Maku: This is the problem with you journalist; what did
you expect Mr. President to say? Is Mr. President the head of the Army? Why is
it his responsibility to tell you whether Shekau is dead or alive? If he
answered “yes”, people would ask for proof.
If he answered “no”, people would say that despite the billions that
have been voted by Federal Executive Council for defense, he still can’t find
Shekau. So you see, either way, Mr. President
will be on the losing end so the best thing he did was to display the wisdom of
Solomon by saying that he doesn’t know whether Shekau is dead or alive. You know at times when you are asked a
question, it is better to say “I don’t know” than to provide an answer that
will implicate you further, especially in a country like Nigeria where everyone
is looking to find fault in Mr. President.
You are a journalist, if you want to find out about Shekau, go to
Maiduguri and you will see for yourself the good work the soldiers are doing.
GEJ: Why is it important whether or not I contest in 2015
Maku: I think Mr. President answered that question
perfectly well. So I don’t want to
dilute Mr. President’s answer by giving additional explanations.
GEJ: Corruption is not the major problem facing Nigeria
Maku: Tomorrow Nigeria will be 53 years old and we are
still talking about corruption? If corruption was holding Nigeria back will we
be celebrating tomorrow? Mr. President did not say that corruption is not a
problem, but that it is not as serious as people think it is. He even went as far as quoting Adolphos
Hitler just to illustrate his point as perception being the problem with
corruption. Even the example of
corruption in wedding ceremonies, does it mean that because those providing the
food overcharged, the wedding did not turn out successful? I remember when I was getting married, the
palm wine they were supposed to serve was stale, and this was because it was 2
weeks old. Whereas we paid for fresh
one, but despite the fact that the palm wine seller was corrupt, did it stop me
from getting married? So what Mr.
President was trying to say is that whether we like it or not, corruption must
exist but it doesn’t mean that Mr. President’s transformation agenda will not
continue.
GEJ: FEC discusses major policy issue and is not a
contract awarding arm
Maku: Again this is the problem with you Journalist. Everything Mr. President says is taken out of
context just so that we can embarrass Mr. President. Look for example, we have held FEC meetings
for a 16 hours stretch but at the end of the day, all the media reported was
“contract was awarded for so so and so amount.”
Does it mean that all we did for 16 hours was to award contracts? I think this is the fault of the media here. Instead of reporting the positive side of the
meetings, you tend to focus on the contracts that were awarded. I am not saying that contract award is not
positive, but there are more positive things to focus on from the meeting.My
advice to you is to focus on the other aspects of Mr. President’s
transformation agenda most of which is captured in the Good Governance Tour.
GEJ: Cabinet reshuffle is no different from substitutions
in a football match
Maku: Are you surprised as to why the Super Eagles are
performing well? As you can see, some of the strategies adopted by Keshi were
borrowed from Mr. President. It is this
intricate knowledge of strategy that has propelled Mr. President to where his
is today. Knowing when to attack and
when to defend, and even knowing when not to show up for the match is very
important. Sometimes, you must also know
when to dispute the result especially in situations when you are defeated
because you have fewer men on the pitch. Even me as one of the players in Mr.
President’s team, my position has shifted from attack to defense depending on
need. I started as an attacker, but
after sometime, Mr. President noticed that I also had exceptional defensive
skills, then he decided that depending on the match, I will be alternating
roles. For example, last week I was
playing defense, but after the media chat I am not playing offense. So you must give Mr. President the credit for
being able to read the match and make changes where necessary. And this is what transformation is all about.
GEJ: Crude oil theft did not start today
Maku: The luck we have as a nation is that Mr. President
is from the oil producing region of the country. Therefore, he understands the problem better
than anyone. Mr. President’s answer was
very perfect, and as Minister of Defense, all I can say is that Mr. President
did not have to answer that question because he understands the Niger Delta
better than anyone. But the good news is
that he answered, so now nobody can say Mr. President dodged the question,
because I know that is what people were looking for.
GEJ: Obama was impressed with the Nigerian Capital Market
Maku: What is wrong with that statement? Again, I have never seen a country where they
can turn good into terrible. Was it Mr.
President who told Obama to say what he said? Is Mr. President Obama’s SA on
Nigeria Affairs? Is Mr. President Obama’s speech writer? Obama gave an
independent assessment on the Nigerian Capital Market based on the facts in Washington
and instead of celebrating, we are busy blaming Mr. President. It was a coincidence that Mr. President was
invited to speak at the UN General Assembly when the event was taken place. So
should Mr. President not attend? Please
let us stop blaming Mr. President for projecting our image in the international
community. In fact, how many President’s
in Africa have been invited to attend events in Ney York, talk less of the
Stock Exchange?
GEJ: Apo victims confessed to terrorism
Maku: Have you
ever seen tapes of Al-Qaeda terrorists confessing to terrorism? It is only in
Nigeria where we expect things to be done differently? Don’t you know that at
times some of the tapes of terrorist confessing carry hidden messages to their
supporters? Take for example when Osama Bin Laden was killed the US refused to
show his body, because even in death he could have communicated some messages
to his followers. So Mr. President does
not owe anyone any explanation or video.
We are new in the business of terrorism that is why the general public
just ask question as if they are in a classroom.
GEJ: If I signed agreement with anybody they would have
shown you
Maku: You must understand that when Mr. President came in
as Vice President, himself and Yaradua advocated for rule of law in Government,
extending to the political class. That is why Mr. President said that if he had
an arrangement with the so called G7 politicians (who also happen to be our
brothers), it would have been subjected to the rule of law, meaning that there
would be agreements in place. You know
the problem with Nigerians is that they listen to too much gossips without
focusing on facts. A lot of stories you
read in the media are from molue passengers. You don’t have to be a lawyer to
know that in this day and age, all agreements must be documented as it is only
then there is a basis for resolving dispute.
I will re-emphasize Mr. President’s point again: If anyone has any
agreement with Mr. President’s signature, please show it.
GEJ: Min Of Defense is not important
Maku: I think you are misinterpreting what Mr. President
said. How can Mr. President say Minister
of Defense is not important if he appointed me there? Is he saying that I am
not important? I think you are only trying to create problem between me and Mr.
President. What Mr. President simply
meant was that the Ministry of Defense doesn’t always need a substantive
Minister because there are Service Chiefs who oversee various wings of the
Armed Forces. But most importantly is
what Mr. President didn’t say which is: Depending on the defense strategy, you
can decide to appoint or do away with the Defense Minister. For example now that we have counter
terrorism issues on ground, is it a civilian Defense Minister that will tell
the Generals how to prosecute the war? So as you see, we don’t need a sitting
Minister of Defense but Mr. President didn’t do away with the office, instead
he decided to appoint a supervising Minister so that Nigerians will not
criticize him. And it is not a coincidence that he appointed me the Minister of
Information because at this time, it is important that the accurate information
from the battle field is communicated across to the general public in an
efficient manner. Therefore, there is no
better approach for the same person to be handling both Ministry of Information
and Defense. So instead of asking Mr.
President about Shekau, you should have asked me.
Press: Is Shekau dead or alive?
Maku: Please I have to run, Mr. President just informed
me that I am late for my good Governance tour to Yobe!
Sent in by a concerned Nigerian
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