Selling my cars won’t end Nigeria’s recession, I’ve ordered for more – Melaye
The Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye, speaks with FRIDAY OLOKOR on Senate President Bukola Saraki, the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari and other national issues
What motivated you to go into politics?
My drive in politics is to make life
more bearable for Nigerians. My interest in politics is for
developmental reasons. I am in politics to right the wrongs of the
society. I am in politics to offer palliatives to Nigerians. I am in
politics to make sure that the youths of this country get their fair
share in power sharing and resources of this country. My drive has
always been revolutionary books which affected my life. Early in life I
read books on Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and
that has helped in revolutionising my life and resulted in a positive
effect on me politically. So my driving force is my orientation, my
indoctrination from most autobiographies that I have read and more
important God.
Most Nigerians, especially your peers, have expressed reservations about your sudden rise politically. How did you do it?
I give all honour, glory and adoration
to the Almighty God who has supreme control over the universe. I want to
believe that God is the ultimate reason for where I am today. I have
tremendous belief in myself and I believe that every man must dream a
dream; every man must have in mind the picture of what he intends to be;
and I want to believe that with resilience, commitment, perseverance
and prayers, one will always attain his goal in life. It is not all
about me; it is about God. Failure to plan is planning to fail. For me,
the battle to attain my goal is a battle of no retreat, no surrender and
I will continue to pursue it. I also want to announce that I am still
climbing the ladder. I still have some steps up to climb.
What is the future of youths in attaining the political leadership of this country?
Power is never served as a buffet. To
attain power, you must struggle for it. The youths of this country will
not get power on a platter of gold. So they must come out of their
cocoons and begin to make sacrifices in search for power. The youths of
this country must be resolute. They should be interested in how they are
being governed and they must be interested in policy formulation and
implementation. They must be interested in their political and economic
environment. That is the only way they can capture power because power
is not given; power is taken. The youths of this country must show
capacity and interest in every facet of our national life and they must
also make sure that they react to the environment. Power ultimately
belongs to God. But when man wants it, man must labour for it because he
that refuses to labour should not eat. The youths of this country are
about 65 per cent of our population and have about 70 per cent of the
voting rights in this country. The youths have the strength, the energy,
the dynamism, the intellectual prowess and more important the
population to capture power.
Several allegations have
been made that you are close to the Senate President, against the
interest of your political party, because he ‘settled’ you. What is your
reaction to this?
Bukola Saraki is my friend. He is my
brother and I value friendship. My definition of friendship is he or she
who walks in while others are walking out. I am not a monetised
character. I don’t commercialise my conscience. I do what is only right
in man’s sight and in the sight of Almighty God. No one has the money to
buy me. My relationship with Bukola Saraki is true friendship and I
will stand by him come rain or shine. I will always be by his side as a
friend and I will always advise him rightly. I did not pitch any tent
against my party because as a senator, I swore an oath before God and
before man using the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
1999 (as amended) and also using the Holy Book. I swore to uphold the
constitution and there is no All Progressives Congress senator, there is
no Peoples Democratic Party senator. All we have is senator of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, the party to me is just a vehicle for
winning elections because no political party in this country is
ideologically based; no political party in this country has a manifesto
that is being implemented. The governor of Kaduna State is from the APC;
the governor of Kano State is from the APC, but the programmes of the
Kaduna State governor is apparently at variance with that of his Kano
State counterpart. So people should not use the instrumentality of
political parties to determine loyalty to the nation. My loyalty is
first to Nigeria before my political party and the independence of the
Senate is important to me. I believe that the internal issues of the
Senate should be handled internally and I give my support to Bukola
Saraki. I have no regrets about it.
So was your loyalty why Saraki compensated you with the position of chairman, senate committee on the Federal Capital Territory?
In every facet of life, people work for
loyalty and today as a Muslim or as a Christian, we all strive to make
heaven because there is a hope and a promise of eternity. So if a man
gets rewarded for diligence and loyalty, it is not a crime. And if I got
rewarded with the position of chairman, senate committee on FCT because
I was loyal to Bukola Saraki, then the losers should lick their wounds.
Many believe that you are young and therefore they query the source of your stupendous wealth. How did you get your money?
I don’t know about stupendous wealth. I
don’t know about being wealthy, but I will say I am a comfortable
Nigerian and I have never got any contract from the government contract
in my life. I have also never taken any political appointment in my life
or a position where I have control over government funds. I have never
had government imprest and I challenge anyone who has any criminal
allegation against me to actually come out and present it. With the
vigour with which I fought the administration of President Goodluck
Jonathan, if I had any skeleton in my cupboard, by now it would have
been exposed. For a man who buys very expensive cars with his name
labelled on the number plate, it is enough to tell you that he is clean.
I am a very transparent Nigerian, a very open and honest Nigerian. I
have never stolen from government and I can say it without fear. I
challenge anyone to prove me otherwise. But at the same time, God is the
ultimate giver of legitimate wealth and anyone who really wants to tap
into the anointing of getting resources from God should please consult
me.
Before you became a senator, were you already a millionaire?
I have not acquired anything
dramatically new since I became a senator. The houses I have in this
city (Abuja), I acquired before being sworn in as a senator. Hard work
pays and the Holy Book says God shall supply my needs according to His
riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To me, that is very fundamental. My
source of wealth is heavenly, my purse is divine and it won’t dry up.
You were the brains behind
the ‘Like-Mind’ senators; a platform through which Saraki became the
Senate Presidnt. Now, he is facing the Code of Conduct Tribunal over
discrepancies in the declaration of his assets. Why didn’t you advise
him to resign honourably?
I am not Bukola Saraki. I don’t speak
for Bukola Saraki. And I cannot speak for Bukola Saraki. But all I want
to say is that if Bukola Saraki thinks he is guilty, he should resign.
But if he thinks he is not guilty, there is no reason he should resign. I
say it without fear or favour that what Bukola Saraki is passing
through is not prosecution. It is persecution. You don’t punish a man
for being ambitious. The reason Saraki was before the Code of Conduct
(Tribunal) in the first instance was because he was being ambitious.
President Muhammadu Buhari is also an ambitious character; having
contested (the presidential) election three times and he got it (won
the poll) the fourth time. That shows how ambitious he is and then
getting to the Presidency now, he should not be queried for being
ambitious. I am also ambitious; I want to be the President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is God that gives power to whosoever he
wishes. So for me, the CCT trial is a kangaroo one and at the end of the
day, nothing will come out of it. Just as the case of forgery was
withdrawn, this in due course won’t see the light of the day.
You founded the Anti-Corruption Network. How will you assess Buhari’s administration in his fight against graft?
The President is sincere about his
corruption war. But is the approach right? He cannot say so. I want to
say the approach of Mr. President in fighting corruption will yield no
dividends because in the ongoing trials, no single Nigerian has been
successfuly prosecuted and jailed. Because of the magnitude of resources
available to the looters of our national treasury, they will have a way
of manipulating Nigerian courts. Most of the cases are still at the
court of first instance and one year after, witnesses have not been
examined and cross-examined in the courts. Then you will use two years
in the court of instance, you will use another two years in the Court of
Appeal and you have the Supreme Court. By that time, the President
might have been out of power, money not retrieved from the looters, time
and resources wasted because the Federal Government is also engaging
lawyers and congesting the courts. I believe in transparency,
accountability and respect for the rule of law. But in this particular
incident, I am advocating for an economic amnesty in the sense that
government will invite all looters and ask them to return the loot
within a stipulated period of time, for example six months. If in six
months the loot is not returned, then we should have a court that will
expeditiously sentence them within the shortest time possible. By so
doing, it will be a win-win situation for all because ultimately, at the
end of the day, we want these monies to be recovered so that they can
be used for the development of this country. We must look at the
procurement process in the country that gave birth to the weak
structures that exposes Nigerians to corruption and stealing. We must
look at the procurement laws and the loopholes that create room for
stealing and wastage — that must be looked at critically. Secondly, we
must block wastage; without doing all these, the same corruption
structure remains and it will still be exploited.
The Presidency is said to
have been hijacked by a cabal. Do you believe this, going by the
allegation recently made by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari?
I am not an occupant of Aso Rock, so I
don’t really know if it has been hijacked or not. And, I don’t know if
it has been invaded or not, because I don’t have access to Aso Rock.
The recent amendment to the
Code of Conduct Bureau and CCT Acts were believed to have been due to
the ongoing trial of Saraki. Is that correct?
For everything in this world, there is a
reason; situations give birth to circumstances. We amended the Act of
the Independent National Electoral Commission because Prince Abubakar
Audu died and we discovered that there was no provision in our laws for
somebody who eventually won an election and died before swearing-in. So,
the lacuna in our law necessitated the amendment of the law. For every
amendment, there is a reason for it. I want to say that the reason for
all the amendments in the CCB and CCT Acts are also as a result of
necessity. I want you to disassociate the person and personality of
Saraki from any amendment because Bukola Saraki is occupying an office
that is time-bound. These laws will live beyond him. They are lifetime
established laws for generations yet unborn. It will outlive all of us
and people should not tie a particular law to a particular individual.
Laws are made for man and not man for laws.
Since the death of the
former Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi (SAN), Kogi State has
not been represented in the federal cabinet. Are you satisfied?
I moved a motion today (Wednesday) on
the floor of the Senate quoting the constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, Section 14, saying the people of Kogi State have been
automatically robbed socially, economically and politically because for
eight months now we don’t have a minister. Our mileage has been
completely shortened and the provision of the constitution made it
explicitly clear that there shall be, meaning that at all times there
must be one minister from each state of the federation. So for me, it is
a constitutional breach that for eight months, we are not represented
in the federal cabinet. That has been taken care of and we got the
resolution of the House, mandating Mr. President to immediately
recommend to the Senate for screening a minister representing Kogi
state.
Recently, you had an altercation with a fellow senator, Oluremi Tinubu, what is the update?
For me, old things have passed away and behold they have become new. I leave the dead to sleep.
It was alleged that she was
not the one you were targeting but her husband because of the role he
played in an attempt to stop Saraki from becoming Senate President.
I am trying to emphasise again that I
don’t cry over spilt milk. The things of history are left in the realm
of history. I have moved on.
Why is it difficult for
Saraki to publish details of the National Assembly’s budget, despite his
promise to do so? Is he or the Senate up to something else?
The truth of the matter is that the
Freedom of Information Bill has been passed; Nigerians should take the
opportunity of the FoI Bill to ask any Nigerian anywhere, not only the
National Assembly, including the President, any question they want. You
have the right to write Saraki and ask him any question about the
finances of the National Assembly and he is obliged by law within seven
days to respond. There is no secret about that.
You are from the Okun
Yoruba-speaking part of Kogi State and your people have been crying of
marginalisation by the Igala ethnic nationality that has been
controlling the political machinery of the state. What are the chances
of the Okun people producing the next governor?
Power is not given; power is taken and when it is time for us to get it, we will take it.
What is your relationship
with your governor, Yahaya Bello? It is believed that you are having
some altercations over the sharing of political offices in Kogi State?
The relationship between me and the
governor is the relationship between a citizen and his governor. He is
my governor and I am a citizen of the state.
Where is Mrs. Melaye and what can you say specifically about your marital life?
I am single. I have three children. But I
am not married. I won’t remain single forever. Very soon I will invite
you (to my wedding) and I assure you (that the person I will marry) will
be a Made-in-Nigeria woman.
Why do you find it difficult to settle down with one woman?
I have always been married to one woman
and all my children are from one woman. I have only been married once.
Whatever marriage I am going into now will be my second marriage. If you
are anxious to know, I will invite you.
Are you ruling out the possibility of reconciling with your wife?
I don’t have a wife.
Some Nigerians have a negative perception about you. Are you not disturbed by that?
There is no negative perception about me
on social media. I appreciate those who appreciate me and I get a lot
of support from there. I get a lot of encouragement. Nigerians have
demonstrated love for me. I don’t think there is any politician that has
the kind of followers I have on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and I
get a lot of love and appreciation from Nigerians. But you cannot rule
out those who will antagonise you. It’s normal and it happened to Jesus
Christ and Prophet Muhammad. It is the same with everybody. You can’t be
loved by all but I want to say that all those who dislike me, who
blackmail me, and lie against me, are giving vitamins to my soul and it
makes me fresh.
Why do you love cars?
I love automobiles and everybody can be
passionate about a particular thing. Some can be passionate about
homosexuality. They can spend any amount of money to sleep with a man.
Some are passionate about occultism. They can buy blood at any amount of
money. Some are passionate about diamonds; you can ask Diezani
(Alison-Madueke). My passion is automobiles and there is no crime in
that and I am very proud of it. Once the automobiles are not products of
crime and they are not got from any ill-gotten wealth, then a man
should be proud about what he is passionate about. I love automobiles
and I am waiting for the next collection.
You have ordered for more
cars at this period of economic recession, when many Nigerians, even
those from your constituency and senatorial district cannot feed and
there is poverty everywhere?
Yes, my cars cannot underwrite the
recession problems of this country. Even if you sell my cars now, it
will not make Nigeria to come out of recession.