The Federal Government has been advised to ensure that concrete efforts are made to restructure the country so as to restore its unity.
Making the appeal in this interview with TUNDE THOMAS, National President, Ndokwa Political Leaders Forum, Rear Admiral Mike Onah (retd), aruged that President Buhari should not be blamed for the spate of violence in parts of the country.
He also spoke on other national issues.
What is your reaction to the present state of insecurity in the country, especially the killings by the herdsmen in Benue State, and other parts of the country?
The situation is very worrisome. It is very sad and very unfortunate. It is very sad that precious human lives are being wasted. These killings are despicable and condemnable. There can be no justification for shedding human blood, and wasting precious lives when we are not in a state of war, and this is why there have been global condemnations of the killings.
However, I will like Nigerians to see these killings as a national problem which requires inputs from all stakeholders on how to arrive at an amicable solution which will provide an effective panacea to the lingering crises.
Like I said earlier, these killings by the Fulani herdsmen are bad and condemnable, and I will like our security agencies to rise to the occasion by restoring sanity. The full weight of the law should also be brought upon those herdsmen who committed these heinous acts. Their disdainful activities do not portray Nigeria as a civilised nation. It doesn’t portray us as a nation where human lives are valued and treasured.
As citizens of Nigeria, no life of an individual should be regarded as being more valuable than that of the others. We are all human beings and we are all equal before God.
However, since the tragic incident occurred, several people have been heaping blames on President Muhammadu Buhari; some have even been cursing him, some even are calling him all sorts of names, but I don’t think calling Buhari names is the solution.
We should not turn the Fulani herdsmen killings into a Buhari affair. Agreed Buhari is the country’s president, and much is expected of him in finding answers to the myriads of problems confronting the nation, but what we should all realise is that Buhari is also a human being, and no human being is 100 percent perfect.
Although in some people’s views, Buhari might have been slow in reacting promptly to the killings but he has since then ordered security operatives to do the needful in not only bringing the situation under control but also to ensure that peace and normalcy is restored to the affected areas.
I don’t want to believe that President Buhari would want to condone killings by herdsmen when he has sworn to defend and protect all Nigerians. As the president, he is supposed to be the father of the nation, and in that regard, all parts of Nigeria should be seen as being his constituency.
For me, this issue should be seen as a national matter which requires rational reasoning from all of us in finding an amicable solution. We should refrain from making inflammatory statements that will further heat up the polity. The killings is an issue that if it is not well handled can snowball into a bigger crisis, and therefore Nigerians should not do anything that will further jeopardise or threaten fragile peace in the affected areas.
Although Buhari as the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces has the primary duty of securing the lives and properties of Nigerians in different parts of the country, but on this herdsmen killings, we should all see it as a collective national problem and as such should all work together to find a lasting solution. We should also remember that these killings have been taking place before Buhari became the president. So, rather than heaping all blames on Buhari, let’s all reason together, and make efforts to find a lasting solution to the problem.
No efforts should be spared in arresting and bringing to justice killer herdsmen or anybody found to be involved in the killings in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Zamfara and other parts of the country. The families of those who lost their loved ones must get justice.
Some have suggested the idea of the establishment of cattle ranches as a way of finding a lasting solution to the perennial herdsmen-farmers crisis while the Federal Government proposed the setting up of cattle colonies, what’s your take on that?
We are in a digital age, and globally, people blend and change with modern technology. In advanced nations of the world where they even have large cattle population than Nigeria, it is ranches that are set up. I’m talking of countries like Argentina, United States and Uruguay.
Modern ranches are established where cows graze and drink water within the same facility. So, the idea of driving cattle all over the place where in the process these cows eat crops and destroy farms is averted. I believe ranches options is better. It makes cows to be secured and safe from attacks by cattle rustlers because ranches are well secured unlike movement from one place to the other which exposes herdsmen and their cows to attacks by rustlers.
Do you agree with the views of those saying that all these crises here and there would not go away unless we restructure, and that restructuring is the only panacea for restoring peace and unity to the country?
There is no doubt restructuring will go a long way in calming frayed nerves. The clamour for restructuring has been on the ascendancy and anybody that professes his love for this country would not wish it away.
I don’t know why some people are harbouring unfounded fears about restructuring. Restructuring simply means a return to true federalism which we were practising during the First Republic.
Although Nigeria is being referred to as a federal republic, but in practice, we are practising unitary system which allows over-concentration of power in the hands of the Federal Government contrary to the principles of true federalism which enshrines devolution of power to federating units in a federation. Restructuring will do Nigeria a lot of good. It will enable each federating unit to harness resources in its domain for the benefit of residents instead of the current situation where everybody depends on allocations from the sale of crude oil to survive.
The present situation where all 36 state governors go cap in hand to Abuja every month is not the solution to Nigeria’s problems.
To make matters worse, the price of crude oil has dropped leading to a single or mono product as source of revenue for that nation, and this is why Nigeria is in problem today.
All of us rely on oil, but now that oil is in trouble, we are also in trouble. But this ugly situation could have been averted if we have diversified our economy. We need to look beyond oil – thank God, the Federal Government and some states are now into agricultural revival.
From my studies at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS in Kuru, Jos, every state in Nigeria has natural resources that can be harnessed to meet the state’s needs. No state is empty. So this fear that if control of oil resources is returned to the oil producing states, that some other states may collapse is not true. It is an unfounded fear. No state is empty.
Take the United States of America for example, that is one of the countries that practise true federalism, and the system is working well for them.
How and why is their system working?
In America, all the states are not equal. Some states are richer than others. States are like human beings. Even in life, all human beings are not equal. Some human beings are bigger than others – even when you look at your fingers, all fingers are not equal. That is life.
So the issue of whether some states will do well or not doesn’t arise. There is no way all the states will be equal because God didn’t even create us equal. It is left for the states to harness the resources in their domain to better the lives of residents. This is the bitter reality we have to face.
Our over-dependent on oil over the years have made us to become lazy to the extent that we even neglected agriculture which used to be the mainstay of our economy before oil was discovered. I believe that the true practice of federalism will bring the best out of us. Adversity at times forces people to think of how to survive; adversity often brings the best out in you instead of thinking only of suffering. Even when you suffer, you are forced to think about how to overcome that suffering in order to enhance your wellbeing and survival.
In life, some people will live long, while some will die young. As babies are being born into the world, others are also departing the world. That is life for you.
Are all nations of the world oil producing? There are several nations that don’t have oil and they are doing very well. To me oil has even become a curse rather than being a blessing to Nigeria.
Why did you say discovery of oil has become a curse to Nigeria?
What has the nation got to show that we are an oil producing country? The oil wealth is being stolen by a privileged few, while millions of Nigerians wallow in poverty.
People living in oil producing communities who are the primary source of this wealth are living in poverty. Oil production has destroyed their eco system. It has affected their livelihood. Oil has been destroying their farmlands, fish and eco settings. So, where has been the blessing in the so-called oil?
As the Bible says, as it was in the beginning, let’s return to the olden days when Nigeria’s economy was diversified. I’m talking about the glorious era of cocoa and palm oil in the South West, rubber in the Midwest, coal from the South East, and cotton and groundnut from the North. Some of us still remember the famous groundnut pyramids in Kano, but where are they now?
Some people harbour the fear that true practice of federalism may lead to break-up of Nigeria, what’s your take on this?
I don’t think Nigeria will break up. There is a lot of benefit in Nigeria remaining as one nation. It is only here in Nigeria that we are not using our size and population to our advantage. There are enormous benefits for us if we stay together as one nation. It is sad that we are not maximizing our population and size for social and economic benefits.
Take China and India for example, see how those nations are using their size and population to maximum advantage. Take United States for example, that country is using her large population to develop herself. This is the kind of thing Nigeria should emulate.
God has been so merciful to Nigeria, we should remain grateful to God. True practice of federalism will enhance rapid socio-economic development. It will promote healthy competition among states. At independence, Nigeria adopted federalism, and it was working well for us until the collapse of the First Republic.
Some have suggested the idea of organizing a new national confab to determine the shape restructuring will take if it is to be carried out?
There is no need for another confab. A new confab will amount to a waste of time and resources. How many confabs are we going to organise in this country before we can get it right? There was a confab during Abacha’s time. There was another one during Obasanjo’s time and also during Jonathan’s time. All these confabs cost the nation a lot of money to organise. I think what we can do is this, instead of organising a new confab, let’s take the best of recommendations from the previous confabs and I believe doing this will go a long way in helping to move Nigeria forward.
The cost of governance in the country has been described as too high with some canvassing a review of the current system, what’s your position on this?
One of the factors affecting rapid socio-economic development of the country is cost of governance. Running government is too expensive in this country, and this should not be so if we are to make any meaningful progress. A lot of money is spent on running government and not only that, we have duplication of offices both at states, local and the federal levels. You have hundreds of political appointees who are drawing salaries every month. Our wage bills are on the high side. The Presidential System we are running seems too expensive; there is nothing bad in returning to parliamentary system which we were running before if it will help to save us from financial profligacy. There is no way government can continue shouldering the present cost of governance. It is killing. It is economic waste and it is anti-economic development. The cost of governance has to be reviewed.
If you are to advise the Federal Government on how to have enduring peace and economic prosperity, what will be your advice?
Although the Federal Government is trying its best but then the fact can’t be denied that things are a bit tough but our hope is that things will get much better.
Power should be accorded top priority. Power is the key to the revival of comatose industries; power revival is the key to the restoration of moribund factories including small scale enterprises.
With stable electricity supply, things will change for better for Nigeria. Our quest for industrial and economic growth can also be a reality with stable power supply. It is a shame that countries with less population than Nigeria generate much power supply for their citizens.
There are other advantages in having stable power supply, it will help reduce crime drastically. As the saying goes, an idle hand is the devil’s workshop, but if there is steady electricity, all those youths who engage in various vices including robbery can find work to do either as barbers, hairdressers or even in factories.
When industries become functional, jobs will be generated for unemployed youths. As at today, the unemployment situation in the country has become a source of concern. But unemployment will be drastically reduced if the Federal Government can take necessary measures to increase power generation to an appreciable level.
Then the issue of Niger-Delta development should be accorded a top priority because that is the region that produces most of the nation’s wealth, oil. I remember there have been a lot of promises made by government on how to effect rapid development of the oil producing communities; such promises should be fulfilled. We should not wait until some groups start issuing ultimatums before government will now be forced to take actions to redeem its pledges.
Some Nigerians are of the opinion that there is a need for the formation of a mega party to bring about the desired change, what’s your take on that?
We are in a democracy, and we have about 60 registered political parties, and the possibility of registration of more political parties can’t be ruled out before 2019 general elections, therefore Nigerians have a choice to vote for any party of their choice. They have a choice to vote for a political party which they feel can meet their expectation. This is one of the beauties of democracy, freedom of choice. Democracy allows you to exercise your fundamental rights including franchise according to the dictates of your inner minds.
What we must however realize is that the problem is not with the political parties but with those running the system.