By David Odama Special Correspondent, Abuja
Apart from being the National President of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Shehu Isewele, is also a High Chief and a National Conference delegate. participated as member of the last had an interview session with the media in Abuja during which he spoke about many issues and political personalities, including the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari.
Isewele
On Jonathan re-election’s bid
For Isewele, nothing comes ahead of roads, as transporter.
According to him, good road saves lives and puts food on the table of Nigerians, including him.
Based on this premise, he has been able to score President Goodluck Jonathan high.
He said: “President Goodluck Jonathan is the best President who has fixed roads more than any other President we have had in this country.
“I have been in Kano for over 30 years and I have my workshop there. My vehicles used to ply Port Harcourt road once in a month before the President came into power.
“But now, they can go three times, except if there are no load at the port or they delays. If there is load, they go three times a month. If you see trucks with MSI Motors written on it, they are for me. Then there is another with the name ‘Let Lord Lead.’
So, for somebody who fixed roads for me, I have reasons to support him because he’s only the President that remembers there is poor man there.
He is the one who gave us SURE-P vehicles. Some of our members deposited N130,000 and they were given taxis. The 22 vehicles they gave to us, we gave to our union members and the media covered it.
With N130,000 that cannot buy you tiers, you own a vehicle to pay back in five years. It’s only this man that has done that.
Again, it’s only this President who has never sent anybody on exile. He never used the EFCC or ICPC to torment anybody, which we experienced before when the previous government was there. So, these are some of the reasons. If I continue to say all the reasons that make me support him, I will take most of your time. I’ve never seen the President one on one and nobody has sponsored me or given me a kobo.
You can go and confirm from anywhere. I’m doing this because I want the unity and continuity of this country. I was a member of the national confab and I know what we discussed there. I have stayed about thirty something years in Kano. I speak Hausa and I speak Arabic.
On Buhari
Buhari is older than the country. The country is how many years? You know the years. He is older than the country. I am 61 years and I don’t want to contest for anything.
He should leave the youths to rule and see what they can do because he is among the people that failed us.
When they are talking of corruption in this country, why are you talking of corruption now?
People pay judges; is that not corruption? If you had used those money to fix power, will you be talking of power now?
If you had used those money to fix roads, will you be complaining of road now?
We were in this country in 1975 when they said people stole N2.8 billion of our budget. Those people are still in this country.
Was there no corruption in 1975? But they are now singing corruption for somebody who came yesterday, who are they people that started it?
Leadership: Dynamism, vision
We should talk about age because we are in the computer world now and we do not know what they know about computer.
In those days, you could vote for somebody who did not attend more than primary school.
But, you can’t do that now because if he goes outside the world, what is he going to tell them?
How old is Obama, and we will be talking of somebody who is 70 or 80 years to come and rule again?
Obasanjo was there as an old man and what did he say when he was campaigning?
He said the election is a do die affair. But Jonathan has never said so. He said one man, one vote. He never said do or die affair.
I believe that what the youths can do now, the old man cannot do it. If you look at the indigenous companies which are progressing now, they don’t employ those that are more than 25.
If you are getting to 50, they look for a way to push you out because if you have four wives and 22 children, where do you have the time to do the government work?
I’m not a youth because I was born in 1964, which is 61 years now. I’m more than 61 years now, because, I celebrated my birthday on February 4. If I were a youth now, you would say I’m saying this because I’m a youth.
We are looking at leadership that has to do with vision and capability and it may not really have something to do with age, but the determination to effect a change.
What happened when this man was military Head of State? What did he achieve?
Supposing it is Murtala Mohammed that is now contesting, I will support him, because, in the six months he spent, we know what he did.
He reduced the price of water and one million buckets to be sold at one naira. Before he came on board, you will pay for water and you would not get water.
But, when Buhari was there, he was just sentencing people to 200 and 300 years without lawyers.
He asked the military to try civilians. That was what happened. He is still the same man and nobody can change him.
The opposition is hinging its campaign on the fact that PDP has been there for 16 with nothing to show for it.
How old is Nigeria? People have been ruling this country and this is the first time that somebody from the South South wants to rule. Rather than talk of PDP for 16 years, you should talk of Jonathan and the first four years he has ruled.
The 16 years they are talking about, are they not the members of APC now who were formerly of the PDP.
Those who were governors under the PDP are the same people in APC now who are condemning the PDP, instead of them to condemn themselves.
What do you mean by change when there is no new person there? It is only Buhari that is a different person there. All the others were governors. What did they do?
They never allowed Local Governments to exist. Is that not corruption. They are the ones talking about corruption, but in their states, they never allowed Local Governments to exist and the constitution says three tiers of government. Those are the people talking of corruption.
We should not allow anybody to deceive us. I’ve worked for 35 years and retired and I don’t want political appointment.
People may be thinking I’m doing this in order to be made minister, but I don’t need anything.
I have seven children and all of them are engineers. They are all working.
Even if I am not a transporter, they can pay me salary. They schooled in ABU and no one has a 2.2 (Second Class Lower Division) result in my house.
The least result is 2.1 (Second Class Upper) and First Class. My first son is AGM (Assistant General Manager) in one of the oil companies in Nigeria, but I don’t want to mention it.
So, I’m not a hungry man. I’m not a rich man and not a poor man either.
Payback time for National Confab delegates
What we agreed at the confab was to move the country forward, but they threw it under the dust bin.
If they had enforced those recommendations we made at the confab, we would not be fighting now.
In that confab, we said the centre should be weak. Let them weaken the centre, so that it will not be a do-or-die affair and you will not carry guns and machetes.
But, because one man is dividing the money and everybody is coming to collect money at Abuja, that is why they will not allow the third tier to exist.
Supposing the centre is weak and you say let Local Government Chairman will come and collect his money; for example, I’m from Uromi.
If I’m a Chairman of that Local Government and I steal the money, people are going to challenge me and challenge my children.
But, with what they are doing now, where you are Director in the ministry and they carry you to the Local Government where you did not come from, when you finish the money and you leave the place, nobody will see you.
These governors are not ashamed of saying change when they were governor for eight years and they never allowed the local governments to exist.
Those who said they conducted elections, why is it that another political party did not win if the elections are free and fair?
Have you ever seen a governor that conducted election and another party won in this country? You are the journalists and you should tell me the state.
Election shift
The first dates for the elections were postponed for different reasons. Now elections have been fixed for March 28. Do you have confidence in the INEC giving us a credible election?
I don’t have confidence in INEC. I’m among the persons that said Jega should shamelessly resign because he said he is ready on February 14 when the PVCs had not arrived this country; the card reader machines had not arrived this country; the 9,000 staff that will man process were not trained.
How was he ready? Which means he had decided the winner? He would just mention anybody’s name and cause anarchy.
God arrested this man and that’s why election was postponed. Lagos demonstrated yesterday that they have not got their PVC. I watched Ogun State governor on TV where he said about 40 per cent of PVCs had not come to Ogun, but election is few days away.
So, he (Jega) was not ready at all. He was just deceiving this country and telling lies. He should resign.
But, the man has said he won’t resign and that he has a job to do.
Was he the one that appointed himself?
Iwu said he will not resign before, but he left. Iwu is also a Professor. Or does Jega’s Professorship have sugar and salt added to it.
Is it not the same thing that Iwu is a Professor and Jega is also Professor?
Elections without Jega
Is he alone in the office? Somebody else can conduct elections if he resigns. INEC is bigger than some ministry. Even Directors and other persons are there.
We don’t pray for bad. But supposing he dies today, are you now telling me that nobody will conduct election?
We seem to narrow this thing down to Jega not minding that INEC is an institution. If Jega is not ready, are we not saying that INEC is not ready?
If the head is rotten, the body will not do anything. We are talking of the head here. People may be there that Jega did not carry along. They don’t have to say it outside, otherwise, they will be queried and sacked.
Somebody interviewed him on this card reader machine. He was asked: Suppose you go to my village where there is no power supply and the battery runs down, what will you do?
He said if the battery runs down, he will postpone election to the following day.
But, those who voted before the battery ran down, where are you going to keep their votes? Who will keep it?
Are you going to count one result and say this is for today and count another one for the next day?
Political parties’ sympathies
My message for them is that nobody should allow himself to be used as thug. That’s why I have meetings every month.
Don’t allow any politician to use you as thug. Their children are overseas schooling in the best universities and they want to give you ogogoro here so that you will carry machete. Don’t do that.
I will soon have a meeting with them and I will tell them the same thing. Don’t allow anybody to use you.
Have your PVC; go and vote.
Person to vote for
Me? I’m going to vote for Jonathan. My wife is going to vote for Jonathan. But, it is left for you as a member, because, I will not follow you to the polling station.
Love for traditional attires
Yes, it’s because I have titles. I’m the Serki Yaki of of Kano, a title given to me by the Ado Bayero late Emir of Kano). I’m the Oke Oba of Ijebu Ode. I’m Mazi Itu of Ngwa in Abia State. I’m Ojekere of Esan. I’m the Egboje One of Uromi Kingdom. I’m the Eghonghon of Edo Community in Kano. I have many titles.
If you had observed, at the confab, there was a time somebody stood up and was insulting President Jonathan because of Boko Haram.
I stood up to him and said. “You can’t abuse Kwankwaso like this. You are very stupid.”
I wanted to confront him, but my babariga just hooked on the chair. If not for people around, the boy would have just messed me up.
Since then, I started dressing like this so that if it is physical combat, we will….
As Jonathan’s supporter
It’s because I’m worried that I joined Jonathan, because, it’s only Jonathan that can implement the recommendations of that confab.
It’s because he has Nigeria at heart, that’s why he set up that confab. It’s only ex-Presidents that were not at that confab. We had Judges, Emirs, Obas and everybody at that confab and the calibre of the people there are more than the National Assembly.
Yet, they chose to hide it under the waste basket.
So, if Jonathan comes back, he must enforce it. That is why you see the OPC and the Yoruba elders endorsed it as our recommendations. That’s the only thing that will unite and move the country forward.
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