Hon. Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim is one of the new members of the House of Representatives. However, he is not new to the business of law making. The former member of the Kwara State House of Assembly spoke to some journalists in Abuja on the task ahead of President Goodluck Jonathan and proffered solutions to the ?nation’s security challenge. AUGUSTINE AMINU was there.
Nigeria seems to be at a cross-roads as concerns the security of life and property. What do you think has gone wrong in the nation?
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The masses seem not to be too happy with the government, but I will plead with them to give this new government a chance, especially with the promise of transformation by President Goodluck Jonathan. The president is a man of his word and I am sure he would not let us down as a nation.
Again, you have to understand that, for the security agencies to be able to track those who are responsible for the havoc and they need the masses to do that. If the masses are impatient or misunderstand the government, the problem of insecurity will persist in the country.
Those who are perpetrating all kinds of evil like armed robbery, kidnapping and bombing are not spirits, they are humans. Therefore, when Nigerians are not ready to assist the security agencies, the orgy of violence will continue.
We all have to realise that when we keep information to ourselves, it is dangerous for the society, because you don’t know the next target of these people. It might be you, a member of your family or someone you love. This is where the masses come in. They need to help out by giving information to security agencies and be patient with the government.
One of the major problems facing this country is unemployment. We have millions of graduates who are on the streets going from one office to another in search of jobs. I know that can be frustrating, therefore, what we need to do is create jobs for our teeming, unemployed youths.
Personally, I don’t believe that anyone who is gainfully employed will be involved in robbery and other violent crimes.
Government at the three tiers must fashion out a way of creating jobs for our youths. They should also provide the basic amenities for Nigerians. If people live contentedly in their communities, the tendency for them to think about crime will be low.
Coming back to the security agencies, government should fashion out training and retraining programmes for them on intelligence gathering. The top hierarchy of the security agencies should not wait until havoc is wrecked before they take certain steps. They should also invest in communication gadgets, especially CCTV, to monitor every street in the country. When they are able to do this, it will assist them to quickly identify those who are planning to do evil.
Most of the crimes in this country are committed by youths, although some may argue that their patrons or sponsors are adults. What is your advice to those still in the higher institutions dreaming of elusive, white-collar jobs?
As a politician, I know about youth groups. The fact is that there are some youths who are in higher institutions but have made up their minds not to work for anybody after graduation. However, majority of our students are not thinking in that line, they want to work in ministries and government agencies.
My advice for our youths is that they should be creative in their thinking. The fact that somebody studied banking and finance, for instance, does not mean that such a person should work in a bank. You can study banking and be a successful fashion designer who will employ labour.
Like I said, the most important thing is to be creative. There are some graduates who are not ready to work with government or anybody. They want to be on their own so that they can be employers of labour.
I will also tell our students and youths not to allow themselves to be engaged in thuggery and other criminal activities. It is from thuggery that some youths graduate to be armed robbers. I have said it before that government has a role to play in bringing sanity back to this country.
When government plays its role very well the youths will work towards becoming agents of change than agents of destruction. This is my position.
Some have attributed the problem of the nation to the over-dependence on oil which has caused successive governments to neglect other sectors of the economy. Do you share this view?
Yes, I do. It is unfortunate that Nigeria depends almost, entirely on oil. This is not good for the economy. If we give the desired attention to agriculture, it will solve the unemployment problem facing the nation.
Where are the ground nut pyramids in the north? Where are the cocoa plantations in the south-west and where is the palm-oil from the east? All these things were there in the past, but when crude oil was discovered, we abandoned these agricultural products. The solution is to accord agriculture its proper place in the economy. For God’s sake, why are we still practicing subsistent agriculture in this country, instead of the mechanised version?
I will be glad if other states in Nigeria can learn from what Senator Bukola Saraki did when he was governor of Kwara State. He did very well by introducing commercial farming. If every state of the federation can have a replica of Shonga farm, then the problem of hunger in this country will become a thing of the past. I think we need to commend Bukola Saraki for the brilliant initiative. Agriculture has the capacity to provide jobs for millions of Nigerians, therefore, there should be a reform in that sector like it was done in Kwara State.
In the light of the above, what should be President Jonathan’s present concern?
It should be how to put our economy back on track, how to create jobs, and improve on the security situation within the country. He can achieve this by pursuing his power reforms vigorously. Most of our industries are not working in Nigeria today , thanks to two primary reasons. One is the problem of electricity which makes industries to depend on generating sets which in turn increases the cost of production. The second problem has to do with lack of raw materials. This is where the issue of agriculture comes in. If the agricultural sector is vibrant, there will be raw materials to feed local industries.
These are the two key factors. Of course, there should be an enabling environment for both foreign and local investors to thrive. This brings us to the issue of security. Government should do something in that direction as a matter of urgency.
Government should accelerate its power reform agenda, because when there is stable power supply the industries will start producing in installed or near-installed capacity.
Another thing that should be of concern to the president is how to fix our roads in this country. We have Nigerians dying on bad roads daily. Something urgent has to be done about that.
In a nutshell, he has a myriad of problems. He should hit the ground running. That is the wisest thing.
You mentioned Senator Bukola Saraki the other time. Apart from agriculture, would you say he was able to meet the aspirations of the people of Kwara State?
For record purposes, Bukola Saraki is my mentor. I look up to him for advice in most of the things I do, because he is gifted. I came into politics few years ago and I can say that he inspired me into politics. I discovered that he is focused, determined and pursues ventures in which he has great belief to a logical conclusion.
His imprints are all over Kwara. The Aviation College, Shonga Farm, cargo terminal, education and civil service reforms, housing, and industrialisation, are all landmark achievements he recorded. If you seek to pursue or implement a strategy and you have your mind set on it, you will succeed. That is what I have learnt from him. I want to say, without any fear of contradiction, that Bukola Saraki has a lot to offer this country, judging from his brilliant performance in Kwara State and his intellectual capacity. This is what some people have termed “The Saraki Magic in Kwara.”
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