Current government does not care whether or not the people are groaning in pain – Owokoniran

Rahman Owokoniran, frontline politician, former commissioner of works in Lagos State is the current South-West secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he assesses the state of the nation on Nigeria’s 64th Independence anniversary, the Bola Tinubu administration’s policies and the state of PDP.

He said that whether or not the country runs a presidential or parliamentary system of government, it will not matter if the constitution or the tenets of democracy is not respected. Excerpts:

Nigeria is 64 years old, what is your take on the progress the country has made in all these years?

Nigeria is a nation of remarkable diversity, characterised by its multicultural, multilingual, and multi-religious fabric. These attributes do not only distinguish us as a nation, they also enrich our nation in ways we can never imagine. But we squandered every opportunity to make the most of our valuable assets and resources available for the betterment of the nation. Many thanks to our leaders who have been struggling with the solution to stabilising our nation over decades.

We might consider ourselves as strangers in 1960 and didn’t accept the constitution handed over to us by the British government. We can even forgive the military overlords for their mistakes. What is the excuse for imbalance of power in our nation? Simply put; we have not been blessed with many visionary leaders committed to building a nation that is prosperous, stable and secure.

The leaders have been mostly managers of the nation’s wealth presumably invested in their trust within the limited period of their stay in power. When the culture of power rotation and the culture of (Emi lo kan) or turn by turn is so blatantly executed to the detriment of fairness, equity and justice the entire system is a thing to be worried about.

Many Nigerians say that successive governments have not delivered on the promise of good governance; things are even worse now than it was before. What do you think is the problem?

Absolutely not. I don’t believe that the fault is in the system of government. It is very much our political heritage. Let us go back to our roots and we will discover from historical evidence that this country has a special place on this earth, if only we can tap its potentials rather than romancing division and those things that separate us. We have been nursing a nation built on division and separation. If we don’t respect cockroach as a king we can’t respect an elephant as king.

There is clamour now for a new constitution and for a return to parliamentary system of government as part of the solution to Nigeria’s problems, do you agree?

Whether or not we run a presidential or parliamentary or an autocratic system of government, it will not matter if we do not respect the constitution or the tenets of democracy and the rule of law.

If we switch from one system to another, it will not change anything as long as the same people will be in charge of the new system

It very sad that the people of are being disrespected. Not surprising anyway because the people do not have a say in the emergence of the rulers. Of cause, our votes do not count.

Winners of the elections are determined by the umpire and the Judiciary and not the people’s choice. Hence, the same reason why the people’s opinions do not matter because APC government is remotely connected to the people.

Nigerians are complaining of hunger and high cost of living, fuel price was further increased recently. What is your take on the situation?

The irony of it is that the government does not care whether or not the people are groaning in pain because of its draconian policies. But the government still has to alleviate the sufferings of the people by providing relief measures in some sectors, like; energy production, transportation, food items, healthcare services and education.

We saw the protest over hardship in August and many people were killed, others arrested and charged with treason. Are you satisfied with the way government handled things?

Unless the government alleviates the sufferings of the population by providing relief measures, the people may begin to take the laws into their own hands. Nobody prays for this unintended consequence. But this government needs to understand that a stitch in time saves nine.

What is your take on the Edo State gubernatorial election?

Edo State election conducted by INEC is the worst ever. It is most unfortunate that INEC performance rating is getting worse. INEC has proven not worthy to conduct a free and fair election. The process by which the results were released was faulty in all its ramifications. Again, this government does not care about our democracy as long as he has it in his own way.

If APC has an iota of respect for our democracy, they will not display such contempt for the people by hijacking the process circumventing the rules of engagement at its pleasure. No one should have the power to shift the goalposts in the middle of the game. INEC cannot have different rules for different election.

The result on the IReV should be the final result while the hand count is meant to check the IReV results. Should there be irregularities like over voting, the result must be cancelled otherwise, the IReV result stands because the hand-collated results are usually doctored and mutilated by the INEC officers who are responsible to the dictates of the authorities in government or the highest bidder.

This cannot be accepted in a democracy. We witnessed Adamawa State election where the resident electoral officer changed the result and he was ready to announce the results but for the intervention of the group of press men who subjected him to interrogation by asking why he wanted to announce an inconclusive result.

Just like Edo State, the collation was suspended until the following day. And before the resumption of the collation process, the resident electoral officer decided to announce his own version of the result. Edo election result cannot be accepted as a valid result.

The PDP seems to be in deep crisis with Nyesom Wike being allegedly used by APC to destabilise the party and the structure of Rivers PDP handed over to him. Is this not a serious problem for the party if the allegations are anything to go by?

Yes, there are so many unresolved issues since the last general election. It has been a year and six months and the party members and the general public are agitated not understanding why our party has not provided opposition to the ruling party. Of course, our predicament has been a constraint, but it is better late than never. I believe that the process is being fast tracked and the party will be free at last, free of all encumbrances. Those issues are very sensitive and unless the party carefully handles them, they might upset the apple cart.

So, the party is cautiously but steadily reconciling the issues. The party, PDP, leadership is giving the two critical issues the required attention. Rivers State division between the present Governor and the former governor which will be settled politically, it is also receiving the appropriate attention.

The second issue is about the substantive national chairman of the party. This is equally being attended to; very soon Wike will be engaging the media on sensitive matters of nation.