The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, is marking his birthday, what is your assessment of his tenure and performance in office?
Dogara is a man of honour, integrity; he is a man with incredible ingenuity, detribalised Nigerian. He has done well, he has performed creditably more than expectation, his humility is unsurpassed. He has the acumen and relates with every member of the House with a cord of unity. He is honestly worthy of that position and this is why we are celebrating him because he is a round peg in a round hole. He’s an asset to the nation and he still has a lot to offer this country God willing.
You are representing your people in the House, with all modesty, how would you rate yourself in terms of performance?
My assessment can best be done by the people in my constituency. But my conscience tells me that I have done well. I have affected the lives of my people in so many ways, I have empowered the indigents, the youth, the women, and I have brought developmental projects, numerous projects to my constituency. I have done so many things to affect the lives of the people. It is now left to my people to do their assessments. I am very close to them, I do go home every one or two weeks, I am always at home with my people.
Would you say then that your achievements is an impetus to seek higher offices?
I am a politician, only God knows tomorrow, but I have the intention of going further.
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State is a man who welcomes controversies. Going towards the end of his tenure, would you say his popularity has waned?
First, let me correct this impression, Governor Ayodele Fayose is not controversial, he is the voice of the masses, the voice of the poor. He is the one fighting for the welfare and upliftment of the common man in Nigeria. He is not controversial; he is only playing his role as the leader of the opposition in Nigeria. He is not giving destructive criticism; all his criticisms are constructive, just to put the current government on their toes to perform better. I think he has done well, and his credibility is soaring. He is a man of honour, a man whose popularity traverses the length and breadth of Nigeria. He is known for being honest. A man who does not dillydally, he doesn’t renege on his promises; he doesn’t waver to say the truth no matter whose ox is gored. He is indeed a man of honour and that is the type of man Nigeria needed at this crucial time to salvage Nigeria.
Would you say the choice of his successor is welcome?
He is the one to be succeeded, he knows the best person to succeed him, and he cannot pick his enemy to succeed him, everybody in life looks for the best. And besides that he said he sought the face of the Lord, so what else do you want? The man he has chosen is a man of honour and integrity; he is a man without any blemish. A gentleman to the core and a straight forward person. He has made a very good choice and by the grace of God, we are winning the election.
What about the pockets of division within the party in the state, and especially those who have fallen out with him?
There are always dissenting voices anywhere, and mind you, this is politics. You cannot satisfy everybody, if you have at least 80 per cent, you are okay. He has not offended anybody; it is only some people who have decided to be his enemy for no reason, for helping them and doing well for them. No matter how well you do, they will always pay back with evil; you cannot take some people from such behaviour.
They are known to re-compensate evil with good. The honourable members are intact; they are 100 per cent with him. Look at the developmental projects he is doing in Ekiti State, who could have imagined that one of the longest bridges would come out in Ekiti State with the meagre resources that accrues to us every month? And again, the Oja Oba market, the Ikere road dualisation and electrification of Ikere to Ado road, among many others that I could not mention here.
What would you say of the standard of living of Nigerians at the moment?
You live in Nigeria as well; the parameter to judge that is to ask if your life is better now than it was three years ago. Things are no more the same in Nigeria. The ruling party has really affected this country by bringing negative changes to the country. To eat three square meals has been difficult, prices of goods are skyrocketing, and they have gone beyond the reach of the common man in Nigeria. The common man cannot afford the luxury of three square meals.
What we have been witnessing are increases in pump price, increase in electricity tariff, and the multiplying effects of these are so numerous. The environment is so harsh for anyone to thrive now. You can imagine the jobs that are lost, signs of anxiety, manufacturing companies are winding down, and most of them have gone into comatose, leaving millions of Nigerians jobless. Where is the hope of the common man in Nigeria, what is the hope of Nigerian youth? But thank God, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has found its feet now, with the stabilisation of the party and the new chairman, God willing, we shall take back power so as to restore parity, to restore prosperity to Nigeria.
As the chairman, House Committee on Youth Development, what would you say you have achieved so far?
I have achieved a lot, looking at the plight of youths in Nigeria; you will agree with me that the youths are no more enjoying the country, there are no jobs. And what the devil does is to find job for an idle man, because an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. That is why we have high rate of militancy, insurgency, migration, prostitution, kidnapping and other vices. You will recall what happened recently, when 26 Nigerians drown in the Mediterranean Sea, thousands have drowned in the sea, seeking for greener pastures because the environment is too harsh for them.
There is nothing for the youths to thrive on; because of this, a bill was sponsored which we are looking into, that will look into the welfare of the youth, that is National Youth Commission and Youth Welfare Fund. We have done public hearing on it; we are working on it, coming for second reading in the House. If these bills scale through, definitely it will cater for a lot of things, it will ameliorate the sufferings of the youth in Nigeria. We are working assiduously to ensure that the budget for youth empowerment is improved.
What is your message to Nigerians at this yuletide period?
My message is that they should take life easy, they should be more tolerant, and they should endure. Very soon things will get better, Nigeria will be great again.
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