My experience governing Lagos – Gen. Marwa

Retired Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa is famous for many things, chiefly for his stint as Lagos State’s military governor. He spoke to Daily Trust Saturday on those days, his time as Borno State’s military administrator, his current work as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA), and more. Herewith, […]

Retired Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa is famous for many things, chiefly for his stint as Lagos State’s military governor. He spoke to Daily Trust Saturday on those days, his time as Borno State’s military administrator, his current work as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA), and more. Herewith, are excerpts:

 

Daily Trust: You are the middle part of a three-generation family of soldiers. Did your late father encourage you to join the army, or it was your choice?

Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa: Four generations, actually, because my grandfather served in the army, too. You could say I joined because I was born on a military blanket, in a military hospital, and in a military barracks. I grew up in that society, wherein at 6:00 in the morning, the bugle would be blown for all to wake up, and at 6:00pm the bugle would be blown for the flags to be lowered, and everyone in the barracks must keep still till that’s done. I attended primary schools in Abeokuta and Enugu, and after that the Nigeria Military School, in Zaria.

In those days, you’d take your dad’s cap, and uniform, and try them on. And I must say that was exactly what my son, who is now a Major, did.

DT: Speaking of your son, how did you feel, back when he told you about his career choice, and what was your reaction?

Marwa: I was delighted, because I felt one of my children should follow in my footsteps. But my style is such that I never compel any of them to pick a profession. Four of them, including him,  read Law at the University of Buckingham. I was happy, and I think he has done far more courses than I did during my time. He is a paratrooper, and also a rigger.

DT: You were in 1990 appointed governor of Borno State. What are, for you, the highlights of that period?

Marwa: In 1990, when I was appointed governor, the president of Chad today, Idris Déby, was a rebel and Hissène Habré was the president. Déby and his rebels conquered Habré’s Army and took over. Later, he became a democrat.

Habré fled to Senegal. And what about his army? They had to descend on Borno State, as there was nowhere else for them to go. So, we had the case of banditry, and Borno then still had Yobe, so was very large. Because of that size, those bandits were able to take over communities, and villages, and stay there for some time. So we had to rise up to the occasion, and we were supported. One thing was that I was a Commanding Officer there years before, so I knew the terrain. That helped me tremendously, and that was the background to Operation Sweep, and we were able to address it.

There was an occasion during which I blocked all traffic going to Chad through Gamboru, and I didn’t ask for permission. The then head of state, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, called me that there were complaints, and I told him that the [Chadians] were not doing their part, so I had to do mine, which is securing our end.

The other concern was water. Because Borno is arid, you could dig boreholes for kilometers looking for water. I was the governor who first founded the state’s Ministry of Water Resources. You have to remember that, in those days, we had only six ministries, and we were told not to surpass that number.

Then when it comes to healthcare, I remember we built seven general hospitals from scratch, within 18 months. In education, too, we did quite a lot. In the north, even before Boko Haram, children didn’t go to school much, especially the girls. So, we ensured that all female children in primary and secondary schools, we gave them two sets of uniforms, books, and others.

DT: How about Lagos State; What are your fondest memories as military governor back then?

Marwa: I’m not sure if I should call it a fond memory, but I remember the assassination attempt on me, on December 16, 1996, when a bomb was planted on my way to work. It blasted the car driving behind the one I was in, narrowly missing my own. And the bomb was planted by people in the government. However, late Gen. Sani Abacha did not know that there were some people in government who felt I was ‘getting too popular’ in Lagos which might lead me to other ambitions, which I didn’t.

The second most memorable moment would have to be a collection of events around the time of late MKO Abiola’s death. He died when I was in Abuja, where I was for a Council of State meeting. Around 5:00pm, I got a call from the State House that I should see the head of state  Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. So I went, and he told me what happened. I told him I would need a plane to go back, because I knew the place would be on fire. That night, when we got to Lagos, even to get to the Governor’s Lodge on Victoria Island, we had to take Mile 12 and Apapa. Even at that, we had to do a little shooting in the air to secure the road.

The situation soon degenerated, and I called a security meeting that involved clerics. By the next day, it had become so bad, and they were going after northerners, saying that we have killed Abiola. So I said I have to get to the streets, and my people said that was not safe. I agreed with the risk, and still went out after I said that I’ve excused those who don’t want to follow. But we went, and through the grace of God, we were able to douse the violence.

The other was when we went out for a condolence visit to the Abiola household. Youths took over the whole house, but I was determined that this is Lagos, and I was the Military Administrator, and no-one could prevent me from paying condolence. And I knew Abiola personally, because he supported us in sports and education in Borno State. That day, it was after the Juma’at prayer, and the news had gone round, and the BBC and CNN reporters who couldn’t go because of fear, came to join our convoy.

I sent the advance team, and we were on our way. But they rushed back and stopped the convoy, asking us to turn back. I looked back, the reporters, and all the media people, and I said ‘let’s proceed’. When we were about 300 meters to the house, there was no way we could drive on, because of the massive crowd. So I stepped down and advanced towards the gate on foot. The gate closed behind us, and some youths locked it, and climbed atop the rungs. I was with Abubakar Tsav, who was my Commissioner of Police, and with SSS personnel. We found our way into the compound, but they prevented others from going in. The Commissioner of Police didn’t go, the SSS didn’t go, my orderly and ADC too didn’t, but I did.

And the burial, too, was another interesting one. We got a report that the body would be seized by NADECO, to do their own burial. So, in conjunction with Abuja, it was planned that there would be two planes. One would be a decoy, and another would actually convey the body. The decoy plane would land and taxi to the presidential wing, where we positioned the ambulance and the media, to present the impression that since the ambulance was there, he would be there too. But the actual plane was five minutes behind.

After all that, even the burial venue leaked, and we had to change it that same night. By the grace of God, it went smoothly.

DT: Motorised tricycles are now popular, and in Lagos they are called ‘Keke Marwa’, as you first introduced them there to ease transportation difficulties. How does it feel to be remembered that way?

Marwa: This is something I generally feel good about. And now, as a businessman, I’m actually thinking of upgrading it to an electricity or solar-powered version, with some partners. In fact, the company has agreed to name the tricycle ‘Marwa’.

The history of it is that I used to see three people carried on motorcycles, sometimes even four. So I thought that we could do better, and the one that I’m discussing about is environmentally-friendly.

DT: You look younger than your age. How do you keep fit?

Marwa: Actually, I don’t jog. I walk, and I have a basketball court at home, that’s all. I wish I could drink more water, though, as my wife always tells me.

DT: Now, to your more recent work: You’re a retired general, a former diplomat, and a businessman. How would you bring all this to bear in carrying out your responsibilities as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA)?

Marwa: It is the experience from over the years. For instance, when I was working in Lagos State, we were faced with the same challenge with the ‘Area Boys’, who had a penchant for drug use. And we were able to get about 3,000 of them out of drugs, and they became decent members of society, and remain so till today.

Recently, I had the opportunity of visiting India, and I interacted with their drug enforcement agency, which they call ‘Narcotics Board’. We visited treatment facilities in Delhi, observed how it worked, the staffing, the arrangement, the medications, how they control it, and how they made it masses-friendly. Because if it is expensive, it would not be affordable. But that’s just me. But far more important, is the fact that we have the collective experience of the members of the committee.

DT: How would you and your committee tackle the menace differently than was attempted before?

Marwa: This is what we are doing, and which we have not finished yet. We decided to think out of the box, and go to the communities. We will also visit places that have not been visited before, including the Central Medical Stores; we want to see what are the methodologies, how do they dispense the controlled drugs, and so on. We will also visit the ports, where there are the NDLEA, Customs, and NAFDAC, who are also doing their best.

Even here in Abuja, they still get through, so we have to go to the source. We should also consider where they come from. There has to be engagement between Nigeria and some of these countries, directly, and with their narcotic boards. This is so intelligence and information can be passed for proper planning.