2015: ELECTION MAY NOT HOLD IN NORTH-EAST - BUKAR ABBA

Former governor of Yobe State and Senator representing Yobe East, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, in this interview with Patrick Andrew lamented the inability of the military to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents, and insisted that there may not be elections in the north-east if Boko Haram continues to capture territories in that region. Excerpts. 
With the security situation in the north east, will election be held there?
That is a very simple thing to answer, if things go the way they are now, yes, there will be election in all the 36 states of Nigeria. But if things go bad as it is happening recently were Boko Haram is capturing people’s local government in the north east, then I think that there will be no election in some parts of the country. It is a very difficult question to answer. I just hope and pray that normalcy returns before the elections. I don’t have a permanent voters card because nobody can vote in my local government.
Yobe State is totally under the control of Boko Haram, so what I have is the temporary voters card and the chairman of INEC is saying that you cannot use it to vote, so everything has to become normal by first giving us our permanent voters card so that we can vote but that is just for the two local governments under the control of the insurgents, the remaining 15 are okay, two local governments cannot stop us from having elections in the state.
Your Excellency, with the increasing activities of the insurgents which seems to have defeated all military tactics. It is believed in some quarters that the efforts of the military are being sabotaged, what is your take on this?
The problem is that the military do not have modern and adequate fighting equipments, they are not well equipped to fight the insurgency, but recently, $1 billion was approved and I think with that amount they should be able to buy equipment to fight the insurgency.
Isn’t it worrisome that the insurgents are hoisting their flags in the communities that they have captured?
That is why we are worried, that is why we are complaining and that is the reason why we have approved this huge sum of money to help the military crush the insurgents. It is worrisome that on Nigeria’s land, these people are saying it is not part of Nigeria, it is a declaration of war, Boko Haram has actually declared war on Nigeria, captured lands belonging to the Nigerian nation and so many other things have been overtaken, we can’t allow them keep us in perpetual fear.
We must save our sovereignty. Every part of Nigeria must be taken away from the sect.
What has the elders of the affected zone done to curb the excesses of the insurgents?
There is nothing that the elders of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa can do. Government is trying, it is just that its best has not been good enough because of a number of reasons, the insufficient equipment to fight the insurgency. It is not a question of lack of efforts of the elders or members of the National Assembly or government, it is the failure of the military to protect the territorial integrity of Nigerians. From all indications if they are better equipped they would be able to crush the terrorists, but meanwhile, we should also try and open up avenues to negotiate with them.
Recently, the president declared his intention to run for a second tenure. How would you react to the declaration?
Well, my reaction to the declaration is a mixed one. On one hand, Nigerians are saying he is not supposed to seek re-election because he has been sworn in twice and others are saying no, he was just sworn-in once as an elected president. So, it is now left for the court to decide on this matter, it is purely a legal issue, if the court decides and he wins, he becomes president but if he loses which is very likely, then that is the end of the matter.
Now that Boko Haram has taken over some local governments, do you think there will be election in those areas?
We have two very strong parties and either of them can win the election. So with Mr. President’s declaration now, politicking has started, campaigns and primary elections will soon commence to determine those that will fly their parties flags.
You were a former governor and now a senator. What political office will you be aspiring for in 2015?
In 2007, I contested for the presidency but we were pressurized to withdraw and I also had health challenges that prevented me from going further. In as much as I would have loved to contest for the presidency, I might go back to the Senate. I don’t think I have any other choice in 2019.
Are you not worried that Nigeria is gradually adopting a two party system?
What is wrong with a two party system, most countries of the world have adopted the two party system. The United Kingdom has two major parties and smaller parties. 
Source: People’s Daily Weekend