Shitu Mohammed Kabir, former presidential candidate and ex-National Chairman of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), says the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag-bearer, Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election. Shittu, who is the Makaman Gwagwa, Dan-Malikin Jiwa and also the Garkuwan Matasan Arewa, made the declaration in Abuja during an interview with Assistant Editor, ‘Dare Odufowokan. According to him, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, will end up helping Tinubu to defeat the PDP flag-bearer.
You are well known as a politician who was a strong force in the PDP during the chairmanship of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. How did you join politics?
I forayed into politics when I was elected as National Republican Party of Nigeria (N.R.C) Legal Adviser in Municipal Area Council, Abuja in 1992. I remained a politician since that time. In 2006, I became the National Chairman Republican Party of Nigeria (R.P.N). In 2011, I was elected as National Chairman of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC). In 2016, I emerged as the National Chairman Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA) and later its presidential candidate for the 2019 general election. I was Chairman of the Presidential Candidates’ Forum. I led other political parties to support President Muhammadu Buhari. I am an Agriculturist with farmland across Nigeria.
I am also a manufacturer and Chairman of SMK Group. My name is Shitu Mohammed Kabir. I was born into family of Shitu and Hauwa Dan Galadima of blessed memory on 14th August 1967 in Gwagwa which was then part ofNiger State and now in Municipal Area Council of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja Nigeria. I attended Government Secondary School Kuje Abuja, University of Abuja, and Base University Abuja for my I West African School Certificate, Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Masters Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy respectively.
What is your take on the aspiration of Asiwaju Tinubu for the presidency?
He is somebody who knows how to annex human and natural resources. He has done it before and I believe he will do it again. He was one of those who struggled for this democracy we have today. He was in the fore front when Nigerian needed that movement to eradicate military rule. Then he became a governor of Lagos state and performed excellently. He transformed the state which he governed from economic, political and social menace. He took them out of the wood and built a real city out of it all.
He knows how to make the right people do the needed jobs. He knows how to manage meager resources to achieve great feats. When the federal government stopped allocation to Lagos state, he showed this great ability to manage scarce resources. In fact, that was the beginning of the development of Lagos state. He was able to think out of the box and find other ways of funding his projects and policies. That is leadership. Other leaders will engage in blame games in such situation. But he blamed nobody and went on to perform well.
The Asiwaju I studied from afar is a man that whenever he has to consider succession, he does it well. He has had great successions after him in Lagos. He has produced successors that are continuing with his strides and dreams. He is an excellent man, the type of man we need in Nigeria today. And I want to cite the example of China. Buhari is the Chairman Mao and Tinubu is the Deng. Tinubu will correct whatever mistake this administration has made in their sincere effort to put Nigeria back on track. So, there is great hope that Tinubu will transform this country and make the country great again.
With the three leading candidates coming from different geo-political zones, don’t you think it may be difficult for someone from the south to win?
It will be easy for Tinubu to win. He will defeat Atiku. Obi’s presence in the race will even help APC to win. The north is strongly behind Asiwaju Tnubu. I thank God you are here when prominent northern women, serving lawmakers, serving commissioners, captains of industry and the likes, were crying just to get a letter that will appoint then to be part of the Asiwaju Tinubu campaign. That is the level of love we have for Tinubu here in the north. Forget those talking about tribal politics. The north will vote APC. You also witness the crowd of men, Minister, Governors and others, are jostling to be part of the campaign.
It has never happened before. You hear of how people are rejecting the PDP campaign. In APC, we are struggling to be part of the campaign. Tinubu will end tribal politics. He is coming to change the politics of the country. People are looking for antecedence, capacity and ability in 2023, not just name and tribe. So, Tinubu will win. Out of all these people, Tinubu has proven what he can do with Lagos. He is detribalized and that is the leader we need. He has an advantage of being a member of the ruling party. He has the advantage of being the man many people believe will take us out of difficulty.
So, those are the thing we from the north now see. We don’t see tribe or colour at all. We just need somebody who will move Nigeria forward, away from economic crisis and security problems. We all feel the current situation and pray for improvement. It is only Asiwaju Tinubu who can stretch his hand from his bedroom across the Niger and see people who will work for him. He is the one we want.
You sound very assured and certain of Tinubu’s victory. What informs your optimism?
Today, Nigerians are talking about some people, some leaders who passed through Tinubu in Lagos. That is what I mean when I said he knows how to identify human resources needed for the task ahead. Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President, was his Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. He identified him and put him to good use. Today, we all know Osibajo. There is also Rauf Aregbesola, the immediate past governor of Osun State and a serving Minister. Rauf was Tinubu’s Commissioner for Works. Babatunde Fashola, who succeeded Tinubu in Lagos State, was initially his Chief of Staff. Now the Minister of Works. He is in Buhari’s cabinet with Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who served as Tinubu’s first Chief of Staff. The two of them are serving second terms in the cabinet.
Current Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is another good example of people brought on board and groomed for leadership by Tinubu. There are many others including House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, Akinwunmi Ambode, former governor of Lagos State, Sen. Solomon Adeola, Tunji Bello, Wale Edun, Bamidele Opeyemi, Gbenga Ashafa, Sen. Oshinowo, Sunday Dare, Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Adeleke Mamora, Minister of State for Health, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, Nigeria Diaspora Commission, Adejoke Orelope-Adefilere, Dele Alake, and many others too numerous to mention here. When Obasanjo seized the allocations of Lagos state, he was able to look inward and increase the internal revenue generation of the state from a paltry N600 million monthly, to N51 billion. That is leadership and that is what Nigeria needs now.
The reactions of critical stakeholders to his presidential ambition have been very positive, encouraging and overwhelming and these have given me the strong conviction that he would succeed and emerge victorious after the election. Life itself is a challenge and Tinubu has told us all that he has the confidence and capacity to wade through challenges and overcome. He is forging ahead and with the strong support of the masses of Nigeria, Asiwaju Tinubu is going to achieve resounding victory.
So, you don’t see Obi and the Labour Party as a threat to APC?
Not at all. If you look at the situation, Obi will destroy Atiku’s chances in many places. He will not affect Tinubu as such. It is the strongholds of the PDP that Labour Party and Obi are mobilizing. They are mobilizing but they don’t have structure. And the PDP is in disarray today. People are withdrawing from the party. APC has advantages immensely. Southsouth and southeast are PDP strongholds and Obi and Labour are mobilizing in those areas. The north is solid for APC and Tinubu and southwest is intact for him too. He is a candidate that will win across the country.
He is resolute and he does not consider tribe or religion. His family is a good example. He has Muslims and he has Christians even in his immediate family. The title Jagaban is from the north and Asiwaju is from the south. He is a ready-made leader for this time in Nigeria. He is not somebody that we can wish away. It is obvious that he is coming to win the election. Of course, the APC should not take anything for granted. They must ensure issues based campaign. They don’t need to join words with other parties because Asiwaju Tinubu is not in the class of any of these candidates. He is indeed the Asiwaju of them all.a
