*I’ll Restore The Pride, Economy Of Nigeria- YY Sani*
Engr. Yabagi Yusuf Sani (YY Sani) is the presidential candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the 2019 general elections. In this interview conducted during a meeting of all the candidates of the party held at the ADP National Secretariat in Abuja on January 9, he speaks on the necessity of the meeting, why Nigeria has become a laughing stock before the world, the problems in the oil and gas sector and his plans to revive Nigeria’s economy, among others. PAUL OKAH was there for Today’s Impact.
Why did you deem it necessary to invite all the candidates of the ADP for a meeting in Abuja, when you should be campaigning in the field?
As a party that is nationally based, we have structures all over the country. We need to synergize, come together, make our strategies work and take stock of what we have done so far; so that we can be able to make Nigerians happy, because Nigerians are expecting ADP to win. We cannot go headlong, because of the money people have stolen and are spending. We don’t have that kind of stolen money. What we have is the brains and we want to put it to work; so that Nigeria can begin to work as a country. As the wife of the president has said, this country has been hijacked by two strong individuals and we don’t have a president anymore, because he is not in charge, according to her. So, we don’t want Nigerians to vote for the cabals again. We don’t want Nigerians to go back to their vomit. We have to get it right by making sure that our campaign strategy for this election, in terms of synergy and making sure that this election is a watershed for the development of this country, is a reality. It is a departure from what has been obtainable, that is a vote against the establishment, which has not delivered on the promises they made to the people of this country.
What are your programs for the people and what will you do differently if you take over government from the ruling party?
This country has been held to ransom by a few individuals, especially in the sector that constitutes 80 per cent of our revenue; that is the oil and gas sector. Even in a private organization, where you earn 80 percent of your revenue is your cash cow, as it were. You don’t joke with it. You give it the utmost attention. But in this country, the oil and gas sector is the most disorganized sector and we know it is intentional, because the operators there are mostly international organizations. So, why are we not practicing international best practices in that sector? We know that this country can perform a hundred times more than what is obtainable at the moment, so we are coming to ensure that the predominant leakages in that sector are blocked. I am coming to do what I have given this government, which we were doing during Jonathan’s government. We already had a scheme. We had people from the ministries visiting the terminals, but only for this government to come and stop that program and not put anything in place. We are not saying for you to continue with what we were doing, but, for God’s sake, put something in place; so that we can stop the infractions, so that we can stop the stealing of our money and stop the laughing stock we have become in the eyes of the international community.
What will you do about the oil and gas sector ?
Nigeria is the sixth country exporting oil and gas and number three as a gas producing country. We are a country that, before this time, our health facilities were so developed that the king of Saudi Arabia had to come to the University of Ibadan to be treated. Ours was a country where other countries came to take palm trees from. Today, Malaysia is one of the biggest exporters of palm oil. So, I know what I am talking about. I know what we can do in the oil and gas sector. I am not saying that it is contributing as much as it should. Agriculture is the in thing as it contributes to about 25% of our GDP, but you need capital and the capital is there; being stolen by some international gangsters. I call them gangsters, because they know what they are doing. They know that they are cheating this country. For instance, we are taking loans from China, whereas we have stolen crude oil worth billions of dollars in Chinese facilities. I want to ask Buhari, what are we doing with the stolen products? We are taking these loans to become slaves. We have this data. We have this information. We cannot be taking loans from China, who are holding our assets.What I am saying in effect is that the oil and gas sector is a promise of great things for this country and we want to ensure that Nigerians get the benefit of what God has given to us. I can do it. I know what I am talking about. I have worked for NEITI as a consultant, as an organization in charge of transparency initiative in this country. On meeting infrastructure, I have worked for them as an audit expert in that sector and I know that we don’t have meters in the oil and gas sector. I know that we don’t know how much crude oil we are exporting or even producing.
Why do you say that the economy of this country is in a bad shape?
A country like Nigeria should not have any business with poverty. We shouldn’t be killing ourselves. We shouldn’t have Boko Haram. The only reason we have Boko Haram, IPOB and Niger Delta militants asking for their share of the oil is because the economy is not performing. The only reason why people are agitating for restructuring is because there is no governance. Nobody is in charge of the government. Nobody is coordinating what is happening in this country. We used to have a coordinating minister coordinating the affairs of the government. We used to have ministries being assessed in terms of performance, but what has happened? What is this president doing? Why can’t Nigerians be informed of what is happening? I have worked in the oil and gas sector as a consultant. I have visited the terminals. I have slept for days in the APOs, I have stayed in the rigs to know that our terminals and oil wells are not metered. It is criminal and I know that we don’t have a point or parameter for measuring performance in the production of crude oil and gas in this country. There is no law that says this is where you measure production. It is criminal; as it is made to fill other people’s pocket: other than Nigerians. Otherwise, we should say: measure your production from this point. There is no net-back system in a country like Nigeria. When we don’t have meters at the well heads, we don’t know how much we are producing, exporting or earning in a country like this. We don’t have any business with poverty; that’s why I am asking to be given the opportunity to lead this country. I have the knowledge but I lack the power. I will turn this country around and we will be respected again.
You have been touring Nigeria to campaign for election, what has the acceptance been like?
I have been touring Nigeria and different parts of the world. I was recently in the UK, where I engaged with the parliament. I engaged with the Conservative party and business executives in the UK. I also engaged with the United States and United Nations. My engagements are geared towards attracting investments into this country, because they know that this country has good resources. We have good weather, the size and natural endowments. When I came back, I went to some of these important personalities in Nigeria and told them that this country is an accident waiting to happen and we should not leave it like that. As you may know, HSPS has left this country, but they are one of the strongest financial institutions in the world. If they can leave a country as promising as Nigeria, then there is something wrong with us. This is why IMF is shouting everyday for us to stop borrowing, because we are going to ground this country to a halt. But we are still borrowing and there is something wrong with us.
How are you convinced that you are the right man for the job and that you have what it takes to turn the economy of this country around?
The international community know who I am. The oil and gas sector and the presidency also knows who I am, because, today, I have a program that, if allowed to operate, we will not be losing money. I just read that 2.8 billion dollars of our money was lost; due to losses in the oil and gas sector. I know what the senate of this country has discovered in the oil and gas sector. Why I am dwelling on the oil and gas sector is because 80 percent of our revenue is from that sector, so we must not joke with it. We can only grow education, agriculture and other things by developing and making sure that we take charge of the revenue belonging to this country. You can’t be engaging pre-shipment inspection agents who are crooks. They are crooks, because they are not adding any value. We are burning the candle from the two ends, so people are laughing at us. NNPC is laughing at us, because there are stealing money. Nobody in Nigeria knows what they are doing. This is why I say that there is a conspiracy against the people of this country. But I am here to change that scenario and stop that conspiracy. We can’t have a country where there is no working refinery and you are taking our crude oil outside and earning commission. You buy petroleum products, bring it back here and earn commission at the expense of poor people and you think God will forgive you? No, hell is your house.
