By Ngozi Nwoke
Former Chief Executive of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, has said that restructuring will not solve Nigeria’s problems. In this interview, he stated among others that Nigerians may not come out to vote in 2023.
What do you think about the deteriorating situation in Nigeria?
The security situation in Nigeria is depressing to every concerned Nigerian. The six geo-political zones have their unique security challenges. This is the worst insecurity situation in our lifetime. I have said that all across the country, the cause of the insecurity is corruption and bad governance. That is what is causing the agitation and insecurity in Nigeria. If we had addressed corruption and bad governance, nothing of this would have happened. Corruption has eaten deep in all the sectors. In the military, police, judiciary, politics, and all other sectors.
Should Nigeria invite mercenaries to tackle the insecurity situation?
I honestly don’t think so. We have a capable military. Most of the things causing the insecurity cannot be solved with the military. Poverty is a security problem. Out-of-school children are a security problem. Unemployment is a security problem. I have said that banditry is a social problem and not a military problem. There are roles the military can play to fight insecurity, but there is not going to be a military solution to insecurity. The role of the military is to provide a safe and conducive environment for dialogue. But the primary cause of banditry which is a social problem needs to be addressed locally. All the problems are local and must be locally solved.
This government is using military force. It will not work. They need to listen to these people. What do the mercenaries know? They don’t know the cause of the security problem, so how would they know the solution and mechanisms to use? The government should tackle the impoverished condition of its citizens and improve social welfare and insecurity will come to a standstill.
Do you think the Nigerian situation is redeemable or are we on the road to Somalia?
The Nigerian situation is redeemable if politicians wake up and everybody gets involved. Achieving security is not only the duty of the military or the government. Everybody must get involved, especially elders of the regions. But we have realised that elders have lost control of their youths all across the six-geopolitical zones. In the North-West and North-East, the Fulani elders have lost control of their youths; that is why we have Fulani and Kanuri youths as bandits and terrorists.
In the South-East, Igbo elders have lost control of their youths; that is why we have kids who were born long after the civil war now IPOB and ESN members causing chaos in the East. In the South-West, we saw what the youths did during the #EndSARS protest. There was not a single Yoruba elder that could call these erring youths to order. The simple point is that elders have lost control of their youths all across the six geo-political zones. Elders must come in and dialogue with the youths of their communities.
Igbo elders must get involved in IPOB and ESN issues. Igbo elders failed to get involved until Nnamdi Kanu was arrested. Yoruba leaders failed to get involved in Sunday Igboho’s case until he was arrested.
I, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi and others are playing our parts as elders. We went into forests in eight Northern states. Five in the Northwest and three in the North-central. We met the war commanders of the bandits, met Fulani leaders, met traditional leaders, met vigilante groups and clerics. The goal is to foster peace between communities. We are doing our part and we will continue to do our part.
What are your thoughts on the 2023 elections with the present state of the nation?
I have said it a long time ago, that insecurity will unravel the country if the government does not pay attention. We cannot have credible elections with the insecurity. In Anambra State, only 10 percent of eligible voters came out to vote for Governor Charles Soludo. When people are not secure and safe, they will not come out to vote.
If an election takes place, the question is, will they be credible? All the politicians from the six geo-political zones are only interested in scrambling for positions. They are so selfish and disconnected from the grassroots.
All the campaigning, zoning and voting without adequate security in the country, will be a bridge too far. We better sit together and talk about how to tackle insecurity. Insecurity is the key challenge we have and requires urgent actions.
What kind of president does Nigeria need in 2023?
Nigeria needs a strong, vibrant president that has a vision. A president that can get us out of this terrible situation we find ourselves in. We need a president who would be president for all Nigerians. We don’t need an ethnic president. We don’t need a president whose presidency was zoned to his ethnicity. Zoning rotation is unconstitutional and we stand against it. They can zone any position to you but it doesn’t mean that we will vote for you. We need a president who was voted for. Nigerians are just watching these politicians scrambling for tickets in Abuja.
Nigerians are not in a good mood. We are poorer than when this government came in. We are less secure than when this government came in. Corruption has thrived more than when this government came in. Politicians have no respect for Nigerians. They hold Nigerians in deep contempt. All presidential aspirants must tell us how they will make our lives better. I have told youths all over the country that life does come with remote control. Nigerians must get their PVCs ready to vote for a president they think is competent. The PVC is stronger than the AK47. Nigerians must begin to ask the right questions on accountability.
Is restructuring the way forward for Nigeria?
Restructuring will do absolutely nothing for Nigeria. And none of these politicians can restructure Nigeria. None of these politicians can amend the constitution. They will just continue to talk gibberish at the National assembly. Look at Ogoni land in Rivers State, the government has been polluting their water and land for years and we have been getting oil from that region. It was only the late president Yar’ Adua that listened to the cries of the Ogoni people for the first time and created the ministry of the Niger Delta and NDDC. What has NDDC become today? The commission has become another feast of thieves. This is not what Ken Saro Wiwa died for.
People are just stealing the money meant for the people that are suffering. Currently nothing has changed. Development is investing in people and not building flyovers everywhere. Leaders of our time invested in us and we were able to become productive citizens. So, the problem of restructuring Nigeria is that all the governors have squeezed all the money meant for the local governments and everything goes to the states, leaving the local governments with nothing.
This country can function well without a president if all the governors are responsible. You can close down the presidential villa and this country will do well only if the governors perform well. How many politicians go back home to hear their people? They are all in Abuja eating fat. Politicians are the cause of these problems. Restructuring will not change anything. It will only rotate to their pockets.