Given the level of poverty and hunger in the country, don’t you think there is need to diversify the nation’s economy?
Unless there is a rethink to turn the thing around, so that people will lay emphasis on agriculture. What we have now are people who love to live in the cities without producing anything. The great and powerful countries of the world do not neglect agriculture. In Britain and even in America, about five per cent of the population produces the food they eat. We are begging the question. We are paying lip service to the issue of agriculture. Unless we address that, we shall be in trouble. We are importing foods and everything. So there should be a rethink, to turn the whole thing around and lay emphasis on agriculture.
Oil is the bane of our economy, and everybody wants to be in oil business. The leaders should sit down and think of what to do to turn things around, so that we emphasise on agriculture. I still go to the farm. I still nurture and replant the cocoa my father left for me. But not many people are doing that. I hope we will see what we can do to turn things around. White collar job is our bane.
When we were young, we were going to the farm with our fathers. Even when I was in the secondary school and the university, whenever I got home, I went with my father to the farm. We worked on his cocoa farm. We were hard working and people were happy marketing their cocoa, palm kernel and so on. But as it is at the moment, people have deserted the countryside. Each time I go to the farm now, I feel very unhappy. People have really migrated to the cities and the cities are really finding it difficult to cope with the number of people.
Are you saying that this really drew Nigeria back?
Yes, it has really hindered the progress of the country. Even corruption, laziness and indifference attitude are also drawing back our progress. The public figures steal. You only hear that they have stolen so much; but at the end of the day, the thing just fizzles out. There should be punishment meted out to them. It is rather unfortunate that people who should be crucified are moving about. We only hear that so much has been stolen and that is the end of it. With this, the whole system will collapse. Look at what happened at the Pension Fund. Nothing is happening now. You only hear the noise, and that is about it all. So we must have the will to make the law work. It does not matter who; if any person breaks the law, he must be punished. Occasionally, we hear of top men being sent to jail abroad because of corrupt practices. They are not allowed to get away. Once they are caught, of course, the law takes its normal course. It is not happening here, and it is a pity.
Can Nigeria still regain its lost glory?
For this federation to survive, we must have a rethink. The leaders and workers must be shown the proper way of doing things, so that this nation can become great. As it is now, corruption has eaten deep into our fabrics, and unless we are careful, permissiveness will destroy this country. During the time of Papa Awolowo and Zik, people were used to working hard, and honesty was on the pedestal. If anybody cheated at that time, he would regret it. I remember one top officer in this state (Ondo) at that time. He fell foul of the law and he was charged to court. At the end of the day, he was jailed. That was the norm at that time. That will not happen now. Now, people press buttons here and there and get away with it. We have seen examples in recent times.
What do you think is responsible for the corruption tendencies in the county?
Honestly, I think it is because we love good things of life; people enjoy without working hard. People who are corrupt are not being punished adequately, and so people get way with many things. If we continue like this, we shall grind to a halt one day. The private sector moves the economy in advanced countries. Government employs about 25 to 30 per cent of the workforce; private sector provides opportunities for people to look for jobs, and they are still doing that. So they develop and continue to develop. Here, I think we are at a standstill. The government must be finding it very difficult and embarrassed because we are not productive. I have my fears!
Unemployment has been on the increase, what do you think that government can do to check the menace?
Honestly, there is frustration all over the place. Students who get out of school now can no longer get jobs easily. There is so much frustration and I begin to wonder what will happen. At the time we came back from the UK, jobs were hunting us; we were being chased and given job offers. The situation now is very frustrating, and I only hope government will sit down and find a way of creating jobs for the people. Government should be able to do that. In the advanced countries, people can still get jobs; but here the jobs are very few. I think our leaders should be able to sit down and think of how to create. We are not developing. That is my fear.
What do you think can be done to resolve all these problems?
I think there is need for the system to be corrected. If you go to the government offices now, just walking along the corridor, you see people crowding in rooms talking; they are not working. In fact, some of them are not there. They report for duty in the morning and go away, and then come and sign out in the afternoon. The spirit of hard work is not there. We are really not working hard. We are not productive. If we continue like this, I am afraid we shall grind to a halt.
What is your view on the state of insecurity in the country?
The Boko Haram thing is an example of permissiveness. When the whole thing started, I said the leaders in the North should speak up and denounce it; but our voice was drowned in the cacophony. It is out of hand now. The leaders in the North have not spoken up at all. One of them said if he did not win the election, he would make the country ungovernable for whoever won. It was in the news and people know who said that. When we had the law taking its normal course, such person should be kept behind bars. It is happening now with impunity and the man still moves about. We have to sit tight and see what can be done.