Category: Politics

Alhaji Umaru Duhu, Adamawa State chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has risen in defense of former Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who was alleged to have links with Boko Haram. He spoke with Adetutu Audu on the origin of the sect, and absolves his party man. Excerpts:

The BOT chairman of your party (the ANPP), Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, was alleged to be the master mind of Boko Haram. He has not personally made a public statement on that. Can you give us an insight into his thoughts?

It is rather unfortunate that the name of our respected party leader is being peddled as having links with the Boko Haram sect, even when it is common knowledge that he is the group’s number one target. The allegation is not a new thing. Some others have made futile attempts in the past to insinuate same.  Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has not deemed it necessary to join issues with the embattled Senator Ahmed Zannah, because he knows that, the man is only playing the ostrich. In the fullness of time, the truth about the whole matter will be known. The JTF which arrested the suspected king pin are in a better position to tell the world in whose house they made the arrest. I agree with you that Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has been on a virtual trial by the media over the issue of Boko Haram. I also agree that some people are bent on rubbishing his integrity, using the Boko Haram issue. I think it is rather unfortunate that people find it convenient to trivialise a very serious security challenge like Boko Haram by playing politics with it. Some are pointing accusing fingers at others instead of defending their culpability, any time our security operatives come near bursting the case. The Federal Government is not sleeping over the matter, and they have at their disposal very vital information on the matter, beyond what you and I have.

The Inspector General of Police has said they are making investigations. I am aware the State Security Service is doing its own part of the job. The JTF, who are on ground, may have their own findings, even as some citizens may volunteer facts. I am sure if we are patient enough, the real perpetrators may not have too long to hide from the hands of justice. But I want Nigerians to be fair to Ali Sheriff, by allowing security operatives to do the job, and not subject him to trial on the news waves or on the pages of newspapers.

As somebody close to Sheriff, would you say he is capable of supporting Boko Haram, and what becomes of his celebrated ECOMOG militia?

What many people do not tend to understand is that Boko Haram did not start during Ali Modu Sheriff’s tenure as governor. It is a phenomenon that developed over time since around 1995. I have heard people propounding theories that, Boko Haram metamorphosed from local political militia. One needs to look at the sophistication and modus operandi of Boko Haram to know that it is one group that does not operate on frivolities. Unlike the political thugs, who are often ragtag, Boko Haram looks a more organised group.  It has been easy distinguishing between Boko Haram and political assassinations because of the caliber of people being targeted.

Ali Sheriff has lost his own blood brother, his cousin, three of his most intimate friends, his party men, the governorship candidate of his party and many other associates, while all those trying to link him up with the issue have not lost even the dogs in their houses. It is illogical to associate a man who from all ramifications is a victim with sponsorship of the same group that has traumatised him.  I have a security report, which investigated the first crisis in 2009, under the chairmanship of Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike, the former Chief of Defense Staff, which completely exonerated Ali Sheriff. I also have the report of the Ambassador Gaji Galtimari Committee, which investigated the same incident, in which the former governor was given a clean bill of health. It is therefore baffling, when laymen who do not necessary have adequate knowledge of the metamorphosis of the sect into a violent group, begin to make analysis and even apportion blames. Ali Sheriff does not have any fear of being investigated, whenever his attention is called on any particular issue, including the issue of Boko Haram. We should not crucify a man just because some other people detest him for whatever reasons. All those who investigated the matter are luckily still around, and they have not disowned the reports they made. I can confirm to you with authority that Ali Modu Sheriff is not capable of, and never masterminded Boko Haram.

On the issue of political thugs, I know that politics tend to breed a lot of miscreants, who may parade themselves as belonging to a particular party or individual. At public functions, they shout all sorts of slogans and commit mischief. This is a common denominator in Nigerian politics. But Sheriff has never supported any such acts. Those who claim to be his boys or claim to act on his instructions are on their own. If there are any evidences linking anybody with any crime, that person should answer for his sins, and not try to link same with Sheriff. This group, which you call ECOMOG, may be a coinage by some people, and if they exist, at all, they belong to that category.

We observe that most of the people being killed are from a particular political party. Does this not connote more of political assassinations than Boko Haram?

I have said it before, that there is more of politics in some of the cases than there were other crimes. We have to accept the reality of the existence of Boko Haram. But politics have overshadowed them, to the effect that, we now have political  assassinations and armed robbery, operating simultaneously with Boko Haram. So far, the ANPP in Borno State has suffered more casualties than all the others put together. As I speak with you, all those killed are of the ANPP, some of whom were closely related to Ali Sheriff. Only a few days ago, his closest ally, Alhaji Mustapha Floma, was assassinated in cold blood. It is obvious that ANPP members are the targets of killings, and yet nobody wants to believe us, rather, people tend to align with those who torment us, obviously to get even with Sheriff, who is the leader of the party.

We understand Senator Ahmed Zannah has dragged the Federal Government and the JTF to court to clear his name. Is that not an indication that the senator may have been misrepresented?

It is left for the Federal Government to appropriately define the issues involved and address them. But it is rather amusing that the man is jumping the gun. No formal charges have been brought against him yet. Like I said earlier, we should allow the security operatives to investigate, without any attempt to blackmail, cajole or intimidate them. Even the major suspect has not been charged to court yet.

Of course, if there is any misrepresentation, the government will apologise to him. If on the other hand, he is found culpable, then he should carry his cross. The act of going to court, or crying wolf in the media, or even trying to implicate others cannot acquit him, rather it is the proof of innocence, and the onus is upon him to do so.

What would you say on the call by the Boko Haram sect that Ali Sheriff must be arrested as a pre-condition to cease of fire?

In my understanding, they did not call for his arrest because he is their sponsor, rather it is to avenge the perceived wrongs he committed against them. It is common knowledge that he has been fighting a running battle with the group since 2009, when the crisis snowballed into violence. This call has been made before, and it is left to see the basis against which he will be arrested

We live in a country where there is a penchant to impute ulterior motives to whatever someone writes on virtually any issue. Consequently, the following caveat is in order. I hold no brief for Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, wife of the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. I don’t know her and have never met her.

Nonetheless, I am using her recent experience to examine a growing and worrying trend in our society; a tendency to tar everyone in the public eye with the same brush without the benefit of the doubt. A knee-jerk reaction on the part of Nigerians is always to believe negative reports about those in the corridors of power, a demonstration of the fact that there is no love lost between “them’’ and “us.’’

When news broke that Mrs. Ajimobi had been caught in London allegedly in possession of 400,000 pounds in an attempt at money laundering, the story went viral on the social media. The allegation reportedly first appeared in PM news, hardly a mainstream newspaper; nonetheless people read it and ran with it. As incredulous as the allegation sounds, not a few people believed it because we have become used to officials in high places looting and taking their loot abroad for ‘safe’ keeping.

The general reaction was that there must have been some truth to the allegation. Even those who had their doubts sought refuge in that well worn cliché that we are so used to in these parts: there is no smoke without fire. However, in Mrs. Ajimobi’s case, it turned out that there was no smoke, let alone fire.

The allegation was the figment of some mischief maker’s imagination. According to Mrs. Ajimobi’s testimony, she had taken her daughter to school in London and was not in any way involved in money laundering. Luckily for her the Metropolitan Police reportedly denied that she was arrested in London. Unlike the Nigeria Police who would have dilly dallied and dragged their feet, the London Met set the records straight. Governor Ajimobi himself mounted a spirited defence of his wife and was said to have sued the offending newspaper for N1billion to prevent the story from gaining traction. After all it was Lenin, the Russian revolutionary, no stranger to propaganda, who said: “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.’’

In the race to be the first to break ‘breaking news’ and reap the rewards in higher circulation and profits, there is a tendency for newspapers not to allow the facts to get in the way of the story. The media ought to do their homework by checking and cross checking facts before publishing stories especially those that have the potential of landing them in court for libel.

The knee-jerk reaction of Nigerians in believing allegations of official corruption is often a reflection of the rampant corruption by public officials resulting in public resentment of those in the corridors of power. The perception is that they are in office for self-serving reasons and not in the public interest. Ever since the restoration of democracy in 1999 there has been a quantum leap in the looting of public funds. Consequently, most Nigerians, impoverished by decades of official neglect, tend to believe any allegation of financial wrongdoing against pubic officials no matter how ridiculous, outrageous or outlandish it may be. Unfortunately, by tarring everybody with the same brush, some innocent people are bound to suffer in the process. Reputations built over decades could be tarnished just on the basis of one wild unsubstantiated allegation.

Public officials, particularly politicians, are partly responsible for the lack of trust between government officials and the governed as a result of their conduct. They are arguably the most distrusted segment of the Nigerian population. Hardly anyone believes politicians when they are accused of corruption and they seek refuge in saying that the allegation leveled against them was “politically motivated,’’ their favourite default position. There is so much public skepticism that even when some of them are truly innocent of the charge against them, the general perception is that there must have been an iota of truth in the allegation. Any opportunity to denigrate those in positions of power is often seized upon by a frustrated citizenry fed up with bad governance. It is instructive that Mrs. Ajimobi herself said that the allegation leveled against her was the price she had to pay for being the wife of a politician.

People tend to believe whatever they read in newspapers or on the internet forgetting that stories are sometimes planted for ulterior motives. With the advent of social media, news spread much faster than was previously the case. Given its power to make or mar reputations, the media bears a heavy responsibility to be extra careful in checking their facts before going public with their stories. The same applies to those who use social media. When newspapers publish stories that are proven to be false, apologies are not often made in screaming headlines like the original story, but in small print usually tucked away inside the newspaper, not on the front page.

Once an allegation of financial impropriety is made against a public official, it immediately sows the seeds of doubt in the public mind about the integrity of the accused. In other words, the accused is usually considered guilty until proven innocent. And even after the accused has been proven to be innocent, the whiff of scandal continues to linger in the nostrils of inveterate skeptics. That’s the nature of the society we live in. It is another reminder for those in the corridors of power to be very careful in conducting their affairs as there are those who are waiting in the wings ready to pounce at any opportunity.

Until such a time when trust is restored between the government and the governed through good governance public officials are potential victims of all manner of allegations. They should consider it an occupational hazard they have to live with. Despite the negative public perception, not all politicians are rogues and not all public officials are rogues, it is just that those who are have given the rest a bad name. These are the people the Yoruba call amunibuni. We should avoid rushing to judgment and learn to give people the benefit of the doubt.

• Dr Oyewumi lives in Abuja

It is four years since Adams Oshiomhole, a former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was handed the mandate of the people to run the government of Edo State. He was rewarded with re-election last month by about 70 per cent of the electorate. What has been the experience so far? What will he be doing differently in the second term? The governor spoke with journalists in Benin City last weekend. Group Political Editor BOLADE OMONIJO reports.

You came in as an activist, but today, you are on the so-called ‘other side.’ How did you handle the transition?

As far as I am concerned, I am still an activist and a militant in government. It is a matter of definition. Even as a governor, I am not, in a sense, an establishment man. Sometimes, I am more worried about certain things, about the country as it was when I was in the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC). In every sense of the word, I consider myself an activist and I think we need more activism if we are going to refocus the country and reconcile the wealth of our nation, the prosperity of our people. Perhaps, the only difference for me is that I have spent more or less all my adult life doing revolutions, writing communiqués, advocacy, mobilizing people, confronting power, speaking through to power and now, being in a position, to be able to execute what you believe in, rather than recommending to someone. But unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that there are still a lot of issues on which I still have to lobby, I still have to recommend and mobilize. For me, there isn’t much difference because at the heart of our struggle as activists is the whole question of public welfare.

Who is getting what; at whose expense and why? Why are we going right when we should go left? For every public policy, who are the winners, who are the losers? Why should the majority keep losing and fewer people keep winning?

Those are the issues and even now, as a governor, my task is to see how I could reconcile such that majority becomes the winner. I think in a sense, I have been able to make some statement in Edo State because politics and governance is not value-free. It is virtually value-driven. We have built some roads in Edo State. I have not built any road in what is generally called the GRA where the big people reside and that is a conscious decision I have taken to put public resources in those depressed neighbourhoods where the forgotten majority reside. I would rather prefer to build an ultra modern hospital which is currently under construction. Where majority of the people can have access to, rather than a government house where they will be locked out. Again, it is the cost of choice. If you ask me how, I have enjoyed the opportunity of doing those things that have always been dear to my heart. I am only constrained this time, by resources whereas where I was before, I could see the guy doing the wrong thing, you make recommendation to him and he chooses not to listen and there is not much you can do. In a sense, the life of an activist in government is a more pleasurable one than the one on the barricade. It hurts when you can see what is wrong, you can identify those who are responsible for what is wrong and yet you do not have the capacity; you are not in the position to stop them. What you can do is to appeal, sometimes you harass but oftentimes, in spite of that, they continue to do those things that affect you negatively.

When you came on board, people were looking forward to what you would do. Being on the other side now, how do you feel whenever people misunderstand you?

One of my prayers in life, after many years of struggle, is that God should one day, put me in a situation where I will be able to make decisions and some other persons will protest. Some persons protest all their life and others have the privilege of being protested to. I think the balanced life is one in which those who are protesters in the morning to certain persons, in the evening; they are in charge so that they can have a full view of the reality of life and I think God has done that for me. So when people protest, I’m at home, because I understand the logic of protest and I appreciate that it is one way to show that whereas you and you alone have the power to make decisions, these guys need to organise numbers to put pressure on you to make policies in a way that would favour them and that every position you take, you cannot really be neutral. There are winners and there are losers. While the winners are jubilating over the policies, others are protesting against the same policies. The question is who do you choose to align with? Somebody told me that while she was flying to Benin, there was a conversation in the plane. Some people said the comrade has done very well and there was a pool of praises. This person was meeting me for the first time. Some other people said that he just abandoned the GRA, nothing has happened there. He hasn’t done anything for us. But the majority of the people who have benefitted say this is the best thing that has ever happened to us. Some people are celebrating for the very reason that others are protesting.

So, you were not moved by the protests over your actions on tax deductions…

As a governor, my own people must support me by paying their taxes. Professionally, it is the right wing people who hate taxes because they think they have enough that they can build private roads. If your roads are bad, they can use their aircraft to fly and the air is clean. It is only subject to weather condition. They can arrange their private medical doctors and even have clinics. They can fly to the best hospital anywhere in the planet; they can take their children to schools of their choice because the whole world is their constituency. For the working people, they want the state to provide these things. So, we take from everyone according to his abilities and provide for everyone. Or rather take from those who have and provide for those who do not have. For me, we had to re-educate the people that it is in the interest of the poor that taxes are paid. For every one naira you pay, someone else will pay a million naira. The good news is that what then accrues from the process will be put to public use in a way that it is not value-free, but one that is deliberately skewed to deliver the greatest goal to the greatest number.

You have displaced the former godfathers. Are you the new godfather in town in Edo State?

The contest in Edo was not to replace one godfather with another. It was to liquidate godfatherism. If you look at the billboards in 2007, I said we must say no to godfatherism, we must fight against godfatherism. My problem was not that we had a bad godfather but that we didn’t need godfathers, because by their very nature in politics, they can only exert negative influence. If I saw having godfathers as something negative, then I cannot plot to liquidate one and replace him myself. I think Edo is now free of godfatherism. The people have taken charge and the difference is clear. We will never return to godfatherism.

Was there anything you planned to achieve in your first term that you couldn’t achieve because of finance?

Of course, there are quite a number, but I have always known that in the life of a nation, there is no country that has all the resources to do all the things that it desires. That is why in every business, you have what you call prioritisation. Because you can’t do everything, you have to reorder your priorities to reflect your hierarchy of needs. If resource was not an issue, I would like to rebuild all our hospitals, all our schools, have Ambrose Alli University transformed to a first class university, all our roads paved and a couple of things we would have liked to do. There are several things that I would have liked to do if we have all the resources. We came in at the peak of the so-called world economic crisis, when revenue from the Federation Account crashed and we had to build up, fall back on and tried to generate internal revenue by way of improving efficiency, tax collection and so on. Even now, there are many things I would like to do which one is not able to. Edo needs a first class conference centre, a five star hotel. We need to make massive investment in tourism, many roads are begging for attention, many rural communities need roads, water supply, electricity; name it. There is still so much to be done. In all my reports, I have always pointed out that as much as I believe we have done much, but only relative to the resources available to us. In terms of what needs to be done, we still have so much to do.

Can you tell us the priority as you start a fresh term?

I think we must sustain our current level of investment in infrastructure- roads, schools, and social infrastructure. Human capital development is number one. It is the key to the future, healthcare, provision of water, extending electricity to rural areas, sustaining our urban renewal programme, working hard on erosion and flood control. In other times when the rest of the country was safe, Benin never looked forward to the rainy season because of flooding, but this year, other people were crying and Benin people were smiling because of the investment we made in erosion and flood control, but we still have a lot to be done. We have seen the dividend of the labour we put in over the past three and half years. We have to sustain those. Having made such level of investment in infrastructure, we want to now focus more on the economy. We have opened up roads to rural areas; can we now attract investors to agriculture, taking advantage of the fact that a lot of the rural communities are now accessible? We have provided water; can we now get people to locate businesses in some communities? We have to focus more on agriculture, we have to focus more on industrialisation, we are to emphasise job creation, not just in public but also in the private sector. Of course, with the privatization of the power sector, we are looking at how we can make Edo a hub because we are strategically located, we are blessed with a huge gas deposit from which we can fire independent power projects and we think that given our location, we have a comparative advantage in several aspects of economic activities.

In concrete terms, what are you doing to build the capacity of the people, especially the younger generation?

One area in which I think we have made a bold statement is education. We have made a lot of investment and we have returned integrity to public schools, primary schools, junior secondary schools and senior secondary schools. In Edo State, we are not talking of universal basic education in terms of primary and junior secondary schools; we have abolished school fees even in senior secondary schools. So the first 12 years, six years in primary, three years in junior secondary and three years in senior, all of that is now free and qualitative, when you look at the quality of our classrooms. And we are sustaining those. We are also making massive investment in tertiary institutions because human capital is the most important of all the factors. If you get everything right and get that one wrong, you can’t move on. Even the roads we are building, to be able to maintain them in the future, we need competent human capital development. To succeed in this knowledge driven world, we will need the right investment in education. We still have challenges at the level of tertiary institutions. We haven’t got it right yet at the university level. We need to make more investment there, we need radical reforms and we need to revisit the issue of funding for the university. This is also true of the College of Education, Ekiadolor and one or two other tertiary institutions. Those are areas that we are going to focus on. We need to make more investment in agriculture. Government can’t go into farming, but government can create conditions to attract large-scale farmers into the State and we are beginning to get a lot of people showing interest in those areas. In this year’s budget, we are looking at making more investment in technical education, shifting focus away from general secondary schools in favour of technical schools which means secondary education with technical content so that we can produce people who can handle POP, bricklaying, woodwork, laying tiles, all sorts of things. You will be surprised that as much as there are people who are unemployed, a lot of things we need, even to build a simple gallery, we don’t have the skills that we need. To get plumbers to manage your plumbing work can be a huge challenge. We think that when we shift focus to technical education, we can produce technicians who will have the requisite skills to contribute money into the economy and who will be more employable.

In terms of the bid to fight examination malpractice, would you say that you have done enough to stamp out examination malpractices? And is your administration’s investment in education justified by the performance recorded in external examinations?

I think it is too early to talk about the outcome because we are talking about what we have done over the past two years. The first year, we couldn’t do much because the PDP-dominated House of Assembly frustrated our effort by not making the necessary budgetary provision. In a democracy, you need the budget to be able to do those things. So, we are talking of two years, but already we are noticing very encouraging response. The number of children leaving private schools to public schools has increased. Public school enrolment has almost doubled over the past two years and we think it will quadruple over the next four years if we are able to sustain investment in public schools. Nobody wants to take a child to a mushroom private school when you have well-furnished, equipped and properly manned private primary and secondary schools and I think that the result will also reflect in WAEC and NECO performance. Hence, over the past few weeks, I have been going round the schools to ensure that, having made so much investment, the teachers are doing what they are supposed to be doing so that we have a complete renewal and restore integrity to public education. We should be able to get quality dividend from those. It is like switching from NEPA to generator. There is always a time lag between when you take the right decision, when you execute and when you begin to get the result. I think it is clear that we will get commensurate result.

You have been suspending school principals. Could that be part of your attempt to turn things around?

It is not just sacking school principals; we have promoted some, demoted some. Ultimately that is not the solution but symbolically, we have promoted three teachers, demoted two and asked for dismissal of another. I believe that leadership is basically about your capacity to have a correct mix between the stick and the carrot. We must have a way to discipline those who are incompetent and reward those who have demonstrated competence and excellence. We have done that just to make a point that wages must be earned. You can’t stay in your home and you get your salary as and when due. It will not happen. That is why we call ourselves wage earners, not wage awardees. Wages are not paid out of pity because people are hungry. It is paid in reward for your effort. We needed to drive that home because far too many people get sentimental about these things. You retain a position because you earn it. There is a country and you must serve it. If you don’t serve it, you lose it by going home and give chance to those who are willing to do it. Even in the world of labour, workers remove their presidents or secretaries who don’t perform. It is all about performance. If you have a contract, you must service it. What we tried to do by demoting and promoting, dismissing and employing is to say that nothing is permanent except performance. You have a contract, you better service it. If you don’t service it, you lose it. I had to service my contract to be re-elected. So, who are they to have a permanent contract if they don’t service it? I think the reaction has been very positive. Teachers rush to school now and try to be there on time. If that is sustained, then the result of our WAEC and NECO will improve.

You recently approved the execution of some people on the death row. As a humanist and activist, why did you decide to do so in view of the campaign for the right to life?

It is not me; it’s the Nigerian law.

Why did you decide to sign?

I am convinced that those people needed to die in the interest of society. The law is different from resolution by some NGOs and nations are not governed by NGO resolutions. You and I know that people have been executed in some parts of the world when they were perceived to be enemies of the nation. Nations are governed by laws and values. Amnesty International has to know that the views they parade are inferior to national laws. When it has to do with capital punishment, it is a battle of values. Some people believe that those who kill have a right to live. Others believe that if you kill, you are entitled to be killed also. I am a Christian. The bible tells me that thou shall not kill; so if you kill, you have no right to life. Nigeria is not governed by a resolution of amnesty international. Amnesty can have a point if a man is killed under extrajudicial circumstances. If Nigerian law says that if you are guilty or murder, that you too shall die, and the Supreme Court agrees that you are guilty of murder and have found the death sentence, that is the supreme law in Nigeria. As a governor, I subscribed to the oath of office which says that I shall obey the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, including all laws, without fear or favour. I cannot be afraid to sign the death warrant of a man who has been found guilty of murder. It is part of the oath of office I have taken. I have no apology. I didn’t sentence them to death. I am not the one who accused them. They have been accused by those they harass, they have been tried, they have taken advantage of the appellate court, all the way to the Supreme Court of the land and they have been found guilty. The issue is, the law also says that having been found guilty and sentenced to death, the governor could exercise mercy and I say I have no mercy on those who kill.

But why when the death penalty has been abolisghed in many developed countries?

Why should you compel me to have mercy on those who kill? I think that is the issue. It is also very opportunistic on the part of Amnesty international. They cannot behave as if they are holier-than-thou. We know the history of nations where they are coming from. When did they abolish death penalty, where? We know. In this battle of values, we must not behave as if some other people’s values are superior to ours. If you believe that those who kill in your country should have right to life and we believe in our country that they should be killed, and it has been reflected in our laws, until you reverse those laws, they will apply. The rule of law is a very problematic concept. Someone was involved in armed robbery, under the Nigerian law, once you are found guilty or armed robbery, the penalty is death.

In what circumstances do you then exercise your prerogative of mercy?

In exercise of my prerogative of masses, when it has been found that although the man was involved in armed robbery but he did not kill in the process, I believe we can have mercy on him. Although, he deserves to die under the law, and because they have sentenced him to death, I can exercise mercy in his favour and I have done so in one or two cases of persons who did not kill but have been condemned to death. My logic is, if they didn’t take life, then the state shouldn’t take their life. In two cases, I did not only refuse to sign the death warrant, I even decided to pardon them and to release them from prison and give them small cash to start life afresh because they did not kill. Although they used firearms to frighten their victims to submission, they didn’t kill and they have been in prison for 20 years for stealing a television set, radio set, some cash, some jewelry. I have released two people like that. A young man was 16 years old, he brought out a knife gave it to another one to kill. I said, at 16, it is arguable whether he knew that the knife would be used to kill. By law, he is guilty of conspiracy to murder and he is imprisoned at the pleasure of the government. I decide let him go home. Someone else robbed. After robbing, he killed the victim and dismembered the body. In the words of the judge who read the judgment at the Supreme Court, he said this man is not just a murderer; he is a kind of cannibal. He said people like this are only fit for the Hades. And the Supreme Court was unanimous. It will be irresponsible of me, in exercise of the prerogative of mercy to say I set him free. I believe he deserves to die and I have signed. He must be executed. We must have a balance view of human rights, in which the rights, not only of the man they killed, the rights of his relations but most importantly, to send a clear message to his would-be murderers that when you kill a human being and you are caught, you are likely to die. If you don’t want to die, abstain from killing and if criminals abstain from killing, fewer people will be killed by robbers or other murderers. So, if you tell me that a man killed but he has a right to life, I refuse that and amnesty should not be hypocritical about it. We have the record worldwide. Nations are governed by their national values and it is debatable whether those who excuse murderers in the eyes of God whether they are better human beings than those who insist that if you kill, you too should be killed if found guilty of killing.

When do we expect the Local Government elections?

We will do that within the next three months because under the law, we must give notice to all the parties. There are issues about the status of the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission. We are going to settle those ones now. The court has resolved it, so we would find a way to reconstitute and make sure that they are people who are not card carrying members of a political party and then we will proceed.

What is your position on the issue benchmark on the issue of projects?

We have the executive branch, we have the legislative branch. The executive branch is saying let’s save for the rainy day, good point. The House is saying let’s reduce the deficit; I also believe it is a good point. The question for Nigerians to resolve is should we save X and borrow Y to meet our requirements? It seems to me that both sides are patriotic and you can’t refuse any of their argument. It makes sense to me to say we shouldn’t borrow because right now, we are borrowing at the federal level. Almost the entire amount required for capital projects, about 30 percent of the budget. The House is saying reduce the borrowing but the executive is saying we want to save some. When you look at the how to fund the deficit, you will see that you still have to fall back on the so-called excess crude. On balance therefore, for me, it remains arguable whether it makes economic sense to borrow so much and save so little. What is the best way to safeguard the future of our children? To leave them with debt overhang or leave them with low savings? It is not as complicated as it is made to look. As a father, you ask yourself, should I borrow N100m for my children to pay and save N50 for them also in a bank account or I leave them with no savings, I also leave them with no debt? Given the challenges that we have, I will rather abstain from borrowing so much and spend a little money which I think is the argument of the House.

But, after last year’s elections, you were reported to have fired some commissioners because they did not deliver their constituencies…

It was not because they couldn’t deliver, but because they consciously worked against the party. If people don’t vote for you, it is not your fault, but if you worked against the party because your preferred candidate was not selected by the majority, that is unacceptable. That is what we fought against; that the person who emerged as a candidate, some people didn’t like him so they decided to work against him. They are free to express support for a preferred candidate, but once a candidate emerges, we are all obliged to work for the candidate.

The process leading to the amendment of the 1999 Constitution is taking shape as the Senate and House of Representatives are devicing means of taking into account people’s views. In this report, Deputy  Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines reviews the procedure that the House has come up with and issues to be presented at the forthcoming “People’s Sessions”.

The House of Representatives will hold the “Peoples’ Public Sessions on the Review of the 1999 Constitution” on November 10, throughout the 360 Federal Constituencies. On November 8, the Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, will flag off the exercise in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FTC).

Many stakeholders have criticised the proposed one-day sessions. They claim that time may not be sufficient to adequately accommodate all shades of opinion in the polity.

The exercise is a novel response to the strident calls for a more participatory and transparent review of the Constitution. Some of these calls have taken the form of clamour for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) and referendum, both of which are not provided for by the present Constitution.

However, in line with its sworn commitment to its 2011 legislative agenda, the House has outlined the format it would take. The deputy Speaker, Ikedi Ihedioha, whom doubles as the Constitution Review Committee Chairman, said the process would be an all-inclusive one, thereby affording stakeholders participatory opporties..

The 2010 Constitution amendment embarked upon by the National Assembly was a major milestone in the history of Constitution making in Nigeria. It was the first time a Nigerian parliament would alter the country’s Constitution since independence. That amendment, which focused majorly on electoral reforms, laid the foundation for the redemption of Nigeria’s electoral integrity as reflected in the 2011 general elections.

Ihedioha said the public sessions would attract a panel of experts and stakeholders in every constituency. Expected at the forum are members of the State House of Assembly from that particular federal constituency, local government chairmen, representatives of the Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress; Nigerian Bar Association, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Nigerian Union of Teachers, Civil Society Organizations, and National Association of Nigerian Students;

Others are the Nigerian Youth Council, National Council of Women Societies/Representatives of Women Organizations, and Nigerian Union of Journalists.

According to the House Committee on Constitution Review, the objective of the sessions is to improve the inclusiveness and participation of members of the community and other stakeholders in the current constitution amendment process.

The exercise will also increase the capacity of the participants to collate and prioritize issues that require alteration or inclusion in the 1999 Constitution, and to constructively engage with their legislators.

The forum will collate the views and positions of the participants on the issues proposed for amendment in the Constitution. It will also increase the capacity of the House to receive inputs and suggestions on constitution amendment from individuals and groups, as well as provide a platform for the House to respond to the concerns of the citizens on the constitution amendment process.

The collated views would be forwarded to the Committee on Review of the Constitution in a language that will enable the committee members to consider them for constitution amendment.

The 51-member House Committee is made up of one member per state, the principal officers of the House and some members representing the interests of women.

Over 200 memoranda have been received so far. The dominant issues include indigeneship, residency and citizenship under the Constitution, Immunity clause, accountability, judicial reform, national security and police reform, fiscal federalism, local government and restructuring or devolution of powers.

Others are financial autonomy for local councils, removal of the Land Use Act and the National Youth Service Corps from the Constitution, part-time legislature, abolition of Joint States/Local Government Account System, voting rights for Nigerians living in the Diaspora, and zoning or rotation of offices of President and governors.

According to the guidelines, the public session shall be organized and implemented in every federal constituency by an independent Steering Committee of experts and stakeholders.

The Steering Committee shall choose a Secretary from amongst its members.

It shall be held in a public place where members of the public shall have unfettered access. Also, every constituent is free to participate in the session and proceedings shall be uniform throughout the country as far as is practicable.

The Steering Committee shall make efforts to ensure wide publicity for the sessions in every part of a federal constituency, so as to guarantee the participation of all Nigerians at the grassroots. Decisions at the Session shall, as much as possible, be taken by consensus, but where that fails, then by voting, where the views of the majority shall prevail. Voting shall be by show of hands or voice vote.

In addition, the Steering Committee shall ensure that every item to be voted on, are explained to the people in the language prevalent in the locality. Each federal constituency may indicate other issues requiring amendment, other than those listed in the template for the attention of the House Constitution Review Committee.

However, there shall be a video recording and written reports of the proceedings of the sessions across the federation by the Steering Committee, which shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Committee not later than seven days after the event.

Certain items have been identified as some of the issues to be discussed and voted for at the sessions. They are the recognition of the six zonal structure, States creation, funding and creation of local governments, residency, citizenship and the indigeneship question, justiciability of economic and social rights, fiscal provisions\, independence of state legislature and amendments to the exclusive legislative list to devolve more powers to States.

Others are fiscal federalism, abolition of state electoral commissions, Immunity removal, State police, zoning and power sharing, term of office of governors and President, whether single term of five, six or seven years, or a renewal term of four years; independent candidacy, voting age, improved women representation, disability rights, Diaspora voting, single national chamber legislature, presidential or parliamentary system, role for traditional rulers, and further electoral reforms.

However, the committee said that the House would welcome additional inputs on other issues of interest to Nigerians on the review of the Constitution.

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has declared that the state has nothing to learn from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) either at the state or federal level about governance.

In statement signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the party Joe Igbokwe, ACN said it was reacting to the reported statement credited to former national deputy chairman of the the PDP, Chief Bode George that Governor Babatunde Fashola should learn from President Jonathan and the PDP on how to handle the issue of restricting commercial motorcycle operators from some major roads in the state.

It wondered what message Bode George wants to send because there is nothing a federal government and a party that has led the country through nearly fourteen years of irresponsible, corrupt and mediocre leadership can teach a state like Lagos if not but how to visit decay on a progressive and responsible state.

“Even as we agree that Bode George is rustic and suffers seriously from a credibility crisis given his sordid record, we presume that he should make appropriate effort to ensure his words conform to the basic tenets of reasoning and logic. In advising Lagos State government to emulate the PDP and the federal government, we are blank on what aspect he was referring to. Does he recommend the Lagos State government to emulate PDP and the Jonathan presidency on the sordid mess the PDP has rendered all federal roads in thirteen years of unmitigated decay? Does he want Fashola to emulate the PDP’s acrid record in reducing Nigeria to an enclave in Somalia through levying an intractable security crisis we are facing at present? Does Bode George want Fashola and the ACN to emulate PDP’s record shattering unemployment record that has made youth unemployment so overwhelming in an oil rich nation?

“We want to ask Bode George whether he want the Lagos State government to emulate the PDP that has unleashed an unsolvable energy crisis that obtains in the present situation where Nigerians buy fuel at N250 per liter in the worst fuel crisis the nation stands to face. Is it on a fluctuating power sector the PDP has made a permanent part of life in Nigeria? Does Bode George want Lagos to emulate the PDP government’s elevation of corruption and public stealing to a directive principle of state policy? We can go on and on to demonstrate that the PDP is a curse to Nigeria and Nigerians and has nothing to offer Nigerians except tutorials on how to demolish a vibrant country to a pit of poverty, want and misery.

Igbokwe said the party is firmly behind the state governor in its decision to restrict Okada riders to only some routes and roads in Lagos.“Lagos ACN wants to call to mind that we have thrown our support to the decision of the Lagos State government to restrict okada operations in certain roads in Lagos principally on account of the uncountable deaths and maiming that mount by the day from accidents involving okada operators and on the need to curb the role of okada in crime cases.

“But since the decision to ban okada in Lagos, the PDP had found it an anchor in reviving their dead political dream in Lagos. They have made the ban on okada the sound bite of their every political gamble and that is what ostensibly prompted Bode George’s incoherent and illogical advice. But Lagosians should think deeper before guzzling PDP’s cheap sentiments.

Chief Solomon Lar served as the first National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was Plateau State governor in the Second Republic.  He told a select group of journalists in Kaduna last weekend that the basis for the proposed talk between Boko Haram and the government is flawed. Kaduna State Correspondent TONY AKOWE reports.

How would you react to the killing of Gen. Mohammed Shuwa (rtd) by unknown gunmen?

The development is very unfortunate. I read in the newspapers that one of the Nigerians who fought seriously to keep Nigeria one during the civil war, Gen. Shuwa was shot and killed by gunmen. Gen. Shuwa is one of Nigeria’s unsung heroes. He was a hero but nobody talks about him. Government upon government never did anything to bring him up and recognise his contributions to Nigeria. Nobody sang his heroism. It is unfortunate, the government must do everything to find out those behind this unfortunate incident and bring them to justice. This is my plea. I know the government of President Goodluck Jonathan is doing its best about the security situation in the country.

The general feeling among Nigerians is that the federal government is not on top of the security situation.

I don’t agree with that assertion. The government is in absolute control and that is why we are still meeting here (in Kaduna). People are moving about freely. If the federal government were not to be in control, that would mean that Nigeria is a failed or failing state. I, however, believe that there is still more to be done to see that we live in peace. And I am calling on all Nigerians to be patriotic by supporting the government in this regard. It is time to think Nigeria and once we do this, we will have not much problems.

Do you subscribe to calls by some people that the federal government should dialogue with the Boko Haram Islamic sect?

I disagree completely, unless they show their identity that Mr. X, Y, Z is Boko Haram. For them to name some people to be their representatives, who are they? They are faceless people, let them come out and say we are the Boko Haram.

In other words, are you saying the federal government should jettison Boko Haram’s proposal for dialogue having nominated Buhari and others to represent them?

Has Buhari agreed? Is Buhari their representative? Is Ali Mungonu their representative? You see, I didn’t want to mention names, but if they (Buhari and Mungonu) said yes, they are their (Boko Haram’s) representatives, we would. But have they agreed to represent them? Let them come out. During the Niger Delta crisis, some people came out and said they were the leaders of the militants. That was very reasonable and that was how the late President Musa Yar’adua was able to tackle the problem of militancy in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta militants were not faceless like Boko Haram. Why didn’t Boko Haram follow the example of the militants by showing their faces? Dialogue with a faceless group is not feasible.

With the present state of things in the country, what are the chances of the PDP in 2015?

2015 is still a long way to go. Everything will depend on Nigerians. Nobody should take Nigerians for granted. This is what I always say. We are in a democracy, I Solomon Lar strongly believes in democracy, I am always for democracy. Nigerians are the ones that will decide. It does not mean that PDP will be there forever. Whenever Nigerians decide to change to another party for better, they can do so, but meanwhile the PDP is doing wonderfully well. The National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur is doing extremely well and I think Nigerians are reasonable people and would appreciate him.

Some people believe that governance is too expensive in Nigeria, like maintaining bicameral legislature instead of a unicameral. Do you agree with those advocating that we should have one parliament in order to reduce the cost of governance?

If that is the general opinion of Nigerians, I subscribed to it. If Nigerians feel that we should have one or two parliaments, it is left for them to decide. But each of the two parliaments has its merit. For example, in the presidential system of government, the two parliaments ensure checks and balance and it helps us to have a stable government in place. If you have two parliaments, it would not be as easy to remove the president as it is in the parliamentary system.

We have to look at what is suitable for us. We do not need to have a very expensive parliament. Our members can cut down their salaries and other benefits, everything depend on us, the Nigerian people. No parliament can hold Nigeria to ransom. Nigerians have the power to change anything.

For the past eight months now, both teachers and local government workers in Plateau state have been on strike. Why have elders like you who are from the state failed to prevail on the governor to find a solution to the problem in the interest of the school children whose future is in jeopardy?

I have not been in the country for quite some time. Now that I have come back, I will go to the governor and find out the problem between him and the striking workers. I am sure he is a listening governor and he will listen to me and we will see how the issues could be resolved.

You were the National Chairman of the PDP when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was president. Some people say Obasanjo, as president was very firm and decisive while President Jonathan is very weak and indecisive. Is that correct?

What answer do you want me to give you (laughter)? The current president is a good man, he is humble. When somebody is humble, it doesn’t mean that he is weak and there is strength in humility, there is power in humility and there is wisdom in humility. So he has all these qualities.

Was Obasanjo not humble?

I am not saying that none of them was humble. Both of them were humble but as human beings all of us have different approach to doing things.

Najeem Salaam, Speaker, House of Assembly, State of Osun, Osogbo, believes strongly that a legislature should not act as a rubber-stamp for executive actions. In this interview with Assistant Editor JOKE KUJENYA, he explains how the executive and legislative arms of government have improved on the quality of public infrastructure in the state.

How would you describe the way politics is played in the State of Osun?

Politics in our state is not different from what obtains in any other democratic clime. The only difference here is in the peculiarity of our people. In Osun, our people practise what could be termed as traditional politics, because they follow leaders who could interface for them in government. And without the intention to sound patronising, I think it was Governor Rauf Aregbesola that brought the electioneering to a new level where anybody could aspire and get elected. So, I can say that politics in the State of Osun is beginning to evolve and with the way things are going, people will soon begin to learn how to accept and practice developmental politics.

Critics says the House of Assembly is a rubber stamp legislature. What’s your view?

On the one party House, what many people do not realise is that the most fragile and dangerous parliament is a one party parliament. I say this because in such a House, every representative must be heard with no suspicion, especially where every member realises that he or she has a stake in the government, and thatdissenting views could not be ignored. And this shows that the robust debate of one party House is far more deeper than dividing the house. In fact, it would take the grace of God and wider consultations for a leader to strike balance in a one party House. But on the “rubber stamp” aspect, the State of Osun House cannot be said to be such. On a number of occasions, we have had to take Mr. Governor through rigorous tasks on issues presented before us. He can attest to it, we don’t just pass things because it is a one party House. But we won’t also create undue friction if there is no need for that. I don’t believe in such undue conflict. But Mr Governor himself has never sought to treat us a “rubber stamped” parliament. He is a man that duly separate and even distanced himself from the way we run our affairs in this parliament. All the members can tell you that boldly. That a parliament is a one party House anywhere in the world does not mean all things will go the way of the executive without going through the due checks and balances.

What’s your take on the allegation that there is religious tension in the state?

I laugh when I hear such. Religious tension in the State of Osun? When you, as a visitor got into the state two days ago, do you feel any tension in the air? I tell you there is no religious tension in Osun. The governor is a devout Muslim and he is no apologising for that. And in his about 14-member cabinet, there are more number of Christians, that is, in the majority, than Muslims. And till date, I have not heard or read it anywhere that he has forced them to become a Muslim before they could be allowed to do their jobs. The governor is one man that appoints people into his cabinet based on absolute merit and not on religious sentiments. In the House of Assembly, we have majority of Christian as lawmakers. Even majority of the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries in the state are Christians. However, those wishing that our state is religiously tensed should look elsewhere because there is no other state where you find a leader that allow all religions –Christianity, Islam and traditional -represented in open events as each of them is made to offer open prayers in their own ways. So if there would be any need for religious tension in any state, it has to be engineered by the number one citizen of that state. That’s just my point.

Have the lawmakers ever had the need to disagree with Mr. Governor over policy and issues? If yes, give examples…

Oh yes, on a number of occasions. We have had to disagree with our governor more than once. There was a time he elected to conduct exam for the selection of Permanent Secretaries to be appointed into the employ of the state. We asked him to halt the process then until the House was properly briefed and agree upon the decision to be take. And in fairness to him, he withheld the process and appeared in person to properly briefthe House properly. And then, we lifted the ban. And then, the exam was eventually conducted and it turned out to be the novel idea that enhanced merit in the selection of senior civil servants in the state. I could sire more and more examples. And permit me to use this medium to inform you and all looking for loopholes in the way we run our local politics here that it is really not compulsory to create friction in any democratic setting if there is no need for such. If your leaders comply with laid down rules; work harmoniously with him. If you think he is erring, call his attention to it. And he amends his ways, soft pedal on him. Democracy does not mean you must engender conflicts where there is absolutely no need for such. My view of playing politics is widely different from that of those expecting that the state must be boiling. No, no, it doesn’t have to be that way. We would fight if we have to and if we don’t have to, then, we will give room for peace and development to thrive.

What’s your take on the recent rebranding of “Osun State to “State of Osun” with the flag and crest being altered?

I will tell you that there is not much to the renaming of Osun State to the State of Osun or to the alterations made on the crest. The change in the way the name is called is just a matter of semantics. The values and culture that shape our state is not altered in any way. As for the crest, the inclusion of ‘cowries’ is just torevisit those gems that used to be part of our general culture as Yoruba people. At least, in those days, the mere mention of cowries or when you call it in Yoruba “owoeyo”, it evokes some memories of the old folklore that you used to hear about in ancient history. Well, I am just worried that people must think there must be a particular reason to something. I don’t like to reason that way. The governor has explained both in the newspapers and television on the reasons behind the change and I don’t think it is right to hold him in doubt for whatever reasons.

Two years as Speaker, State of Osun, what have been the challenges, and prospects as you look ahead?

On the challenges, I would say that have been quite enormous. The first set of challenges came on the basis of those I set for myself as the target which happened to be to have a House of Assembly that would pass laws that would first transform this state for the better, make directive and positive impact on the lives of the citizenry, as well as promote the well-being of the nook and cranny of this state so that others coming after us will have some foundation to continue to build upon and they would not be able to crush it. There is also the nonchalant attitude of our people towards the process of making laws.