The nationwide publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, offers a progress report and challenges of the ruling occasion. He spoke with choose journalists in Abuja. ANDREW ESSIEN was there.

Two years of APC in authorities, do you assume there's any want for celebration?
I imagine very strongly that there's each motive to have a good time. I do know that due to the problem that persons are going via, there's a temptation to assume that there isn't any a lot to have a good time. However I feel that if we glance extra carefully, paying extra consideration to the place we're coming from and the place we had been two years in the past, you will notice that now we have greater than adequate good motive to rejoice. There was a purpose that Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for APC slightly over two years in the past. There was a cause that for the primary time in our historical past, Nigerians rejected a sitting authorities and people causes had been fairly compelling and people are the explanations that justify APC’s existence in authorities right now on the federal degree and in the assorted states. I prefer to say that there are three issues that President Buhari promised as we went spherical the nation campaigning. One was that he promised to struggle corruption. Secondly, he mentioned he would battle insecurity particularly because it pertains to Boko Haram, and thirdly, he stated he would create employment alternative for younger individuals.
Allow us to take the difficulty of Boko Haram. I've stated it repeatedly that we are inclined to neglect one basic truth which was that on the time we have been getting ready for election in 2015, greater than 50, 000 sq. kilometers of Nigeria territory have been bodily occupied by Boko Haram, the place they declared a caliphate and hoisted their flag. I do not forget that in attempting to make sense of it was mentioned that the world occupied by Boko Haram was the scale of Belgium. Two years down the road, what's the dimensions of Nigerian territory occupied by Boko Haram? Zero, together with the dreaded Sambisa Forest.
For us, this can be a exceptional achievement and we imagine that in that respect, President Buhari and the federal government of APC have justified the aim of coming to energy. Sure, lots of the Chibok ladies are nonetheless in captivity, however a few of them have been recovered and extra are nonetheless being recovered. For the dad and mom of these recovered, you can't inform them there is no such thing as a cause to rejoice. For many who needed to abandon their households and houses two years in the past due to the menace of Boko Haram and have returned house right now, you can't inform them that there's nothing to rejoice.
Allow us to take the problem of corruption. We should not overlook that earlier than APC got here into energy two years in the past, we knew what was occurring. We knew that individuals had been stealing this nation dry, however it was nearly prefer it has been accepted as if it was regular. Folks have been stealing as if it was an entitlement. However what do you discover occurring in the present day? You take heed to the radio, watch the tv, learn the newspapers, Nigerians are speaking about corruption daily. It implies that as a nation, there may be nothing in our DNA that accepts corruption. It implies that we're telling the world that as a rustic, we don’t need corruption and that's the reason we're having that dialog.
You hear folks speaking about whistleblowers, folks discuss large sum of money being recovered, individuals being dragged earlier than the courtroom, former governors being remanded in prison custody for corrupt practices, you hear about former ministers being held in detention and prison for corruption. These are issues that had been nearly unimaginable two years in the past. The challenges are nonetheless there, however that is the progress we now have made in two years.
So, we imagine that now we have loads of causes to have fun.

The federal government promised to create job alternative for the youths, however two years after, there may be virtually nothing to point out for it. Secondly, there's the problem of the rampaging herdsmen but we're celebrating the success within the battle in opposition to Boko Haram. What is going on to the herdsmen and why is it tough to curtail the excesses of those herdsmen who're virtually approaching the coastline?
I agree with you that the difficulty of the herdsmen is a matter of severe concern. However you additionally agree with me that it didn't begin at the moment as a result of the difficulty of farmers and herdsmen clashes has at all times been there for so long as we might remember. I additionally agree with you that in all probability the federal government must do greater than what is occurring in the intervening time whether or not in thevarious states the place these items are taking place or on the federal degree. However what I mentioned was that on the time the problem of Boko Haram was the dominant situation on this nation, each Nigerian didn't consider another factor. Even the problem of herdsmen, as dangerous as it's, was insignificant within the context of the insecurity that's occasioned by terrorist actions. You might be strolling down the streets and the wind blows a nylon bag near you, you run as a result of you'll assume that it would conceal a bomb. We neglect these items simply. No nation is ever in 100 per cent state of safety. If we deal with the problem of herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbery, there might be different safety challenges that can come up. The necessary factor is whether or not authorities is responsive sufficient to deal with the realities as they emerge. I agree with you that we must have finished extra in respect to the problem of herdsmen.
Concerning the problem of unemployment, I imagine that we must take a extra complete look on the problem of unemployment that Nigeria is confronted with and we should additionally perceive each nation on the planet immediately is coping with this subject of unemployment. It's not one thing that you simply swap on and swap off. Look on the statistics. What's the proportion of Nigerian youths that Mr. President promised to create jobs for? We've forty six per cent of Nigerian youths which might be unemployed based on the report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics. If we agree that the inhabitants of younger folks on this nation is about sixty five million, what's forty six % of that? If you're taking your complete civil service in Nigeria, I don’t assume they've greater than 300, 000 individuals. If you are taking out 300, 000 folks within the context of about 30 million folks which might be on the lookout for employment, it doesn't matter what you do, it should appear to be you will have accomplished nothing. I used to be Minister for Youth Growth and what I discovered was that eighty per cent of those younger individuals in search of employment are literally not graduates. They don’t have greater than secondary schooling. That imposes one other type of problem about what sort of job you create and all that. I'm saying this with the acknowledgement that the issue of youth employment will persist for a really very long time. The query then is whether or not the federal government has sufficient articulation of the issue to have the ability to deal with it. You hear about NPower which is what's being performed for the time being, amongst others. Like I mentioned, until we return to the character of our schooling that retools younger folks for a special sort of occupation, we'll proceed to deal with this. So, I consider that it's not one thing that we will say we have now solved in two years. It's an issue that must be handled, however when you find yourself working an financial system in recession, it's even tougher to handle the affect that a few of this stuff can have. However you'll agree with me that if the president promised three issues and he has delivered effectively on two and he nonetheless has two years to go, I feel he has achieved effectively.

You can’t efficiently struggle corruption when the economic system is down and everyone is hungry. The typical Nigerian is on the market hungry and to them, the federal government has not delivered on its promise to them?
I don’t suppose that what the federal government promised is that at the tip of two years, it could have wiped out starvation from Nigeria. What the federal government promised is what I've informed you. Since when have we been listening to the report that 70 per cent of Nigerians reside under the poverty line. It's a United Nations report and that statistics just isn't arising as we speak. The problem of poverty is related to the difficulty of starvation and different sorts of challenges. So, to now start to blame a authorities that has been in authorities for 2 years for an issue that has existed for many years is barely unfair. I feel that we must always give attention to what the federal government has promised to do and whether or not they're doing these issues or not.

Some huge cash has been recovered within the combat towards corruption and Nigeria’s are questioning what has occurred to those cash, whereas there was so many arrests, however no person has been convicted. What's the scenario in the mean time?
What would you like the APC authorities to do? A couple of days in the past, the DSS stated Ifeanyi Uba did one thing with petrol and that he must be punished with dying sentence. Have you ever seen the response that adopted that? Individuals are asking whether or not DSS needs to be arresting folks and passing demise sentence on them? Irrespective of how eager we're, we must ask ourselves as a rustic, can we wish to be a rustic of legislation or a society or waves. If we say allow us to arrest folks as they're accused of corruption and lock them up, how are you aware whenever you arrest somebody that's innocent? Regardless of how keen we're to punish individuals, they should undergo that course of so long as that's the provisions of the legislation. If APC authorities begins catching individuals prefer it occurred in 1984, the identical Nigerians will ask, is that this democracy? Like I informed you, there is no such thing as a various to the rule of legislation. Regardless of how a lot we're pressured to catch thieves, if you utilize an unlawful means to battle unlawful act, then you haven't solved any downside. Sure it's gradual and we wish to see extra convictions, we additionally want to make sure that our establishments develop extra capability to prosecute and examine. However finally, we've got to make sure that justice is finished to everybody that's accused of 1 factor or the opposite.