Chidi Obineche
Alhaji Tanko Yakassai is a founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF and a former National Assembly Liaison Officer to the late President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic.
In this interview, the nonagenarian speaks on the burden of leadership in Nigeria, the federal character principle which President Muhammadu Buhari was said to have violated in his fast-going first tenure in office, the tussle for National Assembly leadership which has pitched the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, against certain aspirants, among other national issues. Excerpts:
Sir, the presidential election has been concluded. The results are being contested at the tribunal while most of the governorship, state House of Assembly, and National Assembly elections are mired in one controversy or the other, with quite a good number going for supplementary, or the collation of results held up? What do you say to that?
There are a chain of inconclusive elections that are unprecedented in our history. I know we had it in Osun State. That was just a one-off thing, which we thought would not repeat. Now, we have it in seven states. Don’t forget that we voted in 29 states and out of it, seven states’ elections are inconclusive. Are you sure that if we continue like this we will get anywhere in our democracy.
Why do you think it is so?
There are two things. I don’t know who brought in this provision of the number of voided votes or margin votes cast and the total number of votes of the leading contestant and the runner up? I don’t know who brought it into the election results collation? A candidate who polls the highest number of votes and meets the basic constitutional requirements of 25 per cent in two-thirds of the voting area ought to be returned as elected. When you now subject it to this nebulous provision of margin of voided votes and, therefore, declare the election inconclusive, it becomes controversial and designed to serve some ulterior interests. This is one good reason not to pass the elections as credible and transparent. The constitution is very clear on this and any law that is inconsistent with the constitution, which is the grundnorm is to the extent of that inconsistency inferior and should not be placed ahead of the provisions of the constitution. Whoever introduced that provision in the electoral act and made it susceptible for easy manipulation did not consider the history of Nigerian elections and the desire to improve on our records. I hope that that provision will be expunged quickly and the tribunal verdict on the Osun State election will be upheld at the Appeal and Supreme courts to enrich our jurisprudence and correct the anomaly once and for all. That will lessen the possibility of this inconclusive thing happening again. I hope the court will through that strengthen the constitution and uphold the sanctity of our elections. Otherwise, there is a possibility that this will continue in the future and mar the confidence in our elections. That challenge must be rectified.
Talking about the courts, are they not also infected with the same controversies when you look at the controversial suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, just before the elections? Do you then repose much confidence on it that it will strengthen the laws or constitution?
What happened in my view is that when the president decided to suspend the CJN, I think he was contemplating of the scenario of his own election. The issue of inconclusive elections in the states may not have come to his mind. What I think is that he was thinking about his election and the possibility of it being challenged at the Supreme Court. Little did he know that a more vexatious issue like inconclusive elections will rear its ugly head up. He was looking at the person who will appoint the panel of judges at the tribunal and a CJN that will be amenable to the president. That was where his mind was. Now, there is a problem he did not probably think of and which presently is taking the upper stage. If we continue to go like this, I think the number of inconclusive elections will go up next time. Look at how the supplementary elections went. I was in Kano when the supplementary elections took place. I saw what happened in the state. There was widespread violence, intimidation of electoral officials, connivance with the electoral authorities, broad day electoral robbery and alteration of results in the affected area and so many other acts of impunity using security agents. We will soon get to a point where it will no longer be seven states but 15 or 20 states going for supplementary elections where the outcome is usually predictable. You can imagine if what happened in Kano had been nipped in the bud. Will that not strengthen the peace and tranquility of the state and the country? I am more concerned about the future. We never had elections this bad. We never had elections that are inconclusive except in the case of Osun. Now, with the ease and success of the perpetrators of the inconclusive elections, you cannot rule it out in the future, unless the judiciary stands firm and makes a landmark ruling on it. If we go on with amendments of the Electoral Act or even improvements on this in the constitution, I don’t know if Buhari will be willing to assent to it. No.
What about the foreign observers of the elections? Are you satisfied with the role they played?
The foreign observers focused their attention on the voting, where as the rigging was done at the collation levels. Their observations and reports cannot, therefore, be said to be correct. There were so many things they did not see and they wrote their reports apparently based on the limitations of what they saw. I have seen their comments on Kano. They did not hit the nail on the head. They did not point out the shortcomings of the elections at the collation centre. They did not capture the market at the collation centre between the politicians and the electoral officers. I know of a situation where an electoral officer destroyed evidence that was used in cancelling an election. It is now market for politicians, market for police, market for electoral officials and it stinks. Poling agents, counting agents, politicians and so on are in market with the votes of the people. Two additional expenses have come out. Financial provision for INEC officials and provision for security officials is the in thing. The electoral process has sunk very low and has been turned to a market. This has made elections more expensive in Nigeria and I ask if we are moving forward or backwards when juxtaposed with previous elections in Nigeria beginning with those conducted by colonial officers. My prayer is that the court will come to rescue this country by making necessary and timely pronouncements. This is my hope. Otherwise, the decay will continue and the tempos of malfeasance will be increased.
On the heels of the challenge of the presidential election results at the tribunal by the PDP, APC has in a letter to security agencies demanded the arrest of PDP leaders for allegedly hacking into INEC server. Can you please react to this?
APC is a rival political party to PDP. I see the demand as sheer politicking. They can do anything to harass their opponents and vice versa. But what is important is the veracity and merit of the allegations put forward. It has become fashionable in Nigeria for rival political parties to make wild unsubstantiated allegations, oftentimes to score cheap political points or to wriggle out of difficult situations. Sometimes, the people do not know what to believe because of the sophistry in the arguments. But let me say that in this case, there is the Freedom of Information Act or the whistle blowers principle of this government, which the PDP obviously exploited. The issue at stake in my opinion is whether what the PDP presented at the tribunal based on what was allegedly extracted from the server is true or false. It should not be buried. The demand from the APC appears diversionary. I don’t know if APC was conscious of the existence of those legal instruments before making the demand for the arrest of PDP leaders.
Is it not possible, based on the fact that APC is in power, that PDP leaders may eventually be arrested?
Let me tell you. In my life political history, I have been arrested 10 times. But I have only been convicted twice. Arrest is one thing, and to get convicted is another. I believe the argument of the APC is to take tension and intimidate the PDP. Even on technical grounds, the matter they are pursuing lacks substance. Any allegation must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. If you allege that someone hacked into your server, there must be evidence to prove it. In any case, I don’t know when APC became INEC, because the server that is said to be hacked belongs to INEC, and INEC is yet to complain that its server was hacked. When you take the place of the original complainant in a case, the court usually refers to the person as busy body. Even the presiding judges have their limitations in a case, because when a lawyer presents a case in court, relevant laws are usually cited in support. The judge will normally be guided by what the law says in the instant case and will not just dispense justice with a wave of the hand. From the time Buhari took over, I have lost count of the number of people that have been arrested. I an tell you that the only two people I know that have been convicted are the former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, and the former governor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame. Others have been going forth and back, and some have billions of naira on them and nothing has happened. So, the arrest of PDP leaders, if it happens, will form part of the arrest history of the Buhari government.
You are one of the few northern elders that have been consistent and strident in opposition to Buhari. What really informs your position on the man?
There are many problems in Nigeria. I have been in this business for 68 years now and I have passed through so many experiences. What is worrisome is the problem of this country. There is worsening unemployment, graduate unemployment, abject poverty everywhere, and people going about in hunger. No food for the common man and the vast majority of the people have been turned to beggars. In my experience, you know I was Commissioner for Finance in Kano between 1972 and 1975, I learnt from that experience that if you want to arrest this ugly trend, you must begin to put in place measures to modernize agriculture. Agriculture especially modern agriculture is such that if you go into it, millions of people will be empowered, if you introduce correct policies. Job seekers on the streets will be reduced and crime will also be reduced. Power generation is another area that should be given priority. If the government goes into it well, in a short period of time, it will generate millions of jobs and the army of the unemployed will be drastically reduced. Industries will spring up all over the place and create job opportunities for millions of people. Let me refer you to the statement made by the Minister of Agriculture when he appeared before the Senate committee on Agriculture recently. He said people were importing toothpicks and tomato juice into the country which the country has the capacity to produce locally and generate employment for millions of people. This cannot be politics. Why is it not possible to generate power that will catalyze in setting up industries that will in turn give employment to Nigerians? Why do we import tomato juice to the detriment of our economy? Tomato is produced here in Nigeria in abundance. Why are we not making effective use of the natural endowments in this country? Why are we so blessed, yet so cursed? Commitment to the development of this country is important, I agree. Popularity is one thing. Ideas on how to solve the problems of this country is another thing. For me to support any leader in Nigeria, that person must convince me that he knows the problem of Nigeria, and that he has ideas on how to solve the problems. You can be popular and enjoy the support of 99.9 per cent of the population of Nigeria, but if you are empty headed and does not know how to galvanize the popularity to impact and improve on the living conditions of the people through growth and development, that popularity means nothing and is insignificant. This is the peculiar problem of Nigeria. Those who support Buhari, including some of my compatriots, and the poor do not see through the veneer. Some do not know why they support him other than the popularity sentiments.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, recently visited the president and demanded that he should focus on inclusiveness, national unity, or federal character in the composition of his government in this his second term. What is your view on this?
They may see that as their own priority, but I think the priority should be on how to solve the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. How do you solve the problem of poverty in Nigeria, which is dangerously becoming hydra-headed? How do you make people go hungry and satisfy other basic human yearnings? These are foremost things any government that desires to succeed should prioritize. The provision of federal character is enshrined in our constitution. The priority should be how to empower the ordinary Nigerian. Federal character is not an issue and is not responsible for our problems. The issue is how to empower Nigerians and create a basis or platform for the development of the country. I believe that when that is done, other things will follow. I thought that the Nigerian Union of Journalists should have tasked Buhari on how he will combat poverty and empower Nigerians economically.
So you’re saying that federal character does not matter in a multi- ethnic country like Nigeria?
No, no, no, what I said is that priority should be given to empowerment. What is the government programme on poverty alleviation? What is the government policy on education? What is the government policy on healthcare? What is the government policy or programme on industrialization and Agriculture? If you tackle these pressing problems, then you can talk about federal character.
How best then do you think we can forge national unity and put Nigeria on a peaceful course?
It can be achieved through national programme. Why we are still talking about national unity is that we don’t have leaders who have national programme for the country. If you have national programmes everybody is busy and no one has time for small issues like federal character or national unity. When everyone is satisfied economically and with the output of government, attention to federal character is minimized. When you provide jobs for people and there are happy and contented people all around, who cares about federal character?
There was this “not too young to run bill “that was passed by the National Assembly and signed by the president last year. At the end of the day, the two major presidential contenders in APC and PDP were men well above 70 years. Which one between the old or the young is better for Nigeria?
One thing you cannot deny is that the older you are, the more experienced you are. This is not in contention. I tell you something. In 1959, there was an election.
After the election, it came to counting of votes. My constituency was divided into two. There was an area we should have scored very high votes. So the counting started in the area where we were weak. In every ballot box opened, we scored 70 per cent, 65, 80 per cent of the votes. The election officer suggested that we should go out and bring papers. I agreed. My agent who was far older did not see it that way. And somehow it was because of his experience. He argued in the contrary. By the time we went and came back, the area I was strong became the area I was weak. They gave me 30 per cent, 27 per cent.The area I thought I was weak became my strong area. They went into ballot boxes and pulled them together. And I did not do very well. I turned to the electoral officer expressing confusion, asking him how we got an angel that got into the ballot box to put them together. It happened that I was merely battling with inexperience and I was defeated. I learnt a lot from that experience. In every situation experience counts. Leadership requires experience to appreciate and understand issues and to lead well. The benefit of your past experiences is always there to guide and direct you. Take the issue of the recent Kano supplementary elections; there were some issues that played out that showed lack of experience on the part of the representatives of the PDP. If someone with my experience was there, I wouldn’t have agreed to certain deeds of the electoral umpire, because I would have used my previous experiences to guide me. But that was not so and that lack of experience did a lot of damage in the final outcome. You acquire experience. It does not just come. Yes, young people have the energy. They have to combine the two to make impact.
There is this tussle for leadership of the 9th National Assembly. Gladiators are jostling up and down canvassing support to be Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House, Deputy Speaker of the House. The ruling APC has put its foot on the ground saying that the party will determine who will be what. The PDP disagrees arguing that such positions should evolve naturally by the members electing their leader. How do you see the unfolding scenario?
Unfortunately, I don’t think APC has learnt from their past mistakes regarding the issue of choosing the leadership of the National Assembly. Everything they have done so far suggests that they may likely miscalculate again. All over the world, in all democracies, it is not the job of the party to impose the leadership of the legislature. It is for the elected people who should choose their leaders from among themselves. That is the democratic practice. That is the norm. They elect someone who they have confidence in from among themselves. Even if you call someone party chairman, he may not be there for the duration of the four years that the lawmakers will be there. The party chairman Oshiomhole has been insistent that the party leadership will appoint the leaders of the National Assembly. I don’t know where he brought that idea from and I shudder to think that whoever they appoint will enjoy popularity and the confidence of his colleagues. We all know how Bukola Saraki emerged against the anointed candidate of the party and president and held sway till now. I will advise the party to take their hands off the election of the National Assembly leadership.
Where is the place of party supremacy in the whole thing?
In Germany there is party supremacy. In England there is party supremacy, and they practice it religiously. But they don’t go out of their way to impose the leadership of their legislature. In consonance with the tenets of democracy, they leave it for the lawmakers to choose their leaders. I worked at the National Assembly at a time and I know their mindset. Every lawmaker is conscious of the fact that he holds a mandate just like the president and often times would not like to be dictated by the president or the party. They will always tell you that their allegiance is to their constituents, except those who within their conscience know that they did not win the election legitimately. They don’t compromise on this. If you insist that they should forsake their voting power, then you are telling them that their election is meaningless. It is only when you allow them to choose their leaders that you can get them to co-operate with all interest groups and individuals and make a difference in the positive direction of governance.