John Darlington, former managing director of the defunct Bond Bank, in this exclusive interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, spoke about the state of the nation; the performance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last seven (plus) years, the campaigns, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) preparation for the general election, the seeming disregard of the letters of the peace accord by parties, the possible impact of the floods on the INEC preparations, why Bola Ahmed Tinubu is his choice candidate, among other issues. Excerpts:
Could you quickly scan the nation’s political environment? What are your fears and expectations?
I am a very optimistic person by nature and by my journey in life so far; but we are in bad state as a nation. Insecurity as its highest; the highest I have known since growing up and becoming a man. The intensity and the tension in the air about the politics of South and North dichotomy have never been this razor-sharp; unemployment has never been this bad. Formal and informal inflation have not been this bad; hunger in the land has not been this bad; therefore, what is good in my country? Hope and sheer grace of God. Therefore, you can take the dark side of the equation and say everything is bleak; but because of the doggedness; tenacity, energy, creativity, resilience of an average Nigerian citizen, we still have a country; we still have a great country. The election is now knocking; it is time to change leadership; leadership will change; election we will have, and the election will be credible because there is nothing that makes me feel election will not be credible. We must give it to the INEC. I am hopeful there will be a good election; I am hopeful the election will be credible and I am hopeful a new leader will emerge.
Every Nigerian is looking forward to the 2023 general election as campaign has started in earnest. Some people are asking what would be the plank of the campaign of the APC presidential candidate with the below-par performance of the government in the last seven years. They believe there is a correlation between the current administration and the party’s candidate. What do you think?
Damm good question. I am happy you dived right into that. But you made a point which was an assumption that I have a soft spot for the APC. You might be right and you are right; and I will explain to you. All my life, I have never been a card carrying member of any party; but that has changed in the last two months. In the last two months; I have registered in my local government and I am a party member of APC ward 6, unit 6 in a town called Obiaja in a Local Government called Esan South East in Edo State; a beautiful piece of land, and I have registered to go back there and influence my people for them to understand this election is critical and right choice we must make and I have invested time, resources, goodwill in my local government that I am very hopeful that by the time I relocate there, spend time and educate my fellow citizens in that part of the country, they would make the right judgment.
And to be upfront, among the three on the table today for me; I believe the man that the cap best fits this time is a person called Bola Ahmed Tinubu. You are right in saying that the APC has done badly in the last seven and half years; there’s no dispute whatsoever, as we started the conversation with– security, unemployment, inflation, exchange rate name it- all across life is tough. Youths can’t see tomorrow. I told you at the beginning; four months after my youth service; I got a beautiful job and since then I never suffered unemployment.
I was engaged; I grew; I bought a car; I bought a house; I train my family; I feed myself; I built a basket of assets. Where is that future for the young men of today? It is not available. But APC you know has not run this nation alone. The rot started long ago with PDP, cumulating in APC; but the difference with the APC of 2023 or the APC that would come in if voted for, or we as a country make that choice, is clear. Since 1999, when democracy came back into action, every president has seized and hijacked the party into their own personal structure and extension of their office. Go back to Obj (Olusegun Obasanjo), the PDP had a coloration and signature of Obj all over it.
Go to Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua took the vehicle and painted it with his own colour; go to Jonathan; he took it and labelled it Jonathan’s PDP. Buhari came; he took the mantle of leadership from the PDP and labelled it Buhari APC. Therefore, the Buhari APC ends sometime next year and hopefully; if we all make the right choice and the right vote – Bola Ahmed Tinubu APC will be in the saddle of leadership and the beginning of rebirth of a hopeful nation; a new beginning for my country will emerge and I have no doubt about his ability and commitments to do just that.
Some have categorised those that have pitched their tents for one presidential candidate or the other. Some are in support of the APC to continue their feeding off government beyond 2023; some who are supporting the PDP are those who had the best of their time in the 16 years that the party was in power and they want the good old days return with a possible PDP victory; whereas Nigerians who are supporting the Labour Party candidate are those who never had benefited either from the PDP or APC, but want a country that will work for everyone. Is that how you are looking at it also; and can you attempt an assessment of each of the three major candidates in the race?
Certainly, you have now agreed with me that we have three options on the table; if I hear you well. Patronage of the elite class with a particular party structure is part of our evolution; and it is a part of life worldwide. It is just that we are still way behind in the chain or root of evolution compared to the more advance countries.
But what is important is what the leadership or what the party leaves for the citizens. You talked about Obj and PDP; you know some particular players at that time who enjoyed government patronage. The question is, did they bring value for the country? You will answer that.
Yar’Adua had his own set of elite that had patronage, did they bring value? You will answer that. Jonathan came; he had his own boys, cronies and friends. Did they create value? You will answer. Buhari came with his own boys; his own circle; did they create value? You will answer.
Now, is time for a new leader at the helm of affairs. So, it is exciting times and interesting times but the environment has changed; the tempo; the depth of understanding, the impact of governance and government in the life of an average citizens has become known and sensitised and the youth have woken up.
So, the environment is exciting, but at the same time, delicate; therefore, all stakeholders have to be careful.
Peter Obi has woken up a new vanguard with Labour but remember, Peter Obi was in the PDP until few months ago; so, how you would want to colour him, you will decide. If you are going to colour him, one-third APGA; one-third PDP; one-third Labour; you will figure that out.
But that is an interesting basket on its own. But my knowledge, exposure, understanding of things tell me while there’s a story to watch and take lessons from for the big and established two parties, watch that space; don’t take that space for granted; don’t close your two eyes and go to sleep; we have a two-way race here, but if, for instance, I could see strong profile of candidates for Labour across the nation running for governorship slots; I could see strong candidates ruing for senatorial seats; for House of Representatives seats, I would be a bit more worried, but therefore, it is a story for another day. PDP, APC, Atiku and Tinubu – the difference is clear.
Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State; Tinubu was a treasurer of Mobil. I knew Tinubu as a treasurer of Mobil, when Mobil was in Broad Street (Mobil House in Broad Street). He used to wear white shirts (immaculate white with stripes) with suspenders on his white shirt and with his distinct frame of glasses then. I was privileged working in Lead Merchant Bank at that time; my then general manager, Lekan Smith had a relationship with
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Pius Akinyelure who was an ED in Mobil and Tinubu as treasurer. And FX was still scare at that time as it is now; you can see the dilemma of this country. Bankers and banks used to chase the oil companies to their dollar proceeds and Mobil was doing transaction with Lead, with Mr. Smith as general manager, and me as Foreign Exchange manager and operations head.
Tinubu had this distinct way he speaks. He commands confidence; he commands knowledge; he commands clarity; he commands decency; he commands cleanliness; and as a young man, I admired him. He finished his time at Mobil and became part of the Movement for Democracy with the Military Must Go and Democracy Must Come, and in the process went on exile.
He became helpful to a lot of people through his own personal resources. Fast-forward, he came back and became governor of Lagos State. We should remember what Lagos State was at that time in terms of insecurity, in terms of infrastructure; in terms of the environment; in terms of institutions; in terms of human capital; name it; and watch what he did in eight years; and let us be fair. Take institutions for instance; look at the courts; look at the physical structure- the courts in Lagos State before Tinubu and after Tinubu.
Look at the remuneration of judges and the comfort and lifestyle of judges in Lagos State and compare to many other states. Paying attention to judges was paying attention to rule of law. Take public schools; take roads; infrastructure, estates; the environment, doing business (ease of doing business); talk about the general business climate. He brought the private sector energy into the public office. Look at the team of commissioners he assembled at that time– your VP as the Attorney-General of Lagos State; Yemi Cardoso was in the cabinet; Wale Edun was in the cabinet; Dele Alake was in that cabinet; Aregbesola was in that cabinet; look at the team and see what they did. It is easy to forget where we are coming from. There was no doubt there was a credible government. Remember the distraction they had with different interest groups. A man that worked for Mobil, you start doubting or questioning his academic background; was that not a distraction? C’mon. Let us get serous! He wasn’t just a clerk; he rose to become a treasurer in Mobil. He did an amazing job. Remember the battle with Obj. How Obj seized Lagos State JAC Account and Bola Tinubu took up the challenge the internal revenue structure of Lagos State; it is easy to take it for granted now; the JAC of Lagos State was coming through Bond Bank at that time; so, I know the liquidity Lagos State used to have from JAC Account. If I remember clearly, it was around N800 million every month. That was frozen and Lagos State suffered it and did better.
Give it to him. And there is a story I will share with you here because I know the full story. Remember, Eko Hotel was sold by Abacha when Marwa was administrator in Lagos State to the Chagourys. And when Bola Tinubu became governor, he went back to that transaction and said, ‘I don’t think my state got a fair value for this asset!’ and Bola Tinubu being a man of vision; a man of courage; a man with foresight took them up in their commitment and they let go the investment. That tells the story of a leader with vision and commitment to his people. What happened there after? Lekki Toll Gate, we forgot; that lane used to be ‘face-me-I-face-you’ or one-lane road; look at what it has become; look at what has happened to Bar Beach. That is a legacy of a legend. That is a legacy of a leader; don’t take it for granted; therefore; I am confident to say that out of the three on the table today, Bola Tinubu is the man that the cap fits.
For the first time, you will have a leader that is ready for that office, not a leader that was forced; or that was not prepared. He knows the challenges of today, he knows how to go about it, and he has the courage, track record and the character to deliver an impactful government that will impact the common man on the street. All I am saying is; watch his antecedents and give him the chance; and don’t use Buhari’s APC to colour the incoming Bola Tinubu’s APC. For Atiku, to complete your question; hmmm; he worked in Customs; he became VP; he is very successful in business and wants to be the president for the fourth time; Nigerians will decide.
The amended 2022 Electoral Act gives enormous powers to the INEC to do a lot of things and also to prosecute those who run afoul of the electoral processes or those found to be fraudulent. Now, despite the signing of the Peace Accord by parties and their candidates, what we are hearing is that candidates are using intemperate language and hate speech against others. INEC is saying it does not intend to leave its core mandate to begin to delve into prosecution of electoral offenders. What is your take in all of these?
See, we must also be fair to INEC; in our comments; in our judgment. Do they really have the resources – human and financial- to pursue that mandate? I don’t think so. Won’t we rather allow them to concentrate on giving us a credible election which is critical for a country and a people to move forward because you know the havoc we would be in if there is no credible election with the tension in the air? This election; most people are describing it as a watershed; as between life and death for the nation, as if everything now hangs on this election; I don’t think it is, but again the reality on ground is scary; but do we panic? No; we keep hope alive and try to do the right things. Now, the question I am interested in is the leadership of INEC. Do I have confidence in the leadership? Yes. Do I have confidence in the top layers of INEC? Yes; would they do a good job? Yes! Now, peace accord by the parties should be respected, but again, being a citizen of this country and being around for a long time; thuggery and hooliganism will always be part of our campaign structure because of poverty and because of drugs in the environment. The amount of young men in drugs on the street today is alarming, and as a nation we should start addressing it. So, the dual issue of poverty – poverty from unemployment; and use of drugs (they say an idle mind is a devil’s workshop) are issues that we should not leave unattended to and they are now playing out in politics which you are now calling violence, and also the elite class who want to win at all costs, because for some, politics is a business; that is all they can do. Now, as a society do we have to wait until every election cycle before are start talking about these things? No. that’s why I am hoping most of the NGOs should wake up to start doing the right things for the environment; not a situation where everybody goes to sleep after election and wakes up six months to election again. There’s a lot to do- building institution; cleaning up the environment and making the environment safe and conducive for us to live in and do business, and do politics.
The flood menace in many states is seen as being capable of negatively impacting the activities of INEC ahead of the elections. What is your take?
We can see what the western world is investing in that space now; are we taking it seriously? No. That’s why I hope a credible government like Bola Tinubu’s would come in and start addressing this menace; because it is a reality – the weather has changed; the climate has changed; and it will impact us and that is what we are seeing. And when we make budgetary allocation, we should make sure it goes into the project we want it to tackle, that’s where accountability, credibility and focus become necessary. Will the floods impact the election? Certainly. A man that has no roof over his head; what is election to him? But will that make the general election not credible? No. But we must quickly reach out to the victims; give them succour where possible; issue them new cards (PVCs) so that they can participate in the exercise that determines their future for the next four years.
What may be your advice for the Nigerian voters on one hand, and politicians on the other, as we look forward to the general election?
As citizens, as politicians, as people, we are all stakeholders in one nation and one country. As it is today, we all have interest to preserve our nation in peace and unity. Therefore, we all should do what is right. Politicians must know that election is not a do-or-die; they must be fair in playing their politics; let decency; let common sense, let love for neighbour; let respect for neighbour prevail in their conduct, in their campaign. We, the ordinary commoners must do our own bit; register, have your card; go and vote. Now, every vote will be counted at the polling units. Stay there and wait until they count the votes in your unit. Do not rush home. Once you wait and see your vote being counted in your unit, your vote will count. We should also commend INEC for making this possible now. We all have a stake. We all should participate; we all should be calm; we all should be respectful of each other’s interest and just be decent and play with dignity and do your own bit and we will have a good election; we will have a good result and hopefully, the best leader will emerge which I am concluding to say that that person out of the three today, is Bola Ahmed Tinubu; a man with courage; a man with vision; a man with understanding of the environment; a man with commitment and track record for impactful government. A new dawn, a new beginning, a new season will emerge as from next year, God helping us. Yes; the flood situation is sad, and the flood situation is not new. Again, the question is what do we do before the flood came? We have what is called the dry season; the rainy season and we have what is called climate change which is now reality.
