•Says APC now nightmare for Nigerians •North should forget presidency in 2027′
A former Presidential candidate on the platform of the National Conscience Party, NCP, Martin Onovo, an engineer, has implored politicians from the opposition parties to ensure that they form a strong coalition to ensure that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is defeated in the 2027 general elections.
Making the appeal in an interview with TUNDE THOMAS, Onovo declared that APC has not only failed Nigerians but that the party has become a big burden on the nation.
He also spoke on other national issues. Excerpts
How would you react to the present state of insecurity across the country, especially the endless killings in Benue and Plateau as well as in other parts of the country?
The present state of insecurity in the country is very deplorable. It is sad and very disheartening. Any genuine patriot will be very concerned. Sadly, Nigeria is being turned into a killing field. Nobody is safe and secure again. This is not the kind of country envisaged by the nation’s founding fathers. Nigerians are becoming despondent, and not only that, they are also worried and concerned that insecurity has become a big monster that is threatening to swallow and engulf the whole country if our leaders fail to quickly rise to confront the menace.
At independence in 1960, Nigerians were full of hope that the nation would become a role model for other nations, especially in Africa, with envisaged rapid socio-economic developments. But this hope has turned out to be an illusion. Instead of walking, we have been crawling. While other nations around the world that also gained independence around the same period like us have witnessed rapid socio-economic developments, the reverse has been our case. Nigeria has not been blessed with dynamic leadership that can transform the good vision of the nation’s founding fathers into a reality. It is as a result of bad leadership that we have this series of socio-economic challenges, including insecurity, that is confronting us. However, what we must realise now is that insecurity, which has become a big problem, is no longer an issue that the leadership tackles with a lackadaisical attitude. As Professor Chinua Achebe wrote in one of his books in 1984, the trouble with Nigeria is a result of the failure of leadership. Also, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo recently declared that there is no human endeavour that can thrive without dynamic leadership and I agree with him. Fundamentally, whatever we sow, we reap. The bad governance in Nigeria today is because many are complacent, many are cowardly and many actively defend and support bad governance for their parochial and pecuniary interests. These unpatriotic supporters of bad governance are not covert. They include politicians, clergy, traditional rulers, activists and judges. They publicly sponsor fraud, celebrate corruption, promote incompetence, and defend lawlessness.
As long as we tolerate them, they will continue with their unpatriotic activities. With good governance, insecurity can be tackled with prompt action. With good leadership, the Nigerian security establishment can deter, detect and overpower the bandits and killer herdsmen rampaging across the country. We have the men, and our men have the training and the equipment to defeat them but our officers are dangerously demotivated by endemic corruption. Our officers are unwilling to risk their lives while an irresponsible, corrupt, and wicked political class continues to ruin the country. Once the leadership is right, the solution is simple. And the solution is first, re-emphasising universal values of integrity, justice, solidarity, law and order. Then, promote social justice. Thereafter, our security agencies can dislodge all unrepentant bandits and killer herdsmen with superior firepower.
Before, it was only Boko Haram and killer herdsmen that the nation’s security forces were contending with, but now we have other armed groups springing up, killing and maiming Nigerians. What do you think is responsible for this?
People do what they find profitable. Banditry is very profitable in Nigeria because we have irresponsible and corrupt leadership over the years up till the present. With bad leadership, you have a corresponding effect on the security agencies. It is only a strong and effective leadership that can motivate and galvanise the security agencies. There must be an effective synergy between leadership, and the security agencies before we can have the desired results.
The National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) reported recently that bandits in Nigeria collected over N2.2 trillion in ransoms in about one year from their victims. From this, we can see why banditry has become a profitable venture in Nigeria. This is the reason why all these groups are springing up. Those behind the formation of these groups have come to view banditry as a lucrative business. Because banditry is very profitable and unemployment and illiteracy are equally high, many of the unemployed are attracted to it. With the corruption of public morality by bad leadership, moral inhibitions are suppressed and the environment is very fertile for crime and banditry.
How would you assess the way the insecurity challenge is being handled by the Federal government as well as the way out?
The federal government has to re-strategise and step up efforts to confront the menace headlong. Enough is enough. What Nigerians now want is concrete action and not rhetoric. Nigerians are tired of condolence messages whenever these terrorists strike.
Then again Nigerians don’t want propaganda from the government. They want to see concrete evidence that these bandits and killer herdsmen are being confronted and subdued. The federal government is actively corrupting public morality with false propaganda and financial scams. Without moral authority, the administrative authority is always weak, and when the government is weak, it will be difficult to achieve set goals. Remember the confession of Alhaji Kawu Baraje, one of the founding leaders of the ruling APC some years ago that the ruling party imported these terrorists to achieve certain objectives at that time, and it was well reported. Consequently, the ruling party as the direct sponsor of insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria is constrained to fight the monster that it has helped create. However, the way out is first, re-emphasising universal values of integrity, justice, solidarity, law, and order. Then, we should promote social justice. Thereafter whatever action the government takes to neutralise the bandits will achieve tangible results. With superior firepower by security agencies, unrepentant bandits and killer herdsmen can now be dislodged and neutralized.
Some Nigerians have suggested the state police as one of the viable solutions to the insecurity challenge. Do you share the same view?
No. I do not share that view. Terrorists have very easily overrun more than 20 military bases and have shot down our fighter jet in Zamfara State and our military helicopter in Niger State. State police cannot overpower terrorists that easily overrun military bases. Our military can overpower these bandits if well motivated. State police can only help in community policing. But when we are talking of confronting killer herdsmen and bandits, it is the military that takes up the challenge. If bandits can easily overrun military bases, of what use will the state police be in that kind of situation? I believe we should strengthen the military and the Nigeria Police. If they are well motivated, they can live up to our expectations.
Notable politicians across the country, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mallam Nasir el Rufai and some others are proposing a coalition to unseat APC in the 2027 general elections over alleged poor performance by the ruling party. What’s your opinion on that?
The performance of the ruling party is catastrophic, not just poor. APC has failed. The party has disappointed Nigerians. APC has become a nightmare for millions of Nigerians. Nigerians were deceived by the party and its leaders. The party has failed in its promise of good governance for Nigerians. Instead of good governance and dynamic leadership that Bola Tinubu promised Nigerians in 2023, his administration and APC have been providing Nigerians with nothing but hunger and poverty.
This is the worst administration in the country since 1999. APC has become a bad dream for Nigerians. The party must be voted out of power in 2027. I support a coalition of parties to unseat APC in 2027. We need the support of Alhaji Atiku, Mallam El Rufai, and many others in a coalition to unseat the Tinubu government. A coalition of democratic forces is the right way to go. APC has become a big burden on Nigerians. APC has become a nightmare for Nigerians. The party must be voted out of office in 2027.
Recently, there have been waves of mass defections of prominent politicians to APC, with some people expressing concerns that Nigeria may be turned into a one-party state by this development. What’s your take on this?
From the mass defections, Nigerians can identify all those unpatriotic politicians in support of the corruption, incompetence, insecurity and poverty promoted by this government. The defections, I believe, are being engineered by the ruling party. Not only that, those politicians defecting to the ruling party, many of them have skeletons in their cupboards. Most of them are afraid of the EFCC. Their hands are not clean. They are running to APC to escape being caught by the long arms of the law. They are politicians with no political ideology. They are political prostitutes.
What’s your reaction to the bill being debated in the House of Representatives prescribing jail sentences for Nigerians who don’t vote during elections?
I find the bill to be unrealistic and unlawful. The lawmakers’ deliberation on it is a waste of public resources that can be put to better use. You can’t force people to vote. These lawmakers should legislate on issues that will improve the lives of Nigerians. There are more serious issues of national importance that should engage their attention.
APC has been accused of being behind a series of crises rocking other political parties in the country with a view to remaining in power in 2027. How do you react to that?
The ruling party is the rogue sponsor of the crisis in opposition parties. This is not a secret among party chieftains. The case of the PDP is much clearer than some other parties. Mr Wike, an APC man in PDP clothing is a Minister in the Tinubu administration. As the ruling party has failed catastrophically and is desperate to hold on to power, which it knows it will lose in any free and fair election, it has chosen to impose illegitimate leaders on opposition parties. These illegitimate or compromised leaders will endorse Tinubu for the 2027 general elections. Some of them have already started doing so. In that way, the ruling party will ensure that authentic opposition candidates will have no platforms. This is a repeat of Gen. Abacha’s five leprous fingers on one hand. Abacha failed in his endeavour to become a dictator and turned Nigeria into a one-party state, I also believe Tinubu will fail in 2027, and all those political sycophants defecting to APC will be disappointed.
What is your take on the 2027 presidency? Should the principle of rotation between the North and the South be respected or should it be on merit?
The principle of rotation is a principal standard in Nigerian politics. It is comparable to the constitutional federal character principle. It must be respected. The principle of rotation must be respected. The President must come from the South. But it must not be Tinubu or APC. Both Tinubu and the APC have failed Nigerians. Presidency should remain in the South in 2027 based on the principle of rotation.
What is your assessment of the midterm performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration?
The performance of Tinubu’s administration is even more catastrophic than we predicted in 2023. It is the worst regime ever in Nigeria. According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Nigeria is one of the worst-governed nations in Africa.
Nothing to write home about this clueless government. Tinubu’s government has destroyed so many things between 2023 and 2025. This government has destroyed national security, it has destroyed democracy, it has destroyed national unity and it has destroyed public morality. Currently, insecurity is unprecedented, poverty is unprecedented, inflation is unprecedented and the national debt is unprecedented. Specifically, over 2.2 million persons were kidnapped in just one year. Over 614,930 persons were killed in the same period. That is over 50,000 persons killed every month on average. Bandits control more territories now. Nigeria which was the largest economy in Africa is now fifth. Also, Nigeria is now 43rd of 54 African countries by GDP per capita. Tinubu’s administration is a catastrophic failure.
Some have suggested that the trial of Nnamdi Kanu should be allowed to run its course, while others have canvassed a political solution as the best option to bring the matter to a close. What’s your view on that?
The matter is political. The previous trials ran their full courses and the courts discharged Nnamdi Kanu. This is no longer a trial in court, it is persecution in court. After he was charged and discharged by the court, his re-arraignment was unjust and unfair. It is also clear that the government ab initio had no right to charge him to any court because of his unlawful extraordinary rendition from Kenya, which Prof Wole Soyinka described as kidnapping. The extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu was unlawful, so, the federal government had no legal basis to charge him to any court. In their impunity, they charged him to court and the court discharged him. Thereafter, they re-arrested him and charged him again. That is persecution and not a court trial. Prof Soyinka also stated that keeping Nnamdi Kanu in prison was a mistake, and I agree with him. Kanu should be freed now. He should be allowed to go home a free man.