In this interview with John Shiklam, President of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Hon. Jonathan Asake, said his people will not support any governorship candidate who is biased against Southern Kaduna people. He also spoke on the security situation in the state. Excepts:
The Southern Kaduna people have been crying of marginalisation, but it is alleged that they rarely support their people who contest for the governorship of the state.
It is not true that the Southern Kaduna people always don’t want to support a governorship candidate from their zone. I can remember very serious people who came out to contest for governorship of Kaduna state and they were massively supported. In 1999, we had the late Col. IshayaNyan who contested on the platform of the then All Peoples Party (APP). Somewhere along the line, he was thrown out of the race and he went and picked the ticket of the then Alliance for Democracy (AD).
He was overwhelmingly supported.
In 2007, the late Senator Isaiah Balat, contested for the governorship and the people of Southern Kaduna also gave him overwhelming support. Because of the massive support for him, there was a run-off between Balat and NamadiSambo.
Even at the run-off, it was the power of incumbency that played out because the then governor of the state, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, supported Sambo.
The late Patrick Yakowa, contested for the 2011 governorship election and was massively supported. When they say that we cannot produce the governor, it is not true, it is a mere propaganda.
Governorship candidates of the various political parties have emerged. Who will the Southern Kaduna people support?
We will support any candidate who is visionary and will run an all inclusive government. Somebody that will treat all sections of Kaduna state justly and as a family.Somebody who is not a religious bigot or sectional person. Somebody who will address the security challenges, promote peace and ensure the development of every section of the state.
Once somebody convince us that he is going to be a leader for all, we will support him, no matter which zone the person comes from.
Of all the candidates, we have the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator UbaSani; New Nigeria Peoples Party ( NNPP), Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi; Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP), Hon. Isa Ashiru, African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator Caleb Zagi.
There are also candidates of All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA), Action Alliance (AA), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). The Southern Kaduna people are watching all these candidates to see who is the best.
Incidentally, the governorship candidates of the major political parties are Muslims from the northern part of the state, will you support a Muslim-Muslim ticket?
We are looking for visionary leaders who will run an all inclusive government. We in SOKAPU have said through our political committee that there are certain arrangements that give us some sense of fairness and balance in the state, especially power sharing. We are looking at the candidates that will convince us that they will be fair and just to all sections of the state.
SOKAPU had made a statement that any candidate, from the northern part of the state who goes for a Muslim-Muslim ticket is outrightly
not in our agenda because there is no sense of inclusiveness.
That is what Governor El-Rufai did in 2019. His Muslim-Muslim ticket, was for a selfish agenda and not for public interest.
So if you are a Muslim and you are taking a Muslim as your running mate, we will mobilise our people against you.
If you are a Christian from the Southern part of the state and you nominate a Christian running mate, we will not support you because you are not bringing inclusiveness on the table.
You spoke about power sharing and inclusiveness. What do you mean by that?
Before the coming of Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his APC, the PDP had a power sharing arrangement that was all inclusive and gave everybody a sense of belonging.
Right from 1999, if the governor is a Muslim from the north, his deputy will be a Christian from the Southern part of the state.
If the governor is from the north, the Minister will be a Christian from the south and vice visa.
If the Secretary of the State Government (SSG) is from South, the the Head of Service will come from the north and vice visa.
We had that arrangement and it ensured stability and mutual respect until El-Rufai came and changed it. The structure of his government is openly biased against Southern Kaduna.
Under him, his deputy, the SSG, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Chief Judge of the state and his Chief of Staff, are all Muslims!
Buhari appointed two ministers from Kaduna state – Ministers of finance and environment. Both of who are Muslims from the northern part of the state.
Virtually everything that gave us sense of balance and belonging was changed by El- Rufai.
Go to all the Local governments in Southern Kaduna, you won’t see any presence of the state government in the past seven years.
Come to Kaduna, the state capital, where he claimed he is embarking on what he calls Urban Renewal programme, apart from roads in Barnawa which people could see, come to Christian communities in AnguwanBoro, Sabon Tasha, AnguwanPama, Television, AnguwanRomi, Gonin Gora, AnguwanGimbiya, AnguwanBulus, MararabanRido, AngwanJuji, Kakuri and so on, you wont see the presence of government.
The only thing you see in some of those communities I mentioned is the government of kidnappers. Almost on a daily basis people are being kidnapped in some of those places.
Many residents of the areas have been chased away by kidnappers and are squatting with friends and relations. The kidnappers have also closed down many schools including the one run by my Vice President at Kajuru junction.
Some churches have been closed down, the people cannot go to their farms because of fear of kidnappers.
Today an entire section of the state has not experienced the presence of government.
If you go to Kafanchan, headquarters of Jama’a Local Government Area, the only place you will see road network is inside Jama’a emirate where you have the Hausa Fulani Muslim community.
That is where you see government presence.
Southern Kaduna people are interested in a person whose policies will foster unity among the diversed groups.
Those who governed Kaduna before El-Rufai, were managing the diversity in the state.
If there is a problem anywhere, you will see them working round the clock to ensure that there is peace an stability. But El-Rufai came and manipulated the diversity for selfish political interest.
But the governor had defended his stand on all these, saying his appointments are not based on ethnic or religious considerations, but on competence and capacity.
Is he saying that there are no competent people in Southern Kaduna? Competent people abound across all sections of the state.
The political party is only a platform, once you emerge as a leader, you are for everybody.
People like El-Rufai had forgotten that he is under constitutional obligation to apply resources fairly to the development of all parts of the state and make appointments that reflect diversity whether a section voted for him or not.
The nomination of Dr. John Ayuba as running mate to Hon. Isa Ashiru, the governorship candidate of the PDP seems to be causing ripples among some Southern Kaduna people.
They alleged that it is not fair to have both a Senatorial candidate and deputy governorship candidate from the same Local Government Area.
The senatorial seat is opened to every tribe and every religion in Southern Kaduna.
As for the deputy governorship, it is the governorship candidate that nominates his running mate. I think the candidature of Dr. John Ayuba as running mate to Ashiru is in order.
If Ashiru felt that Dr. Ayuba will add value to his government, I think it is beyond tribal considerations, it is beyond age and any other consideration.
You said any candidate that go for Muslim – Muslim ticket will not be supported by the Southern Kaduna people. But El-Rufai chose a Muslim running mate in 2019 and won the election.
If you say El- Rufai won the election in 1999, I will allow you to say he won and I will stop at that. But I have always said that I am looking forward to a day when elections would be free and fair and votes will count in this country. When we have that, nobody can exclude any section of a society in a democracy because all votes count.
The governor of Zamfara state recently asked communities in the state to get guns and defend themselves against terrorists. What is your reaction to this?
If there is any governor that needed to have initiated that long ago, is Governor El-Rufai. There is no state that has been ravaged by terrorists and kidnappers like Kaduna state. Over 85 per cent of communities in Chikun Local government, had been sacked by bandits. Over 70 per cent of communities in Kajuru Local government area have been displaced. The governor should quickly take steps to do what the Zamfara state governor had done by asking for licenses for communities to have their guns and defend themselves against these killers.
At a time, El-Rufai advocated the use of mercenaries to deal with the terrorists.
Why will you bring mercenaries when you have sufficient man power? Why not use the money you would spend importing mercenaries to strengthen hunters and see what will happen instead of bringing foreigners.
Many people have condemned the position of the Zamfara government, saying that it will cost more problems.
Those people that are condemning him are not resident in areas that are affected by the attacks. Nobody whose community is being constantly attacked and people are being killed will condemn him. Southern Kaduna is under siege by terrorists and the people are left to their fate.
