TheCitizen - It's all about you
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • Latest News
  • Governance
  • Business
  • Financial Crimes
  • Opinion
  • Editorials
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • Latest News
  • Governance
  • Business
  • Financial Crimes
  • Opinion
  • Editorials
No Result
View All Result
TheCitizen - It's all about you
No Result
View All Result

If Tinubu leaves, that is the end of Buhari’s administration — Falola

The Citizen by The Citizen
February 4 2018
in The Citizen Interview
A A
0
If Tinubu leaves, that is the end of Buhari’s administration — Falola
22
SHARES
734
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A professor of History at the University of Texas, Toyin Falola, says that Buhari runs the risk of losing popularity before the 2019 elections.

Excerpts:

Do you think the cattle colony proposal of the Federal Government can solve the problem of frequent killings by Fulani herdsmen?

It is a very dumb idea. I think the government is not going to do that because you cannot go to other people’s land and turn it to a colony for people who do not belong there to stay. Government can come to the southern states that have land and speak to the farmers there to plant grass. Someone, who has interest in trucks can create transport companies to move hay to the North for the herdsmen’s cattle. That is a win-win situation where the farmers benefit and the northerners keep their cattle in their region.

There is no power in the world that allows someone to create a colony on someone’s land. Traditionally, land in Nigeria is part of identity. It is part of what our people use to develop themselves. I cannot just go to Kogi State and say that I am giving your land to Fulani people. The Oyo State governor cannot go to Ogbomoso and tell the people that he is giving their land to Fulani people; that action is a recipe for disaster.

There is something else that the government must do quickly, which is to disarm people with AK-47 rifles. The government, through the police and the army, has the power to disarm them. That has to be done fundamentally. You and I cannot carry guns and be moving around. Why are these small Fulani boys allowed to carry guns on people’s farms and they are not arrested?

There is something we call the nuclear option in politics. If everything has been tried and it does not work, people in Benue State and other areas, where Fulani people are killing, will buy weapons to protect themselves. They will turn themselves into militia and protect themselves and we will have a state of anarchy. If I am a Tiv, Igala or Igede, what am I going to do? Am I going to allow them to be killing my people? Instead of reaching a state of anarchy, the government should disarm everybody.

The other way out of it is the boycott option. If the people in the South refuse to eat beef and suya in three months, the business of these Fulani people will collapse.

People have also come up with the idea of restructuring as a lasting solution to the problem. What is your idea of restructuring?

Restructuring can come in two ways. The government can manage it or the people will do the ultimate thing by restructuring the system. You don’t need permission to restructure. You can do it fundamentally. As citizens or a group of people, you can decide how you want to live. The system can also restructure itself.

But the most peaceful one is for the state to do it as an agenda or clever programme. Bear in mind that African history is full of people taking over to restructure their lives. I spent two years in high school and I joined the Agbekoya movement. I did not finish high school because I was part of the Agbekoya rebellion as a teenager. That was a restructuring agenda that challenged giving our cocoa money to politicians.

You saw how the Agbekoya movement restructured the system in Nigeria. The people warned them but they did not listen. For three years, we made the Western Region ungovernable. That forced the government to reduce farmers’ tax and later abolished it. That was a people’s revolution taking over.

If the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is not careful, it will find itself in a situation it cannot manage as the people fundamentally begin to take the law into their own hands. We should appeal to him not to allow that to happen.

What do you make of the special statement issued by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, warning Buhari not to contest again?

Two things culminated in this anger that the Buhari government brought upon itself. Buhari’s policy of using his own ethnic people as heads of security (agencies) of Nigeria and not talking about it means that he has a political agenda. During the holidays, when people wanted to go for Christmas, there was fuel scarcity.

There is nothing that Obasanjo said in the letter that people have not said – the reckless devaluation of the currency, joblessness, unemployment, political mismanagement, and so on – people have complained about them. At the time he wrote the letter, PUNCH Newspaper wrote an editorial where all these were mentioned.

The only thing that is different is Obasanjo’s policy statement – that the All Progressives Congress is not working and the Peoples Democratic is not working; so, we need a third party. The way he structured this third party resembles the APC that he said is not working and the PDP that will not work. Obasanjo had three opportunities to select good leaders. He brought a dying man called (Umaru) Yar’Adua and the weak man called (Goodluck) Jonathan and he was part of the selection process of the man called Buhari. Why should we trust him to select another person?

We don’t know what Bola Tinubu (APC national leader) will do because if he says that he will not support Buhari, the South-West is gone. Already the South-South, South-East, Middle Belt and the Kanuri are gone. The Boko Haram insurgency is a (source of) deep anger of the Kanuri against the Fulani that has merged into the pre-existing Boko Haram issue. The conflict between the Kanuri and the Fulani dates back to the time that the caliphate was established.

Uthman Dan Fodio established the caliphate. When he wanted to conquer the Kanuri, they refused, which led to the collapse of the dynasty and the emergence of the current dynasty. An anti-Fulani movement is already building in the North-East. Once Tinubu leaves him, that is the end of his regime. That is one scenario.

The second scenario is that he (Buhari) controls the whole security apparatus and the Independent National Electoral Commission. He will drop electronic voting and win the election. You don’t have to ask me why. He only has to fill the ballot boxes and he is back in Aso Rock. So, he also has his own nuclear option which is ‘if you don’t want me, I can rig the election’. He has the power to do that. In the next 12 months, there will be no governance in Nigeria. What we are going to have is politicking; nobody will be talking about development anymore. They will talk about it as empty promises, which is what they are clever at doing.

History seems to be in extinction in secondary schools, but it is still a course in tertiary institutions. Are you not worried?

History is back in our secondary schools now, thanks to the likes of Prof. Chris Ogbogbo. We cannot thank him enough. I led a delegation to Obasanjo and later some professors went to (former President Goodluck) Jonathan. They promised to do something about the subject in secondary schools but they did nothing. Buhari said history would be back and he delivered. The Historical Society of Nigeria under Prof. Ogbogbo is putting together a syllabus at the state and national levels. We are grateful that this is back.

Will this syllabus be a replica of the old syllabus that taught the ancient history or will it be an updated syllabus?

It will be a combination of both because they are all useful. The mistake they made in the past was that they did not tell us why they were teaching us what they taught us. I was part of those who drew the history examination for West African Examination Council and I wrote three volumes that they were using in schools but there was a fundamental flaw in what we did. We were teaching the pupils narrative history. We were not telling them the reason for what we were teaching them. The syllabus now must be clear on nation-building.

If the core politicians have failed Nigerians, why are the intellectuals taking the back seat?

That idea has been nursed but Nigerian politics is all about money. On the day of the presidential election, if you don’t have up to N1bn, you have no hope of winning. You man polling booths with police, thugs and you pay electoral officers. I am aware of how much a presidential candidate spent on an election day. The system is over-monetised, even the media. You cannot just call Prof. Wole Soyinka to come and contest because where is the money? We have to remove that money from that process. – Culled from Punch.

Share9Tweet6
Previous Post

Morocco talks tough for CHAN final battle against Nigeria

Next Post

Enugu street lights: New management team raises alarm over persistent vandalism

Related Posts

Enugu govt woos investors with ease of doing business initiatives
Governance

Enugu govt woos investors with ease of doing business initiatives

October 20 2025
Boko Haram abducts army varsity Professor, others in Borno
Headlines

Boko Haram sponsored to unleash terror for political gains — Ex-army commander

October 12 2025
I contemplated suicide after DNA test revealed I’m not my father’s son – Ememobong Nyong
The Citizen Interview

I contemplated suicide after DNA test revealed I’m not my father’s son – Ememobong Nyong

September 16 2025
Why I left Nigeria to lead public health in US – Idaho varsity prof, Nnamdi Moeteke
The Citizen Interview

Why I left Nigeria to lead public health in US – Idaho varsity prof, Nnamdi Moeteke

July 27 2025
M.K.O: 66 Abiola’s ‘children’ failed DNA test, says Olalekan Abiola
The Citizen Interview

M.K.O: 66 Abiola’s ‘children’ failed DNA test, says Olalekan Abiola

June 29 2025
How border policemen raped us en route to Libya – Returnee
The Citizen Interview

How border policemen raped us en route to Libya – Returnee

June 28 2025
Next Post
Enugu street lights: New management team raises alarm over persistent vandalism

Enugu street lights: New management team raises alarm over persistent vandalism

Katsina govt to employ 54 doctors, 600 nurses

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

FROM THE GRASSROOTS

ALGON orders Edo council officials to wear Tinubu’s signature caps

ALGON orders Edo council officials to wear Tinubu’s signature caps

by The Editor
October 18 2025
0

...

Olubadan unveils legal committee to tackle land grabbing

Olubadan unveils legal committee to tackle land grabbing

by The Editor
October 15 2025
0

...

Birnin Gwari needs urgent federal intervention – Emir tells Tinubu

Birnin Gwari needs urgent federal intervention – Emir tells Tinubu

by The Editor
October 13 2025
0

...

Rivers court adjourns hearing on LG poll legitimacy

Rivers court adjourns hearing on LG poll legitimacy

by The Editor
September 16 2025
0

...

APPOINTMENTS

Tinubu seeks Omidiran, 28 others’ confirmation as FCC members

Tinubu seeks Omidiran, 28 others’ confirmation as FCC members

by The Editor
October 15 2025
0

...

Okpebholo swears in 19 commissioners, warns against corruption

Okpebholo swears in 19 commissioners, warns against corruption

by The Editor
October 15 2025
0

...

Fubara drops Danagogo, appoints Anabraba as Rivers SSG

Fubara drops Danagogo, appoints Anabraba as Rivers SSG

by The Editor
October 13 2025
0

...

Savannah Energy signs agreement with Chadian govt for new renewable energy projects

Savannah Energy announces board changes, appoints two Nigerians as Independent Non-Executive Directors

by The Editor
October 9 2025
0

...

ODDITIES

Kano Court orders Hisbah to marry off TikTokers over ‘indecent’ videos

Kano Court orders Hisbah to marry off TikTokers over ‘indecent’ videos

by The Editor
October 20 2025
0

Teenager plucks sister’s eyes for ritual in Bauchi

Teenager plucks sister’s eyes for ritual in Bauchi

by The Editor
October 20 2025
0

Lagos to probe school over alleged sodomy

Father impregnates 15-year-old daughter in Ondo

by The Editor
October 17 2025
0

GLOBAL NEWS

Madagascar coup leader appoints businessman as new prime minister

Madagascar coup leader appoints businessman as new prime minister

by The Editor
October 20 2025
0

...

Madagascar’s military leader swears in as president

Madagascar’s military leader swears in as president

by The Editor
October 18 2025
0

...

Trump, Putin to meet in Budapest over Ukraine war

Trump, Putin to meet in Budapest over Ukraine war

by The Editor
October 17 2025
0

...

2026 Hajj: Saudi govt approves 66,910 slots for Nigeria

2026 Hajj: Saudi govt approves 66,910 slots for Nigeria

by The Editor
October 17 2025
0

...

Trump persuades India to stop buying Russian oil

Trump persuades India to stop buying Russian oil

by The Editor
October 16 2025
0

...

State of the States

Aiyedatiwa clears Ondo two-year gratuity backlog

Aiyedatiwa clears Ondo two-year gratuity backlog

by The Editor
October 20 2025
0

...

21.8% North-East residents HIV positive – NBS …as 16,000 die from HIV complications in Borno

Adamawa records 8,850 new HIV infections in four years

by The Editor
October 17 2025
0

...

Zamfara APC condemns state govt’s mass sacking of civil servants

Zamfara APC condemns state govt’s mass sacking of civil servants

by The Editor
October 14 2025
0

...

Gov. Otti set to build modern fire station in Umuahia

Gov. Otti set to build modern fire station in Umuahia

by The Editor
October 7 2025
0

...

Plugin Install : Widget Tab Post needs JNews - View Counter to be installed
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Amazon cloud computing outage disrupts Snapchat, Airbnb, other online services worldwide

Amazon cloud computing outage disrupts Snapchat, Airbnb, other online services worldwide

October 20 2025
Madagascar coup leader appoints businessman as new prime minister

Madagascar coup leader appoints businessman as new prime minister

October 20 2025
Heartbroken woman, 22, commits suicide over cheating boyfriend

Heartbroken woman, 22, commits suicide over cheating boyfriend

October 20 2025
Soludo targets guber win in all Anambra polling units

Soludo targets guber win in all Anambra polling units

October 20 2025

EDITORIAL REVIEW

Invest in vocational, technical education – Punch

Invest in vocational, technical education – Punch

by The Editor
October 20 2025
0

End female genital mutilation – Punch

End female genital mutilation – Punch

by The Editor
October 17 2025
0

Nnaji: Nigeria’s dodgy vetting processes – Punch

Nnaji: Nigeria’s dodgy vetting processes – Punch

by The Editor
October 16 2025
0

Vacations and governance: Why President Tinubu’s trip matters -Guardian

Tinubu, honour promise to ASUU – Punch

by The Editor
October 15 2025
0

The killings in the South East – Thisday

The killings in the South East – Thisday

by The Editor
October 14 2025
0

Opinion

Tinubu finds his own demons

Next time, Umahi should go to NTA

by The Editor
October 16 2025
0

...

Objections over presidential pardon for grave offenders

Objections over presidential pardon for grave offenders

by The Editor
October 13 2025
0

...

1975 public service purge: What have we learnt?

1975 public service purge: What have we learnt?

by The Editor
September 30 2025
0

...

Tinubu finds his own demons

Nigeria’s state of weakness

by The Editor
September 18 2025
0

...

Plugin Install : Popular Post Widget need JNews - View Counter to be installed
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • Latest News
  • Governance
  • Business
  • Financial Crimes
  • Opinion
  • Editorials

© 2024 TheCitizen Ng. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Headlines
  • Latest News
  • Governance
  • Business
  • Financial Crimes
  • Opinion
  • Editorials

© 2024 TheCitizen Ng. All Rights Reserved.