Former Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), who is also the first professor of Mathematics in Northern Nigeria, Professor Peter Lassa MON, OON, speaks with ISAAC SHOBAYO on a wide range of issues, including the political situation in the country, insecurity, state of education, as well as clamour for state police, among others.
WHAT is your assessment of the political situation in Nigeria?
Today we have a confused political system; you don’t know which is which. Today, some politicians are in APC [All Progressives Congress]; tomorrow you find them in PDP [Peoples Democratic Party]. There is no clear cut ideology or principle. Most politicians today lack conscience in the true sense of it. They are only interested in themselves and how to accumulate wealth to position themselves ahead of others in the society. The political situation in the country today is bad; our politicians are not living up to expectations at all. The way they conduct themselves politically is worrisome.
Why are things appear not to be working in Nigeria?
The problem has to do with poor constitutional framework; Nigeria’s constitution is so nebulous, it is not well defined, and it is very weak. The present constitution cannot solve most of the problems confronting the nation. So it is very unfortunate that we found ourselves in this kind of situation. Politically, the constitution has not been able to address the problem emanating from politics, but has rather compounded the whole thing. Tell me which political problem has been amicably resolved since the inception of this political dispensation. There are states or governors that finished their tenure without a House of Assembly in place. Our brigandage approach to politics has destroyed so many things and as well weakened the system.
Defections by politicians without recourse to the Electoral Act and constitution have continued to mess up the polity as well as erode the fabric of the country’s democracy. What is your opinion on this?
This constitution says before anyone can be elected, they must belong to a particular political party. Based on my understanding of the whole thing, the moment you are elected on the platform of a political party, you can’t jettison the party until the four-year tenure is exhausted. But if anyone does that, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to conduct a by-election to fill his or her position. Immediately you defect to another party, you automatically lose your seat. But it is rather unfortunate that this aspect of the constitution is not being implemented.
But the belief is that in Nigerian politics, there is free entry and free exit for politicians; do you agree with this belief?
If it is free, then you are free as an individual but not as an elected person holding the mandate of a political party. Mind you, standing on the platform of a political party to contest is different from being an independent candidate. So you cannot represent those who elected you on a different political party. A woman cannot divorce her husband and take her children along with her; it is not possible. Our politicians should try to be decent in the way they play politics.
There are laws guiding defection, but the aspects of the law are not being adhered to or obeyed by the political class…
When there is a law that says: as long as you defect to another party, you automatically lose your seat, you are no longer representing the people and that INEC should prepare to conduct a by-election, It should not be referred to anywhere for further consideration. There is the need to address this defection problem; it has become a recurring characteristic in Nigerian politics. Defection, however, did [not just start today] it starter as far back as 1951 when members of the pre-independence political parties defected to other political parties simply to protect their own personal interests. But a leader should be more concerned with what he has to offer the electorate than with his or her personal interests. I believe it is high time a law was enacted, possibly a constitutional provision, to criminalise defection to the extent that anyone who defects from one political party to another automatically loses his seat without any further action in court or reference to anybody. INEC should advertise the vacancy and conduct re-election in six months. This is very necessary to protect our democracy from being rubbished.
Where is the place of the judiciary in all of this?
We should avoid the use of the judiciary in this situation; some lean on the postulation that the party is divided or in crisis, and if you go to court, there might not be a ruling or judgement till the end of the tenure. It is supposed to be like a ground rule that the moment you defect, you lose your seat.
At the moment, insecurity is one of the major problems confronting Nigeria. Its severity varies from one part of the country to another. What is the way out of this?
Some of these insecurities are sponsored by some politicians. They were started by some politicians. The security challenges facing Nigeria are different and vary from one geopolitical zone to another; so, they require different approaches to tackle and they are best handle on regional basis. Some aspects can be handled by the Development Commissions being set up like North -West Development Commission and its counterpart across other geopolitical zones in the country. These commissions have roles to play by taking care of education of the displaced children, provision of shelter and many other aspects, while the military is allowed to face the insurgents. We keep making a mistake in this country by adopting same approach to our problems. For example, to tackle educational problems, it is wrong to apply the same method and approach across the country because some parts of the country are more advanced than the others. The kind of educational challenges in the South are quite different from those of the North and as such the solutions should be different. At present, the South-West has what it calls Amotekun corps [to counter insecurity]. There are also vigilant groups with different names in the North. All these should be developed to complement the efforts of the police and the military. It is obvious that the police and other para-military outfits in the country can no longer adequately take care of the internal security in the country. It is better we have a regional government and all contributing to the central government while the central government is made to devolve all necessary powers to the regional government. So applying the same formula for the entire country might not work because each zone or region has its peculiar challenges.
Sir, are you advocating a return to regional system government?
Yes, even the corruption ravaging the country today is partly as a result of the central government. How can a single person steal money in billions and still be walking about? It is because there is so much money at the centre, but I can tell you if it were a regional government, such a thing could not take place. The money, or rather the corruption, would be noticed on time. At the federal level, they are dealing with trillions of naira. So if someone stole one billion naira or N200 million, it might not be noticed immediately. We must return to the regional government to get our bearing right.
The issue of state police has become a subject of controversy for quite some time. Why is Nigeria dragging its feet on this issue?
Let regional government come first; the moment that is in place, there will be regional or state police. I can tell you under this arrangement, it will be difficult to have state police. Some centrifugal forces will frustrate it, and they have started doing so, so the best way to go is regional government.
This administration is barely two years in office, but to the surprise of many Nigerians, the political class has started scheming for 2027 instead of concentrating on governance to address the myriad of challenges facing the country. What are your thoughts on this?
These politicians are not interested in the development of the country; they are only interested in themselves. They don’t care about what you are suffering. There is a time and season for everything. There is a time for governance, and there is also a time for politicking, but because of the selfish nature of our politicians, they often begin campaigns the first day they are sworn in, and that is why we keep moving in circles. We need serious-minded politicians in this country.
What is your assessment of the present state of education in Nigeria?
My assessment of the state of education still boils down to what I am saying about regional government: it is wrong to adopt the same approach or educational policy for the entire country. The level of development in this regard differs. The presidency and the National Assembly give too much attention to tertiary institutions. To improve the standard of education in Nigeria, attention must be given to the primary and secondary schools. Also, the state governments are also not serious. Take, for example, the State Primary Educational Board, the states are supposed to be providing counterpart funding, but many states are not contributing. Rather they want to collect the ones from the federal government, and they always want to put their cronies at the helm of affairs of those boards. We are not taking education seriously at this level. When the former President Goodluck Jonathan was in power, he established ‘Almajiri schools,” but they messed it up simply because the money was not released to them. After that, they said they want Almajiri commission! To do what? When the country already has a Nomadic Education Commission and Primary Education Board! We should take education at all levels seriously in this country.
A new system of education, 12-4, is about to be introduced. As a renowned education administrator, what is your view on this?
It is not the name that matters; it is the quality of teaching that matters. Mind you, teachers are very important in the educational development of any society or nation. Take, for example, in those days, a secondary school or Grade 2 graduate could write very well and speak good English, but today there are quite a number of university graduates that cannot express themselves as a result of poor quality of teaching. Poor remuneration of teachers at all levels is also a factor. So it is not just about the name or system, but the quality of teachers, the atmosphere and the facilities.
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