The elections are around the corner. Which direction do you think Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba, should take?
I think we should search and ascertain the mood of the people. What the Yoruba want is self-determination. They want to be recognised and be reckoned with, to be given their rights particularly on federal appointments. At the moment, we are not being given our rights. If you look at the first nine positions in federal appointments, we are nowhere to be found. This was until recently when the Chief of Staff was appointed. Before that time nothing spectacular happened.
We may say we are getting something but that is paltry; a very small proportion of what we should get. We should get more because we are a part of the nation. We hope that when the elections are over and positions are being shared, the Yoruba people should be given their rights. It does not matter which party wins, they must see the importance of Yorubas in the federation so that getting along we will be very comfortable.
The All Progressives Congress has selected a Yoruba man as Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate. How do you react to that?
That is alright; if a party decides and goes ahead to say the Yoruba people should be given a right of place, I think that is being considerate. They see us as part of the federation and that is why we are being reckoned with. I think it is alright.
Earlier, the Yoruba people were given the speakership position and some people derailed it. What do you think will happen now?
Some Yoruba people did the havoc. We have taken that as one of those things and many people have been talking about it, more or less regretting it. I hope with this new arrangement, we will be given that position.
Are you comfortable with the candidature of Buhari?
I was a victim of his regime; I cannot feel comfortable with him. I was put in detention for 20 months for nothing. I was a commissioner for finance. I was sent to a tribunal. I went to Lagos and appeared before the tribunal. At the end of the day, I was set free. I feel very aggrieved and he did that for many people. People have written about it, the scars are still there.
He has said he is going to jail people. That is not what we want. Justice should have a very keen eye, not massing people together. Those who commit crimes should be punished but people who are not corrupt should be let off the hook. Papa Ajasin was sent to detention, he was tried twice and at the end of the day, he was set free. I was his commissioner for finance. I knew that Papa was very honest, he did not spend his security vote at all and he was very stingy with spending money. But this man (Buhari) put him in jail in spite of all the pleas and so on.
He kept him there and sent him back for the second time. I think that was very ruthless. He said he would jail corrupt people; who is corrupt? Who is not corrupt? They should be given fair trial and if found guilty, they should be punished. People like Ebenezer Babatope wrote about it and there are many others who were unjustly punished for no reason just because he (Buhari) was a military man. We are not in a military regime now; he is going to carry his military mentality to civilian rule and that will be unfair.
Afenifere was a formidable group until a crisis broke out. How is the group doing now?
Afenifere is still a formidable group. We still have people like Pa Olaniwun Ajayi, Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Falae and a host of others who still have the same spirit of Awoism, the same spirit of Yoruba unity, Yoruba agenda. But these days, distractions are there. Some people have strayed away because of personal ambition, especially the Tinubu group which we persuaded to stay.
In unity, there is strength, when Afenifere speaks now, people listen and feel it is voice of reason and we are still together. I have mentioned few who are men of integrity, those who are men of vision. We speak with one voice on any issue and the Federal Government of course reckons with us. They feel that Afenifere is the soul of the nation because there are men of integrity there, people who stand for the truth. We still meet once a month and debate on some national issues. It is not a political party, we exist to maintain the tenets of Awolowo.
Are you ready to reconcile with Tinubu’s group?
We have made offers. Chief Falae has made offers, he has gone to Lagos to make offers. I have met him (Tinubu), I have made offers but it seems they have their own agenda. I don’t know what it is all about but we can now see these destructive elements, they want to take over, they want to be in charge. But that is not democracy, Papa Ajasin described democracy as ‘you talk, I talk, listen to me, I listen to you then idea will crystallise. But in his (Tinubu’s) own case, he wants to have it alone and that is not too fine. That is why we have problems in the South-West.
Between President Jonathan and Gen. Buhari, who will Afenifere support?
We have not taken a decision. Soon, we shall do so. We shall support somebody who has the interest of Yoruba people at heart, a party that is democratically organised and is considerate in terms of Yoruba agenda. What I mean by that is making sure that Yoruba people have a place in the scheme of things to come; not just being a second fiddle. We should be a force to be reckoned with. We have not made up our minds, but when we do so, we shall let the world know.
From your earlier statement, it is like Buhari is ruled out of consideration.
He has not been ruled out but these are the issues we shall consider – his antecedents and his utterances now. How is he going to handle us? Will he not go back to his old methods? Is he going to be dictatorial and oppressive? These are the issues we are going to consider but we have not made up our minds.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused the Federal Government of not managing the economy very well. He also accused President Jonathan administration of frittering the nation’s foreign reserve. What is your take on this?
The Federal Government has to tighten up a bit. The Federal Government is permissive. Some issues that should be handled effectively have been allowed to fester. Some corrupt people in the government should be dealt with, they should be flushed out. There are many of them and we know them. They should not be serving at all. If you ask them, they will say Ministers A, B and C should not be in government. The President should be more decisive, he should be firm and take them out of office. Their being there taints the image of the government. I won’t mention their names but Nigerians know them.
The Boko Haram insurgency is threatening the unity of this country. Do you see the continued existence of this country, considering the activities of this sect?
That is our fear. The government should be more decisive. It should seek the cooperation of foreign partners. That does not mean he is surrendering the sovereignty of this country because as it is now, things are getting out of hand. When we think we are having a respite, they come back. What is happening to our army? If the thing is becoming too much for us, we should seek the assistance of foreign powers. In the eyes of the world, we are a laughing stock.
Sometimes, our soldiers abandon their weapons and run away. The Federal Government should take more action. If it is not up to the task, it should seek the alliance of foreign powers. We have friends who can come to our aid. At the moment, everybody is becoming very apprehensive. The army should be ruthless in dealing with the insurgency. They say they are hiding in the forest, something should happen.
Do you foresee Nigeria breaking up considering the prediction of the US?
I don’t believe so; I think Nigerians should still I knew that Papa Ajasin was very honest, he did not spend his security votes at all and he was very stingy with spending money. But Buhari put him in jail in spite of all the plea and so on stick together. We have the resilience to want to make us stay together. We are involved, we are not really clear cut, we have friends across the border.
We have interests that are intertwined. No matter what happens, Nigeria will still be together because if we break that is the end of the hope of coming generations. Balkanisation and civil war, especially in the oil producing areas, will not augur well for the country. Whatever happens, we should try to remain as a unit. If we remain as a unit, we will be a force to be reckoned with in the world.
How is Afenifere’s political party, the Social Democratic Party, doing in the political market?
The party is breaking grounds; we have members in the South-South, in the North and other parts of the country. People are already warming up to stand in the elections. Let us wait and see, the goodwill is there. In Ogun State for instance, some stalwarts like Chief Osoba are in our party. The goodwill is there and people are ready to fly the flag of the party.
Will the party support any of the leading candidates?
It is a question I cannot answer. At the same time we are stretching our hands across the border and work out some alliances with those with not too clear ideologies. We have to talk. They too may want to seek our cooperation, we shall soon decide.
Do you have anything against Jonathan’s administration?
My grouse with the Federal Government is that it is too soft in fighting corruption. It must be forthright. I know he does not want to offend people but he should not do that in governing a country like this. We have to stand firm and do away with bad eggs in the society. People are accusing the government of being permissive, that is allowing corruption to fester, and that will work against the government. It should be firmer and let us know what is policies are. It is not too late, he should be a man. There are many corrupt people in the government. When people are arrested for corruption, we don’t hear anything again. People are waiting and watching.
When Afenifere makes a statement, Afenifere Renewal Group makes a contrary statement. Why?
It is because they broke away from us. They broke away from us for no reason; we were together and they broke away. I think it is because they want to be heard. There is nothing new that they are offering. In recent time, we have not been hearing about them. Again, I feel some self-importance. They just want to be heard. Nothing new from what we have been doing. They have made up their minds to disrupt and destroy Afenifere.
Is not possible for you to stop them from using the word ‘Afenifere?’
It is not possible in a democracy. They say Afenifere Renewal Group, they have qualified it, it is not the same as Afenifere simplicita. Theirs is a new group which is offering something new; which we have not seen anyway. The line of division is not too clear. We are talking of free education, full employment, fighting corruption. These are our credo. I think they just want to be heard and if possible push us out of the way.
The ARG has governors and funds. How are you going to compete with them?
We depend on our goodwill and if we succeed in the next elections, we shall have governors. But at the moment, we support ourselves from internal funds which we raise. We stand for something good but we cannot compromise honesty and integrity because they are the hallmarks of Afenifere.
Are you ready to bring them on board?
The door is open. We have made efforts. Chief Falae has made attempts to meet Tinubu, he has not succeeded. We held many meetings in Ibadan, and Lagos where people like Kayode Eso presided. At the end of the day, there is nothing really different from what we are doing. They have made up their minds that there will be no fraternisation with us.
Source: New Telegraph
No comments:
Post a Comment