Senator Abu Ibrahim (CPC, Katsina) is the Deputy Senate Minority Whip. In this interview with UCHENNA AWOM, he speaks on his indigeneship bill currently before the Senate, saying that time has come for Nigerians to be Nigerians.
Why did you come up with the Indigeneship Bill?
We need to make Nigerians Nigerians. There are rights that can be enforced by laws to bring some stability into the polity. The bill seeks to enact the rights of Nigerians to settle anywhere in Nigeria and carry out their lawful activities for the nation’s socio-economic development without being stigmatised as non-indigenes.?
The bill will make state governments and the authorities liable to provide certain things. People in the communities can drag local government chairmen or state governors to court. If we want to live as a people, we have to come to this level. Look at Obama, his father was from Kenya while his mother was a US-first citizen, and he is the president of the United States.
We did not apply to God to be where we are. We just found ourselves where we are. Again, after all, God in His wisdom put us in the same environment for us to work together.? We have to operate and co-operate in terms of commerce with one another.
Why do we need a legislation to make Nigerians, Nigerians?
We must give some rights because some authorities are not fulfilling their obligations. The constitution provides us our rights. It is the constitution that matters in any country. After all, many people tried to stop Obama, but they found out that there was no law that could stop him from being the president of America. The law is an important part of human nature and we need it as a common good. Without it, everybody will do what he/she likes.
Do you foresee this kind of law working in a country like Nigeria where the scramble for political power is rife?
The constitution gives you rights and tells you how to become a citizen of Nigeria. There is no law that will make me a citizen of another state. People come from maybe Russia and apply to be Nigerians, and they become Nigerians. But I have no basic tool or right that can make me claim that I am an indigene of a state for instance.? We need to start with the rights and make provisions for people who feel they are cheated or unfairly treated to go and enforce their rights.???
What advocacy strategy do you intend to adopt to make Nigerians understand this proposed legislation?
We want local and state governments to be held responsible for paying for the resettlement of people. For instance, if today in my local government, there is a fight between a small Yoruba community and some people are killed, and the local government does nothing, the community whose people have been killed can take the state to court and seek compensation. The court can direct that the funds of the state be utilised to settle and pay compensation to those people.?
The state must be alert to its responsibilities to make sure that communities within a state live peacefully. Actually, the main objective of this bill is to show Nigerians that we have to be Nigerians. If we agree to live together, there is no way we will agree to live together and you will start telling me that I cannot go and live in a particular place.
The Senate recently moved to restrict Fulani herdsmen to their own states what is your take on this?
The Fulanis are nomadic people who move from one place to the other. What they need is a grazing reserve. We must accept that the Fulanis are really an important part of the economy of the country. Nobody should see them as sub-humans. This bill places responsibilities on us to do the right thing to save the lives of many Nigerians and generations yet unborn. It is a bill that seeks to address the problem that has almost crippled our nation.
The issue of indigenes and settlers is getting more and more intractable especially along ethnic, tribal and religious lines. Economic rivalry between farmers and herdsmen has taken new dimensions resulting into loss of lives and property. There can be nothing more historical and honourable to us than providing a law that will safeguard and protect Nigerians now and in future.
Some states are employing contract staff who are non-indigenes. How will the proposed legislation address this?
The fact is that even if you are a contract worker in a particular state, you are still not regards as an indigene; but once you qualify under this bill, then nobody will call you a contract worker. If you are an indigene, then the state can say you have a chance to be a minister and a right to go to school.? If there is free education for indigenes, you too should enjoy it and during elections, you are allowed to contest.
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