Exclusive Interview:

Mo Allah Yidi Proffers Peace and Security Summit in Numan to

End Killings
Says a Solution is Possible between Herders and Farmers in Numan and Environs

Elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015 to represent Adamawa

South Senatorial District in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Distinguished
Sen. Ahmad Abubakar Mo-Allahyidi’s influence and impact on the lives of the people of
Adamawa South Senatorial District has ever since continued to soar.

As a first-time lawmaker, he has already been described by many as a silent achiever

whose actions and pragmatism have resulted in great accomplishments so far for the
people of his zone. As a distinguished and astute technocrat, Sen. Ahmad Abubakar Mo-
Allahyidi has brought his wealth of experience in the private sector to bear in public
service to his people.

A fine gentleman, quite, humane, diligent, perceptive, and humble, Mo-Allahyidi is a pan-
Nigerian and a pro-masses lawmaker who has shown great interest in finding lasting
solution to issues at both national and state levels. His outstanding leadership qualities
and contributions on the floor of the Senate including his work to strengthen the
institution of the legislature at the Federal level as well as across the political landscape
of Adamawa state speak volumes of his progressive mindset.

In this exclusive interview with the Editor of Burto News magazine in his office in Abuja,
Mo-Allahyidi talks about a number of issues arising from public misconceptions, law
making, developmental projects, empowerment schemes for the people, peaceful
coexistence, the way forward towards an amicable resolution of the ongoing crises
ravaging parts of his constituency particularly in Numan and environs and of course his
laudable intentions and passion to bring about the much needed change for the socio-
economic development of both his senatorial zone and Adamawa state in general.

Excerpts:

Burto News: What is your current position concerning the forthcoming 2019 election
year?

Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: Well, my current position is that I've picked up my nomination form
under my current political party the APC to run for a second term.
Burto News: There are allegations that the recently flagged-off Federal Govt. sponsored
road project linking Jadda - Mayo Belwa - Ganye - Tongo was not your handiwork as is
being insinuated in some quarters, what is your take on this?

Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: As far as I'm concerned, this is not an issue I will like to dwell on or
keep reiterating. As a journalist yourself, you should know that a project of that nature
can only come through a budgeting process at the National Assembly. You should also
know that if that project belongs to the state government, then the budget for it ought to
have been passed by the Adamawa State House of Assembly but that's not the case. And
if it's a Federal Government project, then anyone should know that it has to be proposed
either by the Executive or by the National Assembly and definitely the budget for its
finding must be passed by the National Assembly too. So as far as I'm concerned, the
debate is completely unnecessary and uncalled for.

As the Senator representing Adamawa South Senatorial District, it's my duty and
responsibility to attract projects from the Federal level to my zone because I know that
the availability of access roads is a fundamental problem in our area especially the Mayo
Belwa - Ganye -Tongo road and the road from Lafiya -Lamurde up to Mararaba in Taraba
state. This road in particular has been completely washed away including even the
bridges. These are the two roads that I promised the people of our zone that whatever it
takes, I will do my best to ensure that they are brought back to life because the entire
economic activities of the people depend on those roads. As a matter of fact as you may
well know, the whole of Lamurde up to Tingno in particular is a farming area where rice
is cultivated in commercial quantity and in a volume that is enough to even feed the
whole of Adamawa state but unfortunately there are no good and motorable roads in
those areas that is why I'm determined to ensure that these roads are rehabilitated.

You will recall that when I came on board in 2016, even the interstate roads were not
there. For example if you leave Gombe, you cannot get to Adamawa because the road
was almost impassable; same can be said of the road from Lafiaya to Numan. As a result
of which you cannot link other surounding states like Taraba, Gombe, Borno and by
extension other parts of the country. So that is what we decided to do in the 2016/2017
budget, to make sure that we link all the surrounding states in our zone. Right now, you
can see for yourself that Bauchi is linked to Gombe, Gombe is linked to Adamawa
through to Numan and from Numan to Jalingo and then we have also the Mubi/Michika
to Gwaza and Bama axis.

In 2017, we've also made sure that we link some roads within the state itself and that's
why we're able to get the Jada - Mayo Belwa road after so many fights back and forth but
in the end we were able to get it. And presently we are also fighting to see that the
Lamurde - Lafiaya to Mararaba (in Taraba state) roads are also flagged off as soon as
possible. It's what we have proposed as the next phase of our constituency projects in the
2017 budget.

All these are of course aside other smaller road projects like those affected by ecological
problems and which we've continued to push for some of which we have gotten done
while others have been approved but not yet awarded. That's why I have always said that
a lot of these things are work in progress and ongoing and we'll continue to do our best to
achieve the much that we can within the period that we are in office.

The truth of the matter is that I cannot neglect any part of the zone because it's our zone
collectively and if we don't do it, nobody else will come and do it for us. It's unfortunate
that all our past Senators couldn't do anything about these problems in our zone all these
past years but good a thing we now have the right leadership in the country at the Federal
level and of course a President in the person of Muhammadu Buhari who is very
passionate about rebuilding our infrastructure and so we have to take advantage of this
opportunity. As you may well know, all over the country there are no good road networks
and so everyone is scrambling for the limited available funding for projects in their
constituencies. So definitely one has to put in a lot of pressure and work before anything
can be done in one's constituency because like I said the amount of money available is
grossly limited. Hence I said some of the projects are work in progress because even if
the contract for one's project has been awarded, one still has to keep pursuing and
mounting pressure just to be sure that every year a particular sum of money is earmarked
for the project to continue otherwise such a project becomes abandoned and you know
most of these projects have long completion dates.

For example the one just awarded is expected to be completed in 36 months which is
three whole years. So this is what as a legislator you must continue to do every year if at
the end of the day you don't want to end up with abandoned projects in your constituency.

Burto News: So much on road infrastructure development, let's take a look at the
agricultural sector being the mainstream of the economy of our people and an area of
focus by the current administration of PMB; what have you been doing to drive
development in this sector for the benefit of our people?

Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: As a matter of fact, the rehabilitation of roads in the zone is in the
first place to facilitate and enhance the movement of agricultural products marjourly from
the nooks and crannies of the zone because agriculture is the mainstream of economic
activities in the zone apart from which we don't have any other thing. Well of course the
only factory we have there is the Savannah Sugar company but is it working and how
many people are gainfully employed there?

From Toungo down to Ganye, Jadda and Mayo Belwa, you can imagine the amount of
farming activities taking place in those areas. In Shellenge alone, more than one million
bags of rice was cultivated this year alone yet there are no roads and no facilities to
effectively process these produce including other produce such as grains only for other
people to come from elsewhere and buy all the produce in trailers and take them away to
places like Kano and that's because we don't have rice milling machines or factories in
our areas.

Ideally, we are supposed to add value to these products if only we have rice mills and
grain mills but because these are not available, our people labour to produce these crops
in their farms only for other people to come and take them away cheaply and this is not
good for the economic development of our people. But on our part as federal legislators
we are doing our best, we try to assist the people by empowering them with agricultural
loans and provision of fertilizers amongst other farming inputs so that they can increase
their yields. We're also helping in the areas of processing and procuring of milling
machines so that we can make sure we have at least standard mills across Tingno,
Shellenge, and Toungo so that all the rice being produced in each of these places can be
processed there. We can even have an off-taker who can come and buy the processed
products and even assist the local farmers with money and inputs in the form of an anchor
borrower scheme where the farmers will receive seedlings, fertilizers, chemicals and
other farming inputs so that they can have increased yields and at harvest time their farm
products would be bought from them at very good prices which will enable them
continue farming and expand as well.

So in other to actualize all of these, we have been working with the Bank of Agriculture
and the Central Bank which have so many programs on agriculture which we are also
tapping into to make sure that our people benefit. As I speak to you, only yesterday, we
concluded arrangements for small loans to be disbursed to farmers across the nine local
government areas in our zone. At least for most of the people that were trained and have
completed and submitted their forms, we're going to make sure that they receive their
loans before the end of this month.

Burto News: Sir, what other areas can you tell us that you have also positively impacted
on the people having been in the Senate in the last three years?
Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: Well, at the risk of blowing my own trumpet as they say, we have
done quite a lot and everything is all out there for everyone to see but I prefer to talk
more about what I'm currently working on and what I intend to still do to bring about
sustainable development to our people. For example, in most of the areas devastated by
storms or erosion across the zone, we try to make sure that through the Ecological Fund
office we're going to get work to commence as soon as possible in some of those sites
particularly the ones in Ganye and the other one in Imburu and of course we have the
Jada Water Scheme too which also has been devastated by erosion as well.

Because all of these were environmental factors, we should therefore be able to tap into
the Ecological Fund with a view to tackling these environmental menaces. You know for
purposes of expediency I just have to limit myself to only the major projects as to me
assisting people with sewing machines and other forms of empowerment at individual
levels are not things I should begin to hype about here. I would rather talk about the
major projects that have more enduring impact on the lives of the people especially at the
communal levels such as boreholes, schools, clinics, etc all of which in the course of my
tenure so far we have been able to put in place in areas such as Ganye, Shellenge, Dung,
Numan, and others.

Also arrangements are in top gear for the rehabilitation of the Gamadio to Dung road
project which is a rural access road. Same goes for roads in Shellenge and other places
where we're going to fix badly damaged rural access roads as well as other rural
development schemes. So definitely, we're working very assiduously to make sure that
we attract everything we can at the Federal level for the benefit of our people. But what I
also want our people to understand is that these things take time to come because for
example before you even mention it, the Federal Government is quick to tell you that
there is no money on ground amongst other things but it is only when you keep pressing
that you just might end up with something. So you can see that both an intense and
sustained pressure is required to have some of these things done. Nevertheless, I want to
assure our people that if we continue at the pace we are currently moving, before the end
of our next tenure God willing, most of the projects I've mentioned would be completed
and commissioned.

The truth is most of the so-called small projects especially in the rural areas are the kind
of projects at the heart of the people because such are the projects they can feel and use
every day of their lives. For example agricultural schemes are very important and
germane to our people and that is why I try to make sure that they get access to money,
farm inputs, fertilizers, chemicals, etc. Equally important is the fact that agriculture is not
just limited to farming alone, it cuts across an entire value chain. So it's also important to
find good buyers who would buy the produce from the farmers at very good prices after
harvest because buying and selling is also an integral part of the agricultural industry
including those who sell chemicals and other agro-allied products. So it's only fair that
we also empower and encourage all these other critical players in the sector. As you very
well know, the agricultural sector remains the only viable industry that is working for our
people, that is why I must do all I can to support and assist our people in this sector so
that our people can do better and be able to pay their bills, send their children to schools,
pay for health care services, and generally improve their standards of living.

Burto News: It's common knowledge that security has continued to remain a serious
issue in our zone and many people have been wondering what it is (if at all) you have
done in your position at the National Assembly?

Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: The ongoing security issue in our land is something that is very
worrisome and sensitive too and of course you know that there's nothing that will happen
that people will not try to find someone to put the blame on. But the truth remains that all
we need in our land is peaceful coexistence. The fact is that whether as a farmer or a
cattle rarer, we must live together whether we like it or not. As a herdsman, if there's no
peace you cannot go anywhere to graze your cattle; similarly as a farmer if there's
conflict there's no way you can go to your farm either. That's why my position is that
since we've lived together all these years, we can't now of a sudden just begin to start
fighting and killing ourselves when we know that at the end of the day nobody will ever
be happy.

You cannot continue to live in fear perpetually because you know there's somebody out
there who is likely to come and attack you, neither can you even be able to go to your
farm because definitely the farms are at the outskirts of the villages and it is the same
area where your perceived enemies also come to graze their cattle. So of a fact, when
conflicts are allowed to fester amongst a people, everybody is a looser because at the end
of the day nobody gains anything. Another truth is that you know very well the people
who have been grazing their cattle around you for decades but because some people come
from another place to attack you, you then begin to carry out reprisal attacks on the
people you know and with whom you have lived together peacefully for ages, is that the
way to go?

So on my part, since these unfortunate conflicts started in our land, I've always sued and
will continue to sue for a peaceful resolution of whatever may be the problem and we've
also been talking with the security agencies too towards finding a permanent solution to
this quagmire in which we now find ourselves because the truth is there are always
intelligence reports in advance before these attacks happen such as when the villagers
notice some strange movements of unknown persons near their communities. That's why
we also always try to encourage people to always be on the lookout and try to report
anything they noticed around their communities to the security agencies and the same
applies to our traditional leaders as well such as the Hama Bachama and others because
when these things happen even the traditional ruler himself can't go anywhere because if
anything happens in his absence, it might be assumed that perhaps he was privy to it in
advance.

So the truth is that nobody who is a leader worth his substance can deliberately take it
upon himself to go and import people from elsewhere to come and ferment trouble in his
area, what will such a leader gain from that? As a leader of your people in any capacity -
political or otherwise, your mission is to bring about positive development to your people
but when they're not living in peace, how are they going to enjoy that development you
have brought to them and how do you even tell them about it when they are busy fighting
each other and even to the extent that the development you brought if it's something
physical is completely destroyed and burnt down e.g schools, markets, and even entire
communities.

These conflicts are so rift that some people only managed to escape with their lives and
of course only the clothes on their bodies, becoming instant refugees waiting to collect
food and material handouts from government or other donors. But this is certainly not the
way to go for our people.

Personally, I'm totally in favour of a lasting resolution of this problem, as a matter of fact,
I would prefer that there be a holistic security and peace summit in place to bring the
people together and enlighten them but then the people themselves have to be the ones to
initiate this move. Because it may interest you to know that there are people who are
benefiting from this whole quagmire and therefore would not want it to stop and I make
bold to say that this particularly concerns especially the elites and those who think that
they are missing something. So that's why I want the people themselves to initiate this
peace project because they are the ones directly affected and they are the ones who can
tell those among them who are advocates of peace and also those who are fermenting
trouble because they are benefiting from it.

The issue of security as we all know is a very big industry where some people benefit and
others loose. So as a people or a community, we must make sure we're able to fish out
those who are fanning the embers of hatred and conflicts amongst us so that they can be
brought to book and punished. The fact is that something is definitely wrong somewhere
hence the attacks and killings have continued and the onus lies on us all to come together
with a view to figuring out what the problem really is and who are the people amongst us
who are benefiting from it so that we can solve it ones and for all.

I'm sure nobody is happy with what is happening in our land yet the attacks and killings
on both sides keep happening again and again. Imagine the issue of hate speeches which
suddenly have become rampant in our society today, this is something that was
previously unheard of. We all went to schools, some of which are boarding schools where
we met and lived with people from different religions and tribes and even from different
countries and we lived together peacefully but now the reverse is the case. Before now it's
believed that the educated amongst us are supposed to be wiser and more civilized but
sadly you discover that these days it's the so-called educated ones that are fanning the
embers of hatred and fighting amongst our people.

So like I said, what is happening in our land today is something that we all need to come
out and attack it collectively once and for all. Even if somebody or some people are
angry, let them come out and say what is in their minds freely, this security and peace
summit I'm talking about would be an avenue for this kind of discourse. Let everybody
feel free to come out and say whatever it is they have to say but more importantly at the
end of the day we should all be able to proffer solutions that we can all sit down and look
at critically with a view to selecting which solutions are feasible and which are not as
well as those to be adopted for immediate implementation so the killings would stop once
and for all.

You see at the end of such a Summit, everybody will go home satisfied that at least I have
said what is in my mind even though it's what the majority decides that will eventually
carry the day.

So on my part, this is what I have been calling and discussing with the traditional rulers
and elders across our land. I let them know that this kind of initiative is not for the
politician like me or the others to initiate, but that it's their responsibility in partnership
with the security agencies because if a politician like myself initiates it, they would say
I'm just out to play politics. The state government for example is supposed to show
leadership here because the security of the state is in the hands of the governor which
means I as a Federal legislator cannot just go to the state and organized a peace and
security summit where the governor is supposed to be in charge.

However, if for any reason the state government would not do this, I expect the
leadership in the affected areas to stand up boldly and say this is our land, these are our
people that are being killed. For example, if anything happens in Numan today, don't
expect the average person there to run to Yola to report to the governor, he would
definitely run to either the Hama Bachama or the Sarkin Hausawa or to any other elder in
the area to complain. That's why I'm saying we who are in that locality are the ones who
must come together and proffer a lasting solution to this problem but you know that being
the politician that I'm, I don't think I should be the one leading this initiative as a person
but all I know is that if other opinion leaders who are also directly affected by this crises
decide to take up the initiative, whatever may be the cost including all of the logistics that
may be required, I'm ready to foot the bill to make sure that we come together and
address this problem ones and for all. I'm confident that there's a solution to this problem
political or otherwise and this solution does not reside in the battlefield but on the table of
discourse when we are able to come together.

The truth is that whether we like what is happening or not is irrelevant at this point
because the worst has happened already so what do we do next? We've to come together
with a view to sitting down and finding a solution because at the end of the day, that's
what it must come down to just as is the case everywhere around the world. Again I make
bold to state that this problem we have on our hands is not sustainable and nobody can
live alone because nobody is an island and like the saying goes, a tree can never make a
forest. Also you can go check for yourself and you will see that all over the world
developments are always brought about to a place by foreigners or other people who
came to live there because such people can afford to do any job no matter how menial
which indigenes or citizens may not want to do for obvious cultural or traditional reasons.

Please I would want your paper to emphasize this so that at the end of the day, we can
have a lasting peace in our locality.

I believe a peace and security summit would be a good place to start and the politicians
like myself have a great role to play but like I earlier said not to jump-start it. That jump-
starting should be done by the actual leaders in the affected areas because it's their
responsibility. They can get all the logistics and support they need from the politicians or
others but the jump-starting should come from the people themselves. For example, since
the beginning of these killings, some people or politicians have formed the habit of
running here to Abuja to discuss the crises but nobody from the actual affected areas is
invited to come narrate their experiences or what they suffered or even what they need.

So the long and short of the matter is let's have this Summit preferably in Numan with the
youths, women, elders, traditional leaders, etc in attendance so we can look at all sides of
the issue not necessarily to lay all the blame on anyone but more importantly to arrive at
a positive position which will ensure that this problem is stopped once and for all. I
personally believe that everyone has got one form of solution or the other to proffer and
everybody has to be part of this process so that we can all live happily thereafter like we
are use to as brothers and sisters.

Burto News: Your last words sir

Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: My final message is that our people shouldn't forget the fact that
Adamawa is our only state and of course we have none other. Adamawa no doubt remains
one of the states in this country to be proud of. We have our people in all walks of life,
everywhere you go in the world today you will definitely find Adamawa people there
holding various positions and everybody is looking up to them. I'm therefore calling on
all people of Adamawa state to put aside their differences and come together and work for
the good of the state and our people in general.

Burto News: Thank you sir.

Sen. Mo-Allahyidi: Thank you too.