Babachir Lawal, the former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), has criticised the way Peter Obi and his running mate Rabiu Kwankwaso engage supporters at public events, saying both should present clearer policy proposals.
Lawal made the comments in an interview on Prime Time, an Arise TV programme, where he recounted meetings with Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), and Kwankwaso.
‘I sat down with them and I discussed it,’ Lawal said. ‘I noticed that when they go to meet the crowds, they don’t say much. Kwankwaso gathers them, they come in millions with red caps. They dance, they sing, he waves, and that’s the end. I don’t hear anything.’
He criticised Obi’s conduct at church funerals, saying the candidate often arrives late and interrupts services. ‘He goes to a funeral in a church. He waits until the church is full and it’s about to close. Then he walks in and disrupts everything. And even the pastor will start saying “Obi”. Only the corpse will still be quiet,’ Lawal said.
Lawal said his discussions with the two politicians moved from public appearances to policy and development priorities. He said he pressed Kwankwaso on plans to rehabilitate dams and irrigation canals in northern Nigeria to expand farming and boost agricultural production.
‘Do we agree that as a priority of our government, we have to take these dams and restore the rice and the farming?’ he asked. According to Lawal, Kwankwaso agreed.
Lawal also discussed an oil field in Bauchi he said holds an estimated one billion barrels and suggested a refinery in Bauchi or Gombe to process the crude locally and reduce transport costs.
On power, he said legal obstacles to the Mambila hydroelectric project had been removed and that reviving the scheme was a priority. ‘We’ve agreed that the first thing the government will do is generate electricity, reactivate and resume work on that Mambila hydroelectric system, which will generate three gigawatts of electricity,’ he said.
Lawal said the aim of his conversations was to shift attention from the size of campaign gatherings to concrete policies that could affect Nigerians.
