Mukhtar Shagari is a former deputy governor of Sokoto State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview, he speaks on President Bola Tinubu’s performance and the security challenges facing Nigeria, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU reports

The APC recently rolled out a constitution that clearly states that governors are the party leaders, but in Rivers State, the President asked Governor Siminalayi Fubara to acknowledge that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as the political leader in the state. How would you react to such dilemma?

I do not think that it is a dilemma. The fact that governors are leaders of their parties in their states did not start with the APC. It started with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and it’s still the same thing. Whether we like it or not, in any state where the party has a governor, that governor is seen as the leader of the party. Wike is a member of the PDP member; he’s not an APC member.

He is a political leader in the state, but not a leader in the sense of the APC, because APC now has a governor, and that governor is definitely the leader of the party in the state. We cannot have one thing in one state and in another state, we have another. APC is a party that has consistency, and the consistency is that the leader of the party in any state is the governor.

Is this an indictment on the President for asking an APC governor to acknowledge a PDP member to be a political leader in his state?

The President is the father of all in Nigeria. Where there is problem in any state, it is important that he intervenes. He is not saying that Governor Fubara is not the political leader of the APC in Rivers State, but he’s acknowledging the fact that Wike should also be seen as a political leader in the state. These are two different things altogether as far as I’m concerned.

There’s talk as to whether the Senate approved real-time transmission of results or not. What do you make of this, and what’s your preference, do you want to see real time transmission of results in this country, especially in the next elections?

Real-time transmission of election results is good. It’s done in countries where you have every necessary thing that you need to be able to transfer or to transmit election results. In Nigeria, we have a lot of challenges and we must acknowledge that. We have challenges in electricity. We have challenges even in telecom services.

So, I believe that we should not be in a hurry to start transmission of election results real-time. We should try to make sure that we perfect our elections, because we still have problems as far as our elections are concerned. We are learning. Don’t forget that even America that has over 200 years of democracy, they are still having problems in transmission election results.

It has happened when Al Gore contested against President George W. Bush. The matter had to go to the court. If America, with all their experience in elections and their technology could not have a perfect election when it comes to issues of transmission results, then I think Nigeria will still have a lot to learn. We should not jump into it, we should learn and make sure that we get it right.

What is your analysis of the situation on ground since the December 25, 2025, strike on terrorists in Sokoto State by the United States, and what is the impact of his airstrike on insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria?

In the first place, let’s remind ourselves that many Nigerians, including the media, have said that President Bola Tinubu should look for help from anywhere he can find it, so that we can have security and peace in Nigeria. I think that’s precisely what is happening. But in Sokoto State, I cannot remember at any point in time when Christians were either harassed or killed and. We live with them peacefully.

This president impresses me every day. I think he’s a political genius. You’ve seen the stability we have politically in the country. We have challenges as far as security is concerned, but politically, we have consolidated

And don’t forget, Sokoto State is almost over 99 per cent a Muslim state, and we are living with different kinds of tribes from different states in Nigeria, who are not Muslims. I have not seen, and nobody has ever complained that he’s been harassed in Sokoto State because of his or her religious belief.

Christians are living peacefully in Sokoto State. They are our brothers. In fact, there are some indigenes of Sokoto, who are Christians and we are living together. So, I don’t know where this narrative is coming from.

Was the airstrike on Sokoto misdirected in your opinion?

I don’t know. In fact, it was not misdirected because the strike was at those people who are killing Muslims and Christians, and who are killing almost everybody in Nigeria, irrespective of what party you belong to, what religion you belong to, what tribe you belong to, and what section of the country you come from. So, if there is anybody who is coming to help us to get rid of these people, I think he’s welcome. But no Christian is being harassed and no Christian is being killed in Sokoto. The state is a safe haven for all people of any faith in Nigeria.

Do you think that Nigeria’s current political system is actually promoting competence or just rewarding loyalty?

Actually, if you look at the progress that has been made so far politically in Nigeria today, I think it’s really very positive. In fact, this president impresses me every day. I think he’s a political genius. You’ve seen the stability we have politically in the country. We have challenges as far as security is concerned, but politically, we have consolidated.

And our own party, the APC, because of the good programmes we have, because of the stability and peace in the party, governors, members of National Assembly, members of Houses of Assembly, and important politicians are now leaving their own parties and moving into our party.

That tells you the stability that we have in our party. That tells you about the stability we have in this country. I think President Tinubu is doing very well to make democracy what it should be in this country.

With the level of insecurity in the country, do you think that what the President should be doing now is to forward the state policing bill to the National Assembly?

We did discuss this matter in the past about the necessity for state police, and I support it fully. I even called on Nothern governors who are meeting at that time in Kaduna, to support it. I believe that everybody is now saying that, look, to be able to have enhanced security or to enhance security in our state and our local governments and in our wards and so on, there has to be state police.

Do you think the President has shown sufficient political will to drive state policing to come into existence?

In fact, Mr. President has given his support that we should have state police. He believes in it, and he believes that it will help. I believe that the President is very supportive and he has not changed that position.

Also, our party has not changed its position. We need the state police to be able to enhance security in this country and Mr. President is doing everything, and he welcomes anything that can bring security and peace in this nation.

The President instructed that a battalion of the Nigerian Army be deployed to Kwara State in view of the horrendous carnage that took place there recently. Is this coming late in your view?

I think it is not really too late. I think it’s timely because these people just entered Kwara State, and the President acted promptly. In fact, anybody from Kwara will tell you that they now have a lot of stability in the state, and that security is improving. So, I believe this President is proactive. At any time he hears anything about insecurity or attack anywhere, he simply acts.

And that’s what’s very important. Do not forget, because of his belief in bringing peace and security in this country, he appointed an army general, who retired as Chief of Defence Staff as the Minister of Defence. So, I think this underscores the fact that Mr. President is doing everything he can to ensure that this country is secured. It is part of what Nigerians want, and that’s what he’s doing.

What score would you give to President Tinubu for his handling of insecurity in Nigeria, 10 being the highest performance and one being the lowest?

Mr. President should be commended for the effort he’s making in making sure that this country is secured, that we can move around without fear of being abducted and so on. Don’t forget when the Chibok girls were abducted and taken away, till today, almost 80 per cent of them have not been rescued. When it happened in Kebbi, Mr. President swung into action immediately, and within a short period, all the girls were rescued. So, the President is not taking this issue of security lightly.

It is very important to him because we all believe that for Nigeria to develop and move forward, there must be security. So, we must all come together to support Mr. President and fight these people, who are making the country a difficult place to live in. The abductions are actually happening because these people think that the Federal Government will not do anything as it was in the past. Now the narrative has changed.

The President is proactive in all these things, and he’s working day and night, as far as I know, because I’ve discussed with some of the people who are very close to him. He’s very much concerned about the security of the people and their property. He wants people to freely travel from one part of the country to another.

So, we must give kudos to the President and the security agencies. Everybody is involved; what remains now is for all Nigerians to give them the support they need. When you see something, you must say something. The President should not be left alone in this fight against insecurity. It is the responsibility of every Nigerian. I also call also on the governors to give the President all the support that he needs to be able to achieve the objectives of his government, which is bringing this insecurity to an end.