Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the defunct FSB International Bank is a household name in the corporate world. The Officer of the Order of the Niger has in the course of his career been Chairman/Director of several organizations, including Nigerian Stock Exchange, Northern Nigeria Investment Limited, Nigeria Hotels Limited, Kaduna Textiles Limited, New Nigeria Construction Company, Benue Cement Company, Virgin Nigeria Limited, Seven Up Bottling Company and many others. The technocrat, who once was a member of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s Transition Committee and Chairman of the Transition Committee on Economy as well as Chairman Nigerian Economic Summit Group – Nigeria’s leading Economic think-tank, said in a television interview monitored by BAMIDELE FAMOOFO and MAYOWA SAMUEL that he is interested in vying for the top position in Nigeria. He also spoke on his vision and how he intends to execute them. Excerpts:
You recently renewed your membership of the People’s Democratic Party and you said then that you wanted to help build the party. Now, within two weeks, you have changed your mind and you expressed your interest in becoming the president. What changed? Why are you vying for the presidency and what do you think you can offer Nigerians?
The task of taking the exalted office of president of Nigeria is a very serious business. It requires very deep and profound thinking. Over the last six months, I’ve been dealing with the thought of how and when to offer myself to this country. What has changed is the fact that firstly, I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while. Secondly, I’ve been engaging the political architecture in this country and I clearly came to a decision that the best way I can be helpful to this nation is to offer my services to bring about a rapid and transformational change in this country.
Why do you think you are the most suitable for the job?
First and foremost, there are three things that are critically important. One is skills, second is experience and the third is character. Looking back at my life, there are a couple of things that actually qualify me for this job. Number one is that I’m an economist by trade. The crucial set of issues facing this country today is the fundamental economic situation in Nigeria. I’m fully built and I have the understanding of the Nigerian system both from the economic and social standpoint. Two, is the fact that I believe that I have the strategy. Strategy is about defining the long term strategic outlook of the country and my experience will suggest that over the last 30 years, I’ve been involved in a number of strategic planning exercises both at work, in NDDC where I was Group Chief Executive and also at FSB International and a number of other extra-curricular activities, the Vision 2010 budget and other important national assignments that have exposed me to the need to actually understand the process and the importance of long term planning in a nation’s development. Thirdly, I believe I have the character to be able to make very sound and important decisions that will affect the welfare of this country. Of all of these reasons and much more, I feel that I am fully equipped to discharge the responsibilities as the president of Nigeria, even where the country is now because leadership itself is defied by issues, events, time and circumstance. No nation is static and nations will experience periods of highs and lows, particularly at this important moment in the history of this country when you need a safe and secure pair of hands that is deeply knowledgeable about the issues confronting this country, in order to address them. Very importantly, I’ve had the unique privilege of having schooled and worked here and having built my entire life, so I understand the challenges and the peculiarities facing this country. I also understand what it takes to actually find solutions aimed at bringing about sustainable long term economic development for Nigeria. I might also add that because I’m widely travelled in this country and around the globe, I will establish good relationships and partnerships with nations. Very important as well, I am proud to say that I make a very good listener and I have a company of extraordinary people, technocrats like Philip Asiodu, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and the likes at their prime.
We have a divided country. We have a case of insecurity. What strategy will you adopt to address these? What will you do differently?
This is a very difficult and complex problem. First and foremost, matters pertaining to insecurity lie with the exclusive preserve of the government because of its sensitive nature. It took a long time to build our security infrastructure but you can actually gas light it overnight. I personally believe that the Armed Forces are doing a magnificent job, therefore it behooves all Nigerians in both the public and the private space to actually encourage the government to take action to a conclusive end. Having said that, there are enormous delinquencies in our accomplishments. Firstly is that the Armed Forces, the police and the special armed forces are not customarily designed to engage on some matters. They are actually constitutionally mandated to defend the country against external aggression. Therefore, their entire mindsets need to be changed through retraining and development if we want to face this new enemy. It is pretty difficult to catch up with the rate at which people are being economically disempowered. While you are dealing with this, the root cause of the problem has to be addressed clearly, decisively and quickly and that is to restore our national institutions, so that we can expand our national output tremendously, bring people into prosperity, open up a lot of opportunities for the youths to engage in social and economic activities so that we can move along the line of success.
“I think I understand this job, I know what it requires and I know what has to be done but I’m not going to be stepping on people’s toes. There are ways in which you can handle the job by actually building alliances and compromises”
What are key issues that you intend to address in this economy?
Nigeria had better adapt to and understand digital transformation and start to look at expanding its broadband. The health sector is something we need to draw our attention to because this thing (COVID-19) just came out of the blues. In a nation of 210 million people, we don’t know how to keep the country healthy to be able to plan and build partnerships to deal with all of these issues. It seems to me that the system is broken and therefore; we will need to actually rebuild our cultural and social institutions. No nation can ever move forward without paying them attention to our norms and values which are important in our education, health, cultural institutions and we pay attention to our youth and women. We should ensure that we are actually able to have this social architecture in place because without character, you can’t actually take the nation anywhere. There is the need to place the prosperity of the Nigerian people at the epicenter of the nation’s development process. You need to mobilise all stakeholders in the country bringing them into the development process. I dare say that there should be a constitution amendment. There is a need to have a social safety net designed to eliminate poverty, bring about inclusiveness and focus on the youth and the empowerment of women. Very importantly as well, I think we need to come up with an operation module that is focused on giving leadership to the private sector in order to drive this economy while the government itself plays an enabling role. There is no business that can’t be handled by the private sector and the government should create incentives. What are these incentives? They should design tax policies that will drive businesses. Another proponent of this is that we should not produce or export anything that can be produced by somebody else.
You talked about revamping the economy and a lot of people will argue that it is easier said because all of these can be defeated on the pedestal of interest. I want to take you up on revenue which is a big problem. This country is projected to collect about N24bn from a population of about 210 million people. A lot of people are asking that money is not even going to be enough to meet their needs. How will you manage the interest of the people of Nigeria?
I think I understand this job, I know what it requires and I know what has to be done but I’m not going to be stepping on people’s toes.
There are ways in which you can handle the job by actually building alliances and compromises. Everybody in this society plays a very critical role in the country’s national development. What we need are strong institutions but in order to check some practices we need not come with a sledge hammer and start beating up everybody, it’s going to be counter-productive. Concerning our needs and our population, that’s one of our biggest problems but over a period of time, with the right foundations, the right leadership, there shouldn’t be any reason why we shouldn’t be able to. Other countries have taken on a very vested interest and are beginning to sit across the table with them to negotiate the way out by understanding what is the long term strategic interest of this country. What you are saying actually speaks to elite problems. The elites of any society are actually the custodians of the consciences of that society and the elites exist from history to solve problems, not to create and compound problems. So, personal interest, administration interests are susceptible to national interests but you can’t put your interest first and put the nation behind.
Are you physically fit for this job and why the PDP?
I’ve never had a physical problem in my life. Structurally, I’m as good as anybody. My mental acumen is very strong, my work ethics are second to none. I understand the requirements of the job, I’m going to roll up my sleeves and execute this project with clarity, precision and conviction. Most importantly, a tree can never make a forest. Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve actually relied on innovative, highly oriented young men and women to accomplish almost impossible feats in order to achieve the objectives of the enterprise. It is my intention to look out for Nigerians who are the best in class from every nook and cranny of this country and also from overseas. The idea is to tap into that very rich diaspora pool and bring in people. You need to be very strict in taking decisive actions when people are not performing according to the goals they have set for them. One thing I will not tolerate in government is corruption. PDP is one party that grew up over time from inception. Every other political party came out from the scheme of arrangement, a merger or an amalgamation with other parties. It has governed this country for 16 years out of 21 to 22 years and one thing that I like about the PDP is that when President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed office in 1999, he demonstrated enormous courage. He was able to formulate a very coherent economic and social philosophy designed to lift Nigeria from where it was to a new place.
You’ve declared your interest now, when are you visiting the owners of Nigeria? I’ve not seen your pictures of you visiting Baba Obasanjo in Abeokuta who you spoke glowingly about. You’ve not been to Minna to see the owners in Minna, you’ve not been to the Villa to also use the privilege of announcing your interest. When are you going to embark on that journey which looks like part of the game as we have seen?
Every person in Nigeria is important regardless of their association in life, every institution is important in this kind of business.
There are people who have done this job, done it remarkably well, every second that you spend with them is actually a very teachable moment. I’ve spent time with all of these people in the course of my career, including people like General Danjuma who is a towering figure in this country. So, as a young man, I’ve been very privileged to be in the company of very great people and with time, I will embark on that journey, not only to see them but to see all other constituent parts of this country, our clergy, traditional rulers, academia, labour union, the business community, important people in the private sector. All of these people will be part of this process.
