Tinubu strategy has driven APC into crisis - Accord presidential candidate | Daily Politics

[00:00:00]Good evening, and welcome to Daily Politics on Trust TV. I'm Hamza Idris.

[00:00:05]Tonight, we focus on the increasing concerns over the state of governance in the country, despite deficit in security, economy, and the general welfare of the people. This is coming amidst confusion and uncertainties arising from the various party primaries that produced multiple candidates leading to litigations. We are joining the studio by the 2023 presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr. Benga Hashim.

[00:00:35]Thank you for coming to our studio.

[00:00:37]>> Nice to be here.

[00:00:39]>> Later, we turn to security with specific questions on why existing measures in dealing with the protracted challenges are yet to make meaningful impact. We'll be joined virtually by retired naval officer and security analyst Nuruddin Hameed. In the meantime, we are here with Dr. Benga Hashim. Once again, welcome.

[00:01:00]>> It's my great pleasure to be here.

[00:01:02]>> Are you not worried that um the attention of almost all the politicians has shifted to politics at a time when we have countless people in custody of bandits, terrorists, and whatever we can call them.

[00:01:21]>> You know, it's worrisome.

[00:01:24]Um the highest and most important duty of a government is to guarantee security of lives and property.

[00:01:35]This is an essential exclusive character of a state, the monopoly over the means of violence.

[00:01:43]So, when you have competing uh non-governmental entities exercising greater control, you talk about state failure.

[00:01:55]Uh it's worrisome because the nation is at a state of war really, technically. At a state of war.

[00:02:05]The figures are horrendous. In the past 3 years over 18,000 plus Nigerians have lost their lives to one form of security challenge.

[00:02:19]>> 18,000?

[00:02:20]>> Over 18,000 according to Amnesty International record. Over 18,000.

[00:02:26]We have about 3.7 million of our population in IDP camps.

[00:02:36]The population of Gaza is about 2 million plus.

[00:02:41]Our IDP immense citizens that are living in IDPs are bigger than the entire population of Gaza that has attracted so much attention and comments and even provoked war.

[00:02:59]And comments and statement at the United Nation. Nigeria was part of the voice.

[00:03:05]And we have always been a traditional ally with Palestinian. But look, if you have more people in IDP camps than in the whole of Gaza, then your priority should be to put your own issue on the international agenda.

[00:03:24]Is it more so horrible that the lives of Nigerians have become so cheap that even traditional condolences that come from brother states, international community when these kind of things occur, you don't Nigeria does not anymore attract such even sympathy.

[00:03:43]>> Is it that they have written us they have written us off?

[00:03:46]>> You know, this is how cheap, how debased we have become as Nigerians. And yet this was not Nigeria of old.

[00:03:54]Nigeria offered friendship, you know, offered solidarity, contributed troops to many nations who are in this similar problem in the past.

[00:04:04]In ECOWAS, we stabilized Liberia.

[00:04:08]In ECOWAS, Nigeria took the leadership to stabilize Sierra Leone.

[00:04:12]Brought Foday Sankoh and others to Wuse Police Station. Nigeria was in Kosovo during the Yugoslavian crisis. Nigeria has been in Darfur in Sudan.

[00:04:25]Early independence, Nigeria was in was in Congo.

[00:04:30]Kinshasa, Nigeria was there.

[00:04:32]So, Nigeria brought has built and stabilized many nations.

[00:04:38]So, what else is also an indictment of our political leadership at home.

[00:04:45]But, it's also a testament to the fact that international solidarity and respect for human lives, you know, have really, really, really been watered down even in global diplomacy.

[00:04:56]>> Why? Is it because of the attitude of our politicians?

[00:05:01]Is it the attitude of the citizens?

[00:05:03]Where is the missing link?

[00:05:05]>> Well, wherever the missing link link is is our own responsibility as people who put value on our own uh lives to put this on the agenda for discourse.

[00:05:18]>> Who will Who will lead Who will lead >> Well, this is the kind of thing that I would like to do is to have an international security conference because some of the issues that has overwhelmed Nigerian states are not just local. Some are local due to the irresponsibility of our political elites. Some are also global due to trends in the Sahel region that complicated our own internal security challenges, but the bulk you know, stops at the table of the political leadership. Uh when poor problems you know, arise in society, it is the job of political leadership to fix it.

[00:06:04]Nobody else will fix it.

[00:06:06]They There must be somebody taking the lead, but what we see right now is complacencies. A complacencies that almost border on complicity.

[00:06:16]Like a desical attitude. The lives of people don't matter when you have lost.

[00:06:21]It's 24 days that um our children, you know, in the woman's show they're still in captivity.

[00:06:30]And even I saw a broadcast of one of the captives uh trying to debunk uh >> The theory.

[00:06:39]>> The theory that the terrorists were asking for this, for that, so >> Asking for Sharia.

[00:06:44]>> And all those >> Southwest.

[00:06:45]>> So, even if government cannot give credible information and people have to rely more on the integrity of terrorists, then we're in trouble.

[00:06:54]Now, whatever is the case, we need to stop living in denial. The information that are coming out has to be clear.

[00:07:02]Government must have a strategy to call what is what we are experiencing what it is. We are experiencing an insurgency war by a modern crowd of uh terrorist group associated with ISIS whose objective is to carve out a given portion of Nigeria and declare it an ISIS-like extremist state. This is the objective. I've been saying this for years. So, kidnapping and all these uh just tactics are other ways money, to draw attention, to negotiate, but the mainstream strategy, all right, is to create an extremist state, particularly out of northern Nigeria. And they have made tremendous progress in this agenda. In most of northwest states, they have softened the rural area in such a way that they have the capacity to collect taxes.

[00:08:00]They collect taxes.

[00:08:02]In rural Niger, okay? In rural Katsina, in rural Kebbi, in rural Sokoto, they collect taxes.

[00:08:11]So, we are in a state of war. So, you need a strategy.

[00:08:15]Not just responding to kidnappings. Of course, there will be that normal response. If you have a special force.

[00:08:21]But you should have a broad counterinsurgency strategy.

[00:08:27]>> What is wrong with the one we have now?

[00:08:29]Because government every >> Number one, they are living in denial.

[00:08:33]You have not defined the crisis correctly.

[00:08:37]Okay? Number two, I don't see patriotism and commitment. Our army is not a stupid army. They are not If they were so stupid, they won't go to Liberia and put order there. They won't go to Sierra Leone and put order there.

[00:08:52]They won't have all the decorations that they had in Darfur, Congo, Kosovo. And we have a nice army. Things have gone a little bit bad, you can shape it up. But the important thing is that this is not a conventional warfare.

[00:09:06]Okay?

[00:09:07]>> But for how long >> It's guerrilla warfare and all that.

[00:09:09]>> But for how long will we drag this definition of the war we are facing?

[00:09:13]>> I mean, that is >> 2009, it started. They moved to Sambisa, they moved to Alagarno. Nothing happening in the northwest. Now they have taken over the Kainji, they have taken over the bushes around Birnin Gwari and all that.

[00:09:29]Plateau, Benue, Kwara. Nowhere is safe. Why is it difficult in your estimation for our Nigerian troops if they can fly, go to Kosovo, go to Liberia.

[00:09:41]>> Why is it difficult for them to fly?

[00:09:43]>> Because they they not not really have the commander-in-chief or presence of minds to attack the issue as it should be attacked, you know.

[00:09:54]Uh we need a counterinsurgency strategy.

[00:09:59]This is guerrilla warfare, urban and rural guerrilla warfare. I understand this very well.

[00:10:04]I studied this at the master's level University of Buckingham in global affairs.

[00:10:10]Global security was core and the global affairs course. And with due respect, I was the best in my class.

[00:10:19]>> So, we lack the leadership to now say, "Look, number one, we are leading >> understanding, the leadership, the commitment. This is very key.

[00:10:26]Soldiers will not give their lives or any kind of force you assemble. The most important thing is the kind of inspiration, the doctrine, the inspiration is more important than even equipment sometime. What equipment are these guys carrying that Nigerian army does not have?

[00:10:43]>> But >> They are well motivated and ready to die for their cause.

[00:10:47]>> But don't you think we are being unfair, even though you didn't mention them, to to Tinubu?

[00:10:54]His uh predecessor, General Buhari, may his soul rest in peace.

[00:10:59]>> Yeah.

[00:10:59]>> Is it that he, too, lacked the commitment? Because all what we are fighting now >> Mhm.

[00:11:06]>> are non-enemies or non-enemies that we lack the political will to take the war to them in all these forests, mountains, and all that.

[00:11:14]>> You see, you remember that uh the APC as a party, when it was formed, was sympathetic to the insurgents.

[00:11:25]>> How do you mean?

[00:11:26]>> Well, Buhari Boko Haram nominated Buhari to broker peace >> No, he actually he he he he he he he he >> I was reporting from there and you know they just mentioned you know name dropping by terrorists just to attract attention.

[00:11:40]>> Yeah.

[00:11:43]Why didn't they drop your own name?

[00:11:45]>> They did. They called me Boko Haram.

[00:11:47]>> They didn't drop your name to speak >> They called me Boko Haram because we we are covering them.

[00:11:52]>> The truth of the matter is that since the APC came into government, they have been treating this matter with kid gloves.

[00:12:02]Whether is worry or Tinubu.

[00:12:05]So, maybe until the APC leaves government, then we'll have the the real facts as to why they are so complacent.

[00:12:14]>> Okay, before I come to your personal Okay, before I come to your personal I mean I mean ambition. Is there an axis between the terrible state of the economy and what is happening now? Because there is this aspect of world economy that is giving oxygen to what is happening in the bushes and then thousands of millions of youths without jobs.

[00:12:39]>> You know the the basic philosophy of extremism is that the application of law of man has failed and then only the law of God in their own interpretation will bail us out of this predicament.

[00:12:58]That's it. And as long as you have a non-functioning state that cannot deliver on basic services that cannot deliver on economy that is increasing misery so will their doctrine in the extremist form be popular.

[00:13:16]We are all believers in the law of God including you and I, you know, but there are some division between secular applications of this law in our daily lives that we do not seek, you know, to impose our own version and understanding of those laws on everyone.

[00:13:37]This is different between those who have faith in God and extremists. It's an extreme application.

[00:13:46]You understand? Of their own conception.

[00:13:49]And what it will be fueled by a failing state, a failing economy. You have 18 million out of school children.

[00:14:01]How can you have 18 million out of school children who have no passports to participate in modern life?

[00:14:08]All right?

[00:14:09]The The uh potential recruits for extremist groups.

[00:14:17]All right? And then, if you see what has happened to the economy of Nigeria, particularly since APC came to power.

[00:14:26]>> That's 2015.

[00:14:27]>> Since 2015, our GDP has contracted by almost 30%.

[00:14:34]Okay?

[00:14:35]Under Yar'Adua and Jonathan, the GDP was between 472 billion to 574 billion dollars. Okay? Under Jonathan, it went up, then it came down again to the Yar'Adua level of 470 something billion.

[00:14:55]Right now, our GDP is 334 billion US dollars.

[00:15:03]That's the contraction that has happened.

[00:15:05]>> So, then why >> Under Yar'Adua, our population was only 150 million.

[00:15:11]Today, by end of 2026, where our population is estimated to be about 240 something million, And the economy has shrunk by 30% compared to when >> Those in APC would not agree with you.

[00:15:29]They say this the economy has started revamping.

[00:15:32]>> Oh, well. Well, this is because the numbers are there. How can you say 334 billion today is a better economy than 472 billion under They say kind of all kind of funny funny stuff. Oh, like uh the the the foreign reserve is growing. Foreign reserve under Yar'Adua was 53 billion.

[00:16:01]Okay? With nearly zero debt.

[00:16:05]About 3 billion dollars.

[00:16:07]Today foreign reserve that they are celebrating is just trying to get to 50 million.

[00:16:16]Huh?

[00:16:17]And with a foreign debt of 48 billion.

[00:16:20]What is the balance? 2 billion.

[00:16:22]>> They say they have more money now.

[00:16:24]>> The balance sheet Where is the money? I have just given you the the the data.

[00:16:29]>> So, they are just numbers.

[00:16:30]>> They are just throwing numbers that have no bearing. And then they get some small uh foreign agency to give them some rating and all that and then they start throwing that >> Are you satisfied with the with the safety nets uh put in place by by the government because we also have some figures conditional cash transfer and all that.

[00:16:52]>> How has that solved the problem of rural people who are in misery in Katsina?

[00:16:58]Or in Kano?

[00:17:00]Hm? How has that solved the Look, the insecurity is key to the shrinking of the economy.

[00:17:09]Now, particularly in northern Nigeria the northern Nigeria is an agrarian economy that is built on agriculture.

[00:17:18]When you disrupt peace and security in northern Nigeria, you've actually killed the economy.

[00:17:24]All right?

[00:17:25]And unlike what some people assume, in the first republic, agriculture from northern Nigeria contributed the greatest to Nigeria's foreign exchange earning.

[00:17:41]In 1965, northern Nigeria was the highest in contributing to export earning in Nigeria from groundnuts.

[00:17:54]Okay? In the pyramids of groundnuts in Kano and cotton. These were the two major export earning. Then followed by cocoa and timber in the in the southwest. The southeast was at the bottom. It contributed 5% of Nigerian foreign exchange earning in 19 65.

[00:18:17]The north contributed 45 to 55%.

[00:18:19][clears throat] Okay? The southwest about 30 something percent. So, agriculture, which is being disrupted, is the major driver of poverty in northern Nigeria and it also continues to fuel extremism.

[00:18:34]>> Okay, now all of you, the opposition, are accusing the ruling party of not getting it right. But are you also getting it right either? You are the candidate of the the Accord party. But some even that they don't want to have a candidate for the presidential election.

[00:18:51]>> Look, Osun state governor. Uh look, we all knew this thing from the beginning.

[00:18:58]Most governors were blackmailed to officially decamp.

[00:19:02]Some people like Adeleke were blocked by their states. We don't want you.

[00:19:08]So, he got a nomination nomination on Accord party.

[00:19:13]Then he goes and say please help me when I become governor the next day I will decamp.

[00:19:17]I'm not going to allow >> an allegation or an arrangement he made?

[00:19:21]>> Well, he he said it openly in the newspapers that he's going to be supporting President Tinubu.

[00:19:28]Every billboard and poster he has made in Osun he put Tinubu on that. No, I don't begrudge anybody for supporting Tinubu even if you belong to Accord party, but you cannot impose your own view on my party.

[00:19:43]All right? And um when the chairman of Accord party came to meet me, he came to invite me.

[00:19:53]Don't forget that I was in PDP.

[00:19:56]He led a delegation to my office. The pictures are there. It was posted on my Facebook.

[00:20:01]>> To go and fly their ticket.

[00:20:02]>> That we want you.

[00:20:04]Then I started saying what about this Adeleke man? I said don't worry.

[00:20:11]We will present a candidate. And they did send to INEC a schedule of presidential primary which was for 30th.

[00:20:20]So, and the notice was adequately given.

[00:20:24]You understand? And I under the the guideline you cannot cancel a notice except you give an another notice 7 days before the event. You cannot at the night or a day before or 2 days before come and say no there's no primary this again.

[00:20:39]>> And at what point did the chairman gravitate towards the Osun governor to say that uh you came in late, they have refunded your money?

[00:20:48]>> Well, he's lying. They have never refunded my money. My money is still in the account.

[00:20:53]They have not refunded my money. Even if my money is refunded I will see it in my account. So, that's a lie.

[00:20:58]>> So, you are still going for the presidential election?

[00:21:00]>> I have emerged as the candidate.

[00:21:02]>> Okay, I get it.

[00:21:03]>> And then nobody can take that away. But it's very important for you to know that what is happening in our court party is not an isolated case. But actually all the parties have multiple candidates.

[00:21:14]>> And that is where I'm heading to.

[00:21:15]>> And now and we've said it have in this show that this is the strategy of the incumbent. The incumbent does not want to run against any credible opposition.

[00:21:26]The incumbent wants to run against himself. This is the problem.

[00:21:31]>> But don't you think the opposition elements are also gravitating towards what is happening in the in the ruling party, creating chaos among themselves?

[00:21:42]>> Well, just today we have had it >> So many internal with NDC >> Yeah.

[00:21:47]>> which the party taken there by by Kwankwaso.

[00:21:50]ADC the same problem.

[00:21:52]>> Okay.

[00:21:53]>> PDP they are claiming they have two >> The framework >> Yes.

[00:21:57]>> for the primaries set the stage for this chaos.

[00:22:01]And I was one of those who spoke against that framework.

[00:22:06]The Electoral Act says that primaries the cut off point will be 120 days before election. 120 days is September.

[00:22:19]INEC brought an unlawful timetable that imposes a constraint on all the parties that you must finish all your primary within 3 weeks in May.

[00:22:33]Do online registration, do all these kind of things. So the framework has not allowed for proper planning, competitive internal primaries.

[00:22:45]And I spoke against that. I challenged it. And interestingly, some parties went to court on this. And there was a judgment and you see INEC is appealing the judgment that wants proper primaries to be done. They want this mess. They want this chaos. So it is organized chaos.

[00:23:03]And one of the things that Nigeria and the whole world will have to pay attention to is the role of INEC itself.

[00:23:10]>> Who is actually >> the the this electoral system?

[00:23:15]>> Who is putting the bills of INEC to I mean generate and facilitate, maintain this purported chaos that you >> No, we call it is the incumbent.

[00:23:28]Yeah, some people celebrate him as strategist.

[00:23:31]Now, that strategist has also thrown chaos in his own party.

[00:23:34]>> Are you referring to Tinubu?

[00:23:35]>> Of course. In his own party, the virtually all the states that conducted primaries, initially he was dancing and celebrating on video that uh I don't care what happens in other party. It's their own kettle of fish.

[00:23:50]But in his own party, the APC, virtually in every state, they have contention on the primaries that uh they they have. They have not even 3 weeks after their primary, they have not been able to announce who is the candidate from where and when.

[00:24:06]>> And what what does that portend? What does that portend?

[00:24:08]>> No, it's very dangerous for the party system.

[00:24:15]You understand? Well, a multi-party democracy and the party system are essential base for the advancement and consolidation of democracy. Never in our history, except under Abacha, did we have this kind of mess and chaos, where there is so much imposition, there is so much control, because the man wanted to be the only one contesting the election. So, we're in similar situation. We're back to the old >> to the five leperous fingers. Now, we have like 20 or how many, you know, we have many multiple political parties.

[00:24:48]>> You you can count the fingers and the feet, you know, the >> This time around.

[00:24:52]>> This time around. Yeah.

[00:24:53]>> So, who will checkmate who now? Do you think the opposition parties ultimately will come together, coalition to a force and then challenge the exercise of the ruling party?

[00:25:07]>> is happening in Nigeria is beyond the political operators and the parties.

[00:25:14]Democracy can never be sustained by the actions of politicians alone.

[00:25:19]The entire civil society, all right? Citizen, business, because it affects everybody.

[00:25:29]Clergy, they must get involved in the resolution of this.

[00:25:33]They will not be party people running election.

[00:25:36]But ultimately, the failure of the party system has consequence for the survival of democracy and the stability of the state.

[00:25:45]We at independence offered to be a multi-party democracy and pledged to it.

[00:25:53]And despite the outstanding achievement of our leaders of those era, they did not make a move to completely obliterate opposition.

[00:26:03]Sir Ahmadu Bello, as towering as he was, you see how they had Amino Kano.

[00:26:10]Okay? You see how they J.S. Tarka of the Middle Belt Congress.

[00:26:15]Okay? As towering as Chief Obafemi Awolowo was in the West, you had even a small party in Ibadan.

[00:26:24]Ibadan people's parties.

[00:26:26]Just governing Ibadan alone. The space for multi-party expression was never closed in the First Republic, despite the outstanding achievement of these leaders. One of those achievement was that by the time the military came in 1966, our GDP had double that of Malaysia.

[00:26:47]Under these great leader, the Malaysian GDP in 1966 was 3.2 billion. Nigeria was 6.2 billion. Indonesia was 5.8 billion US dollars in 1966. Check the record. Well, that's a testament to their achievement.

[00:27:07]But in spite of that achievement, they didn't say, "Oh, you guys get off the stage.

[00:27:12]It's only us that must do this thing."

[00:27:13]What is the record of achievement of Tinubu that he wants to be the only man standing?

[00:27:18]We have always been a country our democracy has always been sky for a thousand stars.

[00:27:25]>> What we are saying What we are saying, uh no matter the actions and inactions of the ruling party, the opposition should have the strength, the political will to weather the storm, come together. Why is it difficult?

[00:27:41]>> It is not difficult. It's work in progress.

[00:27:44]>> You think it will be >> like us are still standing. We are not intimidated. We cannot be intimidated.

[00:27:49]>> But how sure are you you will be on the ballot going by what they are saying?

[00:27:54]The party.

[00:27:55]>> We will do our best to be on the ballot.

[00:27:57]>> How sure are we actually will be on the ballot? How sure are we Obi will be on the >> Let me tell you.

[00:28:02]>> Mhm.

[00:28:03]>> If it becomes clear that Tinubu only wants to contest against himself, we will leave the stage for him to contest against himself. What happened to the last man that did that in Nigeria history, Abacha?

[00:28:16]It's not the end of the story.

[00:28:19]If you don't want competition You don't want an election, we define it as such.

[00:28:24]Nigeria will not be having an election.

[00:28:25]It's a coronation of one man.

[00:28:28]And then we know what to do after that.

[00:28:30]>> But having multiple numbers of presidential aspirants, all things being equal, maybe court said, "Okay, allow all of them to contest." Don't you think you people have collectively handed over villa to Tinubu?

[00:28:43]>> Well, not not at all. You see, one of the problem of people who come with this kind of statements is that majority of people, even people who are reporting the process, who frame this kind of questions is that they grew up under a political transition system that was managed by the military towards a two-party system where they have been seeing one big opposition, you know, and a one-big-party government.

[00:29:11]Our democracy has not been like that.

[00:29:14]Our democracy has room. What multi-party democracy means is that no matter how small the opposition is, they will get their numbers. And that's why you have a provision in the constitution for a second ballot.

[00:29:28]All right? That's if you have opposition thinning out three or four and they still do well individually in their regions, they can deny the major party the opportunity to have the spread that it needs constitutionally. And then you go into a second round ballot. You don't have to coerce everybody. In the In the UK, you have parties who are very small. All right? You cannot say because you want to defeat uh the Labour Party, Conservative, leave them, all of them must be forced together. They represent different ideological current. And people who propagate uh opposition must be on one page, everybody is because they don't understand what multi-party democracy means because most of them were raised in the period of military politics. They don't understand the concept of multi-party democracy. All opposition don't have to be in one party.

[00:30:21]>> Okay, we have just 1 minute to wrap up the program, but I want to have your take.

[00:30:26]Do you believe in zoning?

[00:30:28]>> I cannot believe in zoning.

[00:30:31]Huh?

[00:30:32]How I believe that what we need now is a president that can secure Nigeria and prosper the economy.

[00:30:39]>> Are Are one?

[00:30:41]>> Of course. I believe I >> I have Do me just one Okay.

[00:30:44]>> To be I've been in business for 35 years. I didn't inherit and I've done very well.

[00:30:50]You know, in my businesses I've built infrastructure. I'm building power plants. Okay? I've I've been in oil and gas and successfully in it. Things that some European companies were doing before we are doing I built a company and we were the first in many jurisdiction >> But the major problem is actually insecurity.

[00:31:12]>> Yeah.

[00:31:13]>> You are partly from Kebbi, right? Partly from >> From Yeah, from partly from Kebbi. My dad from Kebbi, my mom from a woman show where this kidnapping has occurred.

[00:31:23]>> And so I'm both And part of Kebbi is also gone.

[00:31:27]>> Well, in fact, unfortunately everywhere I'm connected with is under attack right now. And so I get people who are district heads calling me who are our relation. This has occurred. Sometimes some of these issues are not even reported. And so thus you will see that my passion to ensure that we have security is not just political because I'm connected with the community and I will fix that problem. I will end the terrorist war and aggression.

[00:31:59]>> We have we Americans We have Americans.

[00:32:03]Let me not say boots on ground because they keep claiming they are using aerial reconnaissance to address some of this insecurity. Assuming you are the president, will you >> Look look look, you need boots on ground to finish this job.

[00:32:18]>> Including foreign boots?

[00:32:19]>> It doesn't have to be foreign boots. I said to you I will do an international conference. When we stopped the mayhem in Liberia there were no uh foreign as foreign going to Liberia.

[00:32:37]There were African troops that went to Liberia. ECOWAS went to Liberia.

[00:32:41]When we stopped the mayhem in Sierra Leone, we didn't need American troops or Russian troops.

[00:32:47]So, I First thing I will do is to have an international conference. One of the problem we have is also that the Tinubu government was antagonizing our neighbors.

[00:32:56]You cannot deal with this issue without effective cooperation with Niger.

[00:33:02]You cannot deal with this issue without a effective cooperation with Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, the entire countries neighboring us and partly near us in the Sahel region. There must be an integrated approach. You know.

[00:33:22]>> To end it.

[00:33:22]>> To end it. It's not just what Nigeria will do alone because the crisis is also multi-dimensional and international. But the Tinubu government started wrongly by antagonizing our friends in the Sahel region. And that complicates the matter.

[00:33:39]>> All right. Thank you very much, Dr. Bengashum for coming to the program.

[00:33:43]>> Thank you. God bless you. We'll have you some other time.

[00:33:45]>> Thank you. God bless you.

[00:33:46]>> And just finish with Dr. Bengashum, the presidential candidate of Accord Party.