The Managing Director of National Inland Waterways (NIWA), Dr. George Moghalu, in this interview says the November 11 elections provide the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abadulahi Ganduje the opportunity to demonstrate capacity to lead the party. Excerpts:
What is your assessment of the current government?
I’m one of those people who don’t believe in this 100 days thing. The administration, in fairness, is still too young for anybody to think of an honest assessment. This, our administration is, like you said, 100 days, that is three months plus. So it won’t be fair to start making a proper assessment of the administration. However, I must be honest enough to say that the initial steps taken are quite courageous. He points the direction of an administration that is committed to delivering on its promises. Because in these times, for you to run an administration, one thing you must have is courage to take very strong and hard decisions. So I must say the government has started well, but requires all the citizens to keep supporting the government, keep encouraging the government, because we’re all part of the system.
Perhaps I would start by asking you if you had reconciled with APC?
I never quarrelled with APC. There was a disagreement, which was on principle. And the moment the issue was resolved by the court, I moved on. I was injured, I felt disrespected, I felt humiliated in a party I can boldly claim to be one of the founders of. I’m not a joiner. So I had to follow the judiciary route as a Nigerian who believes that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man. And fortunately enough, the three stages —we went to the High Court, to the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court, they all gave judgment in my favor. So I made my point. So for me, that phase has passed. Then we continued with our party.
The new leadership of APC, your assessment of it and the chances of APC winning the three staggered elections?
Like you rightly observed, the new leadership of Dr. Umar Ganduje, it is not up to one month. So what basis are you going to assess him? The point is that he’s experienced, you can’t take that away from him. Somebody who has been special advisor, somebody who’s been Commissioner, somebody who’s been deputy governor, somebody who’s been governor. I think if there’s any experience that is required to hold any public office, I think Dr. Ganduje has enough of it. But to whom much is given much is also expected. Everybody is expecting him to lead the party well, and like you rightly observed too, and there is a staggered election in three states, which provides his current leadership of the party an opportunity to demonstrate capacity. So we have three states’ elections in November. So I expect that he will work very hard to deliver. Get everybody on board, and see to it that the party wins the elections in the three states that are going to be contested for in November.
The APC has had six national chairmen in 10 years. Most of them were sacked following internal crisis that bedevilled the party. What do you think Should be done to stop this trend?
That goes to show that it is a human organisation. Because, like I keep telling people, wherever there’s a human organisation, interests certainly would clash. Whenever there’s a human organisation, there are developments that may require you to change the way you are. You are not apt, you’re not fixated on a particular position, and that may have been what has happened in the issue of Chairmen of APC. Don’t forget that it is only in this last instance that it involved the Chairman and Secretary. Usually, you find out that it is only the chairman because the box stops on the table of the chairman. He is the leader of the party. So, any failure in leadership or any feeling of such will now be pointed at the chairman just as the way he will get all the glory if the party wins any election or scores any positive fit. So changing up our chairmen for me, it doesn’t matter so much. It’s about getting the right people at the right time to do the right job. So if it requires changes till will get the best, to God be the glory.
One of the reasons why Abdulahi Adamu was asked to go was based on alleged corruption. And, surprisingly, Ganduje that was brought to replace him has a corruption case. Is that an indication that your government is corruption friendly?
The point here is, are we not living on speculation? Is there any judgement, any indictment on Ganduje? There’s none. It is all about what is being said. We have strong anti-corruption agencies. Nobody has come out to say, Ganduje is corrupt. Nobody has taken him to court. No judgement is pronounced. I am confident that our party wouldn’t have allowed him to be chairman if there’s a conviction or if there’s a pronouncement over him. As of now, it is still in the realm of speculation. Even the one we are talking about, Adamu, is still in the realm of speculation because it has not been proven. You know, we’re very quick in this country in sentencing people to prison without even hearing them out. But meanwhile, the truth still remains that you don’t have evidence to prove that these people committed these offenses they’ve been accused of because if you had evidence, you go to court and the judiciary is there. If they find you guilty, they pronounce you guilty, and it is only at that stage, that you can boldly come out and say that somebody is corrupt. Otherwise, you’re living in the realm of speculation.
Prior to the 2023 elections, your party fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket, after the ouster of Adamu, the party still fielded a chairman who is a Muslim and the National Secretary who is also a Muslim. Do you think your party is sensitive enough to the Christians in the party like yourself to the general public?
I think the party is sensitive. It is not about the sensitivity of the party now. When the party fielded Muslim-Muslim ticket, Nigerians ignored that and then chose competence, chose capacity to deliver. Yes! Muslim-Muslim ticket was presented, but it did not override the other benefits. People felt that it’s better for them to deal with so-so and so-so persons based on their capacity and the belief they have in them in the ability to deliver and the expectation. So for me, that did not matter at all. Because it has happened it has happened. We had an opportunity to say we don’t accept it. And then when you look at the party, it was circumstantial. For political expediency, the presidency is in the south, a Chairman has to come from the North. In the north today, truth be told, we have more Muslims than we have Christians. Just like we have more Christians in the south than we have in the north. So I wouldn’t be surprised that the person who emerges from the north is a Muslim. Then coming to the south, the Secretary emerging became also circumstantial because from the area where he comes from, there are families that they have Christians and Muslims together. In fact, I didn’t even know the Secretary is a Muslim until recently and you don’t even need to go too far to find out. Our president in his house, the president is a Muslim, the wife is not only a Christian a pastor. So how do you balance that? He goes to show that the issue of religion does not matter even in the homes. So let the emphasis be on the capacity and the ability of the people to deliver on the responsibilities assigned to them. Because if they do very well, nobody will remember whether they are Christians or Muslims. It is when the person now fails, you start looking for other problems to bring up. I keep telling people, there is no supermarket in Abuja, for example or a market in Abuja that only Muslims go. There is also no market here in Abuja, only Christians go. There are no shops here you can say you must come from the north to buy from them or you must come from the south to buy from them. These things are not necessary. The important thing is what do we do as a people to better the living condition of our people so that the government can impact on them and I think that’s where the emphasis is for now.
You are coasting to the finish line, looking back now, how would you assess yourself? What would you beat your chest and say I’m a satisfied person and what are those unfulfilled dreams?
Let me put it this way. I would rather find it very difficult to start assessing myself by saying I did very well or I did not do well. But I would rather prefer a situation where those who worked with me, those in NIWA who worked with me from the date I came in up to the date I will be leaving to the glory of God, for them to be in a position to say this man who came here did well or he did not do well. But what I am going to do is to avail you of a brochure that contains all our projects from 2019 that I came in up to this month, by the 29th, my first term will end. So that you can be able to look at the projects, you can be able to cite them, you can be able to see the list so that when you’re speaking or when you’re writing, you write authoritatively. But I feel satisfied and I sincerely appreciate the former president, my former ministers, the two of them, who provided me the opportunity, who gave me this platform to serve. I also appreciate my colleagues in NIWA from the least person to the highest person, I’m eternally grateful, but most importantly, I thank God Almighty, who literally gave me good health, protected me, guided me and assisted me through to this point. But I am very satisfied with the little I have contributed in building that agency. If nothing else you will say today, the NIWA you know today was not the same NIWA in 2019.
Four years is very small for you to achieve all, what are those things you would have wished?
There is quite a lot that still has to be done. But don’t forget that this is a relay race. You do your bit, you hand over the baton to somebody else to do. Just like somebody handed over the baton to me. Even if I do a second term, I would still certainly one day hand the baton over to somebody. There is still quite a lot to do in NIWA because I believe very strongly that the potential in the riverine sector, the maritime economy is enormous and we need to explore it. The government needs to invest further in that sector to be able to reap the benefits that abound in that sector. Like I always say, Nigeria has the advantage of over 10,000 kilometres of inland waterways, though it’s only about 3,000 and some fractions that are all year round navigable. You can also access 28 states of our country by water if our channels are all open. So even if it is this we achieve, then we have achieved a milestone. If nothing else, by the time we move bulk cargo by water, you remove them from the road, we save our road infrastructure.