PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari was in China recently, ostensibly to underscore the frontiers of Nigeria-China bilateral ties. Why do you think it was expedient for him to have visited China, especially following the backlash over the strong reservations expressed by American President Donald Trump on the Nigerian leader?
I don’t think government should worry about such comment reported in Financial Times, the US-based media organization and there was no authority that was cited except an anonymous source, so it is neither here nor there. Looking at the Donald trump administration, he has made nonsense of American Presidential System of Government because the man does not look through the window of diplomacy. I don’t think Nigerian government showed dignify with the way he has behaved since he came on board. Since we don’t have a clear picture of what happened, it is better to keep quiet. Remember it was the same Trump that said Africa is a shit hole. Recall he later backed out. I think we should not jump into conclusion and the government has done well by not responding.
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Some experts on international relations on China have also warned that Nigeria needs to be circumspect on bilateral and economic relations with the Asian giant, because of the unpleasant experience of other countries in the hands of China. Isn’t it time the president took the wise counsel? I mean, why is the President taking China seriously?
The government is looking at partnership and I think the government got the best deal from the Chinese summit. Don’t forget that China is the best second economy in the world and when you try to tie yourself to a particular country or a particular continent, it may not really augur well. China is a very big investor in Nigeria too. That was not the President first trip to China, and in the entire trip He has come out successful. We should also commend him that he has been able to show leadership in the African continent. I think the summit fetched the government over 10 billion dollars in deals and MoUs. I remember the President holding meetings with Chinese investors telling them they need to come and fix the Mambilla hydro plant, so the government is looking at investors to see what they can offer and what the country can do. I think it’s a matter of give and take. I think the government has done well by attracting such a huge investment to Nigeria
German and British leaders recently marked on diplomatic shuttles to the continent in the wake of rising Chinese in roads to the African countries, with some observers saying there seems to a fresh scramble for the continent. What is your opinion to insinuations that the West is becoming jittery following the Chinese incursion into the big economies on the African continent?
I don’t think the West should be unhappy. Nigeria, as a nation, needs investors. We need people who can drive our economy; people who can help galvanise our battered economy. I think we should give the government that benefit of the doubt. We should not really bother ourselves about whether Western countries are happy or not with Nigeria going to China. We have also made it clear that the country is not tied to the apron string of any country. We are a Sovereign nation. The president has also visited the US, and I don’t think the Chinese government showed any reservation about us going to the US. We are open to investors, we are not being teleguided by anybody, and I want to thank the president that he has taken the pain to bring investors to our country. He should not really bother about what the West will think or the European Union will think. All we need are people who will invest in our country, improve our economy and most importantly, get the best deals from those coming to invest in our country
How do you juxtapose government’s fresh borrowing plan and the ongoing distribution of the recovered Abacha loot from Switzerland to the poor?
I think we should get it very clear: the Abacha loot that was recovered from the Swiss government needs to be seen from the right perspective. The Swiss government gave a condition that the recovered loot must be tied to a specific project. What is important is to get our money back. If we use the money to bring our people out of poverty, what is wrong with it? People will always criticise government without proffering alternatives. I think the government has done well, based on the agreement that they had with the Swiss government that the money be tied to specific area of our lives. There is nothing wrong with bringing Nigerians out of poverty with the loot that was recovered from the Swiss government. These Nigerians are not taking the money out of the country; they will invest it in our country. Government did not unilaterally take that decision. It was an agreement between the Nigerian government and the Swiss government. Government is only complying with the MOU they signed.
How do you react to the criticism that this government has penchant for taking loans?
There is nothing wrong if you incur debt provided such is used for the development of the country. That which is bad is what we were doing in the past, when we went into massive debts and the money were looted by some people. We have a government now with the flagship of prudence in managing human and financial resources. Don’t forget the debt we are talking about is not the making of this government. The difference between this government and the previous one is that government is using this money for the purpose they are meant. It is not money for people to share. It is not a family affair money. The government is putting its money where its mouth is. That is the difference between the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the previous administrations.
Past leaders were accused of engaging in a lot of foreign trips with little or no gain for the country, and the current argument is that a similar scenario is going on now?
One of the things we have to acknowledge is that Nigeria has regained the respect that it lost in the international community. For those of us, who travel a lot, we knew the undignifying treatments we were subjected at various airports around the world in the past. The very minute your green passport is flashed, you were separated like somebody with a leprous hand. That is no longer the case. We have regained respect in the international community because they now see that the new sheriff we have in town has come with a quantum of integrity. The integrity of the president cannot be questioned, even by world leaders. They have so much regard for our President. Government has become more prudent. Money government has spent has been in the overall interest of all Nigerians. We have moved away from those days when they say” share the money” or when corruption is reported, they say it’s a family affair. Now, if you steal, you are caught, you are punished.
Opinions vary generally concerning the scorecard of the Buhari administration. What would be your candidate opinion against the barrage of criticisms against the poor rating of the government in most quarters?
Of course, yes, considering where we are coming from, and I wish we had had the president much earlier. The Nigerian story would have been different now, but we much must not lose sight of the fact that it is much better we have him than not having him at all. What the president is doing now is that he is rebranding the country and showing us the road to prosperity. I think we should commend the President, we should encourage him. We are not saying the government has not made mistakes here and there, but the mistakes are corrected. When the government is doing well, we should encourage them and when they are not, we should criticise them and proffer solutions. From my stand point, the government has done very well. In 2019, he should be returned to office.
Why do you think Mr President has kept saying defections would not in any way affect his second term, which some observers claim amounts to arrogance?
If you know the president, he is not given to boasting. The president is someone who tells you something in the morning and will tell you the same in the next ten years. He is very constant; as constant as the northern star. I may not be able to speak for others. Coming to your question, I think it is a tradition in Nigeria that towards an election, you have some people moving from one political party to the other. That is why I have proposed that the constitution needs to be amended so that we can give some elements of stringent conditions that will make it very difficult to move. We are not saying they should not move but cogent reasons must be given. It’s very unhealthy for our democracy. Thankfully, Muhammadu Buhari is like a political party on his own. He is one man who can win an election without a political party. One man, who has showed that he can win election from his home, is President Buhari. He has that block votes already.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is keen on making in-roads into the South-South and South-East, two strongholds of the PDP since 1999. Do you see the current development suggestive of a likely turnaround for APC in the zones in 2019?
It’s fortunate for our brothers in the South-East and by extension, the South-South. There is no where you put your eggs in one basket. What happened in 2015 was a tragedy of all time. The South-East and South-South put their hope in former President Goodluck Jonathan. I have always maintained that we must vote for a president, governor, senator, or a House of Representatives member, who will deliver on his promises. The man called Jonathan came and said he was Azikiwe Ebele I think he used that Azikiwe to con the South-East into buying into his charade. Not only was Jonathan defeated in that election, the South-East paid dearly for putting their trust and hope in one man. However, I am happy that the government came in and showed the South-East that we don’t care where your vote had gone. The fact is that the president is the president of Nigeria and he showed that clearly with the amount of projects in that zone. I like the way the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed went about it. Challenges have been thrown at him and he has responded accordingly. He responded in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital that projects had been executed in that zone and they threw the other challenge that he should publish the projects. Not only did he publish those projects, he attached the amount spent and the completion dates. Facts are scarce and its shuts your enemy up. The government has, through similar instances, said when we say it, we do it. For our brothers in the South-East, they should look at the previous administration and the Buhari administration and deal with issues based on performance.
Akwa Ibom will definitely be a state to watch in the 2019 general election, in view of the ongoing muscle flexing between Governor Udom Emmanuel and his erstwhile godfather, Senator Godswill Akpabio. What are your thoughts on the emerging political scenario in that state?
When it was reported in 2014 that the governor has been picked to contest, I was one of those who had so much hope in Governor Emmanuel. These were my reasons: one, for a man to have risen to the level of an Executive Director in Zenith Bank, you should be able to manage human resources and material resources. Two, his youthfulness was also what I appreciated. The third was his manifesto. It was splendid. Three years after, I must confess that I am disappointed in the governor. He has done more of newspaper development. This was a man who was brought from obscurity to prominence by the former governor. If the governor had said he stopped some of the projects of the governor, based on certain infractions, some of us will queue behind him and tell the former governor to cone and account, but that has not been the case. The governor had said that there was no furniture in the hotel built by the former governor in the Ikot Ekpene area. He said he needs about $9 million to furnish that hotel. I visited that hotel and to my surprise, the hotel was furnished from the first floor to the last floor. Two days before the exit of the former governor, this governor and the former governor had dinner in the same hotel. All that was needed was the tarring of the road leading to the hotel. The governor only plays politics with the development of that state which is unfortunate. In 2019, we should get our Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and vote out Governor Emmanuel because he has reversed the gains of the Akpabio administration.
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