Muhammad Saleh Hassan is a chieftain of the All Progressives Party (APC) and former member of the Presidential Campaign Council. He is currently a member of the party’s Campaign Council in Anambra State. In this interview, Hassan, who is the national leader of One Nigeria Group, a nonpolitical group in the vanguard of advocacy for unity, peace, security and progress of the country, spoke on the lasting solution to insecurity, as well as other national issues.
Nigeria is bedeviled by insecurity. As a chieftain of the ruling party, what other proactive steps should government take to achieve a lasting solution since some ongoing efforts have not yielded total positive result?
One thing that must be given persistent attention, apart from the regular efforts, is the message of unity and peace. If everybody embraces unity and peace ethos, the tendency for violence will reduce or stop. If all Nigerians see themselves as one, then they would love one another and there will be no crave for terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping and other vices.
In order to keep drumming this very important message, One Nigeria Group has been formed. Its activities will spread to the international level for the sake of Nigerians in the Diaspora. Recently, the group went to the United Kingdom (UK) when the president was attending an education summit. The UK government was giving $125million donation to Nigeria for the development of the education sector.
Though quite appreciable, we felt the gesture was not the best. What purpose would it serve when our students are being kidnapped from school recklessly and parents are scared of sending their children to school? Solution to insecurity comes first because no development can take place smoothly if there is no security. We need foreign intervention in the fight against insecurity. We call on Western countries to support Nigeria in fighting insurgency. They should sell arms to Nigeria. That was one of the messages One Nigeria took to the UK. We went to the parliament. We also went to the Nigeria High Commission and submitted our prayers to the UK government.
What was the immediate response?
Immediately, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a discussion with President Muhammadu Buhari, with a promise that the UK government would support Nigeria in fighting the insecurity.
We are calling on other countries to join in the fight. We will go to the United States of America and the United Nations (UN) for international support.
Why did you start the appeal with UK?
We are particular about the UK because Nigeria is the number one Commonwealth country. It is the responsibility of the Commonwealth, through a coalition, to join forces with the Nigerian Army and fight the insurgency battle. Nigeria can’t be a member of the Commonwealth and won’t get this kind of support. What is the essence of being a member and the country is in this kind of crisis and other Commonwealth member countries are folding their hands and not giving support?
We have taken the message to the Queen of England and the prime minister. It is not about giving $125m to Nigeria for education support while students who are to benefit from the gesture are not safe in various schools.
What similar steps have you taken at the local level?
Very soon, we shall organise local rallies in different states of the country to continue the peace and unity crusade. Politicians, lawyers, businessmen, academics, doctors, the youth and other prominent people from different walks of life who are the forces behind the One Nigeria Group cut across different tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria.
There appears to be renewed attacks in your state, Plateau; what do you think is the solution?
The people of Plateau – Christians, Muslims and everybody – have roles to play here. They should rise above hate and ethnocentric tendencies and jettison any form of violence.
The whole country should put Plateau in prayers because it is becoming a lone state as it is being avoided by people due to insecurity. Religious leaders, traditional rulers, government, security agencies and everybody should put all hands on deck to ensure return to the home of peace and tourism that Plateau is known for.
There are insinuations that some Nigerians in the Diaspora are brainwashed by home-based separatist campaigners to believe that Nigeria has a bad human rights record. Consequently, they portray the image of the country in bad light abroad. To what extent does your group educate them to embrace the unity and peace message?
We held a rally and peaceful protest in the UK, particularly because of the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) there. They de-market the country by portraying her in bad light. But we used the medium to enlighten them on the wrong narratives. Our emphasis was that our Nigerian brothers and sisters in the Diaspora should redeem their pledges for unity and peace. We emphasised the need for them to be faithful, loyal and honest as entrenched in the National Pledge.
They need to understand that in whatever position they find themselves there, they are second or third class citizens but first class in Nigeria. That is why we are urging them to love their country instead of working against it, just like the people of other countries where they are living love their countries. If there is no peace in those countries, would they have been able to live there? While enlightening them, many of them admitted that they had been misled by home-based agitators working against government and are being told negative things about the country. We tried to make them understand that no country is perfect. Every country has its own challenges; and that Nigeria is not a bad country. All we need to do is join hands and proffer lasting solutions to our problems.
The federal government should watch out closely for sponsors of insecurity and bring to book, whoever is found guilty. There should be no sacred cow because insecurity is being used to fight government, especially now that 2023 is around the corner. Nigeria comes first before anybody.
There are pockets of agitation for secession, which threaten the peace and unity message you are talking about. What is One Nigeria Group doing about this?
The strength of our country is our diversity. One Nigeria Group was birthed to let Nigerians understand that Nigeria does not need the breakup or secession being agitated for by some individuals who don’t even have the support of their own immediate ethnic people. The greatest country in the world, America, is emigrant. The native Americans are also there. Everybody contributes to the progress and greatness of the country in the spirit of peace and unity. Why then should we divide ourselves because we are from a heterogeneous background, whereas our strength is that diversity?
What is your take on the campaign for restructuring, which has been in the front burner of the country’s polity?
Restructuring does not affect the unity of the country. Whether there is restructuring or not, Nigeria remains an indivisible entity. Restructuring is a political language and rhetoric created by certain people that are not happy with the present government. Some of them are former president, former vice president, former governors, why didn’t they do the restructuring when they were in office?
We have a constitution in this country, which is not meant to serve the interest of any particular person on group, but all Nigerians. We have the National Assembly where every Nigerian is represented. The politicians that are clamouring for restructuring should fall back to the constitution and the legislators to effect restructuring. It should follow due process.
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