From Rose Ejembi and Scholastica Onyeka, Makurdi
Revd Apken Leva is the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Benue State chapter. In this interview, Dr Leva among others, stated that the Federal Government although has the capacity to tackle the rising spate of insecurity in the country, it lacks the political will to do so.
The present administration is coming to an end in few months. How would you rate its approach to the challenges of insecurity?
Well, this administration will soon come to an end. It is very difficult to assess this administration because when they came on board, they promised to change the ugly trend of events in this country; insecurity, power supply, educational system and all that is associated with the past administration. But if you look at it critically, I think we have gone so many steps backward in this country. If you talk of insecurity, I think it is far worse than what they inherited from the previous administration. Look at IDP camps all over, our roads are always occupied by terrorists, kidnappers, bandits such that it is traumatizing to travel on Nigerian roads. Everyday, in churches and in public places, people are not safe, nobody is sleeping. It’s a worrisome development and one is imagining what will happen in the next couple of months at the expiration of this administration. I agree that we have an army that is very capable. We have all the gadgets that we can monitor what is happening in the deepest of the sea, in the forests, everywhere and this administration has not done anything to stop banditry, kidnapping and all other evil things in this nation. So, it is very difficult to assess them. In a nutshell, I will say they have disappointed Nigerians.
Looking at the spate of insecurity we have in the country, do you think the problem is that this government doesn’t have the capacity to tackle this issue or it doesn’t just want to tackle the issue?
I think to make the point very clear, this government has the capacity to tackle insecurity. I believe because the government has the army that has been keeping peace in other foreign countries. I want to believe that the government is capable but lacks the political will to finish this insecurity. I think sometimes, it seems as if the government is also complicating the issue because sometimes you hear some key government officials speaking the minds of bandits, speaking and trying to defend bandits. When you hear such comments, it seems government has the capacity but lacks the will to do the needful. Last week, government said by December, it will end insecurity. So, does that mean they have a timetable for ending insecurity while people are dying? This is uncalled for. This cannot happen in any nation unless in Nigeria where everything can happen. I think the government has to sit up if not, people will not have confidence in the government again. We have our army, combined with the police, they can finish this insecurity in one week. So, they should do the needful.
When this administration was coming on board, there was so much talk and promise to fight corruption. Would you say the President Buhari- led administration has done justice to that promise?
No. I think the government has not done justice to the fight against corruption. I think the level we are now is worse than what we had in 2015. Now, government officials have legalised corruption. Civil servants have legalised corruption. Military personnel, everybody has legalised corruption. When you are traveling on the road, you see security personnel receiving bribe and even giving change to motorists. It’s only in Nigeria that such happens. Everywhere is corruption, we are sleeping and bathing in corruption. So, I don’t think they have fought this war even 20 percent.
ASUU strike is over seven months now without a seeming solution in sight. What would you suggest as the way out?
Well, it’s very sad. I think this is another Boko Haram because Boko Haram is all about they don’t want Western education. It seems our government doesn’t want western education. If you look at the points that ASUU has presented before the government, ASUU wants the best of education in this nation and may be the government is taking it on the political level. ASUU wants funding for schools; they want things to be done in order in the nation and the only way they can hold the government’s attention is to go on strike. I think a responsible government should not allow strike to linger for more than two or three months. I thought they will sort it out just to hear again that they said they will not pay; no work, no pay. Why have they come with that slogan? If they resume now, all they have been piling up since then, the lecturers will clear all those backlog of work. How can you say they did not work and should not be paid? I think our government has to be very sincere. I want to advise the government to come at a roundtable with ASUU. If the military could not proscribe ASUU, what more of a civilian regime. Some people are saying they will proscribe ASUU. I think they just want to kill the education system in the nation as they have succeeded in doing. They should come to a round table and negotiate how they will pay them the arrears and then, forge ahead. It’s a very simple thing. Let them sign that they will pay these arrears. ASUU will come back and everything will go back to normal. That is my appeal to both government and ASUU. I also want to appeal to ASUU to try to consider the plights of parents and students and when they sit, what government’ offers to them, let them accept and open the universities for our children to go back and start their studies.
As at now, the economy of the country seems to also be in shambles and most Nigerians can no longer afford three square meals, some parents can hardly send their children to schools or pay for their children’s school fees or for house rent. What, in your opinion is the way out of this economic quagmire?
When you talk about the economy, that boils down to corruption. There are people in this country that are richer than Nigeria. They just pack this money. Imagine someone being accused of stealing over N100 billion. It’s not a small money. That can pay salaries in some states. Our politicians are corrupt. They just pack our money and that is what is annoying ASUU. You can pay this money to other people but when it comes to legitimate educational system, you say there is no money. I think we should be mindful of our national interest. Let’s put Nigeria first. If we are patriotic, we would know that receiving money of ghost workers is not good; people have fixed names and are receiving money while the economy is going down. Imagine that we have borrowed, we are owing; this country is indebted to the tune of trillions of naira. I want to appeal to not only government but to all Nigerians. Let us come together and look at this situation. Look at how the dollar is swelling up on a daily basis. I want to call on the economists of this nation to come together and advise the government on what to do. For Nigerians, once we stop being corrupt in this nation, our economy will improve but this corruption is eating deep into the fabric of this nation. So, let us come together, have a referendum, reason together on this issue of economy, insecurity and corruption and let us fix this nation. Everybody is busy packing, busy with himself and his family, that is why we have a lot of graduates going about without jobs; you can’t buy anything in the market, you can’t pay your children school fees, you can’t pay your rent. In fact, there is truama in this nation; economically, socially, politically. There is truama everywhere.
Talking about the economy still, many Nigerians are relocating out of the shores of the country with their families for whatever reasons. What should government do to stop this?
First, I will advise my fellow Nigerians that there is no country better than Nigeria. This country called Nigeria has everything it takes to be the giant of the world. Even out there, it is not easy. Life is even more unbearable than it is here in Nigeria. I will advise my fellow Nigerians that we should stay here and salvage this country together. It is the only nation God has given us so let us stay and salvage it. This shows that we are not satisfied with this government. People are moving out looking for greener pastures, it means our leaders have disappointed us and repeatedly, I have been saying that we demand an apology from our leaders for not leading us well. These are indices to show that people are not satisfied and they are moving out looking for greener pastures which we can have here in this nation. So, the government should sit up. I want to appeal to the present leadership that the few months that are left, let them try to instill confidence in the people before we move into the next administration. If we do that, the people will want to stay back and help develop this nation.
2023 is very much around the corner and very soon, campaigns will start. What is the stand of the church on the Muslim – Muslim ticket?
There is nothing new about the thought of the church concerning that issue. The church has already spoken her mind and that the Muslim \ Muslim ticket is a slap on the face of Christians of this nation. It shows that they feel that Christians are not important in this nation because as has been done in the past, if the president is a Muslim, the Vice should be a Christian and if the President is a Christian, the Vice should be a Muslim. That is what we have been practising. This Muslim \ Muslim ticket, many people have spoken against it and that has been the stand of the church. The church is not only against Muslim\Muslim ticket, it is also against Christian \Christian ticket; that there should be equity, justice in this nation. So that had been the stand of the church. Some people who are defending it said they did it because they want to win election. So if you get a Christian, you won’t win election? We have Christians all over the nation that are also contributing to the development of this country. So, that one is a closed topic.
Some Nigerians are expressing the fears that elections might not hold in 2023 looking at the indices of corruption, insecurity and all that. What’s your take on this?
I am optimistic that elections will hold in 2023 because I know that God controls the affairs of this nation. You may come with your evil intentions and God will arrest such intentions. I want to tell Nigerians not to be afraid. We are going to conduct elections come 2023 and a God chosen leader will emerge. I will advise Nigerians to be on the watch out. We have seen what is happening. We are not going to vote after party, we will vote candidates that will come and fix some of these problems that we are crying about. You may be in APC but if you see a better candidate in another party, I advise you vote such a candidate. This should be applicable at the federal and at the state levels and that is my candid advice to the electorate. People may bring money, take it, it’s your money. They will soon start dishing out money to buy their votes. Take it and do the right thing. Use your conscience in voting a credible candidate.