By Omoniyi Salaudeen

Hon. Wale Osun is the chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG).

In this interview, he spoke on the need for the presidential candidates in the coming 2023 general elections to show proof of their commitment to restructuring as a way of ensuring a stable polity.

For the umpteenth time, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has again expressed concern over the utterances of politicians and the threat of violence on the conduct of the coming general elections. What do you see in this development?

I think we are allowing ourselves to be intimidated by the negative intelligence reports on our country, whereas what should be our concern is how to tackle whatever problem that might arise. The whole essence of having an intelligence report is to make information available to the appropriate security agencies. And if we do have confidence in the security agencies, whether you are talking of policing authorities or the army authorities, we should be able to access intelligence reports appropriately and take pre-emptive actions. So, all these cries either by the INEC or by foreign agencies are because nobody seems to have any confidence in the integrity and the capacity of our security agencies. And that is why we have always been talking about decentralization of the police so that every federating unit can have an effective policing system. If politicians are aware that there is a security apparatus that has integrity, they will know that they can be drawn in by making careless statements. They will know that if they make a careless statement they can be invited for a debriefing. But where is the integrity of our security apparatus? So, there is a need for us to build institutions in Nigeria. If we build institutions and there is a restructuring of the country, all these issues will be addressed. At present, the power at the centre is open to abuse. That is why the INEC, the US, and British embassies are complaining. Yet, we are pretending as if they don’t matter. Instead, what we have witnessed is a situation where the various spokespersons of the government are deriding credible information that is out there on the streets. This election presents yet another opportunity to put the state actors on the spot for them to tell Nigerians what they intend to do about the critical issues of restructuring and power devolution. How will it be possible for the electorate to enter into a social contract with those candidates who are already mouthing restructuring so that the promises they are making now will not turn out to be a rope of sand? This is where the role of the media comes in. I have listened to some political outings, and I have found out that most of the interrogations are not deep. For instance, at independence, the control of resources by the federating unit was almost 100 per cent. When the military came, during the era of General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), it dropped to about 50 per cent. At the time of General Buhari as the military head of state, it dropped to about three per cent. This time around, all candidates promising to do a restructuring should be asked specific questions about how far they are ready to go. Each of the leading presidential candidates needs to be drawn out by the media. They should be put on the spot and asked specific questions on the issues of power devolution and state police to know how far they are ready to go so that in case of any default they can postmark them after the election. For now, the media are not doing that. They all appear to be complicit, pretending as if they don’t have the depth of knowledge of restructuring, but they do because Nigeria media have the best materials you can find anywhere in the world.

Isn’t it more appropriate for the stakeholders who attend the Town Hall meetings being organized by political parties to put the candidates on the spot rather than passing the buck to the media?

How often do you have stakeholders with their independent minds going to such meetings to ask a question? When you see them organise Town Hall meetings, they know their sympathizers, they know who their people are. So, it is only the media that can put them to question. The media will make or mar our country because they can set the necessary agenda. But if they allow themselves to be drawn into partisanship, then it becomes another issue.

If any emerging president has a genuine intention to do restructuring of the country, which option can guarantee the best result – Act of the National Assembly or national conference?

The National Assembly is also part of the problems we have in this country because of the lopsidedness in the number of representatives per state. For instance, Lagos State has just 20 House of Representatives members, Kano has 40. What is the population of Kano to Lagos? Even going by the figure declared by the National Population Commission, Kano and Lagos are at par. How come that one is having 40 members and the other is having 20? You cannot expect that kind of body to restructure our country.  A proper restructuring has to go the way of a national conference by the delegates elected for that purpose. Since we don’t have an accurate census figure, any perceived majority will continue to dominate and have their way. So, if we are going to do a genuine restructuring, it will be by way of consensus. As things stand now, the National Assembly lacks the capacity and nationalism to restructure the country.

Coincidentally, another population census is coming up in an election year. Does this look feasible to you?

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I am even surprised that the census is coming up in the year of the election because ordinarily, a census is something that has to come up in a much more sober and stable period when the country is settled and there is a government in place that is acceptable to all the people. How can we have a census exercise which you are already doubting ab initio?

Despite all the security challenges, President Muhammadu Buhari has said it repeatedly that he is going to leave a legacy of a free, fair, and credible election. Can you see this in his body language?

It is for Nigerians to judge that. He has given that assurance and we need to believe him. He is our president, we must have trust in him that he will deliver on his promise. We must be ready to give him that confidence too.

The ongoing campaigns by political parties and their candidates have been largely dominated by ethnic, religious, and sectional sentiments. Are you not worried that the country is having a repeat of the old experience?

Nigeria is still an evolving nation. We don’t have a nation yet. And, of course, it takes time to build a nation. A genuine effort has to be made to ensure that the country is united and confidence is built up. Already, we have two ethnic nationalities talking about their desire to exit Nigeria. All these, no doubt, will affect the conduct of the election.

To what extent do you think the coming dispensation will mellow down these agitations for self-determination?

We have to give confidence in ourselves, we have to be seen to be just and equitable towards one another.

Part of the reasons for these agitations is this feeling of alienation by some sections of the country who believe that they have not had their fair share of the power-sharing. Is there any prospect in this coming election that the perceived sense of alienation could be laid to rest?

There is nothing that can be done in isolation. In this interview, we have spoken about the coming census, we have spoken about the INEC and their plans to have a free and fair election and we have spoken about the commitment of the president to ensuring a free and fair election. Unless there is a genuine attempt to ensure that every Nigerian has the feeling that he is a Nigerian, there will always be agitation to exit the country. We cannot continue to pretend not to see that the country is bleeding.