Mr Simon Mwadkon. (Credit: Facebook photo.)
THE MEMBER REPRESENTING RIYOM/BARKIN LADI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SIMON MWADKON HAS FACED MANY BATTLES AS HIS CONSTITUENCY IS PERSISTENTLY UNDER ATTACK BY ARMED MEN, IN THIS INTERVIEW WITH M.T PETER IN JOS, HE SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON BURNING NATIONAL ISSUES.
EXCERPTS:
The controversial water bill was suspended in the National Assembly following the outcry by Nigerians, in your view, was there any justification for the bill?
I don’t think the passage of the water Bill will be in the interest of the masses, before the Bill was presented to us on the first day of our plenary after our long recess, the Bill was thrown away but the grammar that was used was that it was suspended but the argument on the floor that day showed that nobody was interested in that Bill. I believe even the person that made the presentation who happens to be our leader from Plateau State, I believe within him, he knows that the Bill is inimical to the peace and progress of this country. A Bill that seeks to allow the federal government to take absolute control of waterways and then quite a number of kilometers from either side of that waterway to be under the control of the federal government is already at variance with the constitution of this country because all land matters belong to the State and the State Government is keeping those lands in trust for the citizens of the State. The federal government has no land anywhere in this country by the constitution of Nigeria and for someone to just wake up and say the federal government is going to control all waterways in this country, for who? The Bill itself looks suspicious if you look at the statement made by some citizens like Lai Mohammed, he was saying there is no going back, I don’t know whether he is a legislator or it is going to be dictatorship. So, that Bill was as good as dead. Mr. Speaker wanted to also introduce that health bill that was to force Nigerians to take some injection or some medication against their will, there was public outcry even within the House, Mr. Speaker found it very difficult to control the House and in his own wisdom, he had to subject the Bill to public scrutiny but at the public hearing, I don’t think there was a single person that supported it and there, it died. With this other Bill, as far as members of the National Assembly were concerned, that Bill was dead on arrival and you can see the celebration by Nigerians which means it was an unpopular Bill because the suspicion people had was that it was an attempt by Mr. President to institutionalize hegemony of the Fulani ethnic group in all areas in Nigeria. Otherwise, who will he give the waterways to? Why does the federal government want to take over the control of such places? People have come out to say they heard from the grapevine that he wants to take the waterways so that these foreign Fulanis that are flooding into this country can come and settle there and of course, it has a political undertone. This Bill was a time bomb that is capable of throwing this country to war but I think the House of Reps has done its best, we have taken our decision and the Bill has been thrown out and it has doused some tension. It can never come again by the rules of the House in this Assembly, perhaps in the 10th Assembly and if we are alive and are there in the 10th Assembly, we will still do the needful to make sure that this Bill does not succeed. The House has rejected this Bill and if Mr. Speaker wants it to be reintroduced, it means he is under pressure from somewhere but I am telling you the Bill is dead. I don’t know what portion they want to amend, there is a constitutional lacuna there, the constitutional provision is that land, anywhere in this country is not in the purview of the federal government so what are they going to amend? Is it that we are going to amend that section of the constitution that talks about who owns land before re-introducing that Bill or is it going to be reintroduced but not under the control of the federal government but the State government? Get this very clear, the expanse of land that the bill is about either six or eight kilometers away from the waterways. There will be no house, no farming activities, nothing so supposing I am a riverine person and my house is by the river bank, are they going to take me away and resettle me somewhere? How would my means of livelihood be? That Bill is capable of bringing war into this country.
The federal government is insisting on constructing the railway from Nigeria to Niger, people believe this is to facilitate the movement of herdsmen from Niger to Nigeria, what are your views?
I think that is the truth, it is going to aid that. I listened to Garba Shehu trying to defend the federal government’s initiative of the rail construction. This is going to be constructed with money that is borrowed so each of us is going to pay for that because it is taxpayers’ money that is going to be used to repay the loan. They have not contacted us as to why that should be done. You recall during the 2019 elections, Nigeriens came to Nigeria and they say they came in solidarity to make sure that Buhari wins election in Nigeria which was a terrible thing. I asked a question when INEC was addressing us at Hill station hotel here, it was so rowdy that I had to exchange words with the Governor on the issue. I asked if our sovereignty not been tempered with if we will have a sovereign country coming in thousands on solidarity with the person we are going to elect as President? Are we now saying that Nigeriens are going to make sure they put a President for Nigeria or is it going to be a President that would be elected by Nigerians? The railway thing is to continue the aspect of bringing foreigners into Nigeria to come and vote. Some people have argued that it has to do with trade, that it will boost our economy but if you look at trade between Nigeria and Benin Republic, the volume of trade between us even to Togo, is higher than the volume of trade between Nigeria and Niger. Trade does not explain it. You just build a rail from here to a desert, for who? Nigerians cities have not been linked by rail so what is the economic importance or even the socio-cultural importance of that rail from Nigeria to Niger? Somebody will come on air and tell us it is in a border town, Maradi. Maradi is in the centre of Niger for Christ’s sake. Garba Shehu was trying to say that, that Niger had also built a rail towards Nigeria and there is a meeting point? That is not the case, it is completely a Nigerian thing and I see it as a waste.
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Jol, one of the communities in your constituency petitioned the federal government over a school that was built during the COVID-19 lockdown. What has been the reaction of the community about that project?
It is true that a school was built in Rankum community and it has 12 classrooms. It was built within three weeks or so. It was built during the lockdown, at the time when the issue of COVID-19 was at its peak and people were told to remain indoors but that school was built. The community did petition the federal government because all this while, the community had cried out that the federal government is aiding and abetting land-grabbing within the community and the federal government has continually denied that it is not aiding the Fulanis to grab lands but that school issue became a classical example. SDG is in the Presidency and it is SDG that built the school. The community said well, we had accused you of helping Fulani to take over our land but you denied it, now you have built a school from your office without recourse to the people of the community; you did not consult the traditional ruler, you did not even consult the primary school education board in Plateau State, even your SDG office in Plateau State was not consulted, the local government area was not consulted but you went ahead and built that school, and not just building the school; you put the name we have all these while cried out that the name is wrong and to crown it all; you decided to name that school after a particular person. The community wanted to know, who asked for that school? Why was it built without any recourse to all these categories of persons that I have enumerated? Secondly, why should it be named after that man, one Ardo Mamuda? Their concern was that Ardo is the person who claimed to be the leader of that community. There is no single school in Plateau State that is named after a particular person so we want to know the achievements of this man and what he has contributed to Plateau State that a school would be named after him. We have prominent sons and daughters of Plateau State that have sacrificed a lot for Plateau and even for Riyom. I don’t have even one class named after me, I have been a Chairman of the Council there and this is my second term in the House of Reps, no single class or a block is named after me so the community wanted to know why that happened. We know why the federal government is using SDG to grab our land and I led the team to SDG office, we were there twice and the matter as far as I am concerned is settled because Fulani representatives came and said one; they are not in contest of land with the community, they are not contesting the name of that school because that school was in existence, it is not that it is a new school. They just pulled down the old structures and built a more befitting class. They said they thought we are going to say they should demolish the school we said no, it is a good thing to build a school but what we are in contest is the name of the school and the name of the area which the Fulani agreed that those can be changed. We left Abuja, came home and led the team again to the local government secretariat, we met the Chairman and the Commissioner for Education sent her representative, the Education Secretary of the local government was there, the Fulani representatives and the Jol community were there and we all agreed that both the name of the school and the name of the area be changed and the Education Secretary should ensure to effect the changes and the school should be formally handed over to the local government area because it is a Primary school and it is under the purview of the local government.
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For some time, we had a reprieve but there is a resurgent of violence in your constituency, what do you think can bring enduring peace in the constituency?
The murder of the monarch who was the Acting Gwom Rwei of Foron district is a very sad thing that happened. All this while, we thought that peace had come but that murder was unprovoked, there was nothing that warrant what happened. I am aware that some Fulanis came and settled in Bisichi and the monarch wrote a petition to security agencies telling them that there are strange elements within his domain, he would have loved if these elements identified themselves with the host community so that there would be no outbreak of crisis within the area. That same day, he was invited by I think the Special Task Force officials and they had a discussion. It was that same day that he was murdered in the night. Before then, a lot of things had been going on within my constituency, Barkin Ladi and Riyom, all this while we say there is peace, I don’t think there was peace as far as the people of Barkin Ladi and Riyom were concerned because killings were still going on unabated within the area although not in large numbers; that was why people thought that there was calm. A number of people have been killed within the period that we say there is peace, a lot of farmlands have been destroyed, several homes have lost their farmlands. One cannot explain; it is difficult to say what is behind the killing of the monarch but I have had to attend a meeting at the STF headquarters very close to the MOPOL office in Jos and that meeting was called as the result of another attempt to invade one of the villages within my constituency that borders with Jos East and that day, the monarchs were clear about it especially this one that was murdered, he said that most of the people that come to attack his domain find their ways from Jos East into Barkin Ladi and carry out their nefarious act and disappear. That day, we agreed that there is need for Jos East, their traditional rulers; they were also there; they were told in black and white that it was time that they disclose the identities of those people because they always come from there to attack and go back. It was expected that the people of Jos East will identify these people so that these killings can stop. Basically, that is what I know but I am sure by the grace of God, we will make sure that the people that commit these acts are brought to book. We are on it and it is a security matter that I cannot disclose here.
Governor Simon Lalong had said that some persons were arrested in connection to the murder of the monarch. We don’t know what has happened after that. What would be your call to ensure that these perpetrators are brought to book for justice to prevail?
It is has become a recurring decimal within government circle that they will always say we are on top of the situation or in order to just douse tension, they will say they have arrested some people and most often than not, you find those people going back to their normal activities without any form of prosecution. I think the problem has continued because nobody has been prosecuted. Right from 2001, over a decade now, crises have broke out and people have been killed, maimed in their sleep; the tummy of women have been cut and the foetus removed and in some cases, the child has already developed and they will still slaughter that baby and quite a number of people have been said to be arrested but we have not seen a formal prosecution of anyone, I cannot recall one that has been punished or have been found guilty so I don’t want to talk about the statement of Mr. Governor or the issue that some people have been arrested. It is not the issue of arresting these people, we want to see the formal prosecution because if you just tell us some people have been arrested, of course, it is a therapy to make sure you calm down nerves and that may end there. As a member, I have submitted some names of some criminal elements that have been perpetrating heinous acts within my constituency to security agencies and no trial of those people have been carried out so it is like the people have been left to see how to solve their problems themselves but in this case, there was a phone call to the monarch, he went out of his house because of the network problem there to answer the call, it was at that moment that his attackers got him and they killed him and I think perhaps God just sent him outside because if they met him with his family, nobody knows what would have happened. If there is any news now, I don’t know but like I said, something is being done.
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Your constituency has had a fair share of crises in this State and we have seen IDP camps emerging, there was a time the federal government made a pledge of N10billion and also a pledge of constructing a Mobile Police barrack. Has either of these been done?
There is none and I think we amplified that too because on the first day of plenary in the 9th Assembly, we brought this motion on the floor of the House, it was well debated and the prayers were clearly stated that in view of the fact that the Vice President visited when over 300 persons were massacred in Gashish and that promised of a mobile barrack was made and the promise of the N10billion was also made, even right to when we finished elections, nothing has come, that is why I took it upon myself to bring it as a motion on the floor of the House and the prayer was that we need the N10billion to be redeemed. The people of Riyom/Barkin Ladi would wish that the federal government fulfil the promise, I had removed the extract of the motion, attached with a formal letter to the office of the President. Let me tell you, nothing has been said, even a reply of my letter, I have not seen but I am thinking of sending another letter, taking the extract of the motion because the motion is now the property of the House of Representatives and we feel strongly that the federal government should respect that but you know this government has refused at several times to accept our motions as anything. A motion is like an advice or a plea, it is not a law but you know government will always take actions that they know it is good to them, all the other motions that they feel do not concern them, they will not take them. You remember during Yar’Adua’s time, it was through a motion that the House was able to save Nigerians from getting a vacuum in governance and a doctrine of necessity was brought to allow the second in command to take over. At the time I presented that motion, it was over a year that people were in IDP camps and government here in Plateau has been saying that they have resettled the people. Let me tell you, as we speak, my constituents are still in IDP camps because they just took them and threw them in one school and there is one big hall again at Kura Falls, they are there as we speak, they are still there. Nobody has taken any stand to help them that is why I am saying that there is need for me to still go ahead and remind the federal government to do something especially about the release of the fund. I believe even if it is N5billion that they give, some would have been resettled but we are in a country whereby it is the aggressors that are being taken care of and the victims left to languish. We have seen where government is taking responsibility for Boko Haram persons that are lying that they have relinquish their activities. Government take them, give them food, give them everything but what about the people that Boko Haram have killed?
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A lot of widows, orphans are there, who is taking care of them? You give Boko Haram amnesty, you give education, pay them money for killing your citizens and the citizens are left at the mercy of God, nothing has come out of the N10billion promise. It was the Vice President that made that promise and you know President Buhari seemed to have cancelled anything that his Vice had done. You recall the DSS appointment, he threw it away and many others like that, we hope that this is not the situation in this case. The mobile barrack, nothing is being done, there is need for us to still ask questions. Let me appeal because quite a number of stranger elements have come to Gashish area and they have settled there. If you go there, you will see new houses, brand new zincs everywhere and we don’t know these Fulanis where they came from but the people of Gashish know their Fulanis that they had lived with in peace for long and it is not every Fulani that is a trouble maker, you recall during the genocide that took 300 and something lives, it was an Imam that saved people in a mosque, he is a Fulani but the truth is that more than 90% of the people that have settled on that land are Fulani and they do not belong to Barkin Ladi neither do they belong to Riyom. Our problem is that, why is it that it is these our brothers that we have stayed with them for long, why are they accommodating the new people? That is the reason why you find out that some people will just label them all that Fulanis are the ones killing meanwhile they know that these killings are not perpetrated by them but these strange elements that they allow to settle with them.
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We are gearing towards the 2023 elections, a lot of people are crying out against marginalization, what do you think about the clamour for power to shift to the South East?
The 2023 election is clear that if we belong to this country, what is paramount is the issue of justice to every part of this country. I am from the Middle Belt, we have ruled this country at a time, the North East and North West have done, the South West and South South have done it, it is high time we recognized the South East if we want to claim that we are one Nigeria because nobody will want to live in a country where there is absolute subjugation or oppression of his ethnic nationality. Nobody will see the country as his/her own if it is like that. What makes us belong is the fact that we have agreed that we are citizens of the same country so we have not reached the stage where we will say let the best come because you cannot say this is something that we are sharing, these people have gotten theirs, these ones have gotten but when it gets to my turn, you say you don’t want to give me, it will cause problems. I would not want to see this country in disarray, let us carry everybody along and if we do that, I am sure we will be doing justice to every ethnic nationality in this country. I see no reason why somebody will want to deny the South East the opportunity to lead this country. They have contributed a lot to the growth and development of this country, economic wise. Let nobody begin to misunderstand me, I am from the Middle Belt, my wife is from the Middle Belt, I don’t have any relation in the South East but they are citizens of Nigeria, if we want peace, let us do what will help us get that peace. The agitation from Nnamdi Kalu is not a child’s play and some time people will say what will these people do? They can do anything, the way we came in as a country, following the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, there was no written document anywhere that we penned our signatures as people of different geo-political areas therefore if somebody is aggrieved and feels he/she has not been carried along, he has the right to complain and if he complains and you don’t want to listen to his complain, then let him go because they have asked they want to leave. We must look at this matter carefully, you can’t beat me and stop me from crying. As a person, I strongly believe should be done and in such a way that we carry everybody along.
We have heard that Tinubu, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo are interested in the presidency in 2023. What do you have to say?
I have spoken my mind, they have the right to aspire but the truth is that it will be an injustice to the people of South East except if they have said that the country is between South and North which I have said I am not a Northerner. I am a Middle Belter and I believe that strongly; why I am saying this is because when things come to the North, they don’t consider me as a Northerner, it is only when they want my vote or my number or my landmass to take, they will say I am a Northerner. It is good that I also identify myself even if we are ten or two or three, we have to say this is who we are and we believe in what we are but for Tinubu and the Vice President, I think they should go and rest and allow the South East to bring a candidate. They are quite a number of credible people in the South East that can rule this country but it is left for Nigerians to decide, it is just my personal opinion, it not the opinion of my ethnic group or my constituency, this is what I feel is the best for us to live in peace. The South East is also producing wealth for this country, there is oil there, you cannot be taking from my ancestral land and say I cannot also lead in sharing the wealth to other parts of the country. The agitation is there, you may think that we have thrashed Nnamdi Kanu but let me tell you that there are a million Nnamdi Kanu out there in the South East and even in the Middle Belt because we cannot continue to tolerate this. Let’s be fair to ourselves, it was a particular ethnic group in the north that is subjugated to this, I am telling you that Nigeria wouldn’t be standing today as a country so let’s be fair.
