Presidential candidate of National Conscience Party (NCP), Martin Onovo, bares his mind on the Nigerian condition in this interview with Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU.
Nigeria at 55 and Buhari’s appointments so far
There is nothing to celebrate; rather, we have to reflect on where and how we got it wrong.
To be candid, what we have is a situation of lawlessness and impunity. Federal character is not an administrative requirement; it is a fundamental constitutional requirement. And the constitution is the basis of every constitutional democracy. I think Section 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear about federal character. Therefore, the excuses given by the presidency for concentrating on the North are untenable and completely lawless and crass demonstration of impunity. Now, if the violation of Section 14 of the constitution on federal character were the only violation, we can say it is an exception to the rule. What we have is the serial, deliberate violation of all Nigerian laws with impunity.
I want to be specific. The two pillars of democracy are the rule of law and integrity of the ballot. Both are absent in All Progressives Congress (APC). Integrity of the ballot is also absent in APC government. Therefore, what we have is not a democracy. What we have is the most extreme form of fascist dictatorship. And celebrated democrats have called this government fascist. Prior to the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) required that candidates for presidency submit their certificates to confirm that they met the minimum constitutional requirement. General Muhammadu Buhari claimed that the army was with his certificates. The army denied that. Is that not perjury? We have to find out. If it is perjury, perjury is a criminal offence. If the army saw it, they have to produce it. Because they said they did not see the script.
But the Army later said they saw it?
Don’t forget the stage at which the army said they saw it. It was after the election when it had become obvious that he would be their Commander-in-Chief. So we cannot play games about this. Integrity is fundamental to leadership. Now, let us proceed from there. We saw the limitless capacity of the APC to finance its presidential election against the law. Section 90 and 91 of the Electoral Act is very clear about election finances. You can spend a billion in a presidential election, according to the law. The APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spent about a trillion by our estimation, in violation of the Electoral Act. Now let us assume that the members of the APC could raise a trillion, the law does not allow them to apply it into the election. We are aware that immediately after the election, APC governors could not pay salaries, and went seeking a bail-out publicly, while Anambra State under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was increasing and paying salaries. If you draw the correlation, it becomes obvious that the phenomenal sums that APC used for election was sourced from those states. They are public allegations. And if the facts are corroborating the allegation, the allegations are beginning to look true. And the APC has not told us otherwise where those funds came from.
So, it makes sense to believe that the APC used slush funds from government sources, which is the height of corruption, to fund its presidential campaign. We know that the APC deployed several private jets for its campaign. We have the hard evidence of private jets deployed by APC. The APC needs to tell us the source of those funds because we suspect they are proceeds of corruption. And even if the APC claims they are not, the law does not allow them to spend so much on election.
The APC is a monument of corruption in Nigeria. We talked about the certificate issue, we talked about election. The election proper was the most ridiculous charade in the history of democracy.
The evidence in the tribunal is confirming that the votes were well in excess of over 200 per cent of the number of accredited voters where the results published by INEC have no relationship with the votes cast. In that situation, we (NCP) decided not to go to court because it is a waste of time. Of course, that will be the natural question ‘why did you not go to court?’ We believed it will be a waste of time. Those who went to court like Mike Ozekhome were frustrated in the judicial process, where the case between the certificate and the nomination of Buhari were adjourned till after the election. How can you adjourn a pre-election case?
Buhari has himself advised the judiciary to clean up its act. Is that the same judiciary we were expected to go to? We also know that the court made it impossible for the judiciary to annul the election. So, going to court is a waste of time. Because you don’t spend N100 billion on an election rigged, and then spending another N100 billion in an election that will also be rigged. It is a waste of time. According to Professor Akin Oyebode, a professor of international law, Buhari was coronated, not elected. Since Buhari has been coronated, we consider that the best patriotic disposition will be to support the government to succeed for the benefit of all Nigerians. But apparently, the APC does not realise that. And the APC, instead of preparing itself to do the job of the presidency, has continued to celebrate its victory in the last six months since the election.
Assessing the last 100 days
Well, I will like to see what APC has done that is concrete. You know why, APC has not done anything. The very first thing you need to get anything done is a plan. APC does not have a plan. Who has seen this plan?
APC with blueprint
The blueprint has been denied. Don’t even go there. The president has denied the blueprint; the APC has denied the blueprint. So, there is no blueprint. Now how do you implement without a blueprint? You just set up a committee to advise you on the strategy for anti-corruption. So, you have not started fighting corruption. You don’t even have a plan. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. The APC has no plan for governance. Its plan is for opposition and violence. And that is why its candidate avoided the presidential debate where the APC was supposed to publish its plan for governance.
Our party, the NCP, published its plan, and people applauded NCP’s plan. And in a free and fair election, the NCP could have won. Today, we have to deal with the critical dangers the APC government represents. Nigerians have never been this divided before. The APC government has divided Nigeria by promoting nepotism and total exclusion of the South East from government, and the partial exclusion of the South South from governance. This is not the Nigeria we planned for.
Military government complies with decree. This government has no law it complies with. We are aware that Buhari swore to uphold the constitution. The constitution that Buhari swore to uphold does it include Section 42? Buhari went to America to proclaim that he would discriminate against the people that did not vote for him. Now, Buhari appointed members of the board of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). To the best of my knowledge, they have not been screened by the Senate. But the AMCON Act is very clear that members of the board of AMCON have to be screened by the Senate. That has not been done, in violation of Section 10 of the AMCON Act. You can see a deliberate propensity for lawlessness and impunity that nobody can talk. What can be more corrupt than that? Political corruption is more than financial corruption. If you cannot deal with political corruption, you cannot deal with financial corruption.
Anti-corruption effort as witch-hunt
But it is obvious that the anti-corruption crusade of the APC is a corruption of anti-corruption effort. The APC has deliberately targeted its political opponents and already found them guilty in the public space for corruption, and already sentenced them for corruption without any evidence and without court order. APC is abusing the Department of State Security (DSS) and has turned it to a court. The DSS is not a court. If you see anyone that has committed any offence, you take him to court. It is not the DSS to take over the responsibility of court. Nobody is above the law, including the DSS and Buhari. The DSS and Buhari must comply to the Nigerian law.
Don’t forget that one of the principal objectives of Gani Fawehinmi’s efforts and contribution to national development was the re-establishment of the rule of law. The rule of law is very critical and is one of the two principal pillars of democracy. Nobody is above the law, and Buhari is not above the law. He must comply. If he doesn’t comply, there are consequences. Nigeria is not a jungle. If he doesn’t like the law, he should put an executive bill for amendment. As long as the laws are in place, he must comply.
Government’s negotiation with Boko Haram
It is very unfortunate. It is the most shameful and unfortunate act of this shameless APC government. A ragtag band of terrorists killed about 15,000 Nigerians, mostly women and innocent children who were in their dormitory in FGC Buni Yadi. They were burnt alive in their dormitory. Buhari offered to negotiate with them. Are they a registered legal entity? Are they another country? Are they a political party? What is Boko Haram that the Nigerian government, the regional power of West Africa that re-established order in Liberia, Sierra Leone, will negotiate with? With that, Buhari just surrendered. They have surrendered to Boko Haram. That is the opinion. That we will negotiate with Boko Haram after the carnage, after the genocidal massacre of our children, is unfortunate. We will negotiate, on what pedestal? If you negotiate with Boko Haram, what will you do with Cameroon which has a defence pact with France?
Impression that Boko Haram has international linkage
Whether international linkage or domestic linkage, Boko Haram does not represent an entity that a regional power in West Africa will negotiate with. Do not forget the day Buhari promised to crush Boko Haram in two months. In the fourth month, he offered negotiation. Excuse me sir!
The option
We have no option than to crush and disband Boko Haram. Are you negotiating with Boko Haram to cede territories to them? Are you negotiating with Boko Haram to impose Islam and Sharia law on Nigeria? Is Boko Haram a legal entity? Boko Haram is a ragtag band of terrorists, cowards who have been killing innocent women and children. Disappointment is a gross understatement. We can and we will defeat Boko Haram. How do you assess parties in a war? You assess them by the numerical strength of their men and their weaponry, their organisation and their resources. In which of these ones does Boko Haram match Nigeria?
Resource wise, Nigeria is oil-rich. What resource does Boko Haram have? Organisation wise, Nigeria got Independence in 1960. Nigeria has been a single entity since 1914 – over 100 years. Boko Haram is how many years old? Less than nine. So how does Boko Haram become a match to the military might of Nigeria, but for the fact that the leadership is just shameless and worthless?
If you negotiate with Boko Haram and they say leave us alone and we will leave you alone, are you going to leave them alone to improve on their capacity and attack us in the future? Did you hear the comment of the Ugandan President about Boko Haram in Nigeria? He said it cannot happen in Uganda. And that is the position of any reasonable president.
Buhari as the president Nigeria needs
That is political propaganda. And if the Nigerian people will become more critical, they will know that it is simple propaganda. The evidence is there. Buhari has never ever hidden his sectional parochial bias. So anybody who tells you that he is a patriot, a nationalist, is making a big mistake. He has never hidden it. He even proclaimed it in America.
The president of Nigeria should be a little more broadminded. You cannot come here with a very parochial sectional worldview. That sectional worldview is what is causing the division in Nigeria today. And that same military we are talking about is being undermined by Buhari when he skipped several qualified and more experienced senior officers and appointed junior officers. What does that say? You do not jump better trained, better educated seniors and appoint their juniors.
