"Why I don’t want my children to be politicians"

Ahmed Makarfi, Caretaker Chairman, of the ​Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has disclosed that he would not like to see his children get active in politics.

“They should take interest in it, but not to participate,” the former governor of Kaduna State said.

According to him, many people think all politicians made money from politics and he would not want that kind of perception for his children.

“If they want to be active politically, they should first of all grow up to be something in their own right, otherwise people would say ‘oh, you took public fund, everything he has is public.’“But when you’re your own person, people would know that you did not come into office as a pauper”, he said“Sometimes people don’t remember that some people were people of meat before they found themselves in public office, and just think whatever is around a person is taken from public office.

He said his children are far more ambitious than him on the side of entrepreneurship, “But I can also see a bit of interest in political issues, from their comments. If they talk to me sometimes, they say if we can’t get it done, they would make it done when it’s their time they which is good.”“It is good for those growing up to be active observers, not passive ones. They should begin to develop ideas on how we can take this country to greater heights”.

​On his rumored presidential ambition in 2019, Makarfi said “Everybody has ambition. But I’m not that kind of super-ambitious person.

“What I want is good for Nigeria. Any way I can contribute to moving Nigeria forward, I don’t have to be elected or appointed, I’m satisfied to contribute towards achieving that. When I look at my primary schoolmates and look at myself, if I don’t thank God for what he has done for me, I would be an ingrate.​”​There’re many potentials in Nigeria, in the North. But I’ve a thing that bothers me, and it’s more or less in the North. Successors and predecessors don’t see eye-to-eye; this is what obtains generally in the North.​”​Take it at governmental level and in spite of whatever political difference, which state in the South where a serving governor is going after his predecessor! But come to the North, there’re only few states where these things are not happening.