Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, in company with other prominent Nigerians recently visited Akwa Ibom State after which he spoke with journalists. Bernard Dada Tolani, picked salient issues from the interview.
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Your Excellency, with the increased tension in the country and the issue of Boko Haram in some parts of Nigeria, do you still believe in the idea of national unity?
Certainly every country has got its own type of problem. Because there is a problem we should not say there is no unity in the country. This is the problem of development. With the kind of development we are seeing in Akwa Ibom state, if the others all over the country would follow suit, and make development happen in their areas, there would be peace in this country. There would be no need for any misgivings and this type of terrorism that we are seeing today.
But having said that, I am a strong believer in one Nigeria and I believe that this problem will come to pass and Nigerians will continue to live together in peace as we have been doing over the years.
With what you have seen and said about Akwa Ibom State, what would you advise other states to do in order to fast-track the development of the nation?
Unfortunately, I don’t belong to any political party in the country. But it is certainly worthy for any nation to try to congratulate and? point to any development that has been done by an individual, and ask people to try to go and see what has been done so that they can emulate such individuals.
What Akpabio has done in the past five years or so in the state deserves to be understudied by those who have not done much for their citizens. Governance is all about service and the ability to change the living conditions of the governed and I think that the governor has delivered on the key areas of development and should be applauded.
Your Excellency, you were taken round some major projects in the state. What is your impression about the projects?
Certainly, there has been tremendous transformation. There is a lot of development and I commend the governor for his efforts.
I hope the people of Akwa Ibom would appreciate what has been done and that they would take over the ownership of the projects and make sure they guard them jealously.
I also urge them to do their civic responsibility in that when it is time to pay their taxes they do it gladly because they have seen where their money is been spent.
Certainly I commend the governor and his team for this marvelous transformation. I would not have believed the level of transformation that has taken place in the state until I personally came here and saw the projects on the ground. The level of development here is worthy of celebration.