Politics

Most presidential candidates don’t have clear-cut manifesto —Sani

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3 years ago

The former National Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Elder Anthony Sani, in this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, bares his mind on the political situation in the country, insecurity, 2023 general election and other topical issues.

Various uncertainties, controversies still trail the emergence of presidential candidates of various parties. What does this portend ahead of the general elections?

I don’t see why a nation should be at crossroads going for an election. There is no uncertainty or confusion anywhere. The time for election is to enable us to make choices and to right the wrong if the need be. Normally, political parties present distinct ways of solving a problem but when it comes to addressing the problems affecting the whole country, there’s no consensus on how to solve a problem and that is why political parties use different approaches to solving a problem. The election is a season the electorates will select the party and the candidate they want, I don’t see any confusion. Normally, a campaign differs from one political party to another; there is no unified method. As far as I am concerned now, there is no confusion; we are waiting for them at the polls.

What is your take on the fact that Nigerians are presently witnessing altercations among the leading presidential candidates rather than issue-based campaigns?

We have been talking more about the politics of identity. Zoning is a politics of identity, not issue-driven politics. They are attacking themselves because they don’t have a clear-cut manifesto to sell to the people. They are vying for a very sensitive position but we are yet to see a commitment from them. They are supposed to tell us how they are going to address the issues on the ground. We have brought in politics of identity to supplant politics of issues, Nigerians should expect this. I just pray that one day the youths of this country will be able to galvanise themselves to ensure that their votes count to address all these political anomalies. Presently, we don’t know where the presidential candidates stand on national issues. Nigerians should not expect much from these politicians. If you remember during the primary, they were buying delegates and no one complained. Anyone that bought delegates will surely buy votes. We are supposed to condemn this. I think the only way out is to vote out these corrupt politicians during the proper election.

Religion has been uplifted as a strategy for winning elections, what does this imply ahead of the 2023 election?

There has been mistrust in the past few years among Nigerians as a result of several factors. There has been cleavage in Nigeria along religious, ethnic and regional lines and unfortunately, our politicians don’t see anything bad about this and they are playing up the sentiment to promote their politics. A desperate politician can use whatever is at his disposal not minding the consequences. That is why I said early that we are yet to see what these presidential candidates have in store to salvage the country. Presently, their campaigns are not issue-driven. What I am trying to say is that the quality of our leaders should not be based on mundane things. But, we are now talking of rotation or politics of identity, quite a lot of people are disadvantaged. They don’t have access to national resources. There are different forms of agitations. I just hope the youth will understand the situation and take steps to change the mindset and everything as far as politics is concerned in this country. Until parties are tailored towards nation-building, the hiccups will continue. There must be a change of heart and approach to politics.

Insecurity is ravaging the country on all fronts. Banditry and kidnapping pervade every nook and cranny of the country. Also, the bandits have threatened to kidnap Mr President and Governor of Kaduna State.

There is nothing that cannot happen in a situation like this. The insecurity at the moment is so tense that moving from one part of the country to another has become a nightmare. We have not been able to address the situation squarely and the situation is getting worse by the day. What the bandits are trying to do is to instill fear. If we fear, they would have conquered the nation. Mr President started well in 2015 but probably got derailed along the line or overwhelmed. The ability to fight insurgency is no longer there. At the inception, they were a little bit serious but the tempo has since gone down. Though they are presently making efforts to reverse the trend but the insurgents seem to be waxing stronger by the day based on the atrocities they are carrying out. But, I believe he can still reverse the situation. The bandits are behaving this way because they are thinking that they are having the upper hand. The issue at the moment is getting worse by the day but the federal government can reverse the trend by recruiting more capable hands, purchasing weapons and sophisticated equipment to prosecute the war against these undesirable elements threatening the smooth running of government. We cannot continue like this. There must be serious commitment to halt this ugly trend. The insecurity at the moment is so tense that moving from one part of the country to another has become a nightmare. The situation can still be salvaged if there is a commitment on the part of the government. They can employ more men, and motivate them to take the war to the forest. Another underlying factor of the insecurity is the state of the economy, though this will take more time to address. The rate of unemployment among the youths is very high and disturbing; the number of employment generated in the past seven years is not commensurate with the unemployment rate out there. As unemployment continued to soar high, insecurity will continue to spread because an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. If it means the federal government stopping some projects to tackle this insecurity, so be it. The situation needs urgent attention otherwise these elements can further make things worse for this country. This is high time to prioritise insecurity because without addressing the issue whatever the government is doing will be a futile exercise in the long run and end up in frustration.

There is the view that if the insecurity in the country continues unabated, the 2023 general election may not hold.

The earlier we address insecurity, the better. They should take the fight to them in the forest so that it doesn’t become an issue during the election. If the government doesn’t do it, it becomes a campaign issue. To be candid with you, the current insecurity in the country can be a serious challenge and threat to the 2023 election.

As part of the measures to fight insecurity, the federal government is contemplating banning the use of motorcycles and tricycles across the country. Do you think this is a means to address insecurity?

I am not a security expert; but, maybe this is part of the military strategy to fight insurgency. They probably are thinking the insurgents are using those means of transportation to facilitate their evil operation. Anyway, they know best.

In the midst of all these, what is the way forward?

As far as I am concerned we would have problems in 2023 if we did not address these security challenges. Last year, many people were killed on independence day in America. That means that every country has its challenges. When Mary was rubbing expensive oil on Jesus, his disciples said the oil was supposed to have been sold to feed the poor. Jesus Christ said the poor will always be with you. The implication is that challenges will always be there. As you are solving one, another one will surface. We cannot say because Nigeria has challenges, therefore there’s no future. We should be do cross analysis from one country and another. Most of this insecurity transcend national boundary; look at West Africa and other countries. People should stop looking at Nigeria’s situation as if it is a hopeless situation, we should be thinking of how to address the situation. The country is not going to collapse for the mere fact that we have challenges. We should do the right thing and remain hopeful.

Money politics and vote buying are gradually becoming a norm in our body politics. How can this be eradicated?

It is Nigerians that can make desperate politicians stop this. A situation where we allowed people to buy delegates is not good for our democracy. Anybody who emerged as a candidate by buying the delegates would buy a vote to win the election. It is the electorates that can stop this but if we continue to be complicit, we would continue to bear the consequences. The solution also lies with our youths, they can fight this menace to the barest minimum if they so wish. There is a proverb which says any tree that refuses to dance, the wind will force such tree to dance by force. We are suffering now because we are fraternising with corrupt people. By the time we say enough is enough, it will stop. We are complicit; they gave money to ordinary people like you and me who are delegates and they have their way. They will continue to have their way if there is no commitment on the part of the youths, in particular, to address this and salvage the situation.

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The PDP spokesman recalled how the opposition party had on various occasions alerted that the APC government had ceded sovereignty over a large portion of our country to terrorists, “many of whom were imported into our country by the APC.”

He further stated: “From the video, in a brazen manner, terrorists as non-state actors boldly showed their faces, boasting, admitting and confirming their participation in the Kuje Prison break, some of whom were former prison inmates who were either jailed or awaiting trial for their previous terrorism act against our country.

“Nigerians can equally recall the confession by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai that the APC government knows the plans and whereabouts of the terrorists but failed to act.

According to Ologunagba, about 18,000 Nigerians have been killed by terrorists between 2020 and 2022 “as the criminals continue to be emboldened by the failures and obvious complicity of the APC and to which the PDP had always drawn attention.”

“This is not politics; this is about humanity and leadership, which leadership sadly and unfortunately is missing in our country at this time,” he said.

The PDP added that it is appalled by “the lame response by the apparently helpless, clueless and deflated Buhari Presidency, wherein it told an agonizing nation that President Buhari “has done all and even more than what was expected of him as Commander in Chief by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military…”

“This is a direct admission of incapacity and failure by the Buhari Presidency and the APC. At such a time, in other climes, the President directly leads the charge and takes drastic measures to rescue and protect his citizens.

“In time of adversity, the President transmutes into Consoler-in-Chief to give hope and succour to the citizens. Painfully, Nigeria does not have a President who cares and can stand as Consoler-in-Chief to the citizens.

“It has now become very imperative for Nigerians to take note and realize that the only solution to this unfortunate situation is to hold the APC government accountable. We must come together as a people, irrespective of our political, ethnic and religious affiliations to resist the fascist-leaning tendencies of the APC administration.

Ologunagba called for an urgent meeting of the National Council of State to advise on the way to go over the nation’s worsening insecurity.

“Our nation must not fall. The resilient Nigerian spirit and ‘can-do- attitude’ must be rekindled by all to prevail on the President to immediately and without further delay, accede to the demand by the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians to convene a special session of the National Council of State to find a lasting solution since the President has, in his own admission, come to his wit’s end,” the PDP spokesman declared.

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