Opeyemi Agbaje is the chief executive officer (CEO) of RTC Advisory Services Ltd, a leading strategy and business advisory firm in Lagos, Nigeria. Agbaje, who has worked in banking and finance firms for 16 years before founding RTC in 2004, recently contested the governorship primary on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ogun State. In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, he shares his experience in politics, calls for devolution of power from the federal to state governments, and speaks on the state of the nation. Excerpts:
The 2019 general election has come and gone in terms of the exercise itself, but it is not yet over as some of the results are still being contested at electoral tribunals. As a Nigerian who keenly followed the polls, what’s your take away?
On the whole I’m worried by the trends and direction of Nigerian politics, on many levels including substance and process-first the political party system has become a farce. Basically, the same set of actors oscillate between the two major parties pretending to be opponents, but essentially we have a united, homogenous political class that acts in essentially the same manner! The 2019 general elections in substance were a regression in the quality of elections- violence; involvement of the military in a manner that did not inspire confidence in the voting populace; monetisation and commercialisation of voting; and suspicions of abuses throughout the process. The evidence of all these is the high number of supposedly “inconclusive” elections! I was particularly worried about the conduct of the polls in two states- Kano and Rivers- and I’m quite worried about what happened in those places. The number of people who died during these elections should worry all of us.
There’s the belief in some quarters that the declared results, in some instances, were not a reflection of the choice of the electorate. If that allegation is anything to go by, do you foresee any legitimacy challenge for those regaling in alleged “stolen” mandates?
Clearly, there seem to be cases in which the will of “strong forces” may have overwhelmed that of the people! Fortunately, the judiciary is an option for anyone who feels cheated. As bad as things may be, sometimes the courts come through for those who are victims of large scale electoral malpractices
You actively participated in the last election to the extent that you contested the governorship primary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ogun State. What was your experience, especially as a first timer?
I fully enjoyed my participation in the politics of my state, and I have absolutely no regrets. That does not mean that all of my experiences were savoury, however! I started over a year before the party primaries with my Project Oseese visits across Ogun State, indeed, to every single local government in the state engaging ordinary people, young people, students, workers, farmers, traders, teachers, artisans etc. I went round the entire state, from Abeokuta, Odeda, Ota, Ifo, Warewa, Ewekoro, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun Waterside, Ijebu-Imushin, Ife, the whole of Ijebu-East, all of Remo including of course my base, Sagamu; we did townhalls in Abeokuta and Sagamu; we went round Yewa land, Ewekoro, ImekoAfon, Ipokia; now I know Ogun State thoroughly in terms of its economy, geography, people and politics… So, I don’t regret all that. On the other hand, I was never naïve about the reality of our politics- I hoped we could persuade our people that their lives could be better if they made more enlightened choices, but evidently that would have to be a work-in-progress! In terms of party politics, it’s tragic what the party I joined did to itself, given its inherent potentials, but I take some of the things that happened as a compliment! If you’re irrelevant, people will not conspire against you! The full story of my political experience of 2017-2019 will be told at a later date, but believe me, I thank God for the experience.
Some pundits say it is difficult for some of you who are active players in the private sector, without prior political exposure, to get elected as state governors. In fact, that it would be as hard as a Carmel passing through the eye of a needle. Do you think there is any merit in that thought-line?
Don’t forget that in this same Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel came straight as governor from the private sector! Seyi Makinde who was just elected in Oyo State has never held political office, though he has contested previously. The guy just elected in Kwara, I don’t think he’s previously held political office. Yes, there are differences in context in all cases, but I don’t think it’s about being from the private sector or prior political exposure; I think the sources of competitive advantage in our politics should worry everyone- money, loads of money, thuggery and generally possession of the instruments of violence; some people say significant levels of occultism and cultism play a large part perhaps; it also does seem that the noble art of politics increasingly requires higher and higher levels of criminality and criminal behaviour, admittedly not in all the participants, but increasingly so! It’s also becoming clear that Nigerian politics has become partitioned between the APC and PDP, with all others mostly satellites, agents or franchisees of those two!
To what extent does it bother you that, seemingly, those who get elected to occupy decision-making seats in government are not usually on the ‘first eleven’ list of the brightest of Nigerians? How true is the belief that “good people” either shy away from elective positions or do not get voted even when they contest elections?
I don’t blame the so-called “second eleven”- let the “good people” come out! No one will come and call you from your house. I have satisfied my conscience. We need more professionals, people from the private sector, retired civil servants, lawyers, community activists etc. in politics. If there is one thing I hope, it is that those of us who participated have encouraged and served as an example for others. Perhaps, in 2023, many more people should get involved, but they should come early. If you’re interested in 2023, start now!
Many people believe that Nigeria is adrift in many respects- politically, socially and economically. May we have your perspective on the current state of the nation?
I’m very worried about Nigeria- politically, socially, economically. I think something insidious is going on. I think people, especially our youth, are losing faith in Nigeria and voting with their feet- to Canada, US, South Africa, anywhere! I think hope is dying; in the economy; in security of lives and property; in the prospect of development; in social cohesion. I personally think we have an emergency, but we don’t recognise it as such. I personally devoted more-or-less the last two decades of my life to public advocacy at some significant personal cost, because I wanted to help realise Nigeria’s potential. I am not disillusioned, but right now, I’m frankly not encouraged. Nevertheless, I remain committed to helping salvage Nigeria, the Yoruba nation and Ogun State, if I have an opportunity to do so. I will choose to remain optimistic.
There have been calls from many quarters for restructuring of Nigeria. What type of restructuring do you want to see and when would you like to see it happen?
I want devolution of power from the federal to state governments; I want the exclusive legislative list significantly reduced with most powers becoming concurrent. I want states to be able to take responsibility for their own security. Law and order is collapsing in Nigeria- when are we going to take the rational action and end these tragic descents into lawlessness, all over Nigeria? So, I want to see state policing. I want fiscal and economic federalism in relation to derivation, VAT, fiscal autonomy, ports, airports etc.; I also want economic reforms to empower MSMEs; reduce government control of markets and sectors and create employment.
What do you consider as Nigeria’s most pressing challenges that need urgent attention?
We must embrace re-invigorated economic, social and political reforms. It is not a co-incidence that unemployment has risen rapidly in the few years since we essentially suspended economic reforms. We need huge private, domestic and foreign investment in infrastructure, industry and services. We need reforms in upstream and downstream energy. We need to harmonise exchange rates and eliminate fuel subsidies. We must diversify and increase government revenue and exports. We need rates of GDP growth higher than 7percent, perhaps up to 10percent to address poverty and unemployment, and our massive infrastructure deficit. We need huge private and inevitably foreign investment in infrastructure. Of course, we must have social investment, not just handouts, but investments in public health and education, public transportation and rural development.
There has been an increasing wave of insecurity in the country, and despite government’s efforts, the situation is degenerating. Do you think there is no solution or what are the steps not taken?
I mentioned one aspect- the impossibility of achieving security in a country the size of Nigeria with a single federal police agency. State policing is part of the panacea. I also think we need a zero tolerance regime for crime- there should be no sacred cows when it comes to crime, murder, kidnapping, communal violence etc. The state itself must lead in this regard.
It seems these are not the best of times for Nigeria; the country is being poorly and negatively rated on many fronts. Some of the recent rankings (Misery Index, food crisis, open defecation, poverty headquarters of the world) speak volumes. As an expert, what message do all these send to Nigeria and her managers?
I earnestly and sincerely believe economic policy is on a wrong track. We need to refocus economic policy towards investment, production, diversification, private capital, employment etc. We seem to want a state-controlled economy, which as the evidence clearly indicates is not working. We must of course invest in people- education, health insurance and enhanced healthcare delivery, rural infrastructure, public transportation, but we must get investment and growth back in Nigeria. Nigeria will remain desperately poor if our economy continues to grow at 2.0 or 2.1 percent!
