It is a truism that all is not well with the state of Nigeria's financial economy. The current situation, if the truth must be told, is that we are in dire straits. These times call for deep reflection and serious financial reengineering by managers of the public sector.
This requires creative, strategic and visionary leadership by leaders at all levels because the reality is that the resources accruing from crude oil sales are dwindling by the day on account of falling oil prices in the international market.
Above all, leadership is about the ability to take the right decisions at the right time by putting the people first.
Interestingly, state governors should cut down on frivolous expenses in order to meet their financial obligations especially workers’ salaries and payment to pensioners. If it means converting a portion of the security vote to fix serious responsibilities, it is worth it.
This is because many state governors allegedly siphon the so-called security vote. We must learn to live within our means as a way to sustain a decent life. Governors should leverage on other revenue sources to complement the federal allocation.
The era of depending on a mono-product economy is long over.
How do you think the president should be feeling in the midst of the current economic challenges?
The president should be having hypertension now. But I am sure he is confused himself because the goods he supplied are still there even if he does not have his money. So, that is the position the president is right now. You know I am not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). So, I don’t speak for them. What I speak is the truth. People should not be expecting President Buhari to do miracles.
I am not a member of his party but he is a very close friend of mine. You should not be expecting President Buhari to do miracles. I don’t expect him to do miracle. There is no miracle in this business. He has to take his time.
The situation is made worse because oil prices have gone down and everybody is looking if there will be any slight change in the third quarter of 2016.
Nigerians just elected their president for change and they want to see the change immediately. It is not possible. The president has to take his time. He has to take account of what he has seen and what he has not seen. From what I am hearing, they have not even started to ask questions about where our money has gone to. So, many people said that many officials still need to answer some questions.
My reading is that President Buhari as our leader is very unlucky. He came into the saddle of leadership for a change during a very difficult time.
How do you think the government could tackle the challenges?
This calls for serious reengineering in policies to rework the economy. We need to move away from dependence on crude oil receipts. I have been shouting for eight years that there is need to diversify the economy. At a point in time, I met my governor and I said that we must go back to manufacturing, farming and production. There is a large market in West Africa and nobody is talking about that market; nobody is talking that we can produce; nobody is talking that we can go to farm. Look at it now, Nigeria is still importing maize, palm oil, can you imagine, in this world?
Are you comfortable with the strategies adopted by government in fighting insurgency in the North in view of the fact that
if there is no peace, it may be difficult to attract investors into the country?
President Buhari is on track because he has adopted the right strategies by engaging sub-regional efforts to tackle the challenge of insurgency.
As part of the trans-national strategies he adopted on assumption of office, he visited heads of state of neighbouring countries including Chad, Togo, Benin Republic Niger and Cameroon to secure the commitment of leaders of those countries on how to cooperate to stamp out insurgency.
The former president Jonathan did not engage this strategy. But, Buhari has secured the friendship of these nations to enable him get their support to fight insurgency.
This is the way to go in tackling this problem. This strategy explains the successes so far recorded. Recall a few days ago that Cameroon said they have caught some insurgents. The strategy is paying off.
What is your reaction to the lingering agitation for self-determination by Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB)? Are you comfortable with the way government is handling the issue?
The signals we are getting from the agitation are quite intriguing in many respects. But, as much as government should not disregard the agitation, the strategy of going violent by the agitators is not to be supported because violence in any form, has never been known as the way to resolve issues of agitation for self-determination.
As a patriotic Nigerian, I believe in the unity and indivisibility of this country. As an Igbere man from Abia State, I love this country and will continue to push for its togetherness. To be honest with you, those boys are right in their quest to agitate for self-determination.
They have a right to demonstrate, for what they consider may be their right as recognized by the United Nations Charter on Human Rights.
But, what I do not agree with is the violence associated with the demonstrations, and the alleged killing of soldiers by the agitators.
No commander-in-chief of any country should tolerate such act by any group no matter the issue involved.
It is an affront on the state. If I were the commander- in-chief, I will never tolerate such brazen act of lawlessness and violence….President Buhari should be very familiar with this development, because the agitation by MASSOB people has been there from time immemorial, it is not something new.
If I were the president, I will consult and engage some high profile traditional rulers and some political leaders to go and ask the boys what they really want; what is really their problem? what can we do to stop them from asking for this? What is the reason for this agitation?
So, I will advise the federal government, that as a federation, it must be properly managed to resolve agitations by some people, who are seeking to opt out.
Government cannot stop people from such agitation, what is critical is how the issue concerning such agitation is handled. It is the management of the people that matters.
I must advise security agencies that using force to quell the agitation for self-determination at this time is not the best strategy. It is a wrong strategy hearing people saying that we will quench it by force. We cannot quench anything by force because it is their right to ask for self-determination.
There are insinuations that you are planning to defect to the APC as a friend and supporter of Buhari to galvanize support for him if he wants to run for a second term in 2019. How true is this?
There is no doubt that I am a friend of Buhari. Well, I will tell you the truth, my mother is in the APC. You know Buhari is a family friend. He is a chieftaincy holder in Igbere, our village. He was awarded a doctorate degree when I was governor in Abia State.
This happened at a time the former president gave me a call that nobody should be given doctorate that day. We went ahead to honour Buhari with a doctorate degree.
The former president was opposed to this because Buhari was contesting against Obasanjo in 2003. For me, all these things are minor; which party you belong to does not make any meaning, what is important is that the president is a friend of the family and if he handles Nigerians well, he is a young man as far as I am concerned comparing him to Mugabe.
If Buhari handles the country very well, he will be running for a second term in 2019, I will support him but, that is not a condition to join the APC. Membership of any political party is immaterial at this time. He is not the type of president that listens to businessmen, who are going around the corridors of power looking for business. Any businessman going to Buhari with the hope of getting business has missed it. The president has a lot of jobs in his hands.
If I were in Buhari’s position, I will run for second term, that is the truth. There is no Nigerian president who didn’t ask for second term but it also behoves on Buhari to treat Nigerian people very well so that he can gain their endorsement for a second term bid.
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