‘Buhari should adopt Obama option in Niger Delta’

Group Captain Salaudeen Adebola Latinwo (retd) a former governor of old Kwara State, spent two years in incarceration with President Muhammadu Buhari, following the 1983 palace coup that ousted the former Head of State. A member of the second batch of the Nigerian air Force, he was part of the first set of people to be recruited into the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in 1963. In this interview with KUNLE ODEREMI, he gives an insight into the personality of Buhari, his style of leadership, challenges of his administration, militancy in the Niger Delta, among other issues. Excerpts:

WHAT would you make of the prevalent situation in the country today, as the positive changes envisaged by most Nigerians at the inception of the administration seem forlorn?

Well, there has been a considerable progress in the area of security and what I will describe as the general clean-up in the society. As you know, the Boko Haram sect has been seriously and heavily degraded. The Armed Forces, under the watch of Mr President has performed remarkably and excellently well in the fight against insurgency in the North-East of the country. What remains now is a mop-up of the affected areas and settlement of the Internally Displaced persons (IDP). This final phase of the activities requires the support of the populace. Our people need to be extremely vigilant and report to the police or the military authorities all suspected activities in good time. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance (security). The government cannot do this alone; it needs the support of the civilian population. The clean-up, or if you like, containment has proceeded with some difficulties mainly because of the legal implications.

On the fight against corruption, a reasonable amount of money siphoned from the public coffers has been recovered and where feasible the individuals and or group connected directly or indirectly have been named. However, it appears that it has been substantially difficult to arrest, prosecute and bring to justice some of the culprits already identified. Most of the amount of money involved are yet to be retrieved so far because of the legal implications and political intrigues. I commend the effort of the government in the whole exercise at restoring sanity and bringing an end to the era of impunity. However, I am worried as regards the state of the economy. Basic food items are increasingly becoming expensive. Transportation cost has tripled, while the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar and other foreign currencies has multiplied, making the cost of goods and services to skyrocket. The peace of the land is important.  So, the government must do something about this in the interest of the ordinary man. We cannot afford to compromise the unity, peace and discipline in the society.

As one of the air force officers that served as a state governor under his regime in 184/85, as well as spent two years with him in detention after the 1985 coup that toppled his administration, what kind of person is Mr President?

I have had cause at mostly informal levels, to speak and dissect his personality in the past. But let me provide a brief insight into the president again. The President I know and have worked with, is a man of his words; he is strong and courageous. He does not condone indiscipline and corrupt practices. He is always committed to whatever vision he believes in and would pursue it to a logical end once it about national interest. The president is reticent but intelligent and methodical. He does not believe in any half measure; that is why he is always determined that what is important and crucial in the life of a leader is the welfare of the citizens.  You may not share or like his style, but he would listen to you on every issue so that you can all agree on the way forward on matters that concern the country. This probably explains some of the insinuations that he ought to take another look at his cabinet in view of the prevailing situation in the land. However, it is he that wears the shoe that knows where it pinches most. You cannot solve most of the critical issues on ground today overnight, though I strongly believe in setting priorities. You have to determine those challenges that can be tackled in the immediate from those that will require a longer period of time. Some of the measures the president has introduced will require more than two years of gestation period.  The projects can only best be implemented or executed in phases, but it seems some critics are not ready to face that stark reality. So, Buhari has become a misunderstood leader, but I am convinced that time will indeed tell about his patriotic zeal and commitment to the cause of the nation and its people.

We must remain calm and show solidarity with the government as we face the trying moment. There may not be any public glory in what Mr President is doing now but somehow his name will be written in gold and known to future generations of the country.

He is risking his life for a course greater than himself knowing that the success of his mission will make Nigeria safer and bring us closer to victory over those who wish us harm. As it is now, the public are less likely to see threat emerging from the man they feel they understand and can trust because of shared value. However, I need to state that cooperation depends on trust, and trust most easily spring from common value and culture. The government should take advantage of the present condition and act positively.

The country is battling with all manner of agitations. There is the campaign for the revalidation of the defunct  Biafra, as well as restiveness by militants in the Niger Delta, just to mention two. How best should Mr President address these issues?

One fundamental approach should be that there should be marginalization of any section of the country from the scheme of things.  In other words, the Presidency should stretch its hands of fellowship and brotherhood to all and sundry. It is our collective interest to promote peace and dialogue. This is the time to end the call for Biafra by some groups or individuals. We fought a civil war because of it; the result was a tragedy; suffering and deaths. Dialogue remains the veritable option for resolving disputes.

On the Niger Delta, we must put an end to the vandalism of oil pipelines and other facilities. The negative effects are too grave to be imagined: colossal damage to ecosystem, deprivation of the means of livelihood by the people oil-bearing communities and a serious haemorrage to the foreign earnings of the country from crude export. We all are bound to be losers if it (vandalism) is allowed to continue. We must embrace and sustain genuine dialogue and reasonable conversation. Honest and sincere talks are the answers. There must be give-and-take (effective compromise) on the part of all the stakeholders; not hard bargaining chips but flexible positions, bearing in mind that the stakes are high. The house must not be allowed to go on fire.

I think Mr President should, please, sustain the spirit of true and real reconciliation with the major stakeholders in the Niger Delta. The president should pay a surprise visit to each of the regions where certain elements have demonstrated through their actions that they are not that comfortable with his leadership. Let’s not continue to play chess game with the future of the country. The arrangement has to be transparent, acceptable and reasonable. A new order must begin, be it in the East, South-South or the North-East. Everybody should sheathe their swords, lay down their arms and engage in truthful dialogue. If Mr President is for whatever reason unable to pay surprise visits to the Niger Delta, he should invite key members of the other side of the divide for an unscheduled breakfast talks at Aso Rock, where all the major stakeholders can engage in frank talks on the burning issues affecting the region and the country at large. Former United States President Barack Obama incidentally did a similar thing on a few occasions. He visited Cuba (no American president in the recent past had ever done; to stretch his hands of fellowship to the communist country). Through a similar gesture, Obama won the hearts and minds of the Iranians during the nuclear bomb negotiations without firing a gun. Thirdly, shortly after his first term inauguration, a white police officer perhaps trying to test his (Obama’s) sense of judgment, accused a Black physician, who was very close to President Obama, of trying to break in into another man’s property whereas the physician was only trying to gain entrance to his own property. The atmosphere became tense and most people were waiting to see the way Obama would react. The president reacted in a calm, peaceful and natural way, knowing fully well it was a sensitive matter and that the test of his temperament was on the line. He, Obama, invited the police officer and a few of his (police) colleagues to the White House for a drink. They (police) obliged and Mr President was able to iron out the matter amicably.

What we need today in Nigeria more than before is unity, peace, love and real discipline. We need a society where there will be justice, equity and fairness. No one should be discriminated against because of his or her tribe, religion, sex and ethnicity. The underprivileged and the elderly must be accorded recognition and respected in the society. On the whole, there must be respect for the dignity of man and the worth of his personality. The law is not only made for the poor but should also affect the wealthy in the society. If we re-orientate ourselves, search for the best and give the best to our country, we will be among the greatest nations in the universe. A society is made up of the past, present and the future, and no one should keep silent in the face of injustice, inequity, and socio-economic subjugation. Running a country is a team work; we should all team up, irrespective of party affiliation, religious creed, tribal and ethnic background, with the government of the day in order to move the country forward.

What was pushing people over edge was not just poverty or misfortune in general, it was poverty in combination with acute injustice. The visible daily contrast between ordinary people’s deprivation and the ostentatious daily of lavish wealth corruptly siphoned off by the ruling cliques from what was broad understood to be public resources. People have to be from influential families to get those jobs. Those companies and the families that run them plan on breaking the law—participating in rigged tenders, handing out kick-backers and preventing real regulations and supervision to hold.

However, the Nigerian military remains a powerful symbol especially in comparison to other institutions in the country. It is seen adding some measures of value to the community; a dark moment for the nation.