41 year old Matthias Tsado hardly stops talking about Nigeria. He carries the problems of the nation in his heart like his own personal burden and is convinced that any patriotic Nigerian should, and as a result, be compelled to want to cause a change to happen. Well when reminded that the current government rode to power on the slogan of change, and that change for many Nigerians have been long in coming, Tsado said, The APC government doesn’t understand the urgency of time. In this interview with reportnigeria’s Gbenga Samuel-Wemimo, Tsado an Engineer by profession, declares his action plan to transform Nigeria within his first term, if elected President in 2019. Matthias who has also explored the banking terrain says if he becomes President in 2019, he will review the 52 % revenue allocation to the federal arm of government from the nation’s purse.

GBENGA: What is your motivation for your Presidential Aspiration?

MATTHIAS: The first thing is, everything in Nigeria is not working to motivate every well-meaning Nigerian to try to do something about the situation of the Country. You have a Country that is supposed to be one of the top ranked in the world, being treated as a nonentity because of bad leadership. Having said that, it is only natural that every patriotic citizen of this country will become uncomfortable with the way things are and would want to change the system. So I am motivated by the need… that need for us to have something completely new, that paradigm shift. A shift from where you have leaders who just move around in big vehicles and solve no problem. So basically I am motivated by the need for us to see a new country, for us to match other nations of the world in terms of development, both in infrastructural and human development. So basically that’s my motivation.

GBENGA: Three years after this government came to power, there is despondency in the land, but there are also those who are of the view that significantly, this government has recorded some moderate achievements. What are the wrongs of the Buhari Government that you want to make right, if given the opportunity?

MATTHIAS:  I think first of all, this government does not understand the urgency of time. They don’t understand the essence or the need for citizens to be engaged. They don’t understand that in the 21st century, when you want to build a Country, it is not built by the king, it is but built by every single person, it is built  by the ability of the King to motivate and inspire the people. So if you have that kind of situation in the Country, where people are being killed on a daily basis,  you have a situation in the Country, where poverty is on the rise, insecurity is on the rise, you have a situation where somebody cannot buy common petrol on the streets at anytime they want; And these are the things they said they wanted to come and change, the corruption stuff they said they wanted to come and fight, where is the result? They Promised to address insecurity, where is the result? The employment they said they wanted to create, where is the result? We have 36million Nigerians who are unemployed as we speak. You know, these are the same things that they said they wanted to come and fight. So really if you ask, what has changed?

GBENGA: But you were once a strong supporter of President Buhari?

MATTHIAS: In 2014/ 2015, I was a very strong supporter of the person of President Muhammadu Buhari. I risked a whole lot of things, friends, family members, just because I was standing with a man that they could not see, didn’t understand what he was bringing to the table. I spent my hard earned money, millions of naira, on his campaign in Kaduna, organizing all manner of things, printing all manner of items in support of this same government that I want to run against. Because it was like, this is the man that will save the Country. In fact on the day of the election, I had to leave my house to get sleep in a hotel, to ensure that I voted But unfortunately, two months into the administration, i started asking questions.

GBENGA: And you can back up this claim on your expenses incurred on Buhari’s 2014 campaign with evidence like bank statements?

MATTHIAS: payments for the campaign activities were not documented. But I was organizing rallies, printing t-shirts, pamphlets for people in Kaduna. But I have never met President Muhammadu Buhari in person. I didn’t think I would run against him then, But now I can tell him to his face, that not just the money, but the trust that was broken is worth more than a billion.

GBENGA: so your conviction was based on the person of Buhari, not on his party, the APC?

MATTHIAS: it was on Buhari. Coz I recall I was his supporter in 2011. I think some of us have sacrificed a lot to prove that we are patriotic and serious about the desire to see a Country that works.

GBENGA:  Were you a card carrying member of the APC?

MATTHIAS: No, I only believed in the person of Muhammadu Buhari.

Gbenga: But then, there are those that would say there is no magic wand to solving Nigeria’s problems. How would you address the problem of Power for instance, if you became President?

Matthias Tsado: You See, I have always said, Power is divided into two; Now you have power for residential consumption, and you have power for commercial consumption. So what are the implications of the availability of these two types of Power. One; you have commercial power needed to power industries. Nigeria is a Country that is supposed to be a mixed economy, where you have the capitalists and you also have some form of subsidies in government. Currently power is being subsidized for majority in the Country, which is the R2. Now lets compare commercial power in Nigeria with commercial power in other places of the world. In the USA, the power that is needed to power industries, costs about 46naira in naira equivalent.  The power that you need in Nigeria, costs about 28 naira in equivalent, in commercial quantity, for those on commercial lines. So what stops Nigeria from getting power that will be say 36 naira or 40 naira, and then ask this same power generating companies to come to Nigeria to sell their power to industries at the same rate being bought from them in the US and other Countries like US, China or India. Now if you do that, it means that companies will no longer have the excuse of Power being a problem in Nigeria and for that reason they cannot come. So for instance you need 50 or 100 megawatts to power a refinery. Then you ask GE, come and generate 50 or 100 megawatts for us to power this refinery.

Gbenga: This is ambitious! Where will you get the funding?

Matthias: Its not you! This is a business. GE is coming to do it’s own business. GE is coming to generate power to sell to the man who is setting up his own refinery. So the business is between the two of them, not between Government and GE. So the good thing is, you have been able to open up the space…

Gbenga: What about infrastructure?

Matthias: What infrastructure do you need?

Gbenga: Infrastructure required for the generation of power, to set up the power plants?

Matthias: Now you have a company like GE with power infrastructure that are mobile. All they need to do is deploy these infrastructure wherever needed in the Country. So they bring this GE trucks into Nigeria, to come and power for example a refinery. The cost of generating power for a refinery, let’s say It’s 50naira per kilowatt per hour. The outcome is a profitable relationship between the refinery and the power generating company. The benefit for Nigeria is, job creation, fuel is being refined in your Country and it will bring down the cost of foreign exchange and all of these will affect your economy positively. Now this is the thinking that should come from people that want to become our leaders. Liberalize that sector. Then when we talk about power for residential users, why can’t we talk about alternative sources of electricity for the locals? For the people in the villages. Can’t they generate power on their own, using solar panels, using wind energy and all manner of sources that are available now. And then you generate in small quantities. You see because one thing that we need to do first of all, is to disintegrate our grid system. A mono-grid system is obviously not working. There’s no way that everybody that needs power will be plugged into one system. We should be able to liberalize that sector. See what we did to the telecoms industry! If you are able to achieve this feat in the telecoms industry, what stops Nigeria from doing same with the power sector? I don’t understand!

GBENGA: So how long will it take you to actualize these reforms?
MATTHIAS: look! All this can be done within a year. It’s just about you having the political will, and also the knowledge that an economic policy that is being powered by our own factors, not an economic policy conceived by IMF or World Bank. An economic policy that you sat down to think about, while considering your environment and peculiarities. So if you do that within the first three months of your administration and then get the legislation to allow these things work, it should be feasible within one year. But then there is the issue of legislations being delayed by the national assembly, then you carry the Citizens along, engage the Citizens. What about the President engaging the Citizens to the extent that he lets them know that these are the plans, these are our intentions, this is what the legislature is doing, you put them under pressure. Look at what Donald Trump is doing!

GBENGA: How will you tackle insecurity?

MATTHIAS: I don’t understand how we intend to solve the issue of insecurity without information, without Data. “We need data! We need data! We need data! You need the information of almost everybody in the Country. If you can do that, you will reduce the rate at which crime is committed by almost half, because if you commit it you will be caught. Then the second thing Is, border security. How are people just able to walk into Nigeria at Will!? How can we stop these things? Look if it’s necessary for us to build a wall, we should build it. Do nations have walls at borders, yes! Do nations have barb wires as borders, yes! Then another issue is, how well motivated are the security agents? How well equipped are they? When you look at an average security man in Nigeria, does he appear to be well equipped? Is he well motivated? Does he carry out his job gallantry? Is he happy doing what he is doing? How did he get into the force in the first place? Because majority of police officers in Nigeria went into the force because they are no jobs.

GBENGA:  The former PDP led government borrowed 6 trillion naira in 5 years, the APC led government  has borrowed more than 7 trillion naira in 3 years, still many state governments are owing salaries. How do you get around the problem of funding?

MATTHIAS: The issue is, you have a government system that is run wrongly. How do you run a government system where the Citizens are not carried along? Majority of Nigerians don’t pay tax and government does not care because Government does not need their taxes. If we can deal with the issue of taxation in Nigeria, and then, how do you deal with it? Are people economically empowered? If Government can generate its funds from the economic activity of the Citizens, and this is what functional, normal governments do. Government cannot just be selling crude oil and say this is where our funds come from, or be borrowing from the international community and say, this is where we fund our budget from. No, it shouldn’t be so. And how do you achieve this, have a policy thrust that ensures that everything used in Nigeria is locally produced, made in Nigeria. If you can produce the things you use in this Country, then you have an economic value that when it is created, it can affect Government’s income. But when you don’t create that kind of value, how do you ask the Citizens for taxes.

GBENGA: Some hold the view that the problem with Nigeria, is as much a problem of its unique federal structure as it is with leadership. If you became President, How would you address the problem of restructuring?

MATTHIAS: Gbenga the issue is this, you have a system that is dysfunctional. But even worse off is that you have a people that are extremely dysfunctional. Who does this over-bloated system of government favor? Do government officials have to be paid so much?

GBENGA: But then how do you get around the people in Government who favor this structure, can you act alone?

MATTHIAS: I can’t act alone, but then if you’re coming into government with a different set of people, things will be different. You see, there is something that makes leadership very interesting and very effective, its team work. Get a team of patriotic Nigerians that truly want Nigeria to succeed, not some set of people who are waiting for political reward. If you begin to have people in Government who see leadership as a responsibility and not as a reward, then you begin to see how things will function effectively in Nigeria. Now let’s look at the local government. It’s uniquely run perhaps only in Nigeria. If you have a local government system that handles primary health care, that handles education, basic sanitation, street numbering, community policy, when won’t you see result. I think the most important thing we should first of all deal with in Nigeria, is leadership at all levels.

GBENGA: So if you became President, You’re not necessarily going to tweak Nigeria’s federal structure?

MATTHIAS: If I became President, there are certain things that we would look at…

GBENGA: like..?

MATTHIAS: I will review the structure that allocates 52% revenue to the federal government. I will look at the number of people that you really need working in the federal civil service, and that brings me to another point. You see majority of those who get federal government jobs see it as a reward. Because they see it as though, if you get a federal government job, whether you go to work or not, at the end of the month, you will get paid. Now that issue of productivity is a big problem. It must be addressed. if you have an over bloated federal civil service, then you look for ways to reduce it or you make it functional. Until these issues are not addressed, even if you split Nigeria into piecemeal, we will still have the same problems.

GBENGA: How do you intend to actualize your ambition under a relatively unknown platform, and amidst a political atmosphere that has been heavily monetized? Do you have the financial war chest that can help you secure your party’s presidential ticket?


MATTHIAS: First of all, the entire nation today is in search of a third force, a new face of hope, people that represent something different. We are. We represent that difference. We are the ones speaking about how governance should operate. Majority of Nigerians are also willing to back such people in Government. They are willing to put their funds behind such people. The first aspect of it all, is showing interest that you can do it, and we’ve done that. We’ve been able to get some people to respond to this and who have said, “We know you can do this. Now about politics being heavily monetized; the question we should ask ourselves is, at what point will there be a break? At what point will citizens begin to get involved in electing their leaders. Because you know What, I always tell people, if you’re not a shareholder, you cannot at the end of the day, ask for dividends. If you have a political system, where every 4 years, people are being paid at the polls, they’ve have received their reward.  That is the truth, the principle of life. But if you have a system where people invest in the individuals that they want to become their leaders, then they can question them during their period of governance. Because what you have in Nigeria today, is politics upon politics, but governance is missing.

GBENGA: So you believe you can get to Aso villa without a God father?

MATTHIAS: I believe I have made tremendous strides in this process, to this level, without the backing or signature of a godfather. We have thousands and millions of young people across the country who are talking about this project. I think we are setting a standard of how politics should be played in Nigeria, as against how it is practiced currently. I think we need to get to a stage where Nigerians can say, my 500 naira, my small change, let me invest in this candidate, create room for the crowd funding system.

GBENGA: What is your relationship ship with General Theophilus Danjuma?

MATTHIAS: Thank you, Gen T.Y is an elder Statesman who is highly respected by majority of young people, I’m one of such young persons. I admire his bluntness.

GBENGA: Is he your godfather?

MATTHIAS: Absolutely not, I don’t have a godfather in politics, I don’t believe in such, the Nigerian people would be my godfather if there happens to be a need for such.

GBENGA: Earlier you talked about Nigerian politics getting to a stage where the electorate will raise funds for politicians. Do you think you can garner that kind of popular support?

MATTHIAS: We are working extremely hard on getting more popularity. At the moment, it’s a thing that is being done. In the coming days, our voice will become louder in the political space, because there has to be a change. We cannot, because of the fear of how much is needed, refuse to participate. No we can’t.

GBENGA: Do you have the personality that can secure votes from the north and south of Nigeria?

MATTHIAS: I am a man from an interesting background, who represents the hope for the common people. I am someone not born with a silver spoon, but who has risen through life, by personal struggle, and has seen through phases how one has developed over the years. Now I am convinced that the time for a new paradigm shift has come for Nigeria. I represent that paradigm shift. And I believe that this is the clamor of many Nigerians. Because of this, I believe that they will identify with what we’re doing.


GBENGA: And you’re confident that you’ll get your party’s ticket?

MATTHIAS: Now about party ticket, this is very interesting. The Action Democratic Party, ADP has made the process of the primary so transparent in such a way that it is not a delegate system that will be adopted. It has been made in such a way that it is your popularity that will win you your vote, get you the ticket. So we’re reaching out to as many ADP members as possible across the Country, in a bid to sell our ideas to them, get them to buy into the project. So we believe that if the party primaries are done in a free and fair manner, we shouldn’t have any problem.

GBENGA: You think your age will give you an edge over the other aspirants from your party?

MATTHIAS: Age at this level is a plus. Let’s not pretend. Your being agile, your sharpness of your thought process, mental dexterity, being able to get up and go! But is it enough to win you votes, No! I think what is more important is your programme, your plans, your implementation architecture. Those are the things that will convince people to rally behind you

.GBENGA: Mr Matthias Tsado, thank you for your time.

MATTHIAS: The pleasure is mine.