Daniel Kanu
Dr. Sylvan Ebigwei (MON), renowned dental surgeon consultant, former Chairman of the governing board, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital and President-General emeritus, Aka-Ikenga, Ndigbo intellectual think tank, is worried on the Nigerian condition and the fear of mass explosion. The elder statesman tells Sunday Sun the real reasons the leadership is sabotaging electronic voting, the danger in letting the social media bill sail through, the need to shift power to the South East in 2023, President Buhari’s rumored third term agenda and border closure among other national issues.
How would you react to the issue of border closure, whether you think it’s in the best interest of Nigeria given the hardship Nigerians are passing through now?
Of course, the border closure is good for the country. People are just bringing all sorts of goods into the country, bashing the country from all sides; raping the nation both from externally and internally, our neighbours are milking Nigeria dry. A lot of trans-border trade that has no economic value for this country is going on. If you are in any business doing agriculture, I have done poultry, I am into agriculture and since the border closure we are now having value for our money. Do you know that before if you produce more than one thousand crates of eggs nobody will buy them because there were imported eggs everywhere from the neighbouring countries? You may use, maybe one thousand five hundred naira or thereabout to raise or get one boiler chicken and when it is time to sell them you discover you may be selling below the production cost, all because of imported poultry products. What about fish? If you see the type of fish they are bringing into this country some of them must have spent over three months in the high sea and they will dump them here for our consumption. This is not to talk of other commodities, goods from China, from everywhere. Look at imported rice, or rice, Abakaliki rice is still the best in terms of its nutritional content but because of imported items, Nigerians are so glued with anything foreign. I think what the government did is good for our people.
But is it not an indictment to our security agencies like the customs, at the border who are allowing these things even the contraband ones to find its way into the country?
It is not that the borders of other countries are more effective and efficient, the issue is beyond that. Of course, there are lapses but it is more than that. There are other critical issues. We know that in Nigeria bureaucracy is too much, it is not only in banning but we must have laws for ourselves. If you go to Cotonou ports it is very easy to clear your goods but come to Nigeria you get all sorts of levies, charges from different establishments. Some of us have abandoned our imported goods at the port because the levies you have to pay to clear the goods are bigger than even what you will get if you sell the goods. So those in authority should also consider these things, their draconian laws that hinder the progress of an average importer. Once you are an importer, automatically, you become the enemy of the state. That is bad. There is the need for government to look into their draconian laws again, review it, reduce its impact and make the ports more user-friendly, encourage people to use the ports so as to add value to your economy rather than discouraging the importers and this will make some of them begin to look for short-cuts. The government must look into the obstructions in our port system and ensure it is tackled first and other things will fall in line.
What is your take on the social media bill that the government is pushing speedily?
It can’t fly. It is too draconian and it is primitive. People should not be talking about somebody making speeches and you are thinking about hanging the person. It is only a primitive man that can only dream of implementing such law at this age. There are existing laws that can take care of all those issues of slander, hate speech, and all such stuff. There are laws that can alleviate the suffering of the masses that have not passed second reading which has not been attended to. You can’t always be talking about punitive laws leaving out very other important ones that will promote the good as well as alleviate the sufferings of the people. The irony is that they want such law for the lawmakers to continue to enjoy their huge salaries unchallenged, enjoying their mind-boggling emoluments and monthly take-away packages and they don’t want people to criticize them by making such a law. Without the media and constructive opposition, how then can we evolve? How can democracy take its root? I am always happy whenever I watch the British parliament in session, you see how they argue their cases for the good of their nation but here in Nigeria, you don’t know who is in opposition or who is in the ruling party. All they have is their common interest. How can you run a country without people criticising you, without allowing informed and constructive criticism and opposition? Why would you want to gag the people from speaking out their minds in a democracy?
Although President Buhari has said he is not interested in the third term most Nigerians are still apprehensive because we hear that some people are already approaching the law court to clear the way, mandating him to run? Do you think the exercise will amount to nothing bearing in mind that there is no smoke without fire?
I don’t even listen to such a thing because it is not possible unless anybody wants to set the country ablaze. You see, there are lots of charlatans all over the country that want to be seen that they love the President more than the rest of us. I am sure Nigerians will not accept that and I am sure Buhari himself will not accept it.
What is your take on power shift concerning the presidency in 2023 because while some powerful voices in the North are saying it must remain in the North, some from the South West are also positioning the zone for it and the South East too seem to be saying it is now or never.
You know that the type of democracy we are practicing in Nigeria is not a true democracy. Our political class seems to be too primordial; they don’t have the love of this nation at heart. They are too animalistic, too jaundiced to think that they can cling to power forever in a country such as ours. If we want to practice democracy let it be a democracy but what we are witnessing now is a charade. Look at the elections we had recently, the Kogi and Bayelsa elections. I have been telling Nigerians that as long as the pecks of the office of political holders are so rosy Nigeria will never have political peace, never. That is why many of us have advocated for restructuring. Restructuring is not just fiscal one, it entails political restructuring, how do we govern ourselves? If we now say Ok, that we want to practice the parliamentary system of governance or presidential system as we are doing now but the legislators will be on part-time basis and will be receiving allowance, the salary of a governor can just not be more than five or ten percent above the salary of a permanent secretary. You then remove all this constituency project rubbish…it is then that Nigeria will start having political peace. It is then that the very good people that have the love of this nation will come to play. When a near-poor man goes somewhere to borrow money to contest an election and he wins, maybe he becomes a governor, senator, member of House of Representatives, etc he is made for life. Is that how it should be? What we have here is politics as a business rather than as a service. So when the person finally wins the election to become say a governor or senator, he is made for life because the type of money he will see, the type of money that will pass through him will be unimaginable, it is the type of money that is not seen anywhere in this world by any politician. So the tendency to be violent, the tendency to be animalistic, the tendency to dehumanize others in order to get to that seat is much there. If this nation and the constituent population of this nation love themselves the best thing to do to bring political peace today is to have part-time legislators, restructure the country. The pecks of political offices are high, the reason some will want to kill and cause any amount of violence to be there. The pecks of political office is not synonymous with the economy of the nation, so it is not sustainable.
So to answer your question on 2023 presidency, for equity sake, the presidency should go to the South East.
Some critics say the zones must work it out. Do you believe that the South East is doing enough in terms of building the needed bridges?
The simple truth is that if the governing party picks their candidate from the South East the deal is done. What type of bridges has the Igbo not built? If the political class is sincere and wants to bring in equity in action they will know that it is Ndigbo for 2023. It is automatic that if APC today zone their presidency to the South East, an Igbo man will become the president following election trend.
Do you think the opposition party and in this case, the PDP is offering vibrant opposition?
Who is PDP, who is APC? They are the same people. APC populated the PDP before some left. So to me, I do not see any difference. It is where and when it is convenient for the politician they switch over. The political parties don’t even have a plan for the nation, no ideology. They are not there because of what they are going to do for the country; rather they are there for selfish reasons.
You expressed dissatisfaction with the Kogi and Bayelsa elections. Do you think Nigeria is matured for e-voting?
Nigeria is due for electronic voting but it will not happen because with such electronic voting the ploy to rig will be minimized and they will not want it because many of them will lose elections woefully. The players know that with this crude system they can always maneuver to have their way. They know what to do but they can’t do it. If other small countries like Ghana are doing it, why can’t we if we are sincere?
You know that in our system votes don’t count and that is worrisome. You cannot deepen your democracy when votes no longer count. As I said one of the things to do is to tackle the pecks of office the politicians are enjoying. I am yet to see anywhere in the world where for instance lawmakers are earning what is obtainable here. You must make political offices less attractive so that the right people with the heart to serve will come in to provide leadership. You want to be my servant and you still want to spend billions of naira to win the election to serve me. That person is coming to serve rather he is going there for something else.
What are your fears about Nigeria?
I have this fear of mass explosion f we do not put in check what is happening in the country today. I foresee mass disobedience. People have been drawn beyond their endurance limits. The people are hungry, they are angry, they are tensed up and anything can ignite their explosion. Let the masses not take up arms that is my prayer. A lot of Nigerians are jobless and you know the consequences of an idle mind and hand. Nigerians are hungry and they are angry, a little spark Nigeria can burn and the military may not be able to contain it. The only thing is that there is no cohesion among the masses but that does not mean that something spontaneous cannot happen because if it does both the rich and the poor will cry, it will affect everybody. We must do something to avoid a mass revolution.