Ghali Umar Na’Abba, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has said that a misunderstanding of the words he used in an interview on television was the reason the Department of State Services invited him for questioning.
He said this late Monday after he was let go by the DSS, after being interrogated for about two hours at the agency’s office.
He said the invitation was DSS’s response to the words he used to describe Nigeria on the television programme five days ago.
Na’Abba is a co-Chairman of the National Consultative Front (NCFront), a newly formed political platform. Speaking in that capacity on the television programme, he had criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for the way the affairs of the country are being handled.
While on that programme, Na’Abba had described Nigeria as a failed state, stressing that the citizens of the country have a right to self-determination.
“I did not disown anything I said. I will never mince my words. Whatever I see as the truth, I say it. And that is what I said in my interview and said during the press conference. And I can never say anything that is not the truth,” he said.
“What happened was there were certain words that appeared in my address and interview which needed some clarifications and which clarification I made.
“We were both satisfied with what happened. We advised one another. The DSS has its own job and its own experience. I too have my own vocation and my own experience. We felt highly enriched by our experiences,” the former Speaker said.
Na’Abba is the second high-profile individual to be invited by the Spy police in about a week. Last week, the agency invited Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for his comments on a radio programme.
Among other things, Mailafia had said that he was informed by repentant Boko Haram fighters that a serving governor from northern Nigeria is a commander of the group. He was also re-invited by the DSS to appear before it Monday (yesterday).
Na’Abba said his visit to the DSS office went smoothly.
“That is how things are supposed to be. It went successfully. I enjoyed my stay there. I had no problems with the way they received me.
“In my address, I used the words ‘failed state’ and ‘self-determination’. When we say out words, what we mean may be different from what other persons perceive, and that was what happened.
“Self-determination, simply in our own context, means Nigerians must be allowed to live the way they want to live. It does not mean the mean dismemberment of the country. A lot of times, from a security point of view when you say self-determination, it is perceived to mean that it is the dismemberment of the country; which is not so. This needed clarification. A failed state is any state that cannot provide a lot of services.
“What happened was that in their own opinion, I did not use the words appropriately, and it is only human to use words not appropriately. I told them that what I meant there was that the indices that characterise a failed state are prevalent with us. If, for example, you look at public primary schools, you will know that if we continue the way it is, it is just a matter of time before the nation fails.
“This is because those who are to be trained – the leaders of tomorrow – if you see the academic buildings where they are being taught and those who teach them how they are, it is very easy to predict what will happen in the next few years.”
