Martin Onovo, an engineer, was the presidential candidate of the defunct National Conscience Party (NCP) in the 2015 general election. In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he spoke on the state of the nation and fears ahead of another round of national election in 2023. Excerpt:
What is your take on the controversy that trailed the passage of the Electoral Act?
We saw federal lawmakers insert the clause that Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has to give final approval before INEC can transmit election results electronically.
The passage of the Electoral Act was clearly partisan, irregular and unlawful. The motive of the legislators that removed electronic transmission of the results seems clear to all ethical Nigerians. The purpose of electronic transmission of results is to eliminate fraud at collation centres.
INEC has the constitutional authority to conduct elections. The same INEC from its experience claims that it can transmit results electronically but the National Assembly decided that INEC must first secure the consent of the NCC. We must remember that the NCC is completely controlled by the ruling party that has rejected the electronic transmission of results.
With the fact that votes do not count in many elections in Nigeria, it seems clear that the ruling party does not want votes to count. The experience of the ruling party in league with the INEC in 2019 when they both refused to allow verification of presidential election results from the INEC server confirms that the ruling party does not want free and fair elections.
Do you still have hope of a free and fair election in 2023?
With this undemocratic ruling party in power, there is no hope for free and fair elections in Nigeria. The deliberate steps taken by the ruling party to avoid free and fair elections with impunity are numerous and consistent. From the nomination of their party members as INEC Commissioners to the intimidation of the mass media to the sponsorship of terrorists and the rejection of electronic transmission of results, the plan to avoid free and fair elections seems clear.
The spate of insecurity in Nigeria is worsening daily; what do you think President Muhammadu Buhari is not doing right?
It seems Buhari is not doing anything right and does not wish to do anything right as he shares the religion and philosophy of the terrorists. He previously confessed his total commitment to the sharia movement all over Nigeria when he said, ‘I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria’. Now, we all know that the principal objective of Boko Haram is the establishment of sharia in an Islamic State.
We also know that the RUGA settlements proposed by the presidency are for Islamists. We know very clearly that the Fulani terrorists in Nigeria were brought in from Mali, Sierra Leone, Niger, etc., by the APC for the 2015 elections as was confessed by Alhaji Kawu Baraje, former APC leading national chieftain. Former President Obasanjo previously declared that, “Fulanisation, Islamisation agenda is going on in Nigeria”.
We know that, Nigerian security forces know exactly where the terrorists are camped as confirmed by Sheik Ahmad Gumi. We know that, “The armed forces are not neutral. They are conniving with the armed bandits that are killing people” as concluded by Gen. Danjuma. We know that a herdsman arrested in Plateau State was armed with a Nigerian military rifle as confirmed by Police. Further, the Police gave the rifle number as HC2614. We also know that the herdsmen repelled and captured in Ogoja had rifles from the Nigerian Army barracks in Ogoja as confirmed by Col. Nyiam (rtd.). Remember that His Excellency, Ayo Fayose insisted that the Federal Government is now the employer and defender of terrorists. According to His Excellency, Jonah Jang, “What is happening is not a secret; people are being brought from Mali, Chad and all over to come and occupy native land”. We also know that the Presidency has insisted on developing RUGA settlements for these terrorist Fulani.
Finally, Buhari (a Fulani himself) is the Commander-in-Chief of these armed forces that are conniving with the armed Fulani bandits. Therefore, Buhari must be held responsible for the insecurity in Nigeria
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What is your take on the arrest of Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu?
The kidnap of Nnamdi Kanu and arrest of Sunday Igboho are wasteful endeavours of a failed and desperate Buhari regime. We must ask the regime how much of public funds it has wasted on these unpatriotic international operations. Nnamdi Kanu was on trial in Nigeria. When the Buhari regime saw that they were not ready for the case, the Army attacked the community of Nnamdi Kanu and he had to escape for his life. Now that he was kidnapped in Kenya and brought back to court in Nigeria, the Buhari regime is trying to evade the court process as they refused to allow Nnamdi Kanu to see his lawyers and the DSS failed to bring him to court on 26th July, 2021.
If there are any serious allegations against Nnamdi Kanu, the regime will hurry to try him and convict him. Since there is no serious case against him, the regime has chosen to play ‘hide and seek’ while desperately searching for a political solution. The allegations of treasonable felony seem frivolous as we all know that
IPOB has a philosophy that rejects violence and IPOB also preaches no violence. In addition, the right to self-determination is universal. So, the thoughtlessness of the position of the sectional Buhari regime seems obvious.
The case of Sunday Igboho is similar. He was in Nigeria preaching his Yoruba nation message peacefully until the Buhari regime very violently attacked his home by 1.30 in the morning. Now, the regime is unable to articulate any serious case against him. Again, the right to self-determination is universal.
There are growing concerns that President Muhmmadu Buhari administration is becoming dictatorial. Recent attempts at gagging the media and ban on twitter are just examples. What is your take?
The regime is a fully mature dictatorship. We can see the intimidation of the judiciary and the dictatorial removal of the Chief Justice of the Federation. We can see the intimidation of the legislature and the mass media. We can see the violation of fundamental human rights. We can see the harassment of opposition politicians. We can see the disregard of the Constitution. We can see the routine violation of court orders. All the elements of a full-blown dictatorship are present. We saw the extra-judicial killings of so many Shiites by the Army in Kaduna State and thousands of innocent Christians by the security forces in Imo State. This is a full dictatorship and we must check it robustly.
What is your take on the crisis rocking the two major political parties in the country?
We have seen increasing defection of some actors from the PDP to the APC recently. We have made it clear repeatedly that the two parties are two sides of the same fake coin. They provide the dens for all corrupt politicians to manipulate elections. The contradictions of their Machiavellian manoeuvres will undermine and destroy them if they do not transform to patriotic political parties. You can see how the ruling party imported Fulani terrorists for their unlawful activities during the 2015 elections.
What is your take on growing agitations for zoning of the presidency to the South in 2023?
Rotation is now a national political norm. We practise it in almost all Nigerian towns; we practise it in almost all states. It has been repeatedly agreed on by several nations. It is consistent with our constitutional federal character requirement. It is also consistent with the universal egalitarian requirement of representation in a democracy. It is practised in many other countries like Switzerland. The presidency should come to the South East in 2023. The North has over-dominated power since independence. In this Fourth Republic it went from former President Obasanjo to the late Yar’Adua then to Jonathan before Gen. Buhari, but with the desperation of the Buhari regime, elections may not hold or a charade may be arranged.
