Buhari is not as hard as people think, he has a heart that flows with milk – Ex-gov
Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia state, has revealed that he is going to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to personally release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, to him.
In a recent interview granted to The Sun, the ex-governor has also given assessment of the Buhari’s administration, commented on the president’s frequent foreign trips and expressed concern over Fulani herdsmen’s attacks.
Kalu expressed assurance that Ndigbo would benefit from the Buhari’s government more than any other in Nigeria.
On Biafra issue
“The issue of Biafra is a very big one in Nigeria today. Some of us are waiting for the president’s mind to calm down and I will appeal to him to personally release Nnamdi Kanu to me and I’m sure the president will listen to me when I finish marshalling out my reasons. These are young boys, they have the right to ask for Biafra, but the problem is the process.
“People have committed more offences than what Nnamdi did but they were pardoned; so, I’m still going to appeal to the president, we will have a common ground very soon. Let’s see what will happen between now and the end of the year. This issue should not be rushed, the president should not be pressurised; we are talking to him informally. We are talking to the president through the international community, we are talking to him through African presidents and we are talking to him through personal friends. He is going to listen, Buhari is not as hard as people think and he has a heart that flows with milk.”
“So, let us get the right core. I will make application if they will allow me to see Nnamdi Kanu in prison very soon and I will like to talk to him and I know he will listen to me. Nobody is saying anybody cannot talk about Biafra, you can talk about any other republic but you should not take Nigeria for granted; it’s a sovereign nation and we’ve all sworn to keep the country together.”
On President Buhari’s frequent foreign trips
“People criticise President Buhari for travelling too much, no, what he is doing is the right thing to do. It is absolutely what a good president should be doing at this time. I believe that he does more economic diplomacy, which is what I call what he is doing now unless his economic and political advisers are not taking advantage of these travels. The body of ministers, body of advisers, policy planners and indeed the National Assembly should take advantage of the president’s economic diplomacy. So, it is a mistake for people to say that the president is travelling too much because no president can be an island. He is making contacts and finding new friends for Nigeria. The world is facing a serious economic problem just like Nigeria. It is just that we have no economy in the first place; if we’ve had an organised economy, Nigeria would have been in deep recession now.”
READ ALSO: Buhari’s government is working in favour of the re-emergence of Biafra – IPOB
On Buhari’s change agenda
“The change Buhari is bringing in is not the type of change that will come on a platter, it’s not the kind of change people would want to see, it is not the kind of change that will bring the Naira at par with the dollar overnight because the five fingers are not equal.
“The change Buhari is bringing is to realistically address the issue of the common man, which will not come easy, going by the level of decay in the society. Maybe, many people will say in the last one year, their food is not done or something like that, but such people should also know there could have been total economic collapse but for Buhari’s coming to power. The fuel crisis was on before Buhari came to power. The removal of the fuel subsidy, which was long overdue was meant for us to tighten our belts and realistically pursue our economic policy.”
On Buhari’s war against corruption
“People should not expect him to pick on those who were not in power and had nothing to do with our commonwealth. It is those who were entrusted with our money he is calling to come and give account of what they did with the money. So, he is not selective.
“I sincerely believe that if people abuse their offices, they should be punished thoroughly, not looking at who is involved. I have always said it even before President Buhari that he should not have two sets of rules but one and if he maintains that, he is not going to be in problem with anybody. Mind you, the European and North American countries have a lot of belief in his attitude to fighting corruption; they have not disapproved that and it’s high rating for him. I don’t know what Nigerians think, but he has high rating from the international community in his ability to genuinely clean the cobwebs in the four corners of the house and I think this is what he is doing.”
READ ALSO: Shocking – Former governor, Orji Kalu running away from trial – EFCC
On Lagos/Cabalar rail line that will not pass through any of the South East states
“It’s something that our lawmakers, ministers and people of goodwill should contact those that drew up the budget. I mean it is nothing; Aba is a commercial city, it’s a question of making a detour somewhere and the thing will get to Aba and may be two other places in the South East before getting to Calabar.
“That is not why we should kill ourselves; that is where quality representation comes in so that those things will be put in the budget. It’s about relationship, it’s about discussion. It’s not about fighting; it’s not about saying it is injustice. Soon, people will because of this say Buhari hates Ndigbo, it is not true, after all, he was not the one that put the rail line project in the budget. From the way Buhari is going, I can tell you that Ndigbo will benefit from his government more than any other in this country.”
On Fulani herdsmen’s attacks
“I sincerely believe that the challenge before President Buhari is one: he needs to think seriously about Fulani herdsmen; he should sit down with members of his cabinet and fashion out ways of dealing with this issue. I heard the other day that people were killed in Enugu, they are Igbo and we cannot continue being beaten every day. Igbo nation has suffered a lot for this country and we should have a break from killing us; if anything happens anywhere, they kill us, it’s not right. I totally disagree with people, who think it is right; it is not right. It is not good to treat the Igbo this way.”
On Goodluck Jonathan’s probe
“If fingers are pointing at Jonathan, nobody is above the law. It is just in Nigeria that presidents are made to look as if they are above the law. If Jonathan has committed any offence, they should bring him and try him according to the laws of the country. Nobody owns the country. When I see some of my Igbo brothers say we don’t own the country, I laugh because we are part and parcel of this country. I don’t feel in any way, as a second class citizen because my people, the Igbo are part and parcel of this country; we are trustees of the dream, we are part of the dream.”
The post Buhari is not as hard as people think, he has a heart that flows with milk – Ex-gov appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM (Nigerian newspapers).