Anthony Sani, member of the Board ofTrustees (BoT) and former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), in this interview speaks on the state of the nation, hardship in the country and insecurity.
He also speaks on the fuel subsidy removal, restructuring, review of the 1999 constitution, among others. Iniobong Iwok brings the excerpts:
Though the ACF Board chairman said the meeting you had recently was far from discussing politics, many political observers believed that there was an undertone of 2027 politics that accounted for such large attendance. Don’t you think so?
I have pointed out that the meeting was meant to discuss how best the North can address the socio-economic challenges the region has found itself. It was not political. Anybody who attended the meeting because of politics was disappointed.
Do you think that solution to insecurity is too far from the Northerners, considering the fact that those at the helm of affairs of security in the country are mostly Northerners?
Yes, because the North is at war with itself, it stands to reason that the North should be able to solve the problems. Given political will and determination, no situation is beyond redemption.
Many believe that the body language of ACF is that if President Bola Tinubu wipes out terrorism and insecurity generally from the North, the people will vote for him again in 2027. As an insider of BoT, how do you feel about this situation?
If the APC controlled government is able to deliver on the promise of its electoral mandate that includes taming insecurity, not only the North but also the South will vote for the party and, thus, for President Bola Tinubu, considering the fact that Bola Tinubu lost in the South during the last elections. After all, while victory for first tenure is based on hope, re-election is based on performance.
Do you see the politics of the next election dividing members of ACF and North in general?
ACF comprises members from different political parties and political persuasions. The North has never been in only one political party. In the first republic, there were NPC, NEPU and UMBC in the North. North has never been in only one political party. For example, NPC, NEPU and UMBC were northern political parties in the first republic.
In the second republic, we had NPN, PRP and GNPP in the North. In the current regime, there have been many political parties like APP, PDP, CPC, APC and NNPP in the North. That is why the forum is political on issues most northerners share but it is not partisan.
In the meeting, ACF also expressed worry about splitting northern groups in the name of fighting for the interest of the region. Does ACF intend to disband such groups?
Yes, there are many platforms in the North professing to promote and protect Northern interests. But this is not new. But because of fissiparous tendencies of such platforms, ACF prefers less of the fora. And since most members of the groups profess to be members of ACF as an umbrella body, ACF would not disband them but persuade them to sublimate their energies and time in building a sturdy ACF instead of wasting their time in other platforms.
Why was ACF afraid of the much touted constitution review and restructuring of the country, but quickly made the U-turn at the meeting to say that North is now ready for restructuring?
ACF has never been afraid of review of the constitution and restructuring. What the forum has said is that the current constitution is a clone of that of 1979 which was produced democratically by subjecting the draft constitution by a committee headed by Rotimi Williams to debates by an elected Constituent Assembly under the watch of Justice Udo Udoma. Justice Nikki Tobi’s committee went round the country and came with the verdict that Nigerians prefer that of 1979 to that of 1995. Hence, 1979 was adopted as the 1999 constitution.
The only additions are states and local governments created after 1979. ACF has been saying that the problems of Nigeria have nothing to do with the constitution and structure of the country but due to collapse of national ideals and moral values. The forum has pointed out that this country has been restructured several times, be it geopolitical, form of government or model for economic development models.
What is more, the term restructuring means different things to different people. For some people, it is federalism, for others it is resource control or true federalism. But if there is any need at all to review the constitution or do some form of restructuring the country by tempering with the current exclusive and concurrent list, the North would participate and protect its interest and that of a united Nigeria where the national government would be balanced by appropriate state level power. This is because a weak center cannot hold a diverse country with fissiparous tendencies together under the same roof.
ACF appeared docile and dormant over the years, failing to bark and bite, so to say, to attract development to the region. What is your reaction to this?
The observations by the chairman are not wrong. All mechanisms of community living experience ebb and flow of life. The current leaders of ACF are determined to overcome any challenges in the forum.
Some Northern groups believe that the North does not need political power in 2027, but infrastructural and educational development from the federal government. Are you comfortable with this stance?
That is their own views which are allowed in a multiparty democracy. I have said it several times that while there is national consensus on challenges confronting the nation, there is no similar consensus on methods of solution.
That explains why multiparty democracy allows each political party to represent a distinct method of solution as contained in the party manifesto used for canvassing electoral mandates needed for execution.
Nigerians are groaning over hike in fuel prices, which has automatically affected prices of other goods and services. What is the way out?
There is no easy solution to the current high inflation. This is because part of it is imported while some are due to domestic policies of removal of fuel subsidies and unification of the exchange rate. To tame the inflation would require sacrifices from both leaders and the led.
We had thought the Dangote refineries’ fuel from domestic crude oil would stop importation of refined fuel and reduce inflation, much of which comes from the cost of transportation. Yet the resort to Treasury bills at high rates has its own drawbacks of stifling investments that can lead to recession. So, the choice for the government is limited.
How do you see the lifting of ban on importation of foods and suspension of tariffs on importation of essential commodities recently approved by the president?
While I empathize with Nigerians over the untold hardship across the land, I share the view expressed by Akinwumni Adesina of African Development Bank that the lifting of ban on importation of foods can discourage investors in agriculture and frustrate those who have already invested. You would note that our bane in socioeconomic development has been due to inconsistent public policies.
For examples, we had Low Profile and Operation Feed the Nation by General Obasanjo as Head of state, we had Austerity Measures and Green Revolution by President Shagari and Structural Adjustment Programmes by President Babangida. All these policies were aimed at improving local production and productivity of the economy.
But they could not be allowed to yield the desired result before they were disbanded. President Bola Tinubu located the courage of his conviction and took hard decisions needed to overcome our collective challenges. But the management of the savings from removal of fuel subsidies for palliatives which has not reached 15m Nigerians and the lifting of the importation on food suggest the government is towing the familiar path. I pray the government has the staying power for policies that can bring about productivity of the economy.
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