A FORMER national publicity secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr Anthony Sani speaks in the issue of military option being considered by ECOWAS-member countries against the coup plotters in Niger Republic, pains arising from petrol subsidy removal, among other issues.
What’s your overall assessment of the process that threw up the new ministers?
The process which threw up the new ministers is contained in the kaa constitution, to wit, that Mr President would work with a cabinet of at least one minister per state. The president is to nominate the persons he considers deserving to be minister and submit to the Senate which is expected to screen and pass those deserving of the clearance. I believe President Bola Tinubu has been able to abide by the constitution in his choice of persons to be ministers. What seems disagreeable for some people are reports that many of the ministers have cases with anti-graft agency. Also, some of the ministers are those rejected by voters in the last elections. The upshot is the fact that the fight against corruption is being called to question. It also makes nonsense about the feelings of voters, who did not vote them during the elections. That is to say,the feelings of the voters do not appear to matter.
I also do not like the way former Governor Nasir El-Rufai was unduly mortified. Here was a situation where the former governor had said publicly that he was done with public service. It was Mr President, who persuaded him to change his mind only for the Senate to embarrass him. I am not a fan of former governor precisely because he is a grim man who loves duty more than humanity. I feel so may be because I am a man who lives with physical disability and generally regarded as a humanist. Yet I have defended the former governor on several occasions because of my belief that former Governor El-Rufai is often misrepresented. I still think the former governor has not been treated by the Senate fairly. More so that both the executive arm of the government and the Senate are controlled by the ruling party in which the former governor has been a seminal figure who has played some prominent roles in the party.
Now that a cabinet is in place, what are your expectations in the light of harsh realities in the country.
Now that the cabinet has been formed, the government should live up its electoral mandate for which the party was voted into power to desire possible and then actual. Therefore, the government should continue from where the predecessor left in the hope of leaving the country better than how the government met it. The challenges of insecurity, corruption and economy are still very much with us. The last government did its best but was unable to make the desired result come to pass. That is to say, the immediate past government did its best but was unable to put an end to insecurity, corruption and diversify the economy to the desired level. President Tinubu should do his best in making sure that there is enough number of trained security personnel who are well-equipped and motivated to protect the nation. Both the preventive and punitive measures in the fight against corruption should be improved in volume and quality. The judiciary should help by not putting too much premium on technical justice at the expense of substantive justice that are derived from natural justice. It is technical justice which makes people to liken the judgment by courts to a spider web which catches small flies and let go the big ones, hence the loss of confidence on the courts by some people. The government should think through the management of the aftermath of the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of the naira for performance. A situation where equal amount of N5bn is given to each state for palliative reeks of injustice. This is because injustice is not only when equal are treated unequally but also when unequals are treated equally. How far can five trucks of rice to each state go? That explains why ACF has described the whole shebang as shambolic and unscientific. CBN should be working on how best to manage the cash after December 31,2023, when the use of both old and new currencies as legal tender will expire. It should not wait for January 1, 2023, before it starts working on replacement.
On the economic front, I expect the government to ramp up efforts in diversification of the economy away from oil wealth which is not a result of hard work, more so that climate change is forcing the world to look for alternative to the use of fossil energy. Efforts on improving agriculture should be sustained over and above the level attained by last government. Nigerians should support the government and understand the fact that revamping the economy is not matter of on and off like a television. It requires consciously directed efforts by both government and the citizen to make desires possible and then actual. Adversity, they say, is cathartic and constructive as well. The situation is not beyond redemption, given purposeful leadership determined to make desires results come to pass. The constitution has said each state must be represented in the government by at least a minister for the purpose of inclusivity. No state in South-East has been denied a minister. The South-East also has a service chief which it did not have in the immediate past government, which means the zone has improved by representation in the cabinet. I therefore do not see how the outcry of marginalization by South-East is justified, more so when the zone uses “further” to describe its concerns.
How far do you think the other palliative measures offered state by the Federal Government could go in addressing the excruciating anguish and discomfort Nigerians are going through for more than two months following the petrol subsidy removal, coupled with floating of naira and other economic policies of the Tinubu administration?
Some of us opposed removal of fuel subsidy in the past because we believed the economy could afford it. But now that production quota and price of crude oil are half of what used to obtain in 2012, it has become clear that subsidy can no longer be sustained. As a result, there is no alternative to removal of oil subsidy. I am pretty sure if there was money or alternative there would be no need for the removal of the subsidy. I do not see the economics in using N500 billion for palliative at N8,000 per person, per month, and for only 12 million Nigerians out of 216 million, for only six months.
I do not see the wisdom and justice in giving every state N5 billion and five trucks of rice. Apart from the fact that it cannot address the challenges posed by removal of the subsidy,it reeks of injustice precisely because it is also injustice when unequals are treated equally. Left to me,the government should pay the removed subsidy into a Trust fund for exclusive use to improve the quality and volume of education and health. That way,the hardship and sacrifices would be worth it as people’s contribution to the development of human capital that will put Nigerians on even keel needed for fair competition.
What do you think needs to be done quickly to arrest the spate of killings by bandits, insurgents and so on in the last few weeks despite a change of guard at the federal level?
I am not sure the insecurity has increased in the last few weeks as alleged. I wish the media would engage in both trend and cross analysis for realistic appreciation. Anyway, I am sanguine that there would be paradigm shift not because of change of guard in the security architecture but because President Bola Tinubu has said the current number of trained, equipped and motivated security personnel are inadequate. He has promised to take a hard look at the situation for corrective purpose and performance. I have no reason to doubt Mr President.
As regards, who heads the ministry of defence, I wish to say there is nothing wrong in having a non security personnel at the helms of Ministry of Defense. The world has experienced doctor heading World Bank and lawyer heading IMF. This is because a leader is one who impels progress by multiplying his strength through others. Motivation is his instrument while social skill is the requirement.
What does the current no retreat, no surrender stance of both ECOWAS military chiefs and the leaders of the coup d’etat in Niger Republic portend for Nigeria, the West African sub-region and the entire continent and why?
Nigerian President is not ECOWAS but only the chairman. As the helmsman, President Bola Tinubu is expected to implement policies and programs of ECOWAS. That is precisely what the Nigerian President is doing. Coups are not wanted not only in West Africa and Africa but globally. This is because the military uses force to seize power which it exercises without recourse to the citizens. Nigeriens are fully aware of that because they have experienced many coups. That is also why it is often said the worst civilian government is better than the best military regime. It is against such backdrop that ECOWAS charter has no room for coup. Coup has occurred in Niger and the concern of ECOWAS is for the junta to return the country to constitutional order by handing back power to the elected president.
Some people advocate diplomacy and dialogue as the best way out. This is because war has far-reaching implications, while some others do not mind if force is used. ECOWAS has chosen to be Leo Fox, to wit, to be belligerent as a lion and as savvy as a fox. This would enable ECOWAS to negotiate from position of strength and secure the best of terms. Most Nigerians prefer the use of diplomacy as against the use of force for obvious reasons. They are right but for the wrong reasons when they say our domestic challenges would not make for the use of force. No country is without challenges. Even the developed countries do not have enough before they help other countries in need of help. Nigeria did not have enough when it helped South Africa, Liberia and Sierra Leon. Tanzania under Julius Nyerere did not have enough when he saved Ugandans from President Idi Amin. The allied forces did not have enough before they liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. I can go on. The point being made is that while diplomacy and dialogue are preferred over the use of force against the junta, ECOWAS and president Bola Tinubu should not be crucified for adopting strategy of Leo Fox.
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