Alhaji Adamu Shettima Yuguda Dibal is the deputy governor of Borno State. In this  interview, he x-rayed his administration in the past seven years even as he explained his relationship with his boss, Ali Modu Sheriff. Excerpts:

AMONG your fellow deputy governors, you are probably one of the few least known deputy governors?
“First of fall, I am not the governor, my boss is. Two, there is nothing I do in the state that does not have the backing of my governor. Whatever you see me do or any function you see me attend,  know that it has the order and approval of my governor. Can you write any story outside the knowledge of your editor? If you say yes, that would be because you have got a new job offer some where.  But beyond that, my relationship with Ali Modu Sheriff is not a boss -subordinate affair, it is unlike what you find in other states. We act as brothers. Have you ever heard since we both came to power that there is any crisis? No, because we understood each other. I can tell you this for free, my governor is the easiest person you can ever work with. As a matter of fact, he is one of the few governors if not the only governor  in this country that has a seamless relationship with his subordinates. Just check it out yourself and fault me. I have had to preside over the state executive council meeting several times and whatever the outcome of the meeting, he takes it. He would not start questioning you, all he would ask is, ‘are we moving?’ The only thing is, he does not condone laziness or excuses when it is an issue which concerns the people, you may see the other side of him”.

Would you want to be a deputy to the governor if  the opportunity exists?
My relationship and association with him has opened a new vista of exposure and opportunities for me because this government has succeeded thus far due to his vision which of course is ‘greatest good for the greatest number of people.’ If there is anything weak about Ali Modu Sheriff, it is his inability to turn the other side when things are not going right. If you want something from him, just tell him you are sick or you can’t pay for house rent or that you have been sent back from school. He does not like to see people in tears. So far in the state, there has been no governor like him in terms of delivering the dividends of democracy. There is nobody, community, local government area or tribe that he has not touched in the last seven years, none. If we had had this kind of government in the past, Borno would have moved on a long time ago because until now, things were rarely moving. That is the thing about power. It is said that don’t give power to those who desire it but those who are not bothered about it because those are the people that would make the utmost use of it. That is what we are experiencing in the state now. His impact can be felt in housing, health, education, roads and other sector.

It is being insinuated that you caused the delay of an aircraft from taking off recently at the Borno airport, how true is this insinuation?
You are both right and wrong and I will explain what I mean by that. Contrary to your insinuation which other passengers would have taken away with them, I was not the cause of the aircraft delay, never. You are right to say the aircraft was delayed but you are wrong to have said I caused it. Perhaps you don’t know; the aircraft touched down in Maiduguri the previous day at 12 midnight and as a rule by the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority, there must be a mandatory eight hours siesta by the pilot before taking off again. So, while giving the passengers a 7:30 a.m flight arrangement, their plane arrived late the previous night, making it impossible to take off on schedule. As a matter of fact, I had arrived earlier before I was told that it is not yet time, I had to return home. So, your anger should have been directed at the airline management, not me. You can see why I said you were wrong? I could not have been the cause of the delay. In any case, the airline did not say the delay was caused by a VIP it’s waiting for. Or did they?

Unlike other states, it appears you are more restricted to your office, is it by design or accident?
None, that question is strange. I can tell you that in the country today, I am probably the most active deputy governor. That is why I said my relationship with my boss is beyond master- subordinate affair. He assigns jobs to me at will, even the ones that are not meant for me. Even while in town, except the occasion is extremely important that they needed to see his face but most of the functions, I attend them on his behalf. A typical example was the Governors Forum valedictory service in honour of the Vice President Sambo, a former governor of Kaduna State, I attended that function on his behalf. Let me give you two examples why I think and why you should know that my relationship with Ali Modu Sheriff is more personal than official.  Once, the governor, in the course of building my house, assisted in helping me to access loan from the bank. I wanted to get a roof over my head after leaving government work, I decided to approach a bank for loan but immediately he heard of it, did you know that he said I should go to another bank and he acted as my guarantor? Again, when I was leaving for Egypt for the medical trip, beyond the official matter, he personally assisted in the funding of the medicals? Is that not beyond official matter? Would you say that is a boss- subordinate relationship as you had earlier insinuated?