Mr.
President and have a chat with him. We had been planning the visit for a
long time since our former governor, Namadi Sambo, was made the
Vice-President. His elevation created a vacuum which resulted in the
then deputy governor, late Patrick Yakowa becoming the governor. Yakowa
in turn appointed a deputy governor. We felt since Yakowa was from our
constituency, it was an opportunity to visit Mr. President and thank
him. So, we had our plan but it wasn’t possible because Yakowa and
others died in the helicopter crash. This time around, we took it upon
ourselves to secure an appointment to go on a condolence visit to Mr.
President and to thank him for the support he gave Yakowa when he was
alive. Later we learnt that he promised to extend the same support he
granted Yakowa to the new governor. So, given that assurance, we felt
that as elders from the late Yakowa’s constituency, it was time to
fulfil our promise and we are glad that he granted us a warm reception.
It was reported that you told the
President that there is lopsidedness in political appointments in the
state and that Southern Kaduna people are not being carried along in the
state. How true is this?
It’s a fact. In Kaduna state today, the
southern part of zone two and the whole of zone three are the Peoples
Democratic Party’s stronghold and our voting culture is such that we
vote in bloc. When you take a look at the political appointments’ chart,
we have only seven federal appointments. Zone one which was won by the
opposition during the election has 15. Zone two has nine. However, we
conceded to Mr. President that he inherited this lopsided phenomenon.
Our appeal was for our areas to be considered if new appointments are to
be considered. We are not asking for anybody to be moved, no. Whoever
comes from Kaduna State and is occupying a Federal Government
appointment deserves it. Let sleeping dogs lie. But for future
considerations, attention should be paid to our area because our youth
are very angry. They notice what is going on and they vent their anger
on the elders. They think we are not doing enough. Apart from the
youths’ anger, the rules of equity and justice demands that in a set up,
when things come, they should be equitably shared. Apart from
appointments, there is also the issue of federal projects. There are a
few federal institutions in Southern Kaduna, most of the institutions
and establishments are restricted to Kaduna metropolis area and zone
one. We cannot go to the moon for our share, so we went to Mr. President
to let him know. We did not report anybody; we just tabled the facts
before him to give him a fair chance to see what he can do. I put it to
anybody who is rationally minded that politics is about patronage and
reward. During the elections, 90 per cent of the vote cast were for the
ruling party. But when the time to share the cake came, that part was
not rewarded. It is the duty of that part to make that known. The
country is so large, Mr. President cannot know everything. So, we did
what we did in good faith, in order to put all in the corridor of power
on notice and I think Mr. President and his team received us very well.
We are very grateful to him.
Did you explore all the internal mechanisms within the state to resolve them before heading for the Presidency?
Yes. In fact, on that matter, we paid a
similar visit to the vice-president in December 2011. For your
information, before we went to Abuja, our present governor was briefed.
In fact, it was the vice-president’s office which facilitated the visit
and Mr. Vice-President was there as well as the minister from Kaduna
State. So, it was a family thing and we believe in dialogue with good
communication. When you are sick and you go to a doctor, if you don’t
tell the doctor everything about what is worrying you, he cannot help
you. So, that was what we did in good faith.
Some people say your people’s
agitation for the proposed Gurara State died down when late Yakowa
became governor. How true is it?
It is a misrepresentation of fact. The
agitation for splitting Kaduna State has nothing to do with who governs
the state. This is because, according to the last census figures, the
present Kaduna State is the third most populated state with over six
million people. More fundamental than that is the fact that in the
former northern Nigeria, there used to be some large provinces, larger
than others. Like former Sokoto State which is now split into three
states, Kano State now split into states, former Borno State, former
Gongola and Benue. Today, the former Zaria province, now Kaduna is the
only former large province that remains intact. Former Sokoto State now
has nine senators, more House of Reps members, they have more local
governments, and these are channels of development. So we are saying
since Kaduna State is so large in land area and thickly populated, it
should be split in order to create another centre for development.
Splitting the state into two is the only solution. Dividing Kaduna State
now doesn’t mean more than that. Like Borno State for instance, we now
have Yobe, Potiskum, which used to be a village. I was Brigade
Commander in Maiduguri 1973. Potiskum is now a fully developed city and
credit goes to the creation of Yobe State. Part of Benue used to be
Igala and Igbirra, but they are now in Kogi with Lokoja as the
headquarters. Go to Lokoja now and see things. So whether we like it or
not, state creation is the best avenue for even development. In the
former Zaria Province, we were all brothers, if you go to Zaria, if you
go to Makarfi, you find our people there doing businesses. God created
us to live together. The last point on this is, at the end of every
month, when the statutory allocation comes from Abuja, after taking out
the salaries, what is left is too small for development. So we are
saying that creating Gurara State would create a new development centre
so that new institutions can develop and more job opportunities will be
created for the youths. In fact, we have chosen Kachia as our capital
for many reasons. It’s central; it’s a virgin territory, so the
construction work that will be going on there will create jobs for
businessmen and for everybody, and that would be good for the economy.
Happily enough, there was a memorandum by some Zazzau people; they too
are in favour of the splitting of the state. As long as we remain one,
we are going to continue to languish in economic difficulties. So, the
agitation has nothing to do with the late Yakowa being in office.
Are the attacks on Southern Kaduna communities not worrisome?
They are not restricted to Southern
Kaduna, it happens in Benue, it happens in Plateau. It’s a whirlwind
that is blowing around and it’s intriguing because the Fulani and the
natives were all born and bred there. Personally, I find it embarrassing
for people who have been neighbours for a long time to wake up and
start killing one another. It’s not necessary. What we desire is peace
that will usher in stability and progress. Happily enough, the
government is doing something about it.
But many expected that the Southern
Kaduna leaders and the Fulani Ardos would constantly sensitise the two
sides on the need to live peacefully.
There are 30 chiefdoms in Southern
Kaduna, what happened was in only three chiefdoms. In others, what you
are talking about is what has been done, meetings have been held with
the Fulani Ardos, the district heads, village heads and the philosophy
of peaceful coexistence has been expounded. The latest one happened in
Atakar. I also believe that these attacks are carried out by outsiders
but whoever is using them needs to re-think because in the end, where
there is a crisis, the collateral damage knows no bound. The government
has intervened. The chiefs and their people are up and doing to promote
the philosophy of peace and peaceful coexistence and I’m sure that in no
distance future, we shall see peace.
2015 is fast approaching and the North wants power to come back to the region. What is your view on this?
What you have described is natural, I
hear people of the South- East, too want it and the South-South people
are saying, our man is there, let him have his second term. This is
democracy in action. It is natural on the eve of an election for people
to start agitating and you can’t take that away from them. That is what
makes democracy vibrant. If what you are saying is not happening and
people go to sleep, you too will go to sleep. So, politicians are at
their best while discussing things like that. What some of us who are
not taking part per se, being elders, are praying for is that let the
game be played according to the laid down rules. There must be losers
and there must be winners. If you lose like in many competitions it
doesn’t mean you didn’t play well. Maybe the other team that won
prepared better. So, you just need to go back to the drawing board for
the next round. But what some of us are seeing is that in the Nigerian
context, when politicians lose, they swear not to allow the winner to
enjoy his victory. In other words, we must learn to play the game,
winning is a bonus. If you play well, you will give the opponent a tough
fight, that will leave some food for thought for him and the struggle
continues.
Chairman of the Northern Governors’
Forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, said recently
that President Jonathan had signed a one-term pact with the governors.
What is your take on this?
There are two sides to every coin. There
are two sides to every issue. We have heard from the governor but have
you heard from Mr. President? Number two, what did the party say about
the issue? The party has not said anything. I believe that when the
time comes, the truth will come to the fore. When somebody is gunning
for something, he adduces many facts and theories to support his
position. Somewhere in between, the truth will emerge. On who will be
President in 2015, I’m sure the party constitution and the party
philosophy will hold sway. I am just a listener like you and others
praying that the interest of Nigeria will be put on the front banner so
that at the end of the day, whoever gets the strings to be President
will be President. But again, Jonathan has an edge because of the
incumbency factor so let me leave it there.
You normally don’t want to talk about
this issue that happened a very long time ago, but Nigerians would
really want to hear from you. Can you tell us what happened in Zangon
Kataf some years back?
I recommend that you go and read the
report of the Oputa panel. Other than that, there is peace in Zangon
Kataf now. I will give you two documents, the immediate and remote
causes of the Zangon Kataf crisis. It was engineered by some people.
Some fundamentalists wrote a letter to the former Sultan, making demands
and the threatning that a Nigerian Jihad will start from Zangon Kataf.
When the crisis grew, instead of investigating and nipping it in the
bud, members of one community, including their chief, 61 of us, were
arrested and thrown into the prison. The Okadigbo panel was a kangaroo
panel. The Babangida government enacted a decree preventing us from
appealing, meaning that whatever judgment was passed, was to be sent to
the government. When that decree came out, Chief GOK Ajayi, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, our leading counsel withdrew from the tribunal and
when that happened, we begged the tribunal to give us 24 hours to
arrange another defence team. They refused and pointed at a lawyer, who
we didn’t even know. The law states that when an accused is standing
trial, for a capital offence, he deserves the right to choose his own
team or he should be granted access to the Legal Aid Organisation. None
of them was made available; so we were without defence. Fifteen of us
were condemned to death and later the government commuted it to five
years imprisonment. So, it was a gross act of injustice in a country
that prides itself as the giant of the sun. Clearly that Zangon Kataf
episode proved that Nigeria is a midget, not the giant of the sun. They
forgot that the Hausa people in Zagon Kataf village and the Kataf people
in the chiefdom, haven been born and bred there are natives. At the end
of the day, we have to tolerate one another. So after we served our
jail terms, we returned home. During the recent crises, nothing happened
in Atyap Chiefdom because of the able way his royal highness has
marshalled the community together. People who say things about Zangon
Kataf don’t live in Zangon Kataf. They are outsiders. Let me clear a
point here, Zangon Kataf is a name of a local government, consisting of
four chiefdoms; Atyap, Bajju, Ikulu and Kamanton. And Zangon Kataf is
also the name of a village which is now a district, many people don’t
know. I’m happy to say that there is peace. There is no problem and
there will never be. Those of us unjustly incarcerated have resolved to
forgive the forces of injustice and retrogression who perpetrated the
persecution. So that is the situation.
Does this forgiveness include Justice Okadigbo?
Yes, I forgive him.
What about General Babangida?
Yes, I forgive General Babangida. We
worked together. We were staff at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.
The way he treated me violated the officer’s code of conduct. He should
have invited me to find out but he didn’t. I was thrown into jail like a
common criminal and incidentally, the domino effect came to pass. When
that happened and nobody did anything, other generals under different
circumstances were also thrown into jail and we lost one of them,
Yar’adua. At the end of the day, injustice has a way of backfiring on a
system. So, whatever was responsible, the chicken has come home to
roost. For me, I have forgiven everybody in order to enjoy my peace.
Definitely, I didn’t deserve what I was put through. It’s not in my
character; those I have worked with and those who know me, know the fact
but I have forgiven them in the interest of peace, both internally and
in the environment.
Looking back to that time and now, how do you feel about the past?
Well, God did it because I didn’t
deserve it. I was framed up by my enemies but God did not allow it. The
God of equity and justice did not allow it. Today, they have problems, I
don’t have any problem. Their conscience will hurt them till they die
unless they purge themselves. From my side, I have forgiven them. I
don’t have a problem at all, I go to anywhere I want. I was Ambassador
to Senegal with concurrent accreditation to Mauritania, Cape Verde and
you treat me like a common criminal. When I came out from detention,
some of my colleagues wrote me letters expressing surprise and I assured
them that what happened has passed. So, I don’t have a problem.
What is your relationship with Babangida like now?
When we meet we greet. In fact I feel
sorry for him. A General should not treat a fellow General like that
because of a position he occupies. The military profession is guided by
rules and decorum. If you violate it, it will affect others and
everything will reverberate back on you. So I feel sorry for him. I
don’t have a problem at all and I have forgiven him. I mean it.
Source: Punch
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