The essence of public office is to positively impact the lives of the people – Plateau Speaker Na’anlong 

Na’anlong Daniel Gapyil is the speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly. In this interview, he spoke on the state of the nation and governance in Plateau States, touching specifically on the infrastructural development in the state under the current Governor, Caleb Mutfwang. He also gave account of his impact in the lives of people in his constituency.  BLESSING ADIMABUA brings the excerpts:

So far, how has it been since you assumed office as the Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly?

So far, so good; our goal is to see how to create stability and ensure that members are rightly placed in a good place to perform their oversight functions and also for the Executive to ensure that budget implementations are done in a manner that they will benefit the people of Plateau State. So far so good, we have been into different trainings to enhance our capacity in order to strengthen our roles as legislatures. However, we have been working on so many bills and motions to a large extent that we have pass some and some are in the process of being passed also.

So, our relationship with the Executive Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency, Caleb Mutfuwang is cordial and we thank the God Almighty for that.

What is the secret of the cordial working relationship between the executive and the legislative arm of government in Plateau State?

Well, the truth of the matter is that politics and governance are two different things, because once you are in office, your priority is your people who had given you their mandate for you to represent and serve them. So, for us, we are more interested to see how we can work for the betterment of our people and so, governance becomes very important because we cannot afford to fail the people that have trusted us with leadership.  Therefore, there is a thin line between politics and governance while politicking will not end as far as leadership is concerned. Again, we must prioritize one so that we can achieve the best for our people, and I can tell you that the 10th Assembly is working in harmony with the executive not because we are compromising any position. For us, there are positions we can win without bringing it to the public domain. For us, we work with sincerity of purpose ensuring that what is right is done rightly and what we observed that is not alright, we draw the attention of the executive to it to ensure that they do the right thing.

Moreso, for us, beyond our political afflictions, Plateau State is our major priority and you know Plateau State has gone through a lot in the issue of insecurity and all that. We cannot afford to add to the injury already in existence; therefore, we decided as a people to join hands with His Excellency to ensure that we give him all the necessary legislative backing so that together in unity we can achieve more for the people of Plateau State without compromising our relationship with our party, without compromising our constituents’ interest. So, it is something that we are doing in harmony and we do not have conflict and that is not to say that they do not come but we have ways in which we address our conflict and there are different alternative conflict resolutions that we use as a House to make sure that nothing hurts the people of Plateau, but rather we are united in our desire to ensure that Plateau State has the best. So, if there are other secrets anywhere, I don’t know aside the interest Plateau State and anything outside is not our priority.

How far have you gone to provide the democratic dividends for your people as the holder of their mandate?

Well, for me, this is not my first time in office but my third term in office; so, I want to thank God Almighty for the privilege he has given to me to serve my people. I know that one of my priorities when I came in was to ensure that my people are encouraged to go to school because we are educationally disadvantaged and so for me, I also understand the issue of poverty because there is a big gap between the rich and the poor and so for them to be encouraged to go to school as leaders we must put some incentives in place. So, I think in the history of Plateau State House of Assembly, I was the first member in 2016 to introduce what I call Scholarship for A Level Students and aside that I pay JAMB fees for our students so that it will encourage them to go out there and try their knowledge and of course, if you are opportune to go to university and that will also help in encouraging others to go to school and study.

Moreover, I have also extended it to secondary school students by paying for SSC and WASC for all medical students just to ensure that those who cannot afford to pay for SSC will have the opportunity to do so. From that time till now, I have seen a lot of enrollments from our secondary schools who are desirous of pursuing their academic career and for me I am encouraged by what is happening. I also ensure that our farmers are not left behind, so on yearly basis, I supply free fertilizer to my people. Sometimes four or five trucks to enhance their farming for those who cannot afford fertilizer. I have been doing that on yearly basis and also, I bought water pumping machines to encourage dry season farming to eachieve food security.

In fact, I have constructed over hundred boreholes and as well as primary schools and E-library. My desire is to teach my people E-commerce and digital business that are available because government cannot employ everybody; so, one of the things one can do is to build entrepreneurship so that they can work for themselves and become self-reliant. I have also trained some in terms of skill acquisitions in order to boost their income. I have lobbied Federal Ministry of Agriculture to construct roads from my village to a nearby village and some of the areas close to my constituents. I have also distributed vehicles to our traditional rulers in villages because some of them ride on bicycles; so, I felt that people who are the symbol of our culture should not be allowed to be subjected to that kind of situation. I ensure that all the district heads, second class chiefs have vehicles to help them run around in the community and give their best to their people.

I have also distributed grinding machines, tailoring machines and motorcycles for young people who want to go into that kind of business. So, I have tried my best to ensure I lobbied for employment for my people both at the state and federal level for my constituents to benefit from some of these opportunities. And so, apart from some of the bills and motions I have also raised as a matter of concern in my legislative duty, I have tried to ensure that government attention touches my people. There are a couple of things I have done that cannot mention here.

What is your assessment of the government of His Excellency, Caleb Mutfuwang, the governor of Plateau State in the last two years?

Well, I think as a legislator, we are rightly positioned to assess them based on their performances and I can tell you that no governor on the Plateau has ever been perfect and so there is no perfection on that level. But in terms of performance, particularly in the areas of road construction, I can tell you, you should give kudos to the governor because right now in Jos particularly most of the streets that were not accessible before, today they are accessible. I was shocked to see one of the roads when I went to visit a friend of mine. As a legislator, I know their budget performance. Honestly, they are doing very, very good, and in the area of transportation he has brought relief to ease transportation problems for the people. I know there are interventions not just for the train transportation but there are buses to ease transportation problems for our people. And in the area of agriculture, I know the governor has spent so much to subside fertilizer for farmers and some farm equipment. You know, Plateau State is an agrarian state, most of our people are farmers, so anything you must do to encourage them to grow and develop is focused based on agriculture.  I can tell you that the government is doing very well in that regard.

For me, my assessment within the two years, given the situation and circumstances that brought him, I can tell you that he is doing very well; I have no problem with that.

Nigeria has spent 25 years of uninterrupted democratic journey. What is your take on the country’s democratic journey so far?

I can tell you that Nigeria’s democracy is moving on the right track despite all the challenges. You know that whatever that has happened has happened and whatever will happen will certainly happen. There is no doubt that we have challenges of leadership but if you look at it from where we are coming from and where we are today even for the fact that we are still celebrating transition in democracy for me that freedom for people to exercise their right of expression and all that for me that is one thing I can celebrate and of course, this celebration comes with its pain because over the years one of the things bewildering us as a nation which government particularly at the centre has not been able to deal with is the issue of insecurity because there is no nation anywhere in the world that will develop under the atmosphere of crisis. So, peace is the only panacea under which a nation can develop. So, there are challenges out there but government is making efforts towards development but this retrogressive tendencies be it religion, tribal and political crises and all these multifaceted dimensions putting this nation to heavy trial is a simple fact that government must wake up to the occasion and address it headlong. Once it is settled, I can tell you Nigeria will be competing with Dubai and other developed nations of the world. We have all the natural resources, human resources and endowments to be a great nation but again we spend more of our fund to address the issue of security instead of the multiple effects of creating opportunities in terms of jobs, industrialization and ensuring that we compete with other nations. But so far so good, I can tell you that for those who are alive, we give God the glory. We are moving with the times, but because of so many challenges we would have been better than where we are today, but every leader comes and goes with his own vision. We also have challenges of continuation of policy because each government will come with its own policies and programmes instead of seeing how the ones he met can be expanded and developed. So, the challenge is always there, but I can tell you as a nation we are getting better.

2027 is fast approaching. What is your message to Plateau State people, Nigerians and your party- the APC?

For me, my party the All Progressive Congress (APC) is at the defining moment, the moment of truth and the moment to showcase what it has. And I am sure the President, Bola Tinubu, is doing his best but more is expected of him and I know that Nigerians are very patient people. You cannot qualify or disqualify someone within two years. It is not enough time for his best to make manifest; so, for me, Nigerians should be able to be patient and of course, give Tinubu another opportunity of completing his tenure and going for a second tenure. So, under that situation we can assess him and off course begin to compare him with other past leaders as a party, whether we have achieve something or not. Meanwhile, I trust that some of the policies have long time benefits, so it is only for us to be patient and give him the necessary support.

On the Plateau, we have the National Chairman who is from Plateau State and for the governor who has made his intention known to come to APC and I am sure that within a short while all the issues will be addressed and the governor will decamp to the APC. For me, Plateau people should expect better governance and encourage these two leaders that we have. They should not spare anything with their contacts and bring dividends of democracy to the good people of Plateau State. We cannot afford to use our energy to what will divide us rather we must find reasons to what will unite us as a people because Plateau State needs that unity. These two people Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Barrister Caleb Mutfuwang have a duty for the people of Plateau State and they must in the interest of Plateau unite and work together and see how we particularly at the state level give them the necessary support to ensure that we bring back dividends of democracy for the people of Plateau and for the benefits of all of us. I think that is my cry and that is my hope and I am calling on my people to focus their energy and prayer so that these two people can join hands together and collectively as a body and work towards the progress of people of Plateau State.

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