The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed on Tuesday, December 29, made a courtesy call to media house, Vanguard.
During the course of his visit, he spoke on a number of pressing national issues.
These are the 9 things to learn from his interview.
- Chibok is not under Boko Haram control
When asked about the security situation in Chibok, Borno state, the place where over 200 school girls were kidnapped 2 years ago vis a vis rumors that it was still under Boko Haram control, the minister said: “No, it is not true. There is a lot of ignorance about Chibok. If you are talking about Chibok town or local government, it is not under the control of the insurgents.”
2. Boko Haram ran a parallel government in Bama
Lai Mohammed in the course of the interview, revealed that Bama local government, one of the strongholds of the insurgents had been largely reclaimed by federal troops. He also said that before the recapture, the terrorists had designated Bama as the headquarters of its proposed caliphate.
“If you go to Bama today, you will not believe you are in Nigeria. Every signboard and notice is in Arabic, you will think you are in Saudi Arabia, Algeria or Tunisia. There is no single notice in English left. There, we have Morrocans, Tunisians, Malians living there and they turned that place into an Arabic town.
“That convinces me more that this is not just a local war. Just some months ago, Boko Haram was using Bama as headquarters of their caliphate, appointing emirs from there, and collecting taxes. They had their own government. It is from this perspective I want you to appreciate what this government has achieved.”
3. Nigeria is bombarding Sambisa with tact to reduce collateral damage
While the Minister maintains that the war against the insurgency is won, he explains why the federal troops have to exercise caution in attacking Sambisa, where it is believed the kidnapped schoolgirls are being kept.
“For anybody who understands Sambisa Forest, it is not a football field. It has a stretch of over 300 kilometers of road from Gombe through Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba up to Cameroun Republic. It is not a district, that is why it is a bit difficult to completely take over Sambisa forest. Even when we were there we saw them still bombarding the place. We believe the Chibok girls are still there. We can’t take the approach some of our neighbours are taking because, the collateral damage could be more.
“One of our neighbours has started setting fire along that area but if we do that, the collateral damage will be more than what we want to achieve. These are some of the constrains the Military is facing. But apart from that, we must start thinking about reconstruction, rehabilitation and settlement of the people. In Bama, there were about 6000 houses, but none is standing today. That means we need a lot of resources to plough in the area.”
4. Femi Fani-Kayode, Aribisala can say what they like
It is no secret that two of the most outspoken persons against Lai Mohammed are Femi Fani-Kayode and Femi Aribisala. The duo have continually stated that the minister is misleading the nation with half-truths and misrepresentation of reality. Lai reacts to their claims stating what he thinks of them.
“I read them, they are shallow. Whatever they are saying, is from their arm-chairs. I have been to Bama, Kauri, Konduga, I have held meetings with the chief of Defence staff, I have held meetings with the commander of war front. With all sense of modesty, I am better equipped to understand Boko Haram than they are.
“Now, how have I misled the country? I have said that the Army has largely met the deadline. And I talk with facts and figures. I said, this time last year, 20 out of 27 local governments were in the hands of Boko Haram and today as we are speaking only one or two are in their control; and you say I am misleading the country.”
5. N5,000 can make the difference for 50 million Nigerians
Speaking on the poverty alleviation programme of the government and the proposed payment of the N5,000 allowance to unemployed youths, Lai Mohammed reveals the class of people that would benefit from the scheme.
“What we want to achieve by our social intervention is to move out millions of Nigerians from poverty.
“Part of what we intend to do with the half a trillion naira is to train market women, artisans and unemployed graduates in the art of management and also give them loans to start their own businesses. Part of our social intervention also includes this conditional transfer of N5,000 to the most vulnerable people. And we are being partnered in this by the World Bank and other multilateral organisations.
“It has been done in many countries before and we believe that it can be done here. Many people have written ridiculously about the N5,000 and claimed that it is not up to what they spend on recharge cards. And we said yes, those who are writing such things are not the average Nigerians we are seeking to help.
“If you look at the lady who is selling water melon or pawpaw, she does not have up to N5,000 capital. People don’t know that N5,000 can be meaningful for many Nigerians because they are too comfortable in their corners.
“They do not know that N5,000 can make the difference between life and death for 50 million Nigerians. Many people have died because they could not afford transportation to the health centres. We are grappling with the reality on ground and we know that this conditional cash transfer is working in some states and it is being piloted by DIFID.”
6. If Buhari was not working since May, Nigeria would have stopped working
Reacting to impressions of President Buhari not doing enough since being sworn into government in May, the Minister stated that if the impression was in fact true, Nigeria would have ground to a halt as a country.
“With all sense of modesty, if we have not been doing something today, this country would have gone down. There is no way you meet the kind of rot we met and think you can turn things around overnight.
“We had petrol shortage a few weeks ago, we went to National Assembly to ask for supplementary budget of N674billion. N522billion out of it was for back payment of subsidy. Marketers stopped importing fuel since September because they said we were owing a backlog of N522billion and they would not bring fuel.
“We did not say we are not going to pay, and the refineries are not working.”
7. There will be no inflation despite FG’s plan to borrow heavily
The proposed 2016 budget has come under heavy criticism from financial experts especially the plan of the government to borrow trillions from international bodies.
There is a general fear that the heavy borrowing of the government will result in inflation in the Nigerian market as well as other dire economic implications for the country. The minister rubbishes such fears.
“There is no implication for inflation whatsoever. During planning, many options were examined, we invited experts to air their views. But essentially about N90billion will be sourced locally through bonds while the other will come from international bodies.
“Our budget has encouraged most of international bodies for the fact that we are not borrowing for re-current but mostly for capital expenditure.”
8. The minister is not sure whether subsidy has been removed or not
Just before the close of 2015, the Federal Government announced that the pump price of fuel would be N87 while it was seriously considering removing subsidy. Lai Mohammed explains why the situation as of now is tricky, as well as if the said subsidy has been removed or not.
“NNPC is exchanging the 445,000 barrels of crude meant for local consumption for refined products at no fuel exchange cost. But whether we have removed subsidy or not is a tricky question.
“Tricky in the sense that with the price of crude today, there is no subsidy element at all. Actually, the landing cost even by PPRA template is N81. So, with all the bridging cost, Petroleum Equalisation Fund and others, we can still afford to sell petroleum at N87 or less. That is what informed the Minister to say by January, he would have cleaned up the template further and sell fuel at N85 or N86.”
9. Buhari’s frequent travels are beneficial to Nigeria
President Buhari made a lot of overseas trips in 2015 and it appears from the proposed budget that he would not be relenting in the New Year.
However, Lai Mohammed explains why the frequent trips of the President has impacted positively on Nigeria as a country.
“We have gained a lot. For the visits, Buhari is held in high regards today. This has translated to the way Nigeria is being held in the comity of nations. We have not been getting any support from any country.
“We were reduced to buying arms from roads in South Africa and others. Some of these achievements are so subtle but we would not have been where we are today. So, in concrete terms, those visits have really paid off. If we had remained a pariah nation, it would have degenerated more than where we are today.”
