Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Secretary General, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony Sani has disagreed with the notion in some quarters that power should shift to either Southeast or Southwest in 2023, saying that there is no national consensus on rotation of the president between regions or among zones.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, Sani also spoke on the alleged bad blood between President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo.
The ACF scribe said if there was such bad blood, the duo should iron out their differences in favour of working together to deliver on the promise of their mandate to satisfy the expectations of Nigerians and the international communities.
He also spoke on other national issues such as insecurity, national livestock transformation project, closure of borders, as well as Prof Osinbajo’s vow to forfeit his immunity in order to clear his name over allegation of financial mismanagement. Excerpts:
What impact will the adoption of National Livestock Transformation Project by northern governors have on the region?
The aim of the National Livestock Transformation Programmes is in two folds, namely to improve the volume and quality of livestock farming as an occupation and to encourage nomads to abandon open grazing in favour of sedentary habit that is not amenable to trespasses which bring about clashes between herders and farmers with all the attendant insecurity. And if the northern governors have adopted the National Livestock Transformation Project, it means they see in it a way out of the current challenges posed by open grazing. That is to say, the Northern States Governors Forum shares the vision and aspiration of the programme that it will improve both the economy and security in the North. We just pray that the adoption will make the vision and aspiration of the project find expression in no distant future.
The governors of Zamfara and Katsina states are negotiating with bandits. Is this the best approach?
I do not think it is a matter of “best approach,” but an attempt to overcome the insecurity posed by banditry that has cost loss of many innocent lives. I am aware that some people question the wisdom of negotiation with bandits who are terrorists, considering such dialogue amounts to rewarding bad behaviours as espoused by Danegeld. But we must understand the import of the old saying that when you kill one person, you would be charged for murder; when you kill 10 persons, you will be examined for insanity; but when you kill 1,000, you would be invited for peace talks in order to avert further killings. That perhaps explains why the UN invites warring parties to Geneva for peace talks. It is not because the UN likes the war and the killings that come with it, but the peace talk is to stop further killings. I want to believe the duo of governors of Katsina and Zamfara states want to stop further killings by the bandits.
Kidnapping is currently the most dreaded security challenge in the country where millions of naira are being demanded and paid as ransom in order to free the victims. What is the way out?
Because of poverty which has come with unemployment, and because of cashless economy which has made armed robbery less attractive, kidnapping has become big business. This is because it produces many billionaires in very short time. This reminds me of what President Bush (Jnr) and former President Clinton said of poverty. President Bush was of the view that some leaders do not attempt to reduce poverty among their citizens because they think poverty is directed at freedom or liberty. But Clinton was very pithy when he said the same poverty could be gun powder keg waiting to be ignited by indifference of leaders. I want to believe Clinton’s statement has come unto its own. Our leaders have over the years used corruption to steal people’s empowerment, to steal their opportunity and to steal their future, thereby enthroning poverty as a state of equilibrium. Hence the security challenges posed by banditry, kidnapping, clashes between herders and farmers, insurgence, militant activism, cultism, ritual killings and even baby factory where young women are corralled in a harem and made to produce infants for sale. It seems to me that some of those whose empowerment, opportunities and future have been stolen by past failure of leadership have decided to take it out on the society. That is to say, they are not patient enough to wait for PMB to turn things around. Hence the increase in the inherited insecurity. The UN’s Resolution 1966 of 2010 has advised affected nations to address the underlying causes of such insecurity which President Buhari has been trying to do through the fight against insecurity and against corruption in order to create an enabling environment needed for diversification of the economy away from over dependence on oil wealth which is not the result of hard work. But diversification of the economy is never a day’s job. And that is why Nigerians need to be distant runners and patiently support the regime to overcome the challenges for the good of all.
There is reported bad blood between the President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo. What does this portend for the polity?
I do not want to believe there is any bad blood between President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo. This is because President Buhari and his sidekick know that such a crimp between the two cannot be in the best interest of the regime. Recall when there were similar reports in the past, the vice president told the nation that the president treats him as a son. I want to believe the reports are surreal and the situation has not changed. Nigerians should know that the constitution does not have specific roles for the vice president or deputy governor. All the roles performed by the sidekick are at the behest of his principal. The constitution of the Economic Advisory Council under the president cannot be regarded as sign of bad blood between the president and his vice. This is because the president can wake up tomorrow and assign more roles to his vice.
But if there is any scintilla of truth in the reports, I appeal to the duo to iron out their differences in favour of working together to deliver on the promise of their mandate that has spawned very high expectations by Nigerians and international community on the regime.
Some people from the North insist that power must remain in North beyond 2023. What do you think?
This is not a matter of insistence by some people that power should remain in the North in 2023 or not, since only political parties are constitutionally allowed to present candidates for elections. In the absence of any existing national consensus on rotation of the position of the president between North and South that is binding on the political parties, I believe the political parties are at liberty to design their winning game plans that include where the presidential candidates come from. Any group, which hankers for where the president should come from must do so within the political parties. In any case, I think it is too early to start the politics of 2023 just immediately after the formation of the cabinet. This is capable of distracting attention of the regime from delivering on the promise of democracy. More so that the performance of the current regime is expected to inform part of the politics of 2023. So, let politicians come together as one people in support of the government until next rounds of elections when they will be expected to go back to the trenches.
It is widely being speculated that some northern politicians are already scheming to run the 2023 presidency as against the general belief that power should shift to the Southwest. How do you react to this?
I have told you that there is no national consensus on rotation of the president between regions or among zones. You would recall Buhari contested against President Obasanjo in 2003, President Jonathan contested against Buhari in 2011 and 2015. Also, note that there were presidential candidates in 2019 elections from both North and South. All these suggest there is no national consensus on rotation of the president that is acceptable and binding on the political parties.
The closure of borders does not seem to go down well with some people. What is your take?
If the economy must be diversified away from over dependence on oil, then there must be some policies put in place to encourage local production of those goods we can produce. Unbridled smuggling cannot encourage local production because most smuggled goods are cheaper. Hence the significance of the closure of the borders. Nigerians should learn how to forego part of today’s comfort for the good of tomorrow.
The vice president has been accused of pillaging N90 billion and he has volunteered to let go his immunity in order to clear his name. Any comments?
To me, that figure of N90 billion for elections is too big to be true. What is more, in both mien and nuances, Prof Osinbajo is a simple man who is fairly detached from accouterments of life as to make him pillage such a big amount. But I would be happy if this matter is sorted out by the courts to enable Nigerians know the truth in order to discourage wild allegations that distract government from focused good governance.