Chief Lanre Razak, a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Commissioner for Transportation and member, Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), speaks on various issues of national interest, in this interview by BOLA BADMUS.
MANY are of the opinion that the relationship between President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has gone soured and that the office of the latter has been rendered irrelevant. What is your reaction to this?
The issue is very clear. The constitutional provisions for the position of the president and the vice-president of the country under the presidential system of government are very clear. And, with the way Professor Osinbajo is working- a very hard working person, committed, loyal, patriotic man- I don’t want to believe that the president will want to push him aside. I still consider what is happening in the presidency as a form of realignment or rearrangement for effective performance for the duties of the president and his vice. I don’t want to join those who are just talking without having first-hand information, either from the president or the vice-president. The president I know will not break the chain of command. He is a military man; he knows what management is all about and he knows that he needs Osinbajo, a very brilliant and experienced person, who has been performing very well and very committed to him as a leader who believes in the oneness of this great country. So, I don’t believe all what they are saying. If I have an opportunity to meet Osinbajo, I can tell him my mind if he speaks to me about the prevailing situation in the presidency. But for now, there is no crack in the presidency.
Don’t you see the signing of a bill recently by the president out of the country as part of the plot against Osinbajo ahead 2023, as being speculated?
The world is a global village; there is no where you are in the world today that you cannot operate on issues in Nigeria. The president has the right to do so, once he has not communicated to the National Assembly that he had delegated certain powers or during his absence that the vice president should take over as the acting president. The election that brought in the president gave him the mandate to rule Nigeria and I don’t see anything wrong in what he has done. While there, and because of his commitment to his country, he is still performing his duties. They can send things to him on mail, he can reply under one second. So the communication arrangement in this world is so effective; you can stay anywhere and do your job. I don’t see that as a breakdown in communication or division in the presidency.
Besides, the vice-president is not complaining that he is not having enough to perform his duty. The quantum of job available to him is energy-sapping. If you look at the man and the way he is growing grey hair, you will pity him. Osinbajo is not complaining and I don’t want to join issues with those busybodies, who don’t have serious things to think of, other than to insinuate that there is a breach of trust, loss of confidence between the president and his vice; I don’t see it in their relationship.
What is your take on the issue of border closure?
It affects all Nigerians and not as particular region because we cannot continue to use tribal or regional sentiments on issues. I am in support of the closure of the borders. Our neighbours have taken an advantage that they should not. Smuggling goods into the country denies the nation the needed revenue for the progress and development of this country. If you import your goods through our ports and pay your duties, you don’t have problems. Why is it that people import goods from Ghana or Benin Republic and move them to Lagos through land borders, which are so porous? What happens in Nigeria that we tend to condone unfavourable business transactions no other nation in the West African sub-region will tolerate it. Our people are in Ghana doing ordinary trading, you know what is happening there and that is an ECOWAS state. We need to protect the interest of Nigeria and we cannot use the cry of smugglers as a basis for taking decisions; the nation will suffer for it. I strongly believe that the border needs to be closed and those who want to import things to Nigeria should follow due process; they should do things in a way that the laws of the land permit.
You sometime ago defended the alleged presidential ambition of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu. Do you still have same view as we are approaching 2023?
The constitution allows all Nigerians to participate in politics, in a democratic process up to the highest office in this country as long as you are a citizen. I have come to a conclusion that among the presidential materials available for me for assessment as at today, Senator Tinubu is still shoulder higher than all of those who are saying that they want to be our president. Therefore, I personally appeal to Tinubu to contest because of the special gift God has given to him. This is why I am appealing to him to contest for the presidency after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari. We are all shouting that leadership is the bane of the country and if we see a leader that can do it, I think we should support such a leader. I have seen the quality, capacity, ability and energy of that person in Tinubu and I know he will make a very good president. I don’t want a situation that we just allow him to go and start saying he was the best president we never had.
What will you say to people who argue that Tinubu’s ambition and the campaign are coming too early and constitute a distraction to those in office now?
We are in a country where the law allows you to express your opinion. It is their constitutional right to talk. I don’t see Tinubu going to stay in Aso Rock, sitting by the table of the president and disturbing him with his intention to be president in 2023. We are saying, come 2023, this is a man we strongly believe can do the job. The president is a very wise and godly person. He is busy doing his job to ensure that during this second term, he used the opportunity God gave him to showcase his activities and take Nigeria to the next level. That is what he is doing and one of the actions the man takes regularly now is to visit foreign countries. He has been to Saudi Arabia to discuss the progress in Nigeria and we are making progress. He has gone to France to discuss progress of Nigeria and we are making progress. He was in Britain and while he was attending to his health, he discussed the progress in Nigeria, just as he performed his official duties, yet some people are complaining. There is no way you can satisfy some people in this country.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State will be six months old in office, what is your assessment of his administration?
Six months is a short period to assess a person on governance and, more importantly in the last five months, it has been raining daily. I know the rain will stop very soon. The problem of climatic change is affecting the entire world and Lagos is part of the world. But one thing is that those of us who are close to Sanwo-Olu know that he is busy preparing himself. This is because the general is largely about the condition of the roads are not in a good condition. I know how many phone calls I receive everyday about the state of the roads. I can tell you the governor had engaged almost 12 contractors and as soon as the rain stops, they will start working and, maybe by December, everybody will start smiling. I know the man is capable and we should not try to do things based on sentiments. We should do things based on reality and what is the reality in the last five months? Can anybody be repairing roads, given the volume of rains we recorded so far, coupled with the peculiarities of Lagos? Sanwo-Olu will pleasantly surprise you when the rain is out of the way.
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