One of the Christians closest to Senator Kashim Shettima, the Presidential running mate to Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, is, former Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture in Borno State, Inuwa Bwala. Bwala spoke to some journalists in Maiduguri recently in which he maintains that, Kashim Shettima remains the best pick in the face of the stiff resistance by his fellow Christians. Our correspondent Ali Musa Biu- was there and reports:
You have been less vissible these days, unlike before when you were in the forefront of political debates in the past. Is it right to say you have resigned from active politics?

I have always maintained that one cannot be a man for all seasons. Sometimes one is up and doing, other times one is down and passive: in between one battles with the exigencies of life. You may have noticed that I periodically add my voice to political debates. Only recently, I tried my hands on contesting for a position, before I was prevailed upon to step aside. By and large, I am not totally off the scene, but for now, I am into farming and publishing. As you perhaps know, I am back to National TRAIL. I have opened up a sugar cane plantation in my area, I am managing my small poultry, I am also into crop farming, besides making and selling sachet water. All these activities keep me busy 24/7. I may have been done with contests, but I am still active in my corner. May be very soon, I will be more vissible. For now, I can as well say I am hibernating politically.

So many Nigerians seem angry with the choice of your former boss, Kashim Shettima as running mate to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidential candidate of the APC, a fellow Muslim, which they argue is against the Spirit of national cohessiveness. But you seem to still remain stuck with the ticket. How comfortable are you working with Shettima?
Kashim Shettima and I have come a long way. If you have been following developments long before he was picked as the running mate to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I have maintained that Shettima has a lot to offer to Nigeria. I know his capabilities, having been with him from our younger days. He might have been the quiet type, but whenever he opens up to speak on any issue, one can see that he knows his onions very well and means we’ll for humanity. I do not believe in him because he is my contemporary or friend, rather because of his humanity, which many others can attest to. I do not judge him because of his faith, as we know we belong to different faiths, yet we blend very well, when it comes to intellectual discussions. I remember he once told me that, “Inuwa, do you know that people are looking up to our generation to correct the ills of our society. We have no cause to fight each other, as we each have something to contribute to the good of our people”. That remark stuck on my conscience and that was the kernel of our reconcilation, when we disagreed years back. Since then, we have mutually worked towards a common goal, targeted at saving our people from the undeserving vicissitudes of living. My nature is such that, ones faith is secondary in my considerations, when it comes to serious business, as we confront. My Christian brother have every justification to fear, given the general mood of the country and the mutual suspicion that pervade the political climate. But with Kashim Shettima, I feel that fear may not be necessary. Shettima has a future in Nigerian politics and does not enjoy the luxury, other reckless leaders have to toy with the sensibilities of others. He is a minority in National estimation, and our destinies are tied together by our common problems, common hopes and common aspirations. I will not join the fray in portraying Kashim Shettima as an ally of a larger political conspiracy against Christians, rather I see him as a robust intellectual, with an uncommon sense of statesmanship. I believe he remains the best choice for his party, which is desperately looking for a rhendezvous of political expedience to win in 2023.
Only recently, Northern Christian leader held a summit in Abuja, at which they they vowed to resist the Muslim/Muslim Ticket. I believe you were part of that decision. Why the departure from the position if fellow Christians?
I was not invited to that summit, though I was aware of the plan to unite northern Christians, long before the issue of Muslim/ Muslim Ticket came about. I am aware that former SGF Baba hir Lawan along with other Christian leaders had such a plan long before now, and I was billed to participate, but I never heard anything again since it was mentioned to me once. That is by the way. I was not there, but even if I were there, it could not have made any difference, as it would not have changed the general view, neither would it have changed my own personal disposition. To be honest with you, most Northern Christians share those sentiments expressed at the summit. I do not blame them given the trends noticable in other sectors. Much as I am inclined to align with some if the observations, I dare say that, Shettima was not the issue, as rightly pointed out by the lead speaker, Rt.Honorable Yakubu Dogara. Our collective grievances arose from other feelings of exclusion and deprivations, much more than the issue of the Presidential running mate.
What do you think could be done to allay the fears of the Northern Christians, given their perceived grievances in the face of the Muslim/Muslim ticket?
I think handlers if the Presidential candidate are in a better position to explain. As you perhaps know, I hardly know Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and may not be in the best position to explain certain things. But I know he has his reasons, which to me was the fact that Shettima had demonstrated to him enough capabilities, loyalty and commitment, beside the issue of political expedience. I am not a doomsday prophet, so I think what is being feared may not be possible, given my fair knowledge of the complexities of Nigeria.

Buy don’t you think your position amounts to s betrayal of your Christian brothers?
My brother is that person who I relate with based on mutual trust, respect and honesty of purpose. I relate with people who add value to my life, to my vocation and to the general good if the society. As I told you from the beginning, there are moments of ups and downs in one’s life. The person who stands by you when you are down and who celebrates with you when you are up is your brother, even from Biblical perspective. In those moments I was down, it was my so-called Christian brothers who betrayed me and conspired to have me arrested for an offence I knew nothing about and was not even at the scene. It was my so-called Christian brothers who testified against me in court as being part of an event I was not aware of. It was my Christian brothers my made attempts to kill me or have me jailed. It was my Christian brothers who trailed my calls to my office in Abuja for Usman Durkwa’s agents to abduct me. It was my so- called Christian brothers who plan daily on how to undo me: all because they felt I was a threat to their interest. I have kept the details if all that transpired against my planned memoirs, entitled,”Freedom Yet At Prisons Gate”. Suffice it to briefly state these, to dispel the notion that I share a sense of solidarity with people because of our common religion. For your information, while all these things lasted, it was Kashim Shettima, Babagana Umara Zulum and Yusuf Adamu; all of them Muslims, who stood by me and saw to the termination of what I regard as a phantom trial . If I may ask, where were the Christians when I was framed up and arrested for an offence everybody knew I did not commit? Where were they when I spent two weeks in police detention and when I laid on the hospital bed for 31 days between life and death. Where were they when I was taken to prison and where were they when I went through a trial for three years, paying through my nose to be free, before my discharge and aquital? What did they do when my family went through psychological turmoil, and my children taunted by their mates for failing to pay school fees? They were popping Champagne and rejoicing over my trvials and you tell me we have a common sense if solidarity. Tell me where us the Christ’s in them(choking in tears)? This is a country where the fittest survive and I am determined to survive, so leave that aspect.

Your clansman Daniel Bwala had since abandoned Tinubu and the APC because of the Muslim/Muslim ticket, and he used to be one of the ardent supporters if Tinubu, almost blindly. What is your take one that?

It was a personal decision which I would not like to comment upon, but I respect his decission. Daniel is one person many Nigerians tespect for his boldness, in-depth knowledge of national issues, the law and politics. He speaks truth to power and wisdom to leadership and I respect his decision. But the issues that defined his relationship with Bola Tinubu whom he used to lavishly support, may be different from that which binds me to Kashim Shettima. He is one person no politician would love to loose, especially in the circumstances we find ourselves.