Political leaders and politicians in the country have been advised to stop talking about the 2027 general elections and a second term for President Bola Tinubu but rather focus on how to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
Giving the advice in an interview with TUNDE THOMAS, a former deputy governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu said debates and talks about a second term for President Tinubu have become a serious distraction to governance.
She also spoke on other national issues.
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How would you assess 25 years of democracy in Nigeria? While some Nigerians are saying that this is not what Nigerians are expecting, others are saying that we are making progress. What’s your take on that?
My comment is that a bunch of wicked people have been ruling Nigerians. Wicked set of people who do not know God and who do not fear God. Despite the blessedness of Nigeria as a land, they’ve deprived the people that God put on that land the benefits of the grace of God. These wicked set of people have not allowed Nigerians to enjoy the dividends of democracy. These leaders are self-serving. Very selfish, and they have been busy serving their own personal interests rather than the interests of Nigerians who elected them into office. God has blessed us with everything – the weather, the minerals, everything that can make us to prosper as a nation but we have been very unfortunate to have as leaders very greedy set of people. Those we call leaders are people who do not love the people. They don’t know God. They are self- centred. They don’t fear God. They are self-serving leaders. Nigerians don’t deserve the kind of treatment they are getting from these people we call leaders. We have deficiency in good leadership, and that’s why sadly the nation has not been able to witness rapid socio-economic development. It is unfortunate that Nigeria has not been lucky to have committed and patriotic leaders since 26 years ago when we returned to democracy.
It takes two major items to make a nation great, and that is education, and general well being of the citizens but our leaders ensured that they denied the citizens these two so as to keep people in perpetual slavery. If they had put enough funds into the education sector to boost the literacy level, the country would have witnessed rapid socio-economic transformation. I’m not talking about setting up universities and all that. The basic thing for them to have done is to ensure that everybody is educated. But they won’t do it because they don’t want the people to be enlightened. They don’t want Nigerians to know their rights. They don’t want people to be enlightened so that they won’t challenge or confront them when they are being oppressed. What these leaders want to give people is nothing but hand-outs that will keep them in perpetual servitude to them. Then when election time comes, they will give people miserable sums of money to buy their votes.
They set up the National Orientation Agency (NOA), but NOA is not doing anything. They are not orienting anybody. In those days, Civic Studies was being taught in schools to enable Nigerians to know what is right from what is wrong. But they later stopped it in schools. They stopped teaching it. They also stopped teaching History. Yet, these are courses that will enable Nigerians not only to know their rights but also open their eyes to any form of misrule.
Our leaders only want those who can see their black and call it white to be closer to them. These are the type of people they want to surround themselves with..They don’t want those that are progressively minded to be closer to them because they will expose their corrupt practices and inefficiencies.
When former President Olusegun Obasanjo was there, we thought he was going to turn things around for the nation but he didn’t live up to expectation. Sycophancy was one of his undoing. Everybody started praising him. They now turned him into what he is not. This eventually had a negative impact on his administration. Same thing also happened to those who succeeded him. These sycophants turn our leaders into what they are not. They derailed them. The same thing is happening to our present leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. These sycophants are almost equating him to God. But he should be very careful so as not to fall for the antics of these unpatriotic elements. Democracy since 1999 has become a burden on Nigerians.
In what way?
It has become a very big burden. For democracy to be real, and be really real, it must be the government of the people, by the people, and also for the people. But this is not the case with us in Nigeria. It is only a few powerful elements that are lording it over the people, with the generality of Nigerians having little or no say at all in how the affairs of the country are being run. It is now the other way round. They are now using democracy to oppress the people. The democracy we are even running now is almost being turned into a dictatorship because in Nigeria now, we have a military man in one of the states running its affairs as a Sole Administrator. Our leaders are not using the nation’s resources to cater for the people. Instead, they are not only oppressing the people but also enriching themselves with the nation’s resources. And they are also oppressing the people. Some will say, unless you practise my religion, you cannot benefit from me or even from the government.
Some might say that Nigerians are too docile. That they should have resisted bad leadership, but Nigerians are naturally fun-loving and easy-going people. They are not confrontational or too difficult. What they want is good leadership, but which unfortunately is being denied them. This is why they say some people have a nostalgic feeling about the past military rule. They have seen all the rot in this democracy. They are worried that there are no longer checks and balances in the system. It’s like everybody is now grabbing whatever they can grab, and nothing is happening. People are looting, and nothing is happening to them. When you loot, you will still be accommodated. Loot and loot. You’ll still be accommodated. So, where are we going?
Some notable politicians like Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir el-Rufai and others have formed a coalition on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to challenge President Tinubu’s APC in 2027. What’s your take on that?
They are forming a coalition in order to challenge bad leadership and poor performance by the present government. Is that what they are claiming? But what are their own antecedents? I mean the antecedents of those behind the coalition. We’ve not got the kind of people who will change the country coming together. That is why I’m just looking at them. Did they perform better when they were in office? Were they not part of those who looted the nation’s treasury? No, let’s face it. These are not the kind of people that can bring the desired change to the country.
Nigerians should not put their hope in these people that formed this coalition. They are part of the nation’s problems. They are part of those who put Nigeria in this unfortunate situation. Their decision to form a coalition is not to protect the interests of Nigerians but rather their own interests. Nigerians should be wary of them. With these people, there’s no hope for Nigerians. They are even strange bedfellows coming together. I don’t see anything good coming out of their coalition.
I don’t know how to call black white. I remember the late MKO was telling some people that if you want to hear the truth without mincing words about anything, ask Mrs Ojikutu. I say things the way I see them. I don’t lie. I say nothing but the truth. When Abiola was coming out to run for the Presidency in 1993, I think I was among the few people who did not take advantage of his generosity to collect money from him.
I told him the truth that they would not allow him to become the president of Nigeria. I was Deputy Governor of Lagos State then. I told him straight to his face. Egbon mi, I don’t see you on this seat. From everything I’m hearing, from the circles I’m moving in as deputy governor, from what they are saying behind you. They won’t allow you. They won’t allow you and among these are some people who are close to you, your friends. I will not name them Egbon mi. He said, forget it. They are for me. You know, you will see, they are for me. But eventually he was betrayed. After the election was annulled, he saw me and he just grabbed me and hugged me. He said, you are more or less the only person who told me the truth.
Why don’t you tell the truth and let the devil be ashamed? Which one will satisfy your heart and the heart of your Maker, saying the truth or telling lies in order to please some people? I will always tell the truth. I don’t see anything good for Nigerians in this coalition because people that formed the coalition are part of Nigeria’s problems.
What’s your reaction to the waves of defections into the APC?
It is obvious that most of those defecting to APC are doing so to protect their interests. Many of them have skeletons in their cupboards. They have one or two things to hide. These are politicians that are not principled. You find them in all these parties, and that’s why I’m an advocate of independent candidacy.
The National Assembly should make laws to allow independent candidates to run for elections. We should have constitutional amendments that will allow independent candidates to stand for elections. Until the National Assembly can be bold enough to approve independent candidates, we won’t see the desired changes in our polity. It is when we allow independent candidates that Nigerians can then truly have real choice in voting for or electing candidates of their choice. People who do not need any party structure should be allowed to contest. Whoever the people want will be voted for and they will also stand by their votes. But these political parties, APC, PDP and others will not want it. Why? They will resist it because they want somebody they want to control. So we have to do electoral reform to embrace independent candidates. Not only that, some people are also suggesting as part of that reform also, we should have a single tenure of six years or seven years for president, governors and other elected public office holders instead of the present two terms of four years each. Single tenure too is good. Do you understand me? Single tenure is good. But the best thing for us is to embrace independent candidates. Independent candidates will floor many political party candidates. We should give it a try.
How would you assess the present National Assembly?
The National Assembly has not been inspiring. The National Assembly that we have today, they are too pliant. Our lawmakers are more or less becoming a rubber stamp. There are no more checks and balances. The National Assembly is supposed to check on the executive. But they are no longer doing that. Whatever the executive brings now, they just rubber stamp, and this has defeated the purpose of having a second arm of government. It has also defeated the purpose of having the legislative arm of government.
I’m not saying that they should be antagonistic but at the same time they should be able to scrutinise whatever the executive brings before them thoroughly, and not just rubber stamp whatever the executive brings to them. Anything they drop on them now, they just rubber stamp it. They have defeated the whole purpose of having the legislative body.
Insecurity has become a serious source of national concern. What is the way out?
Insecurity has been lingering because the government is not doing what the government is supposed to do. They should ensure that they deploy modern technology to combat insurgency. These terrorists should be tackled. They should be subdued. Enough is enough. Too much blood has been shed and is still being shed. Innocent Nigerians are being killed. The federal government should rise up to the occasion. We know that insurgency didn’t start with this government, but this should not be an excuse not to tackle it. Everything should be done to tackle the problem. Nigerians in every part of the country should be secured.
As for other crimes like kidnapping and banditry, the federal government should quickly do the needful to address the issue of ravaging poverty, and unemployment because when people are angry and their means of survival is not there, it will result in self-help. The federal government should address the issue of unemployment among the teeming youths. As the saying goes, an idle hand is the devil’s workshop, they should create more jobs. Although unemployment is not an excuse to go into crime, the federal government should quickly address the issue because the issue of unemployment has become a serious source of concern. Poverty and unemployment should be addressed.
The issue of police welfare also deserve attention. How much are they paying the police? I think the only people, maybe, that have been taken care of properly are the military – maybe because they don’t want those ones to turn the guns on them. But the police have not been well remunerated. Their welfare should be accorded attention. Some of them don’t even have accommodation, they don’t have where they are staying in the barracks. They are living outside the barracks, living among people who will compromise them. The police that are supposed to provide security are overwhelmed. They are not well paid. They are not well motivated. The federal government should improve police welfare.
What’s your assessment of the mid-term performance of the Tinubu administration?
Mid-term performance? The administration recently celebrated two years in office, and they have two years remaining, but honestly speaking, I have not seen anything that calls for celebration. Well, some people are praising the administration. You know, I believe you have to see what you have to praise. What you are celebrating has to be visible but I have not seen anything tangible that they have done that calls for celebration. To me, maybe I’m not seeing what those in the administration and their supporters are seeing, but sincerely speaking, there is nothing that calls for celebration yet. I’m not saying that the administration has not achieved anything but what I’m saying is that enough has not been done to warrant any form of celebration. Maybe I need extra sensory powers to perceive or see tangible things this administration has achieved. .
A top official of the government recently was quoted as saying that food prices have come down, whereas contrary is that claim. That claim is very untrue. Millions of Nigerians know that they have to pay through their nose to buy rice, palm oil, garri and other foodstuff. Prices of everything have skyrocketed. And yet that official has the guts to go public and declare that prices have gone down. That official should take us to where we can buy things cheap since he claims that prices of foodstuffs are now cheaper. What we have on display now by this official and others in his shoes is nothing but propaganda. You have propaganda all over the place. So that’s why I said maybe I need extra sensory power to feel or to see those achievements recorded by this administration in the last two years.
Now, everything seems to be at a standstill. They are now busy talking about 2027. Is it not too early? That’s what people are saying. They are already looking for a second term when the first term is just midway. When Baba Obasanjo was elected into office and had just started working, the next thing was that as soon as he got into second year of his administration, these political jobbers and clowns started talking about a second term for Baba. Then somebody came to interview me, and I said, why are we talking about the second term when Baba Obasanjo has just started? For saying that, I became an object of attack and persecution. I was attacked for saying the truth. I was almost declared a persona non grata for daring to say the truth to those in authority.
Corruption is a big problem in this country. These corrupt officials will budget for roads that will never be constructed. The money budgeted will be pocketed by some individuals but when some of us now have the courage to speak out against such evil, they will now attack and persecute us. People talking about second term for Tinubu should allow the man to work. It is too early to be talking about second term for him. It is shameful that the nation’s political space is now suffused with debates and propaganda on 2027.
I told somebody, I said please analyse what you have seen so far that is worth being celebrated so that we can be on the same page. He started rambling. In my heart, I don’t hate people. I don’t hate anybody. God has not given me a nature to hate. It’s not in my character to hate people. I will always say the truth and nothing will stop me from doing so. Millions of our youths are unemployed. There are many that have finished their one year mandatory national service but are still roaming the streets looking for jobs.
I have no animosity towards anybody. My own concern is that those who we elected must serve us. They must perform. They must not be self -centred. Leadership is about service to the people. This they must always have at the back of their minds. The president struggled to get there. Now that he has got there, he must perform. No excuses. I want him to have the fear of God. He should not be self-centred. He must look beyond the people he has surrounded himself with and get genuine patriots to work with him so that he can deliver on his mandate. But he must know God. If he doesn’t know God and fear God, God cannot bless the work of His hand.
I want the President, and our other leaders to succeed because I have no other place to call home. You know I wanted to leave Nigeria before. Then everybody got up and said, where are you going? They told me, look at your age and so on. I have no other place to call home except Nigeria. And I would love to see it thrive. Nigeria is a land that God has blessed so much. No hurricane, no tornado, no flooding, no natural disaster. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. Gold, uranium, everything is there in our land. We are only talking about oil because that is the one we are using. What of the gold? What of all the other minerals? Solid minerals. Nigeria is a blessed nation. What we need is a dynamic leadership that will transform the country into a great nation.
The post It’s too early to be talking of second term for Tinubu – Sinatu Ojikutu, Lagos ex-deputy gov appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.
