Nigerian elite responsible for electing wrong leaders into offices —ADP chieftain

Mr Nasir Adewale Bolaji is the chairman, Lagos State chapter of Action Democratic Party (ADP), he speaks on a number of issues, in this interview with BOLA BADMUS. Excerpts:

 

The ADP is new in the polity, what do you think must have been responsible for its formation as we have so many registered parties in the country already?

Before the registration of ADP by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a political party there had been about 40 political parties in Nigeria. PDP occupied the central government for 16 good years with little or no progress for the country. The economy deteriorated. Unemployment and insecurity was the order of the day which necessitated the agitation for a change.

Nigerians were hopeful at the emergence of APC at the centre only for our hopes to be dashed and battered beyond comprehension. Nigerians, therefore, became disenchanted with the polity hence the need and necessity for action. The PDP and the APC can no longer be trusted with the future of the country. Chinua Achebe ‘s “Things fall Apart” is being played out on a national scale as the centre could no longer hold, hence the birth of ADP. ADP is, therefore, a child of necessity.

 

What role should opposition parties be playing in the country that they have failed to play and would you say that the ruling party has a role to play in the failure of opposition to stand the challenges?

Political opposition does not connote the destruction of the polity. Opposition should be objective and not subjective. The duty of both the ruling party and opposition is to channel their collective efforts towards building a better Nigeria. The “pull him down” syndrome should be eschewed and that the ADP will work towards to build an all inclusive government.  No victor, no vanquished situation. Hitherto, it had been winner takes all scenario but this has to change in order to douse the usually tense and super-charged political atmosphere.

 

The APC government has been in power for over two years now, can you assess its performances based on the promises it made to Nigerians?

Arithmetically, I would rate APC below zero. APC coming to power is a curse on Nigeria and that curse must be exorcised. Price of a litre of petrol was below N100.00, it shot up to N145.00 per litre. Prices of staple foods had gone higher and continue to rise. Cost of living has skyrocketed which has translated into increase in crime rate and untimely deaths. Average Nigerians cannot afford to visit the hospitals when they fall ill. I can go on and on but then these facts are not hidden to all Nigerians, young and old.

APC is not a political party in the real sense. It is just an association of strange bed fellows who are power hungry with no plan. They were destined to fail ab initio but Nigerians got carried away and deceived by the “change” slogan.

 

The president has been out of the country for almost the number of days that the constitution stipulates for action to be considered, now there are calls whether to remove him or not and swears in the Acting President, what is your take?

I have always said it that Nigeria’s problem is not the constitution, but the people whose responsibility it is to uphold it. Before the colonialists occupied Nigeria, the different communities had no written constitutions. We had norms, customs and traditions which were referred to as native laws or customary laws. The unwritten laws of our customs and traditions were respected and obeyed and there was peace in the land. Our problem has been our orientation and attitude. Why should a president who had been out of circulation for six months not throw in the towel? A patriotic senate should know what to do, but then this is APC senate where members pursue personal agenda rather than the people’s agenda. Whether the present senate removes the president or not, ADP shall come 2019 polls.

 

It is the dream of ADP to win the 2019 poll and produce the next president, but now the PDP is back with its crisis resolved, has that dream not been truncated?  

PDP has never been our problem. ADP did not seek registration as a political party because PDP was in disarray. Nigerians are tired of PDP and they are fed up with APC. PDP is a sunk boat while APC is getting set for the mother of all implosions. ADP is the party to take Nigeria out of this abyss that we find ourselves and Almighty God will save Nigeria through this party ADP. We shall occupy Aso Rock come 2019. We shall make Nigeria happy again. We shall bring peace and tranquillity. We shall remove impunity from our polity and we shall make Nigerians love Nigeria.

 

There is agitation all over now for restructuring of the country, is the call justified or just about the fact that some politicians were trying to position themselves for 2019?

What is restructuring? How do they restructure? Nigerians love ‘grammar’ and at the same time we love miracles. The word “Restructuring” seems like ‘Abracadabra’ as if that word will perform the miracle. Why do we have National Assembly, Senate and the House of Representatives? These are representatives of the people and if the people trust them with their lives, they should allow the National Assembly to restructure for them through constitutional amendments. My advice to Nigerians is to elect credible people into these two houses and they will restructure to remove poverty and hunger in the land. They will restructure to bring peace, employment and security.