NewsBuhari Needs To Speak Up Now On Nigeria’s Future - Olajide

Buhari Needs To Speak Up Now On Nigeria’s Future – Olajide

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BEVERLY HILLS, March 29, (THEWILL) – Dr Kunle Olajide is the Secretary General of the Yoruba Council of Elders. He is also a member of the 2014 National Conference organised by the Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government. In this interview with AYO ESAN, he speaks on sundry issues as they affect the nation and the South West. Excerpts:

How will you describe the present security situation in the country?

Nobody in Nigeria has been used to this kind of insecurity. However, in the absence of peace, there can’t be any development and if you have insecurity, definitely there is no peace.

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So we are not happy, nobody is happy about it and we have made several calls to the relevant authorities like the Federal Government and the state governors as well as the community leaders to take charge of their territories and to protect lives and properties. So we are not happy with the situation.

Few days ago, the leader of the Yoruba, Professor Banji Akintoye, and Sunday Igboho preached a separatist agenda by declaring that they want an Independent Yoruba nation. The Arewa Youths have also reacted saying the Yoruba should leave the North. The situation looks scary, are you bothered?

We have fundamental human rights in the country. There is freedom of speech, so long as you don’t violate the laws of this country, you can say whatever you like. In democracy you have fundamental human rights. But these discordant tunes will not make for peace. So the relevant authorities must listen to the people and take action to restore confidence and ensure peaceful co-existence. This is why I have been calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to address Nigerians, to speak to us, for us to know where he is on this matter of insecurity; that is number one. He should also speak to us on the future of this country.

We have condemned outright, the 1999 constitution. It is a false document, a military document. We were not part of its creation. So from the first sentence, it is false. Therefore, as far as we are concerned, we need a brand new peoples’ constitution that will allows us to sit down and discuss the future of this country. Nobody can run Nigeria as a unitary state and succeed. Nigeria is not a unitary state; it is made up of many nations. And it was on the basis of this, that the British gave us independence and we became a Republic. It was the military that by centralizing the administration of this country made it a unitary system. That is why we have been retrogressing instead of progressing. That is also the cause of this insecurity, unemployment, hunger and poverty and so we have become the poverty capital of the world. So the 1999 Constitution is not working, it cannot work and the earlier the authorities do something about it, the better for the country and themselves.

But we have had constitutional conferences in the past and nothing come out of them. Are you saying we should have another one?

Those constitutional conferences gave us very good reports. I can tell you, I was part of the 2014 National Conference. To the best of my knowledge, personal opinion if you think, it is about the best gathering of Nigerians from all walks of life, from all sectors. The blinds, the lames, the elderly, the First Republic Ministers, the NBAs, NMAs, the NUJs, the Obas, Obis and Emirs, all of them were there. And we came out with a very good report. But for political reasons, the President made the report to gather dusts.

What we are witnessing in the last five years is terrible. Nigeria has never been this polarised. Now, in a democratic dispensation, we need a Constituent Assembly of elected representatives of Nigeria people to sit down and review all the reports of the past conferences. We should give them a few months to come up with a new constitution. Then the president will send a bill to the National Assembly for a referendum on this terrible constitution that we are running. And whatever reports the Constituent Assembly comes up with should be subjected to a referendum by the Nigerian people not the National Assembly. For me, that is the solution to what we are having.

The Senate said what they would do is just to amend the 1999 constitution and that they will not work towards a new constitution. What is you view on this?

The senate does not own us. We elected them and gave them partial sovereignty. The sovereignty still resides with the people of this country. So the senate cannot dictate to us. The people of Nigeria have a right to whatever they want. In any people’s constitution, there is a room for referendum. In other words, whenever the National Assembly of any country is not doing well, they take the matter back to the people to decide through referendum. The senate is not our master. The members of the Senate are public servants, so the senate president is there at the mercy of the people and the senate is not his personal property.

People have been talking of restructuring for years now, how can we achieve restructuring?

I have said so in a few words. One, let Mr. President show that he is interested in the unity of this country and that is why some of us are not sure where he stands, perhaps he is interested in the disintegration of the country, may be. He should come out and address us; that is number one. Two, he must send two bills to the National Assembly to put referendum into this 1999 constitution, then the other, the enactment of the Constituent Assembly Committee that will organise Constituent Assembly elections, where people will be elected to sit down for a few months, gives us a new constitution that will be subjected to a referendum not the National Assembly. That is the only way out.

Are you satisfied with the response of the South West Governors to the killing, maiming and raping of women in the region by Fulani herdsmen?

Our governors are hamstrung because of the constitution we are operating. So much as they would want to do their best for us, the constitution tied their hands. Yes, they have given us security outfit, Amotekun, but they have limited funds. They want state police, the constitution does not allow them to have it. So we must appreciate their situation. But as far as I am concerned, I give them pass mark for what they have been able to do under the circumstances. Until we get a new constitution that will free us from this bondage, we are in bondage to Abuja. The people reside in the local government areas and the states but power resides in Abuja not with the people. We must reverse that, we are running a system that promotes injustice and is giving way to retrogression and not progress and development. There is a limit to which we can blame the governors.

There seems to be a lack of unity in the approach of your people towards ending the current security situation. The Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams just went round to meet the South West Governors dialoguing with them on the way out. A few days ago, Chief Sunday Adeyemo , popularly known as Igboho and Professor Akintoye met in Ibadan and said they want Yoruba sovereignty . Are you not worried by these conflicting signals?

No, there is nothing wrong with anybody pursuing what he thinks will solve the problem in as much as it is not unconstitutional. But everyone here is singing the same song, we want some level of independence for the ethnic units making up Nigeria. That is what Gani Adams is saying, that is what Igboho is saying, their methods may be different but then it is the duty of the elders and governors to pilot these different opinions in such a way that we get results from it. You don’t expect us to do the same ting the same way and so on, no. Everybody has a right to say, this is how I want to go about it. The cautionary note that I am giving and will continue to give is that whatever we are doing, it must be under the ambit of the law of Nigeria so that people don’t just use that opportunity to come and mull down our youth, no. They have every right to be very angry, just as we are angry too, but we must approach it with some caution and wisdom.

Many people believe that Yoruba has much stake in this government…

(Cuts in) But for Yoruba, Buhari would not have been president, he tried about three times and he failed before we rallied round him to win.

What would you say the South West has gained from Buhari’s government in the last six years?

Well, I don’t know what you mean but there has been some progress on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway for example, that is visible. They also have some other social programmes they are doing but that that is not the issue. I live in South West here, until you have a new constitution, bring Angels down to run Nigeria under this constitution, surely the government will fail. So whatever we gained is just a pittance, They collected VAT in Lagos and go to Abuja to share it and give much to places that makes little contribution to VAT , So we are not interested, in gaining anything as far as I am concerned. We are interested in having relative autonomy like we have in the First Republic under the 1963 constitution. We don’t want somebody to come and give us droplets from the master’s table here.

Before the 2019 General Election, I remembered you are a leader of a group that was shopping for the best for the Yoruba among the various candidates then. Only few days ago, the PDP committee on review of 2019 elections recommended that the zoning arrangement should be shunned in selecting the party’s candidate in the 2023 election. Are you comfortable with this?

The party didn’t say that, the committee was set up and the committee said that as far as they are concerned they are not going to recognize zoning. But that report would still be submitted to the party, that is not the position of the party yet. Let’s wait for them, but for me that is not going to work. In fact it is going to work against them if they make a mistake of adopting the report. Nigeria is terribly polarised now, there is mutual suspicion So, any party that does not zone the presidency to the South in 2023 will fail, and I can say that clearly. Zoning has to be adopted for now.

Some people are saying the 2023 election may not hold if the country has no solution to the present insecurity, what is your take on this?

Nobody can be sure. I am saying that, nobody can be sure. We can only pray.

So how do we go from here as a nation?

I have said so earlier, the President should send two bills to the National Assembly. I have said that it is the only thing that can save this country. The president is reluctant, yes I agree with you, but his people are suffering the more. The North is the most challenged now as far as security is concerned. You will see, God forbid, the implosion that will happen in the north may be in his backyard in Katsina. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. If he refuses to listen, circumstances could force him to listen.

The National Assembly want to carry out electoral reforms, what areas will you suggest they look into?

There are many areas that may take hours if I want to be stating it one by one. But I think let me say it briefly, electronic voting, period. That will capture everything. If electronic voting is introduced, that will stop people from manipulating election results; that will capture essentially the changes we want in the electoral system.

Many want reform to play own the monetization of the electoral system, even to buy a party’s form of intention is huge money. What is your take on this?

It is the system that came out of this 1999 constitution that is all.

How will you advise Kwara State Governor, only a few days ago , the Christians and the Muslims were openly throwing stones at each other on the issue of wearing of hijab in schools. Yoruba people were not known for fighting on the basis religion before now, what should be done?

I think the Kwara State governor must know the right thing to do. Nigeria is a secular country. Everybody must be allowed to practice his or her religion. So he must immediately summon the warring factions and warn the religious leaders, urge them to sheathe their swords. It also depends on the law in their state assembly. I don’t know their laws there. But if there is any law that speaks on the wearing of hijab they must comply with their laws. Either it is a Yoruba state or not, they have their own laws and they have their own state assembly. So they must conform to their laws and they must ensure that the laws they make promote peace, simple.

As one of the leaders in the South West, the people of the region are currently living in fear of attack and there is palpable fear in the land, what is your advice to the people of South West and other inhabitants living there

My advice remains the same, all of us are united that what we want is a constitution that will give us our relative autonomy. So let’s keep our fingers crossed and call on our people in the national assembly, in the state assemblies to a discourse and let’s wait and see what happens. There is nothing else; we can’t take up arms. We cannot take up arms against the state but I am sure the situation will come that will give us Nigeria we all want.

How soon will that be?

Nobody can say, nobody knows. It may be tomorrow morning, yes it may be as early as that.

What advice do you have for the politicians especially at this critical period in Nigerian history?

It is sad that there is no difference between the two major political parties. That is why you can wake up today in APC and tomorrow you are in PDP. There are no ideological differences but all of them should know what is good for this country. All of them should appreciate that the unitary system here in the heterogeneous country like Nigeria will not work and can never work, they must therefore join hands together to give us a peoples’ constitution that will allow political parties based on ideologies to evolve. That is all, I don’t have anything else to tell them.

Restructuring is the solution to all the problems bedeviling Nigeria and that is what the new constitution will do. It is only a new constitution that will do that, not this piece meal amendment, no, that won’t work.

My advice to the president and the government is that what I have said earlier must happen quickly otherwise if the government doesn’t set up the process of Nigeria that Nigerians desire, may God forbid there may be implosion in the country that will consume everybody and it will consume the leadership first before anyone else.

About the Author

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AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.

Ayo Esan, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.

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