"President should fulfil campaign promises" - Galadima

In this interview with Sunday Isuwa, he analyzes President Buhari's one year in office. He also speaks on some important national issues.

See excerpts of the interview below:

It’s like you are not close to President Buhari after you worked for him for several years?

You see, not many of you really will understand because the feeling in the country is that everybody works for benefit. Everybody works for benefit or work for reward. Nobody ever thinks of giving to the nation or giving to the community without getting back.

All my life, I have been a fighter for social justice. It never crosses my mind that I should do something and be rewarded as a person. The only reward I am looking for from Buhari's government is that he should fulfilled his campaign promises, and do justice to ordinary Nigerians, and provide dividendsof democracy. If he is able to do that, he has fulfilled my expectation.

Naja'atu Mohammed said recently that most of the people that suffered with Buhari for many years are not in his government. She said the people that now work with Buhari don't even mean good for him. What is your view?

This means also that Naja'atu falls into the categories of those Nigerians that believe that because you work, you most get reward. If that is not the case, I don't expect her really to say that. What we will hold Buhari responsible is he has he done to the people of Nigeria.

Nigerians have suffered for 16 good years and have even sacrificed their lives and privileges just to make him become president, now he is president. What is it that they can say for sure that they have benefited from the President? I know of one already.

What is that one thing that Buhari has done?

The one I am talking about is that the security situation in the country has fared and improved. But not to the level that some of us would have expected. But it has improved. Some people can now sleep with their eyes close.

Not like before that even in Abuja, you are not sure of what next will happen. So, all that we are saying is that let Buhari remember his constituency, those that have worked for him. I mean, people who work day and night to ensure that he became president because they want dividend of democracy.

Two, it doesn't matter who Buhari elects to work with as far as they key into our principles of good governance; I have no problem with that. It will be sad if those he appointed did not share in our political party perspective for which we have worked for in the past 14 years.

But do you see the present government going in-line with what you people yearned for?

Many people including myself will prefer to say that one year is too short to pass a judgement. Because of the situation we found ourselves before Buhari took over. If he had found a smooth, buoyant and a secured country, then we could have said he has not done much.

But he found a country whose economy was in tatters, social welfare, relationship between communities was nothing to ride home about. Terrorists and other militants were threatening to take the country from all sides. Kidnappers, those that are blowing pipelines, Boko Haram and all sorts were on the prowl. He is just trying to find his feet. His first point of call as a military man was to secure the country then he will start building it.

But are you satisfied with the removal of oil subsidy by NNPC?

Yes and no. Because Buhari himself has not done enough consultation to educate a lot of Nigerians as to why he has to removed subsidy. Up to now, he has not said anything. He left us to this situation to assume what he has not done. That is bad to a government. Buhari's government does not communicate with the electorates and Nigerians.