A Second Republic governor of
Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, says the administration of President Muhammadu
Buhari is getting it right in the fight against corruption, but not on other
aspects of the economy. In an interview with PUNCH correspondent, Musa said
there was no certainty that these glimpses of change would be sustained by the
government.
Musa said while the
administration of Buhari had shown promising beginnings in its anti-corruption
campaign, it was only showing glimpses of change in other aspects of the
national life such as electricity, supply of petroleum products and national
security.
His words: “The new government is doing the right thing
in the area of anti-corruption, but only in that area. In any other area, even
if there is any improvement, it is just a glimpse; there is no certainty that
it would be sustained. It is not a question of doing more; they are not doing
anything reliable.
“I think in the area of
fighting corruption and the stealing of resources, we have seen promising
beginnings. In particular, the establishment of an anti-corruption committee
made up of, on the face of it, very responsible people to advise the President
on this anti-corruption campaign. This is admirable and commendable, and it
would lead to success. In addition, there is the strengthening of this also by
the promise of the President that an anti-corruption court would be established
to deal with all cases of corruption. These are commendable, and it is a good
direction towards restoring sanity in this country. If it is followed as
promised, I think something would be achieved.
“But in all other cases, it is
just marginal. For instance, power. In the past one week, power has been steady
in the area I live. Two weeks ago, there were power cuts, at least, 10 times a
day. So, yes, we are seeing glimpses of improvement, but even during (the
administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan, we had this glimpse.
There is also improvement in the supply of petroleum products, but we hope
these improvements can be sustained. But in the case of the anti-corruption
campaign, I think it is more than glimpse, but it is reality that something
would be done.”
He also said that
privatisation was hurting the country’s economy more than it was benefitting
it.
Musa said, “Privatisation is
not good for the economy. Not only privatisation, but a system and leadership
based on self-interest first, then public interest second; a system based on
the leading role of the private sector in the economy. These are not good for
the country. We should go back to the system based on public interest first,
then enlightened self-interest second. When I say enlightened self-interest, I
mean self-interest that takes into account collective interest, on the
understanding that it is the collective interest that can guarantee even
individual interests, however narrow it is. If there is no collective interest,
then there will not be able to guarantee security and other things.
The former governor also
decried the situation where some state governments owed their workers months of
salaries and wages.
He said, “It is just to show
the level of corruption, stealing and rot in this country. For example, many
state governments had, for months, been unable to pay the salaries and wages of
workers. I blame this on corruption. This corruption arises from the leading
role of the private sector in the economy, which is based on selfish interests
first. We never had a situation where a government at any level was unable to
pay wages of their workers during colonial times and in the First Republic. The
first time in the history of Nigeria we heard that a state government was
unable to pay salaries of its workers was during the Second Republic, and the
first state was Benue state. And we were shocked then. That was the beginning
of all this nonsense we are experiencing today.
“So, it is not a question of
private or public sector; the issue is a question of the leading role, on which
the system and leadership are based. During colonial times and the First
Republic, government, not private sector, played a leading role, and the system
and leadership were based on public interest first, enlightened self-interest
second, unlike today. That was why we didn’t have this level of stealing and
corruption in both the public and the private sectors, and the growth of the
economy was steady. The purpose of government is the welfare and security of
the people. They (government) should go back to the system whereby the state (the
government) plays the leading role in the economy to ensure peace, equality,
dignity of the human person and progressive even development of the country.
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