Ambassador Joseph Olusola Iji was appointed Nigeria’s Ambassador to Togo in 2017. Prior to that, he had served the Ondo State chairman of the Alliance for Democracy (AD); Action Congress (AC); Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and also as the National ex-officio of the ACN. In this interview with select journalists, he speaks on the new administration, the steps it has taken so far and the direction it is heading, among other issues. GENERAL EDITOR, TAIWO ADISA, presents the excerpts.
A lot has been said about the early days of President Tinubu. How are you reading his first steps since his inauguration?
First, let’s thank God his success in the elections. He has introduced some vigour into politics and governance of Nigeria since he was inaugurated. From day one, he hit the ground running. He has done a lot within so short a time. His approach has given some of us hope that the man is ready to work. On day one, he started with fuel subsidy removal and merger of Naira exchange rates. Besides, he has said he will not condone corruption; not only has he suspended the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, but also suspended and commissioned an investigation into the activities of the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa.
There is this dynamism President Tinubu has brought to governance that tells me it’s an indication there is a new Sheriff in town.
But people have complained about the haste in subsidy removal; that he should have done some background checks rather than just depending on the handover notes from his predecessor?
What I know is that the man Tinubu is not a foreigner; it is not as if he was just coming to Nigeria. For years we have been talking about fuel subsidy, that it was benefitting only a few. There have been studies on it and even the last administration wanted to do it but lacked the courage. Tinubu came in and said it was clear that there was no provision for subsidy in the 2023 budget beyond June. He had the courage to tell Nigerians that the subsidy is gone. I don’t know about his decision being hasty.
Look at what he did: the economy reacted, prices went up. But he responded and mitigated the crisis that could have attended the subsidy removal. He had done his studies. Look at how he handled the reaction and threats of Labour – Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress.
But there is still the argument that palliatives should have been on ground before the removal?
That is from a different perspective. President Tinubu only performed the physical removal. There was no provision for fuel subsidy beyond the end of June 2023. When you are in a position of leadership and you take some critical decisions that are likely to have negative consequences, people are bound to be affected. It is from these that you find solutions to the problems. He met the Labour leaders on the field and has mapped out what to do. He has inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC). Those who wanted to go on strike are now talking with the Federal Government. The conversation is ongoing on the review of salaries and minimum wage.
But the minimum wage affects just the public sector which is a minute part of the larger society that is bearing the brunt of subsidy removal…
When you say palliatives, it is not in terms of salaries and wages alone. The government is coming up with infrastructure and transport facilities. The private sector will implement a reviewed minimum wage as well; that is why the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), is involved. It is not as if it is only for the public sector. When NLC, TUC, NECA are involved, they represent both the public and private sectors. This is a multi-dimensional approach to lessen the burden of fuel subsidy removal.
You referred to the suspension of the CBN Governor, earlier, but some people would say his appointment is tenured in accordance with statutes. What happens to his appointment now as far as the law is concerned?
Don’t forget that the president appoints but he has to approach the Senate for confirmation. Recall when Ibrahim Magu was nominated for the chair of EFCC by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate turned it down many times but he remained there at the pleasure of the President, in acting capacity. Despite the status of his agency as a statutory corporation, the President has the power to suspend him. He has not been sacked but suspended. It is to ensure that in probing any of the suspended, they won’t be able to tamper with evidence and documents.
Nigerians have hailed the appointments made so far by President Tinubu in terms of Federal Character and spread, should we really be concerned about such details?
Nigerians have hailed him for appointing Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff. Before his appointment, everybody knew he was being positioned for the office. He was close to Tinubu. He has the experience – has been in the House of Representatives for almost 20 years; held critical positions, became Majority Leader and finally Speaker. Those are positions that have placed him at an advantage to see the larger governance structures in the country. He has supervised all Committees; helped in budget screening and passage over time. I think that experience has placed him in the right position.
For Special Advisers, people had expected that Wale Edun would even be made Minister. Recall that he has been with the President as Commissioner during his days as Governor of Lagos State.
Dele Alake was Commissioner for Information and Strategy with Tinubu between 1999 and 2007. He is very experienced. I was expecting he will be minister, given his antecedents. During the campaigns, Alake was involved as Director of Media and Strategy.
For me, we are seeing Mr. President’s capability to assemble people who on their own have sufficient pedigree. Look at Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser(NSA).
There appears to be something incongruent in the case of Ribadu. When he was at EFCC, he named some governors including Orji Kalu of Abia, Bola Tinubu, Lagos and Abdullahi Adamu, Nasarawa, among others, as having issues with his corruption investigation. But these are the same people he is working with right now. How do you reconcile this?
We listened to him make the allegations that time. But Tinubu himself said he was investigated and nothing was found against him. We also understood that even from outside – Interpol investigated him, but they could not pin anything against him.
As for those who have been so labelled, in law, you make allegations but our law does not allow you to just make allegations, you must prove it beyond reasonable doubt. If any of these people had been convicted, they wouldn’t have the audacity to come out to vie for public office. They can’t even aspire to public office.
When he spoke at the campaign rally in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Tinubu insinuated that the Naira redesign policy was targeted at him. Now that he has gone after the CBN Governor who implemented that policy, can we say critics are fair if they to also alleged vendetta?
The architect of misery to Nigerians during that period was Godwin Emefiele. To me, Tinubu’s statement was trivial by virtue of the burden placed on Nigerians at that period. The impact of that policy was horrible. People died. Millions woke up at 2am to go and queue at banks to collect just N2, 000, on a daily basis. People were not begging to be dashed money; they could not just access what they had saved in the banks. Emefiele’s action was criminal. And I ask: how many people have criticised or condemned President Tinubu’s action in this regard?
Nobody opposed the Naira redesign but that he should print enough new notes. Transactions became impossible. You couldn’t transfer or buy things in the market; very horrible.
The President has done what Nigerians were expecting. It was not targeted at the CBN Governor. The truth was that the man imposed a very horrible policy on Nigerians. Somebody must atone for it. The man killed many people by that policy. It shouldn’t have gone unnoticed or unpunished. I don’t believe it is personal vendetta.
One of the first decisions to address the economy was the floating of the Naira exchange system. How do you see that step?
That’s also part of the President’s plan or intention to fight corruption. When you have double or multiple exchange rates, it is an avenue for round tripping. The CBN could make dollars available to some people at N470 and they go to sell the same day at N700 to a dollar. What does that portend? Look at the margin. And they are not manufacturers; just traders in forex. That multiple exchange rates had assisted in bringing the naira value down. The forex traders destroyed the economy.
President Tinubu said from day one that the CBN would have to merge the rates. I believe our economy will emerge stronger from the floating of the exchange rates. It may be difficult initially but we can’t make progress with multiple exchange rates. We’ve done it before and the Naira has not regained its original value. This is the first time we are seeing the currency self-adjusting. The decision is salutary.
As an experienced politician, how do you read the manner in which your party and the presidency chose presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly. Are we not working towards another rubber stamp Assembly?
That’s the argument of some people who have commented on the role of the party. But you must note that the party is the platform that produced this government. So, it can’t stand aloof for some people to be allowed to have a free range. What the party has done was to say if the President is from the South West, the VP from the North East and both are Muslims, we should have a balance and produce a Christian Senate President. The Muslim-Muslim ticket was a major problem the party contended with during the campaigns. CAN and a large population of Christians were unhappy. Some worked against the party, saying it was an attempt to Islamise the country; that it was a non-inclusive way to run the country.
Having won and you are having an election of National Assembly leadership; the party said it was time to have a balance. Should we have a Senate President who is a Muslim again? What the party did was to arrange its things to show Nigerians that it cared about them and was ready to assuage their feelings. If the party had done nothing, the story would have been different. What it did was to create orderliness. And the President has assured that it is not a question of the National Assembly being a rubber stamp. The question is who among the officers of the 10th NASS is not strong enough to be his own man? Senator Godswill Akpabio was Commissioner, governor for eight years, Senator and then Minister. Who can dictate to him?
Some years back, the party or the President would just have allowed them to go and do it and then we would have problems. It was possible that what we had in 2015 – Senator Bukola Saraki becoming the Senate President and Ike Ekweremadu who was not a member of the ruling party becoming Deputy Senate President – was due to the absence of leadership.
But the party and President Tinubu said now, we are interested; we need these other arms of government as partners. We don’t have three governments but three arms of the same government. So, how did we come about the rubber stamp theory? They are all from the same political party, why should they work at cross purposes? But they can collaborate and the President is willing to go on that route. There must be concessions; that does not amount to rubber stamping. If they are men and women of honour and integrity, it is logical they live in mutual respect and harmony.
I believe that the issue of rubber stamp came up as a result of the 2019 experience-the 9th Assembly, when then Senate President Ahmed Lawan said they would approve anything Buhari brought to the Assembly.
I am not sure that was the intention if ever he had said so. That is not what the new president wanted. If you submit a bill, the lawmakers still have the right to examine whether all aspects are right or wrong and at the end come to a meeting point. I think that is what the issue of working in harmony entails.
A number of Nigerians have expressed worry about the presence of those they claimed have baggage of corruption hanging on their necks in the administration of President Tinubu. How do you explain the case of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who is facing charges from the EFCC involving some billions of Naira?
If you have that kind of allegation against you, you can run but can’t hide. Our law presumes you innocent until found guilty. Has he been convicted? He couldn’t have been a Minister or Senator if he had been convicted. The allegations are still in the realm of speculation. The President and party’s support for him was a demonstration of leadership that things were done as quickly and effectively as possible.
I refer you again to the issue of fuel subsidy removal. I can’t see under what administration including the military that such a decision was taken and resolved within a week. Even those who did not vote for President Tinubu are praising his audacity or courage. Even with the NASS leadership issue, he met people individually at home to encourage them to vote for the party’s choices. Those who were gallivanting about asking for tickets to be this or that, what was the result? It was a majority vote in both chambers. Even in the House, each member as soon as they were called mentioned who they wanted to vote for. Did Tinubu go there to order them? No.
Next on the President’s agenda should be ministerial appointment. Nigerians are saying he should not recycle Ministers in the cabinet of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Do you support that view?
The first thing to appreciate is that Mr. President wants to assemble those who will assist him to execute his programme, his manifesto. We can see those who had worked with him before. He has the capacity to select those who can deliver. Whether he takes those who have served before or new hands, let us concede to him that it is his government and he would want to succeed. I can assure you he will select the best. Some people are lobbying but the ultimate decision is his. If he wants to live up to his promise, he will need the right set of people. It won’t matter whether some of them are recycled.
How do you see the new Students’ loan scheme? Can it meet the expectations of the people?
It is a welcome development. The President knows where the shoe pinches. Many students drop out because of lack of capacity. Cost of education has risen astronomically even in primary and secondary schools particularly in private ones; not to talk of private universities. What the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has been talking about is enhancement of the cost of running our education system; making money available for tuition. You can’t be paying peanuts and expect to get the best out of it. The President’s act is to encourage the students to have capacity. It’s salutary and the best way to go. It might not totally address the issues but as we go along, if the students pay the right fees, the universities will have enough resources to run their schools.
And parents, when you obtain loans for your children, you won’t encourage them to go on strike. How many private universities’ go on strike? None, This is because the students pay the right fees.
But there is a gap between what the public universities require and what the students pay. And the government is saying it cannot do it alone. Now, parents will contribute. I think we have to commend Mr. President for the audacity over the decisions he has taken so far. The initiative of the Students Loans will change the face of education in this country.
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