Erstwhile journalist and seasoned broadcaster Mrs. Remi Bamisile, speaks with JULIUS ALABI, on why President Muhammadu Buhari cannot afford to fail Nigerians, money factor in Nigerian politics and standards for those aspiring for Ondo governorship election next year.
President Buhari running the country successfully
The man (Buhari) will run this country successfully if Nigerians can cooperate with him. Nigerians are the problem for themselves; nobody wants to work. Everybody wants to become politicians so as to be rich overnight. This has bastardised this country. If Nigerians can cooperate with Buhari, he is going to be a wonderful president. It is a fact that anybody can succeed as a president or as governor or as any leader in this country, if the rest of the people are ready to cooperate with such person. I know for sure that President Buhari will perform. He cannot afford to fail because Nigerians are anxiously waiting for positive change.
Money factor in Nigerian politics
We only have few people who are real politicians in Nigeria. Others don’t know what they want. I happened to be in London, where I did my Mass Communication and Journalism. The brand of politics they practise in other countries is not what we practise in Nigeria. In other countries, people go there to serve the people that voted for them; but in Nigeria, most of the politicians go there to enrich themselves.
These things can be corrected, if all the politicians are well informed that performances are now the yardstick to measure them. Again, their salaries should be reduced. If the salary can be at the same level with the civil servants’ salary, they will sit up.
Salary reduction affecting performance
Are they going there to amass wealth or to serve the electorate? No, they are elected or appointed to serve the people of this country. Honestly, I am not happy with what our politicians are doing. They have turned politics to money-making business. These people would come to you seeking your vote. They could even sit on the floor with you when they need your votes, and after voting for them, they would tint the glasses of their vehicles. Someone that is representing you would pass by you, you will not see his face not to talk of recognising him! Politics is not just take N10,000 and vote for me. No, as a good politician, you are supposed to do something in your constituency that will benefit everybody, not what all these people who call themselves politicians are doing. Some would go and buy cars for the traditional rulers. How many people are going to be riding with the kings. If the traditional rulers are going out with the car, how many villagers can he offer lift in the car? Instead of buying cars for traditional rulers, why not provide boreholes, street lights or something that will benefit the community as a whole?
Buhari not constituting his cabinet yet
It is better for the man, I mean our president, to take his time to select people of integrity who will be useful to him and to the nation; people who will have the interest of the people and fear of God, not those people that will go there to enrich their pockets. He should not rush things for now because when you rush things, you make mistakes; but if you take your time, you will never make mistake. That is the basic truth.
Politicians indicating interest in 2016 Ondo governorship election
The advice I have for them is for them to go and pray to Almighty God and decide if they are really coming to serve the people of the state. Not that they should be going up and down saying that they want to become governor of the state without any genuine reason. They should go and think and let the people know what they have for them. By birth, I am from Ondo State; by marriage, I am from Ekiti State. We want to know what they have for us before the poor people will go and line up in the sun to vote for them, and at the end of the day, they will abandon them.
The governor needed in Ondo
The governor we are expecting in Ondo is the one that has the fear of God. What I mean in having fear of God is not by building churches or singing or dancing or having a cap like King Herod. If you have the fear of God and the interest of the people of the state at heart, you will never do what will hurt them. You will never add to their problem. You will be looking for how you can make things easy for them, how life can be bearable to them. That is the type of governor we are looking for in Ondo.
Advice for Nigerians?
My advice to Nigerians is that we should go and find something doing. Education is for knowledge. Being a graduate does not prevent you from becoming an artisan. If you are a graduate and you learn how to become a bricklayer, after building any house, the finishing touches will be wonderful. But in Nigeria, everybody wants to be a civil servant. They can be rich if they become artisans. The richest person in the world is not a civil servant. Even in Nigeria, they are not civil servants. As a business person or as an artisan, what you can spend and gain within a week, none of your colleagues in the ministry can do it for six months. Once you are faithful in whatever you are doing, you will definitely succeed. Faithfulness is the key to success.