How many instances are we going to say that that’s the resolution to Nigeria’s drawback? We ought to return to the parliamentary system. One factor that provides me pleasure is that Obasanjo remains to be alive and I do know that he shall be crying on a regular basis as a result of God launched him from jail to come back and repair Nigeria, however he failed resulting from his greed. He had the capability; he was the proper individual at the moment, when he was launched to repair this nation, however due to greed, he needed a 3rd time period and when he didn’t get it, he was not able to pursue the agenda for the wellbeing of Nigerians.
We are simply begging the present president, who has been an apostle of restructuring to do it. I heard him saying that he was going to do it slowly. His Yoruba individuals is not going to forgive him if he fails to restructure Nigeria. And let me remind him that the Yoruba individuals will query his youngsters, if he fails to do this. If he didn’t restructure Nigeria, within the subsequent 100 years, Yoruba individuals will query his grandchildren and nice grandchildren. The Yoruba individuals have that capability. We mentioned we would like restructuring now and he’s speaking about doing it slowly whereas the enemies are calculating tips on how to derail something referred to as restructuring.
Many individuals thought the kidnapping of college youngsters will finish with Buhari’s authorities. But, it seems it’s nonetheless with us, even on a higher scale; what’s your thought on it?
That is as a result of no one was prosecuted throughout Buhari’s time. You know, these criminals will first take a look at the physique language of the leaders earlier than they function. When they checked out Buhari’s physique language, they knew that he was not enthusiastic about something. We are listening to now that individuals used his signature to gather billions of Naira. If we ask this present authorities to parade the individuals concerned on nationwide tv in order that we are able to all know them, they won’t. If they’re paraded on tv, no one will strive such nonsense once more, however they won’t parade them.
So, after they see that the individuals weren’t paraded by this authorities, they may know that it’s enterprise as typical; the sport continues and that’s how each society operates. The second they weren’t paraded, kidnapping and banditry began, and assumed a higher dimension. Their agent will inform them that there is no such thing as a drawback; that we’ve got a weak president like Buhari. We don’t need to have one other weak president like Buhari. You will see that the economic system will survive and issues will start to alter.
Why is kidnapping of kids taking place nearly each day? It is as a result of the brokers are telling the abductors that the present president is weak. And I would like the present president to show them incorrect that he’s not a weak president. That is simply the answer to the incessant kidnapping of kids; if he can show that he’s not a weak president, every little thing shall be alright.
The labour unions are calling for an upward evaluation of the minimal wage, do you assume that could be a resolution to the employees’ financial challenges?
Not in any respect; that may’t be the answer. I don’t know what the labour unions are saying; they need to cease all these silly talks. Is all of it Nigerians which are working? We are saying that inflation is inflicting issues for each household, and they’re speaking about minimal wage; what’s minimal wage? Minimum wage isn’t even our drawback once more. If we’re nonetheless importing completed oil merchandise, no quantity of minimal wage improve will deal with the employees’ drawback. In reality, much less than two % of Nigeria’s inhabitants is working, if you’re speaking about minimal wage.
If the greenback remains to be making nonsense of the Naira; if we’re nonetheless spending {dollars} as our foreign money; if the world financial institution remains to be directing us on what to do, what can the minimal wage do? Nothing. Our drawback is that we’re listening to foreigners who management us by way of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. We are nonetheless listening to them; we’re nonetheless borrowing from them. What is minimal wage?
If the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president comes out in a crowd to speak about that nonsense, indignant Nigerians will bundle him, slap him left and proper, and throw him away; is he drunk? Is it the problem of minimal wage that we’re speaking about when there may be inflation all over the place? The crude oil we produce, we’re nonetheless importing it to run our automobiles and industries and shamelessly, our persons are nonetheless going to different international locations to search for traders when corporations that have been in Nigeria earlier than a few of us have been born, are leaving the nation. Industries that have been in Nigeria earlier than Buhari and Tinubu have been born, are leaving the nation, and we’re working to different international locations searching for overseas traders. Are these traders not seeing the previous corporations leaving Nigeria due to inflation and poverty?
We have additionally heard that the gas subsidy that was earlier eliminated is again, what do you must say about that?
If subsidy is again, why are we in a worse state of affairs than we have been through the Buhari’s time? We don’t know who’s telling us the reality; we don’t even know the place we’re. How youngsters and wives is not going to die of hunger or commit suicide due to poverty within the subsequent two, three hours, is what Nigerians are speaking about now. If you ask the minister of details about this subsidy, he’ll say one factor; when you ask the President’s spokesman, he’ll say one other factor; and when you additionally ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he’ll equally say one thing else; are you able to think about?
What I’m begging the present president who’s a fellow comrade of June 12 is to place his ft on the bottom, make historical past for himself and provides us that delight of place that comrades are in authorities. Prof Wole Soyinka did it as a comrade, when he headed the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Beko Ransome Kuti did it when he was chairman of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Tinubu, we beg you within the title of God, within the title of these comrades who’re lifeless through the wrestle, to avoid wasting us; give us that perception that it was when a comrade entered the Aso Rock that Nigeria witnessed wonderful years.
Do you assume this authorities is critical about preventing corruption?
It is straightforward to combat corruption if the federal government needs. It is simply to encompass your self with males of Obafemi Awolowo’s integrity; males of Anthony Enahoro’s integrity and males of Aminu Kano’s integrity. That was why Yakubu Gowon succeeded. Before Tinubu assumed workplace, I had an interview, the place I instructed him to go and research the archives in Ibadan about Awolowo to know why the western area was the sunshine of Africa through the regional authorities. I additionally begged him to go to Gowon, and discover out from him, how he managed to prosper Nigeria through the civil war period.
Despite the war, Nigeria by no means borrowed a kobo from anyone or anyplace. Go and ask Gowon how he did it. He didn’t go to Gowon; not till not too long ago, when the ECOWAS difficulty was embarrassing him that he consulted Gowon. I instructed him that Gowon remains to be alive for a function; God remains to be retaining him alive for a function and that he ought to go and pay him a go to to learn the way he was capable of handle a civil war state of affairs with out borrowing. Buhari’s eight years have been worse than the Nigerian civil war period. It was a authorities of wickedness; you can not describe the wickedness of Buhari’s authorities. It was worse than the Nigerian civil war. I instructed Tinubu to seek the advice of Gowon and learn how he was capable of handle the civil war, as a result of after the civil war, the Nigerian economic system boomed extra than every other interval in our historical past. So, I suggested him to go and ask Gowon the key however I don’t assume he ever visited him. He didn’t go to Gowon; he didn’t go to the archive in Ibadan to understudy the secrets and techniques of Awolowo’s financial energy and knowledge.
If he needs to combat corruption, he should encompass himself with males of knowledge like Gowon did. Not folks that introduced 500 baggage of rice through the election and all that. We have handed that stage. He ought to encompass himself with strong individuals like Gowon. Gowon was the youngest individual at the moment. During the primary press convention after the loss of life of Aguiyi Ironsi, a journalist requested Gowon how a 32-yr-previous younger man like him was going to handle a fancy nation like Nigeria. Gowon instructed the journalists to go searching and see the smart folks that surrounded him. He instructed them that with these males of integrity round him, he wouldn’t have any drawback managing Nigeria. So, even when Tinubu is previous, if he has strong individuals the way in which Gowon chosen his excos and advisers, he would succeed. He ought to neglect about sentiment and search for the way in which ahead. He ought to search for guys who will transfer the nation and who will inform him the blunt fact.
Recently, Nigeria misplaced one of many heroes of the June 12 wrestle, Frank Kokori. As a kind of who have been within the trenches for the June 12 wrestle, what are you able to say about his demise?
Before his loss of life, I used to be on tv begging the comrades in authorities now to assist Kokori as a result of he was within the hospital mattress. I begged President Tinubu, who was a part of the wrestle through the army period, to mobilise his individuals within the authorities to assist Kokori at that time limit. I instructed all of the activists in authorities that now’s the time for them in authorities and that they need to help one in every of their very own, however all of them stored deaf ears and deserted him to his destiny.
I thank the Delta State Government for standing by him throughout his final days on earth. Now you ask, why did they neglect Kokori? The first authorities that uncared for and handled Kokori like a leper was the Buhari authorities, the place they made him Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Funds (NSITF) when Dr Chris Ngige was the Minister of Labour.
When Ngige was appointed to supervise a ministry underneath which Kokori was to serve, I protested as a result of I knew it wasn’t going to work. I do know that Buhari simply got here to energy for revenge. He was indignant that Babangida locked him up and Nigerians didn’t do something to Babangida for that. I do know that Buhari didn’t come to the federal government to assist Nigerians. He was bitter with Nigerians. I knew that there was no means Ngige and Kokori may work collectively as a result of Kokori was too respectable to work with Ngige.
And I used to be proved proper when Kokori was pissed off; he was by no means inaugurated as chairman of the board of NSITF. None of the comrades that have been a part of the June 12 wrestle got here to his help. It was due to Kokori’s detention that I mobilised the riverine communities, together with the Ijaw individuals, to be a part of civil disobedience in Lagos. I instructed our folks that they might kill Kokori if we didn’t come out to hitch the Yoruba to combat for June 12.
Mind you, June 12 wasn’t a Yoruba agenda; it was a Nigerian difficulty. But, on the twilight of his life, when he most wanted his civil society household, he was deserted. All the human rights teams, together with the president, deserted Kokori. I’m not even accusing the president as a result of right this moment, the president is surrounded by those that name themselves civil society individuals, however all of them pretended as if Kokori didn’t exist.
Shame on the conscience of all of the activists; disgrace on all of the activists which are alive, particularly these parading the corridors of energy as veteran journalists. Who have been these making information for them? Was it not Kokori? Those who have been within the Tell Magazine, the News Magazine and all that, disgrace on their conscience. I’ll by no means blame the president as a result of these journalists who benefitted from Kokori are all discovering cowl within the title of the federal government after their paper died. Who was making information for them to promote their papers in these days; was it not Kokori?
Today, they’re licking free ice cream and consuming free tea in Aso Rock they usually have all forgotten Kokori? I thank the Delta State Governor who visited him within the hospital and assisted him earlier than his loss of life.
