Bode George, a former deputy national chairman (south) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in this interview with INIOBONG IWOK, spoke on myriads of challenges confronting Nigeria and why the Supreme Court’s ruling on financial autonomy for Local Governments was wrong. Excerpts:
The hunger protest was much felt in Northern Nigeria unlike in the South. What is your take?
The youth’s recklessness and what is happening in Northern Nigeria is a reflection of the state of the youth. You know we are lucky in the South west, down to the Delta and Edo region. When the Action Group ruled the Southwest, Obafemi Awolowo emphasised the need for education; education makes people easy to rule, but difficult to deceive.
Some years ago, I went for the first graduation ceremony of Katsina State University and I sat beside the state governor and they were congratulating the graduands and there were two young men; one had a first class in mathematics and another in science and I asked the governor what are you going to do with them? He told me they would send them abroad for post graduate education. Having exposed all the areas of the North to education, the challenges are now coming up.
What is next after graduation? Where is the job? Where is food? The youth went back to where they are coming from and they saw the lifestyle of the leaders and they are bound to react. The anger is what they are exhibiting now. On the issue of protesters, I want to advise my colleague; the chief of defence staff as an experienced general myself, I heard him talking to the protesters about the protest.
Let him read the constitution, what are your dos and don’ts? Let him not get involved with political issues, warning people. There are covert operations that are done; you are to defend the people of this country and territory if we have external forces. Yes, I realised, there is a special operation, but we have not got to that situation. I saw a video where the army officers were patrolling a community as if the people living there were foreign invaders, these are your people and you are to defend them by your training and honour.
We had some revelations in the oil sector recently. What is your take?
The issue of the oil, what is behind it? Is it true that it was Oando that was lifting crude oil? The President must address Nigerians because the first statement that came out from Aliko Dangote was that he was going to buy crude oil from America. Everybody was surprised with that statement and gradually the issue of Malta came up. What is happening in Malta? We are not fools, what is happening in the oil industry we want to know?
Maybe, it did not start today, some people were complaining about the subsidy under Buhari’s era and that the money budgeted for subsidy was too much at the time.
Nigeria is facing an unprecedented food crisis, what is your assessment of the situation?
The solution is not to start importing food as palliatives, where are the economic advisers to the Villa? There should be short-term and medium-term policies. When Olusegun Obasanjo was in power, there were specific banks to meet the needs of each sector. We had agriculture bank that was set up, I was chairman of BoI at some point. We had micro credit; all the money they are using to import palliatives they should give loans to farmers at almost zero interest. I know Lagos don’t farm, what we know how to do is business or land, but they farm in the North with the loan if coordinated very efficiently it can aid people to go back to the farm.
Subsidies fertilizer for them that is the real palliatives, all the rice they are talking about, are not even given to those who need them, it makes our country look like we are in stone-age.
What is your take on the state of the economy?
The rate of inflation is rising by the hour, which means the interest rate cannot fall and that is why you see a lot of our people saying we are here you want to send me to jail for borrowing money and that is because you can’t get any money in the bank. Get the head of banks for a closed-door meeting and ask them all the dollars allocated to them what they do with it? Where is the factory that produces one thing for the people? It is our dollar that was given to them and they are using it for round tripping. I am ready for a debate on that. Go to the airport and see their private jet, do you buy a private jet for one naira? Cardozo would be strong enough to replicate the efficiency of his family for this country, because his father was also an accountant who worked for this country.
Read also: Tinubu not sincere about subsidy payments — Bode George
Many Nigerians have called for a new constitution in recent months. Do you agree to such demands?
True no matter how long would still tell you this is the direction. I listened to one gentleman who said he came from Kano State, and lamented that we can’t continue like this. He said we need to revisit the constitution we are running because it is not working. The current system is like the military, power comes from the top downwards, but in democracy power comes from the base. The people elect you there to go and manage their base. There is a report handed over to Muhammadu Buhari by Goodluck Jonathan, let them go back and bring that report and discuss it, so that the lawmakers can act on it. We are only deceiving ourselves with the current constitution.
What is your take on the recent Supreme Court ruling on financial autonomy?
I don’t agree with the Supreme Court judgment on councils. What concerns the Federal Government with what is happening at the local government level of states? It is the responsibility of the states; it is not the business of the federal government. In the United States, what concerns the White House with what is happening in the county in the states? What concerns them with what happens in the county in California?
I mean there is a proper federal structure in the United States, but here everything is controlled by the federal government and that is not proper.
I hope Bola Tinubu can restructure the country and show his true commitment to the nation with this.
What is your take on the state of INEC ahead of off-cycles elections?
We sat here when the INEC chairman promised Nigerians that election results would be transmitted electronically and we all celebrated. I threw a party here and said for the first time in my life, we would be seeing a different thing in the election in Nigeria, but suddenly we heard there were technical glitches.
When he said technical glitch, I asked what kind of technical glitch he was talking about? Is there any computer system that would not have a backup? Amazingly, later, we heard that there was no technical glitch, but that the systems were switched off. Elections are coming up now in Ondo and Edo States. I hope we would not have the same thing.
Despite accusations from some Nigerians that the government is still paying subsidy on petrol, the government has denied. What is your view on the issue?
The Federal Government needs to be transparent. One day, we’re told there’s a subsidy, and the next day, it’s gone, Nigerians deserve the truth. This constant back-and-forth is confusing. Where is the transparency? How can we trust them? The Federal Government needs to be transparent. This decision to sell crude in naira is a ticking time bomb. Crude oil is our major income generator, bringing in foreign currency that bolsters our external reserves. But now, our reserves are already depleted, and this policy could be the final nail on the coffin.
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