By BASHIR ADEFAKA
As the race for 2019 general elections thickens with most of the parties rooting for President Muhammadu Buhari at presidency but back to respective tents in others, insurance giant and Chief Executive Officer, Standard Group of Companies, Dr. Ahmed Salawudeen, who moved from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to African Democratic Party (ADP) along with Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala from All Progressives Congress (APC), has x-rayed Nigeria’s problems to be caused by lack of discipline. The ADP Senatorial Candidate for the February 16, 2019 National Assembly elections in Oyo North says Nigeria was once great country and optimistic it will be great again. Excerpts:
“I am in ADP as senatorial candidate for Oyo North Senatorial District of Oyo State. Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala is the Governorship Candidate. As a Senator I will be the servant to my people. I will be servant not as leader. What I will do is collaboration for development of my community. I will be at the forefront in the struggle for better Oyo North but like the one sent on an errand.”
The person of Dr. Ahmed Salawudeen
I am the President/Chief Executive Officer, Standard Group of Companies in which the mother company is Standard Insurance Consultants Limited. I am a professional person. I am a chartered; honourary chartered and have been in insurance professional business over the last 40 years. Some 40 years ago I was chattered as an insurer in the United Kingdom; that is the Chartered Insurance Institute of United Kingdom.
How has business been since then as a chartered insurer?
Alhamdulillahi, my business has been a successful one and I thank God for that. We have offices in Nigeria, we have in Gambia and we have associates’ offices. When we say associate offices we have people who are associates of our company in China and we have an office being built in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate (UAE), which is almost finishing now.
You see UAE is a very strict country. As a Muslim country they are very strict, unlike Nigeria where everything goes. So, we are in UAE and Insha Allah everything will be perfected this 2019 and our office is going to open there.
Is that Dubai, the capital to be precise?
No. Many people think that the capital of UAE is Dubai but no. The capital of UAE is Abu Dhabi. Those who call the capital of UAE Dubai don’t understand. In all of it, the Emirate consists of seven regions: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and so on but Dubai being a business centre, and because they have focus. Not only that, in any country where there is no discipline like Nigeria, you will see the lack of security. If the country is disciplined, nobody will do the wrong thing. In UAE they are disciplined.
Take for instance in 1984 when General Muhammadu Buhari took over government, himself and his Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters, General Tunde Idiagbon, tried to bring discipline into the Nigerian society. And you would see for that period that things were working until when he was overthrown.
Are you saying that General Buhari was overthrown because of his effort at bringing discipline to the country?
Yes, because, everybody believed like they are believing now that they were not going to do business as usual. But Buhari is serious as a person.
So, you mean the main problem with Nigeria is lack of discipline?
Yes! Lack of discipline! There is indiscipline in this society. See what is happening in judiciary. See what is happening in government. See what is happening in the civil service. There is no discipline and that is why you see that Nigeria is upside down.
But if you ask me, I will say that this problem of discipline remains with us for quite sometimes because we haven’t addressed it for real. And by this I mean to say that we only blame the system, take our minds away from also blaming the people because, many of these people going into the government come from the society. Are you really aware that people in the society themselves don’t like to be taken along the line of discipline?
That is why, you see again, the leadership, the followership are very important. If the leadership and followership are, the society will be okay. You see, if the society is disciplined, no Judge is going to take money and turn case round against justice. You are a Muslim and you that it is wrong. If you have done anything wrong or your brother or your daughter has done anything wrong, the law has to take its course. Does it happen in Nigeria? May be two years or more ago in Saudi Arabia, the son of one of the top leaders in authority did something wrong, he was executed. In Nigeria, it becomes the job of those who should uphold the law and its enforcement to work hard against it happening.
Then what is the problem with Nigeria about allowing the law into our lives as a people?
The problem is that Nigerians don’t face reality. If we don’t face that reality in the country, forget it! Unless we become a disciplined society, we cannot be there.
May be I should bring something that happened recently, because when we are interactive in the way we address this problem, maybe it will be clear to the layman who seems not to understand how he has contributed to the indiscipline we are talking about. Some people went out of their way bringing in contraband, tramadol and the syndicates now bribed the customs officials to the tune of $150,000 but that bribe was rejected as it was used as exhibit. By this attitude of the customs, can we say we are having a lead into the disciplined Nigeria you advocate?
No! You see you have to understand. If we are disciplined society, people in the society would not do what they are doing. All the customs is doing is just by the way, just to show that they are doing something. What we are saying is this; tramadol or whatever you call it is illegal. If somebody is disciplined, why would he go and bring such thing into the country? That is number one. He is bringing it in because he knows that he can get away with it. They are getting away with it. It is only sometime customs want to show that they are working that you see what you saw. It doesn’t work out that way. If everybody is disciplined, nobody will engage in such illegal importation in the first place.
Look here, it doesn’t matter to me if you have Pope as President or even if Pope in his country brings a law into Nigeria. That is another problem, but it doesn’t matter provided the law will help the society. Shariah Law for instance, if you steal they cut your hand. But in Nigeria, people say, “Oh! This is barbaric!” Are we not suffering for it? Where the law is in use, how many hands have they even cut? Tell me, if we make somebody as an example in Nigeria and all the millions of Nigerians are happy with their lives, is it not okay?
If the Pope will bring that law into this country that Nigeria will be okay, I am for it. If you go to any Islamic country, I am telling you, Bashir! You will not see this type of indiscipline we suffer in Nigeria there. Even when you forget a telephone in the car, they will look at the land number and call saying, “Do you know this number” and if he says yes, they get you through that and hand your phone back to you. That is how it is, even when it involves millions. Go and check with all Nigerians if that is happening by them.
It has happened to me. I forgot my wallet in a taxi cab when I was giving money to the driver. Within ten minutes the police called me and said, “Your wallet is here”, because I had ID in UAE. That is a disciplined society. Our problem in Nigeria is lack of discipline. Bashir, when were you born?
1972?
If you were born in 1972, that is why you don’t know that there was once a good life in Nigeria. Go and check history, in the 60s, 70s, the early year you were born is different, you will know Nigeria had been a fantastic country by our founding fathers until the military came in. People like Tafawa Balewa, Obafemi Awolowo, Ladoke Akintola, Ahmadu Bello, during their era the country was decent. They were disciplined. Those among them who had the money were disciplined with how they spent it.
May be you don’t know that it is the military that spoiled Nigeria. After the independence we had three regions: the Northern Region, Western Region and Eastern Region competing with one another in effort towards development. Awolowo had brought education because without education, how would people be disciplined? The Broad Street you see today was just like when you go to London. Go to King’s Way, it was the same thing like you go to the street of London. Naira was valuable. As at that time I remember the Naira was seven cents to a dollar and Naira was one-to-one to a pound.
See how they messed up the country. They messed up the economy and I’m so surprised, I am sorry to say it, we have a lot of educated illiterates. They don’t understand. Things don’t work that way, Bashir.
Educated illiterates?
Yes. We have a lot of educated illiterates. Things don’t work that way. They don’t understand that Buhari is trying to make sure that things are okay. But see the gang of rogues that gather together because this man will not allow them to continue stealing. How many educated Nigerians understand that? Tell me, if a house is destroyed, is it easy to fix it?
They destroyed Nigeria over 20 years, how would Buhari fix it in three years? Are they therefore discipline? Somebody wants to be your president, I don’t want to mention name, he is giving almost 4000 delegates $5,000 each. Multiply that. When he comes to government as President, what will he do first? Ask yourself. But some Nigerians are saying, “Hey! We are suffering. This is the man we want.” They will never get anything.
The truth is what I am saying. I am not preaching or campaigning for Buhari but I am telling you, for now, he is the only way out. If Nigerians understand it, everybody should live with it.
I must confess that this interview meeting is fantastic to me because, while history has for long been abolished from our school curriculum thereby depriving us of knowing the past of our country, a wonderful personality like you have been able to educate us about what we yearn for, the Nigeria of our fathers….?
Yes. You missed so many things about Nigeria as a young man.
Now, can we talk about your politics in 2019 as a politicians who has idea about how to solve the problem of Nigeria?
First and foremost I told you that I am Chief Executive of my organization. I have my job and I continue doing my job because, to me, I think it is wrong for anybody to say he is a professional politician. There is nothing like that anywhere in the world. The problem with Nigeria, again, is that those who are in politics take it as a profession. It is not done! Politics should be a part time thing. Governing people is not a full time job. If you have your job, I have mine and he has his, why would we be stealing government money? Ask yourself. Everything still boils out around the act of indiscipline.
We have for sometimes now been bewildered with a Nigerian society where a money bag is not asked or questions not asked about how he got his money before he is celebrated. You are worshiping the money bags. President Buhari is saying the truth but some Nigerians are turning their backs. Forget worshipping money. The most important thing is about whether our people are suffering or they are not suffering, which takes me to the interest in politics because I ordinarily do not have interest. Many people that know me have asked why I want to go into politics, which they say is a dirty game.
And truly, politics is not just dirty game but also dirtier since I have been there since January of 2018.
What particular thing brought you into the politics therefore?
In my own community in Oyo North, we are suffering and the suffering is too much. I have time to go home and I have seen that my people are really, really suffering. Unfortunately they don’t know that they are suffering. That is why I told you that because you were born in 1972 you don’t know that Nigeria was ever a very good country. And at that time we believed that we were not civilized. We were far, far, far better off in late 60s, 70s before the Army took over and began to rule the country.
In Oyo North we have 13 Local Government Areas. By censor of 2006, population of the 13 Local Government was about 1.8 million people. By now it should be over two million people with so many economic advantages, if I will tell you.
What are the economic advantages that are there in Oyo North?
One, they are farmers. If you ask me, if Oyo North Senatorial District has so much, why do we not sit down and prioritise the necessity of life for people to farm very well? And that is what I am going to do because, the farmers haven’t got the opportunities. Central Bank is providing money for farmer but my people do not know how to get this money. Because of corruption in Nigeria, although being fought now by Buhari, if you don’t know anybody, you can’t get anything and that is why I am going into politics. Not for myself. I want to get there and see what I can contribute for the good of my people. I am not claiming to be the alpha and omega. What is very important is legacy. When you die, what would people be talking about you?
I don’t want to mention names. Somebody had been in customs and had, later, been in government for eight years. What did he do? Even, go to his home town; this my boy (pointing to a son) is from America University of Nigeria in Yola. I had the opportunity to go there for his graduation. Even, go to the airport, go there and see what is happening in Yola and its environs. Does it make sense to you?
Now, my people are suffering in Oyo North and my own idea is to see how I can assist. Different people go there for different reasons but I have a mission for going there and I pray it works. I used to be the President of Iseyin Development Union in Lagos for many years and I always told my people that look, “I don’t think you are doing very well, because all the people going for House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, you are putting hungry women in the kitchen. If you put hungry women in the kitchen they will finish the food.” They will be the first to eat and after they eat they will never remember you.
I have been to all the 13 Local Government Areas in Oyo North; Igbeti, Kishi, Ogbomosho, and I know their problem. Their problem is lack of representation. They are suffering but they do not know they are suffering which I’m preaching to fight so that our people can be okay. We are not talking about empowerment in terms of keke, okada, no. We are talking about two million people. It doesn’t work out that way. And Nigerians are so much selfish. They monetise everything and when you tell them, they say this is the way we have been doing it. But you have been doing it this way but it is the wrong way. They are not doing the correct thing and they cannot survive and to make them survive is my purpose in politics.
Finally what should Oyo North look out for and what party?
I am in ADP as senatorial candidate for Oyo North Senatorial District of Oyo State. Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala is the Governorship Candidate. As a Senator I will be the servant to my people. I will be servant not as leader. What I will do is collaboration for development of my community. I will be at the forefront in the struggle for better Oyo North but like the one sent on an errand.
And the experience is in my first priority as chief executive of a company, internationally, which is to pay salary of my workers as at when due and I have been doing that for the past 40 years. And my own idea is that politics is not a matter of life and death. That was why, when Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disappointed me, I looked for ADP and became their candidate.
