BOKO HARAM:Only North Can Solve Boko Haram Problem' - Yahaya

Former Minister of Industries and elder statesman, Air Vice Marshall Muhammadu Yahaya (rtd) who recently clocked 70 tells MIDAT JOSEPH that only northern leaders can solve the Boko Haram insurgency and that waiting for the federal government is an excercise in futility. Candidly sharing the story of his life Yahaya also speaks on several topical national issues. Congratulations on turning 70. Can you share your background with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY? My name is Muhammadu Yahaya. I grew up in a polygamous family. My mother's name is Maimuna. From the Mother's side, I was the fourth child. The first three died. In our family we had these three marks on the face. I am from Adoka local government of Benue State. Because they thought I was going to die, they didn't give me the tribal mark. How my mother explained to me was that they said her breast was contaminated either by juju or whatever. So I was privilege to be given to my grandmother who brought me up. It was my grandmother's breast that I sucked and grew up. It was later that I got to know who my actual mother was and that was the beginning of my life. At that time we used to go to Qur'anic school. During the first attempt to put me in school, the teacher flogged me one day and my grandmother who liked me so much, took a knife and pursued the teacher. So the only way they could trick her was that my late uncle, was working as a clerk in Kaduna. So I had to follow him to Kaduna in 1952; I was already ten years. I started my Primary school in Kaduna but after a spell of two years, we went back to Oturkpo. There I attended Methodist school and spent two years there before the Native Authority established as special school where you have to take entrance from one primary class to another. When I was in Primary two, I took the entrance and passed and went straight to class four. I took entrance and came to Kaduna and we were the pioneers of the Technical Institute, now Kaduna Polytechnic. On the 22 October 1962, it was a Friday, we came to the mosque. At that time every Muslim will gather at the Kano Central Mosque including the Late Premier of the North, Sir Ahmadu Bello. I had three pence with me and I bought the Daily Times newspapers for two pence. When I opened it, I saw advertisement for Defence Officers Cadets. I applied and luckily I was shortlisted. We took entrance examination to the American University. We were many and I was lucky to be one of the ten successful Nigerians. Every American University had officer cadet corps training which they called ROTC. I finished my degree in 1967, Bachelors of Science in Electrical Electronics. After that I went for the proper training at Mississippi. I trained in electronics, mostly specializing in Radar Control. My background in military training is strictly American. I spent my four years of cadetship with American Air force. When I came back to Nigeria in 1968, I wanted to teach Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Additional Maths at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), but for some reasons, the commandant said no. So I went to Kano. My training and experience were not the same concept with what was obtainable in Nigeria. What I learned as an officer in America was not the same thing that was being thought at home. When we enlisted, there was no NDA. Actually when we enlisted, there was nothing like Nigerian Airforce. The Act establishing the Nigerian Air force was in1964. So we were enlisted as Defence corps. But they made sure that out of the ten of us, three was to come to the Air force, three to the Army and four to the Navy. In the American system, you believe more on the brain rather than rank. But, I found myself in a situation where the rank, rather than the brain was dominant basis for authority and I had a lot of trouble adjusting to that. I found myself not doing anything much, so I went to the Ministry of Works and asked them if they can build a 6 classrooms for me at where the present Bayero University is located.