By Oladele Ogunsola, Ibadan.
Comrade Mashood Erubami, the President and Convener, Nigeria Voters’ Assembly (VOTAS) remains his old self, fiery and combative in this interview with Oladele Ogunsola, describing former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s support for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for the February election as of no value. He says more.
Excerpts:
How do you react to the political situation in the country in view of another general elections holding very soon?
The political situation is in confusion and state of distate. Many citizens now contribute to discussions on the radio but in a way that does not bring value to public debate and communication. The polticians are also not the talking type, including the President, who is a man of little words, not as a result of not knowing what to say, but not saying it the way the political situation demands. Right now, we are dangerously going into another election in few months to come, but sadly, those that are just entering politics are not thinking great and acting boldly. Many of them can speak good English, but are bereft of genuine political philosophy that can liberate the country from the sway of the over recycled politicians that are still supritending over the political space.
Out of the two highly visible political parties, the APC and the PDP, urgent politickng have shown that their chances can only be determined by their antecedents and pedigree. The APC is a new coalition of the good, the bad and the ugly, comprising of the very dangerous elements from the PDP and the manageable few from the APGA with majority from the ACN and the revolutionaries from the CPC. The PDP today fought within the coalition to ensure its expectations for which its leaders spent huge state resources when they realised the APC will not compensate corruption. It therefore ousted itself from the coalition to become outrightly a renewed joint effort of the bad, the ugly and the corrupt. The old PDP ruled Nigeria for 16 years without making any change in the structure of the country, barsterdised its economy and looted its treasury during the time that the quality of life of the citizen was not only reduced but also endangered. The current APC representing the predominant APC and CPC and few of the refined PDP and APGA that are left behind resolved to move forward with determined mind to revamp the economy, stop Boko-Haram insurgent in their areas of operation and ocupation, arrest eradicate corruption from the economy, government offices and the private sector.
This is the condition under which the current political dispensation is moving towards the coming general election in 2019 with a lot of attendant risks. Against this background, we cannot forget the promise of the APC to use its change mantra to improve the lives of Nigerians and lift the country to its desired enviable height from its ironic state of penury to prosperity.
Part of the political situation in the country is the support being given to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo despite his scathing criticisms of the past, what does this mean to you?
The support of former President Obasanjo despite his scratching criticisms in his book, in his speeches to the International Community and in public spaces can not carry any weight and is valueless. Former President Obasanjo is just supporting still to fight President Buhari for denying him the comfort of oil licence, continue use of government properties and undue exemptions. He has said in the past that from what he came to know and what he personally knows about Alhaji Atiku, he would not be forgiven by God if he ever supports him, but now that he is supporting him under the guise of forgiveness, is the God not there again? The fact is that the offences of stealing cannot be taking pass the former President Obasanjo himself, it’s just that the leadership that could query their sources of wealth is yet to be. Perhaps with the APC strong determination to fight corruption, may be the time has come to know who is actually better from among the duo. The APC change mantra should be the bringing about of difference in the old situation positively or otherwise. Nigeria for a long time existed on sorry low moral standard. The APC Change must bring the country out of decay to a different status through radical redirection and transformation of Nigerians attitude and orientation towards replacing the old unusual practices with a new and different heart. Recently, he boasted that if he does not support any aspiring politicians, it will be difficult for them to win. The situation we are in Nigeria today is such that his boatings will fail with Buhari and will shut him up for the rest of his life. He is definitely not God and he should stop playing God.
You will agree with me that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is today a shadow of what it was pre-2015 election, do you think the party can still retain the seats at the centre in its present form?
No doubt about the fact that the APC of today is not the same that it was in pre-2015, however the criteria that Nigerians will use in choosing their President in 2019 are commitment, courage, compassion and character of integrity. The other presidential candidates only possess few of these core values, but Buhari has all, he will therefore retain power at the centre and the party will retain most of its seats and bring in more seats in 2019. New entrants into politics who are contesting the office of the President with Buhari are also old, but their time is not now, they should announce their arrival and showcase what they have in their kitty for Nigerians to wait till after 2023.
Members of the National Assembly (NASS) were unruly to PMB recently during the presentation of next year budget, was that part of democracy?
Only few of the members were unruly, the voices of the reasonable and distinguished legislators drowned the voices of the infidels at a corner of the Green Chambers who were shouting no to President Buhari’s postulations on what can be verified that he did in his three and a half years in office. One is not surprised, the situation would have been different if the President and the APC still behave in the old order to pad the Budget and carry in bags of Dollars or huge Naira to bribe his way. As explained by one of them, the rude ones shouting did so because ‘the President did not bring anything o’. The attitude of these few elements that were protesting against the President for not bringing anything to gresse their palms was quite unreasonable and undemocratic, it fails to show the Assembly as a key Government Institution that could serve as the true representative of the people that can serve the interest of the people. No doubt, democracy practice is conflictual, it is notwithstanding, it’s a concept that thrives on respect for its institutions and should be operated in the best interest of the masses.
Boko- Haram activities don’t seem to be abated, are you not worried?
Yes, it is yet to abate because the economic and political foundation of its evolution are yet to be addressed. Notwithstanding, their insurgency have reduced. President Buhari should be commended for the technical defeat of the insurgents. The Military Officers prosecuting the war need to be encouraged and further motivated for their patriotic sacrifices fighting in the bushes while we sleep in our various houses. Boko- Haram have been denied their span of occupation that today, they only strike and run intermittently as a result of unengaged entrism by the Boko Elements. According to the leadership of the Military Officers prosecuting the war, new equipments are being supplied to the Military and with increased intelligence and renewed preemptive counter attacks on the Insurgents, the end to Boko Haram and their dangerous life terminating activities will be in sight.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo recently said the presidency would come to the Yorubas in 2023, a position that has elicited fierce reactions, what’s your view on that?
The justice of the politics we are playing now is for President Buhari to handover to the person presented by the South-East. In fact the zone should be given one more state before 2019 or immediately in 2019 through legislative device. The zone too should be wary of ambitious elements among them and hide against multiple aspiring candidates, who will not step down when they are called upon to do so. The zone should also improve their voting for the Buhari candidature in the coming election. The South-East zone should weigh what he has done in the zone which no President in Nigeria ever gave the zone and vote not only wisely but massively.
Allegation of vote-buying rented the air after the last two isolated governorship elections of Ekiti and Osun States, what’s your assembly doing to check the trend?
Our colleagues were on the ground to observe the elections, the question, is who is shouting about vote buying and who was buying the votes? Vote buying is not a democratic means of winning election, it is against the Electoral Act and should be discouraged with very strong preventively bold actions against the offenders found to be involved in the act. The practice had persisted because INEC has not been using its prosecutorial power as contained in its laws, hence those perpetrating the act believe it is normal to commit the offence as nothing has been done visibly to discourage would-be offenders that crimes do not pay and that it has repercussion in law.
Those at the corridors of power at the national level are claiming that Nigerians would reap bountiful harvest from the current sufferings should PMB be allowed to win the next election? Do you support the view?
Yes I do, one key factor that has brought poverty, hunger and underdevelpment to Nigeria is corruption and why it has persisted is as a result of the indifference of government to engage its fight backs. Many of the legislators that are expected to make legislative moves against corruption are themselves corrupt, therefore they have joined hands with some of their counterparts in the judicuary to block the fight against corruption. Most politicians that have been politically exposed have been freed by the courts on technical basis when they know that the offenders actually committed the offence. Why should a civil servant whose 35 yeas salary could not build more than a house be freed of corruption if he is proved to having multiple buildings across the country? Some of the Judges are equally guilty of same offence, hence a pot can not call a kettle black. If corruption is eliminated the ease of doing business will start to work, monies allocated for projects will be spent on the project. In this wise, all recovered fund should be spent on new development projects that have values for the people, because the stolen but recovered funds were laundered out of projects that were not executed.
The alleged payment of allowances to Sen. Joshua Dariye, who is currently serving a jail term by the management of the National Assembly has been generating furor, what’s your view on it?
Payment of Salaries to Dariye who is in prison is not the prerogative of Saraki but that of Management of the National Assembly. All that Saraki can do now is to stop the payments and give instruction to reverse the payments already credited into Dariyes Account. There will be avalanche of such hidden staggering payment in the account of legislators which have not been exposed. Such money was reported to be paid into the account of Saraki months after he left office in Kwara State as Governor.
He did not give instruction for the money to be paid to him but this has been the mode of syphoning money from the Government Accounts. There are other such fraudulent payments elsewhere which are yet to be detected and externalised. The Federal Government should set up a Panel of Auditors to carry investigations into the salary payment of governors and legislators with the view to unearth months that the salaries and emoluments of past governors was not stopped, and if found to have continued, what amount is involved? It will surprise everybody the huge amount that have been stolen from the public accounts.
