Zamani Lekwot: Why we want state for Southern Kaduna

Weekly Trust: You were recently installed as Agwabyin Atyap, what’s the significance?
Gen. Lekwot: The title means the ‘Guardian of the land’. As in all communities in the country, every ethnic group is administered on the cultural plane by a native council under the tutelage of the traditional ruler. In our case, I’m one of the four additions to His Highness Agwatyap’s pool of senior advisers using our wealth of experience as retired senior public officers from different callings to enrich the Traditional Council.
We saw people referring to you as GSM, DSM among others in their congratulatory messages to you. What do the titles mean?
GSM means General Service Medal and DSM means Defense Service Medal.
What does it mean to you personally to be an elder of the Southern Kaduna people?
In every community, there is a council of elders who use their life experiences to contribute to the peace, stability and progress of the community. Ours cannot be an exception.
One of the problems you have mentioned, previously, is lopsidedness of politics in Kaduna State. Are you optimistic that this will be resolved by your contributions as a council of elders or by the government?
Yes, and it has already started. Three weeks ago, the State Governor met us and we told him some of the local problems that had been brought to our notice. He was very happy with our suggestions. We also briefed him on our visit to Mr. President last year and the issues we tabled for his perusal and remedial action to enhance peace and stability in Kaduna State. Lopsided appointments was one of them. Shortly after that, some of our people were appointed to some of the Boards of government parastatals to reward Southern Kaduna for being the only PDP stronghold in the State. Until the above visit to Aso Rock, the status quo ante was a contradiction in terms.
 Has the creation of chiefdoms helped reduce tension in Southern Kaduna?
It restored the independence of every tribe which the British conquest of Northern Nigeria in 1903 obliterated with the Indirect Rule which brought some tribes under the tutelage of the emirate system which was alien to their culture.
If you were in office today, what would be topmost on your agenda?
Number one would be security. With good security in place, everyone would be free to go about the pursuit of happiness. Second would be law enforcement. Crime must be punished. As of today, that seems to be zero. People break the law with impunity and nothing happens. Even driving along and obeying traffic rules. It breaks my heart to see them break it.
For law enforcement to work, the judiciary and security agents must be empowered. The Nigerian Police for instance, isn’t well-equipped. Their numbers are a far cry from what should be, given our population. That being so the few of them in service are going to be overworked. That put in place the political class; clearly there is a glaring absence of political institutions. What we see is individualism.
People go into politics for what they can get and try to promote their private interest rather than promote public interest. Also, resuscitation of the industries to create jobs for the teeming youths and to make more goods and services available to bring down inflation to raise the quality of life will be on my agenda.
Would you vie for a public office?
No, thank you.
Why not?
I’m grateful to God for my time in public office where I served and finished without rancour and retired home to rest and do other things to keep body and soul together. What is more, we must also give the new breed the opportunity to grow.
Is that why you’ve kept a low profile?
I’ve not consulted anyone on it, but it is logical to remain in the background as advisers because the young generation needs space to prove their mettle. However, that does not mean that all the elders should go and rest.
Having done my best for Nigeria in my prime, I feel I should give others a fair chance to contribute their quota of service. No generation can solve all the country’s problems.
How have you occupied yourself?
I’m a community leader and part-time farmer. Business isn’t doing well, so I grow what I eat with my family. I offer advice whenever I’m consulted. That’s the role elderly people should play. I also consult my elders to broaden my horizon.
You are celebrating 70 years of age, what does that feel like?
I give God the glory for the journey so far. I still move about without joint pains. I am therefore lucky. The light still glows in me, although I can’t do what I used to when I was a captain. I still play golf and played nine holes this morning. This is one thing retired soldiers do; exercise to keep fit because the body is used to exercise. Some civilians think soldiers get horse injections; I’ve never seen one in my life.
 Today, some soldiers seem overweight and physically unhealthy. Have the keeping fit dynamics changed or is it a matter of personal lifestyle?
If what you are saying is true, it means they’ve not been doing what they ought to do. In our time, we did a lot of route marching. Every unit played games, attended ‘Master Parade’ and other drills that kept everyone on his toes and fit. That is what makes the good soldier a tough guy.
It seems those things no longer take place. Also, the infantry has become mechanized, vehicles or armoured personnel carriers take you from place to place. In our time, soldiers posted from Ibadan to Kaduna walked through the bush for weeks while their families and luggage went by train. In such a situation, you couldn’t put on weight. If you see soldiers looking like they are eight months pregnant, then something is wrong.
You served Nigeria in various capacities. What was the most challenging?
It was the NDA Commandant from 1979-81 when I was saddled with the responsibility of producing the degree programme from the three reports of visits to the U.S., Canada and Australia Military Academics by blending them with the Nigerian factor to suit our purpose. The most challenging was during the war of Nigerian unity which is not ripe for sharing yet.
Nigeria has had 15 uninterrupted years of democracy. How would you compare civilian and military rules?
Protection of the whole country, being the military’s sole constituency, from harm is our goal. We do it through team work and loyalty to the chain of command in which we take and carry out orders with alacrity in good faith.
Which means the primordial sentiments which some unpatriotic citizens use to undermine our national unity, stability and progress are alien to the military. That makes our philosophy raison d’être and modus operandi unique being truly federal in character. The postings of some officers as Military Governors to states other than theirs prove the point.
Our democracy as everyone can see operates on a different frequency. Hopefully, given enough time and space however those in the corridor of power should properly learn on the job and mend their ways for Nigeria to chart a new course forward for the benefit of posterity.
Is the agitation for state creation still on in Southern Kaduna?
Yes. The faulty federal structure in some places is one of the reasons for the instability we are facing today. I therefore support the creation of a few more states to enhance even development and create more opportunities for our teeming youths to promote growth and stability for the good of all as well. Gurara State qualifies because of our population, land mass, flora and fauna and other natural and human resources.
In the then north, there used to be some large provinces, Sokoto, Zaria, Kano, Borno, Adamawa and Benue. All these except former Zaria Province, now, Kaduna have been split into states. Sokoto is now three states, (Sokoto, Kebbie and Zamfara) and they have nine senators and many more House of Rep members. That means their voice in the National Assembly is powerful than Kaduna State and they have more local governments. All the revenue that was geared towards the former Sokoto State now goes to one state. Two, Kaduna is the third most densely populated state in Nigeria with over six million. Add that to the centrality of Kaduna being the former seat of northern Nigeria, it means the revenue required to run the infrastructure cannot cope. Therefore, if the present Kaduna State is split into two, a new centre for development will be created.
More revenue will come and the newly created Gurara State will be challenged to develop avenues for earning revenue. We’ve a heavy population and need more resources to service it. Happily enough, our brothers in the north have also submitted a memo in support.
Some local governments are very large, even mine, Zangon Kataf. With creations there will be new constituencies and development brought nearer the grassroots. 
Talking about Zangon Kataf, I’d like you to talk about your role in it.
First, I was framed up by my enemies. How could I, a whole General, go to the village and start killing his people? 61 of us, members of my community, including all our chiefs and some retired old pastors were thrown in prison without establishing our culpability first. When we were later taken before the late Okadigbo kangaroo tribunal, the Gen. Babangida government passed a decree stopping us from appealing and backdated it to Decree Number 2 of many years before. Seeing the conspiracy, our lawyers led by Chief G.O.K. Ajayi SAN withdrew their service.
The Tribunal Chairman refused our plea for access to Legal Aid Council and insisted we must defend ourselves. We refused and were therefore condemned without a fair hearing.
The sentences on account of pressure from the public were later commuted to five years in imprisonment with hard labour. No member of the other side was arrested. The disappearance of the proceedings of the tribunal into thin air confirms the conspiracy to hide the truth.
Nevertheless, peace has returned to Zangon Kataf. We have forgiven those evil forces of injustice and retrogression who conspired to annihilate us for no just cause.
How did this experience impact on you personally and have you had a chance with Babangida since then?
Gen. Babangida has been my friend over the years. In fact, as the CBC [Cadets’ Brigade Commander], I was his boss in the NDA in 1972 when, as one of the Cadet’s Company Commanders, I recommended him for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. Surprisingly, he violated our coveted esprit de corps during that trial by treating me his senior like a common criminal without even calling me for my side of the story.
 Being a Military Governor of the Rivers State at the time, what do you say of both states that have come out of there now?
With the availability of huge resources in both states, massive transformation has taken place against my first humble budget of N425,000 in August 1975. I therefore congratulate the citizens of the two states I once had the privilege to serve as a Military Governor on the remarkable development which should raise the quality of life there.
I couldn’t recognize Bayelsa. During my farewell tour of Yenagoa in 1978, it was a glorified village. Today it’s a fantastic city. Wide boulevards, beautiful buildings, fully stocked shops with a lot of jetties. With more revenues, more facilities are created. This is another blessing of state creation.
Do you see a Southern Kaduna indigene becoming a governor in future?
Of course yes, with the power shift formula in place, it will happen in due course, everything being equal. For your information, Southern Kaduna is the only PDP stronghold in the state. If our history of voting pattern is anything to go by, only a miracle will prevent Southern Kaduna from having its fair share of the governorship slot which is most unlikely. Happily enough, Mr. President’s transformation agenda is meant to make true democracy a lifelong reality in all nooks and crannies of the country. So there is hope in my view.
Against this background, do you agree with the phenomenon that Southern Kadunas have given up?
No we didn’t and haven’t given up in the light all said and done above, except in the event of a force majeure. At the primaries all our candidates were schemed out. We met here and decided on a course of action. We took a look at other parties and zeroed on the DPP. Major Gen Thaddeus Ashe (rtd) had been picked as governorship candidate. Our votes were split because the late Gen. Joshua Madaki vied under AD.  It wasn’t a case of us giving up.
Incidentally, sincere democracy, the candidate we vote for, wins including Makarfi and Sambo.
There were controversies surrounding the committee set up in Port Harcourt to handle the abandoned property. Can you shed some light on that?
The gospel truth which Prof. Tam David West, one of the credible members of my cabinet still alive, can confirm is as follows:
Soon after my posting as the Military Governor of the Rivers State in August 1975, I was instructed by Lagos to solve the abandoned property problem. Being a sensitive issue, I advised the Supreme Headquarters when Gen. Obasanjo (rtd) was the Chief of Staff to set up a neutral panel to handle the issue. Accordingly, the then Major David Mark (now our Senate President) was made Chairman of the Panel with members from the then Northern and Western Nigeria to ensure its impartiality.
Also, while they were working, I flew to Lagos and requested Alhaji Babatunde Jose, then Chairman of the Nigerian Building Society to open an office in Port Harcourt to assist those occupying abandoned properties to take loans and buy them. For that, the Rivers State government provided an office on Ikwerre Rd, Port Harcourt as an incentive which worked.
Thirdly, the government, I was told, paid compensation on all buildings acquired for overall public purpose long before my assumption of office. The rest were released to their owners by my administration. His Lordship Justice Oputa can confirm the veracity of this point. One Mrs. Nzimiro, wife of a onetime Mayor of Port Harcourt according to her, can also confirm if she is still alive.
Again, by the time the Abandoned Property Committee report was out, about 50% of the problem had been solved in this way except for the few who refused to play ball.
It is heartwarming to say that before I was posted out in August 1978, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe commended us on the objective approach we adopted to solve the knotty problem despite the inherent difficulties. For sure, I was very neutral for justice to be done to all the Nigerians involved.
It is also pertinent to add that the abandoned properties in Enugu and Onitsha did not receive the same attention we gave it in the Rivers State. Those criticizing the manner this issue was handled by my administration should therefore remember that there were two sides of this story; in the then Rivers and the then East Central States. Anyone with a contrary view should provide the evidence for my perusal.
What about the insinuation that the role you play was why President Jonathan favours you?
I should like to see the evidence as I am not aware of it. Mr. President had nothing to do with the abandoned property issue. Dragging his name to it for whatever reason is therefore uncalled for.