‘Buhari should choose credible people as ministers’

Remi Bamisile is a veteran journalist. In this interview with DAMISI OJO, she gives reasons why President Mohammadu Buhari could not afford to fail Nigerians. She also speaks on other national issues. 

How do you think, President Muhammadu Buhari can run this country successfully without hitches, considering the problems facing it?

I have no doubt in my mind that President Buhari will run this country successfully if Nigerians can cooperate with him. Nigerians are the problem of themselves, nobody want to work, even those they gave work to do, they will never do it and everybody want to become politician so that they can become billionaire overnight, this mentality has ruined this country. If Nigerians can cooperate with the president, he is going to be a wonderful leader. It is a fact that anybody can succeed as a president or as governor or as any leader in this country if the rest of the people are ready to cooperate with such person. I know for sure that President Buhari will perform because I am very sure, he cannot afford to fail because Nigerians are anxiously waiting for positive change.

Monitisation Politics is the order of the day. Is there any way this could be curtailed?

If you speak of politicians, just ask what they know in politics, they don’t know what the duty of a politician is, we only have few people who are real politicians in Nigeria. Many of them don’t know what should be their role, I am priviledged to be in London, that is where I did my Mass communication and Journalism, the politics they practice in other country is not like what we are practising in Nigeria. In advanced countries people go there to serve the people that voted for them, but in Nigeria, most,if not all of them, go there to fill their pockets.

How do you think this menace could be tackled headlong, especially because of the future generation?

This problem can be solved if all politicians are informed of their roles.They should know that performances are now the yardstick to measure them. And again their salaries and other emoluments should be reduced, if the salary can be at par with that of the civil servants,they will sit up.

If their salaries are slashed, would that not hinder their performance?

If they are paying politicians equal salary with the civil servants, they will perform. Are they going there to amass wealth or to serve the electorate? I believe they are elected or appointed to serve the people. Honestly,I am not happy with the way our politicians are doing. They have turned politics to money making venture. These people will come to you seeking for your votes, they can even sit on the floor with you when they need your votes and after voting for them, they will be vehicles, someone that is representing you will pass by you, you will not see his face not to talk of recognizing him or her. Politics is not just take N10,000 and vote for me, no, as a good politician, you suppose to do something in your constituency that will benefit everybody, not what all these people are doing. Some will go and buy cars for the Traditional rulers, how many people are going to be riding with the Kings. If the traditional rulers are going out with the car, how many villagers can he offers a ride. Instead of buying car for traditional rulers, why not provide bore holes, street light or something that will benefit the community as a whole, not that people should run after them to collect tokens. Some will say my in-law is sick, or my wife is being operated, or they have sent my children out of the school, no,politicians must be accountable for what they have done in their respective offices.

President Buhari is yet to appoint his minister. What is your take on this?

It is better for the man, I mean our President to take his time to select people of integrity who will be useful to him and the nation. Who will have the interest of the people and fear of God, not those people that will go there to enrich their pockets, he should not rush things for now because when you rush things, you make mistakes but if you take your time, you will never make mistakes, that is the basic truth. You know people are going round now lobbying him, the man want to take his time so that at the end of the day, his government will be one of the best  in this country. Surely, we have some good Presidents before now.

The crisis in the National Assembly, most especially in the Senate is still raging. Don’t you think this can hinder Mr. President from performing to the people expectation?

I know President Buhari has the fear of the God and he is a very plain somebody. I did not believe that the crisis will hinder him from performing because Nigerians are praying that whoever wants to send this country backward, God will silence them to allow the man to do a good job. I said earlier that we have good Presidents before him, like General Gowon (retired). I lost my father in 1972 during all Nigerian festival of Arts in Kaduna. My father’s group came first and on their way coming back from Kaduna in 1972, they involved in an accident in December 17, 1972,and my father died. Ondo state was under Western Region then, General Yakubu Gowon gave all the Kaduna disaster’s children Scholarship from primary school up to university level and then, I was in the secondary scho then, I was at Ekamarun Grammar School, Ifon in Ondo state but in 1973 I moved to St. Catherine Girl Grammar School, Owo to finish my school which is girl only, what the man did then, nobody has done it since then. It was 18 persons that lost their lives, five people from my town in Ipele, Ondo state which my father led  and 13 from Ibadan, they gave them mass burial at Liberty Stadium. If not for General Gowon, I may not finish my secondary school and if I did not finish, how do you think I will be where I am today. And after my secondary school, I was sent to London and when I met General Gowon during the 40 years of my father’s remembrance, I thanked him for what he did for us. I said please sir, Daddy, people love you, if you want to come back to rule this country, people will vote for you but he said he could not rule this country again, but he will supporting this country with prayers. Whenever, he calls me, I always kneel down on the phone, I know that Buhari will perform better. Not that Iam praising him because he is the incumbent President, others have done their best. Jonathan was not the only one that ran his administration; you will see that, after tracing fraudulent people in his government, the man, Jonathan may be spared of embezzlement. It is those people that surrounded him.

And it is not possible for him alone to run a government. Baba Obasanjo try his best, he is a good President too, if not, he would not have administered this country for three times .But I am only appealing to Nigerians, they should allow General Buhari to transform this country.

Coming to Ondo state, a lot of politicians are coming out now to contest for governorship. What is your own view on this?

The advice I have for them is  to go and pray to Almighty God and they should go and think if they are really coming to serve the people, of the state, if yes, God will answer their prayers. Not that they should be going up and down saying that they want to become governor of the state without any genuine mission, Psalms 75 v 6, 7 says, promotion did not come east or west or from the south, but from Almighty God. It is God that elevate people. On the election, they should go and think and let the people know what they have for us, by birth. Iam from Ondo state by marriage, I am from Ekiti state. We want to know what they have in stock for us before the poor people will go and line up in the scorchy sun.

Do you believe in the efficacy of prayers for our leaders in government?

Yes,religious leaders should be praying for this country. Because prayer is the key to all success and those people that are destroying the country, the hardened criminals with their bad minds, if our religious leaders are praying, God will touch their hearts. Look at Saul now Paul, he was going to Damascus to persecute some people, but the Almighty God, on his way going, touched his heart and he became a wonderful preacher. Religious leaders have herculean task to support our country and its leaders with prayers.

What advice do you have for Nigerians?

My advice to Nigerians is that we should go and find something doing. Education is for knowledge, being a graduate does not prevent you from becoming an artisan. If you are a graduate and you learn how to become a bricklayer, after building any house, the finishing touches will be wonderful. I have never seen any country like Nigeria that said their citizens are government workers,  Being a graduate does not prevent you from becoming artisan but in Nigeria everybody wants to be civil servants. You can become rich if you are an artisan. Look at it now, the richest person in the world is not a civil servant even in Nigeria, they are not civil servant and as a business person or as an artisan what you can spend and gain within a week, none of your colleagues in the ministry can do it within six months once you are faithful in whatever you are doing, you will definitely succeed. Faithfulness is the key to success.