By Fred Itua, Abuja
Idris-Etanami Abiodun Usman, is the executive director of Sustainable Initiative for Nurturing Growth (SING) Nigeria. The organisation is nonpartisan, non-profit and non-governmental, with a mandate to catalyse a society that is free of poverty and develops sustainably.
He was the North West information officer for the Neighbour to Neighbour (N2N) campaign, Director of strategy of Believe Nigeria Initiative (BNI), and convener of the Get Involved campaign. He was also the National Publicity Secretary of the Young Democratic Party.
In this interview with Daily Sun, the social crusader advocated for a power shift to the South, particularly the South East and South South. He also spoke on the one year anniversary of#ENDSARS movement.
You were part of the #ENDSARS struggle. One year after, would you say the demands made have been met?
The struggle wasn’t necessarily about the demands. It was about a generation calling on their government to listen to them. Then the demands followed. The generation felt the government didn’t even recognise them and that they were only useful as numbers. To them, the government needed to hear them. Yes, this is the most harassed generation by the police. They’re a generation of free will. They want to express themselves. Police would see them and begin to harass them. This generation makes legal money through content. Our system doesn’t understand this approach. Yes, there are internet fraudsters among this generation. But you can’t tag a whole generation as internet fraudsters.
Let me veer off a little. If you look at the entertainment industry, it is occupied by this generation. See what they have made. They have turned comedy into a multi-billion naira industry. This generation creates contents and they get paid. Unfortunately, police doesn’t understand this and they tagged all of them as internet fraudsters.
About the same time, there was #BLACKLIVESMATTER in the United States. This generation was looking at their contemporaries doing something. Whereas in the United States, the protesters were treated with respect, in Nigeria, nothing happened. At the beginning of the protest, these young people didn’t even have any demands. They just wanted government to hear them. Remember ASUU was on strike during the same period. For me, the demands were too watery. They wanted to be heard and the government goofed.
The police should understand one thing. These young people who protested, that is Generation Y and Z, also did that for the Police Force. An average policeman lives like a puppet. Police in the Western world live well. So, they also fought for the police. If you understand the true meaning of governance, you’ll understand that some people in office don’t even know why they’re there. Since the protest, what policies have they made? Have they sat down to understand what provoked that protest? The saddest thing was what happened at the Toll Gate in Lekki and everyone is not talking. The Nigerian government showed this generation how brutal they can be and how unwanted they are in their own country. I hope this generation will not visit their frustrations on the children of politicians.
Do you foresee another protest if issues raised are not addressed?
Yes, I foresee a full-blown revolution by this generation. Using the gun and the military against these young people was a mistake. There will be a revolution one day. When that happens, it will be bloody. When they will hit the street again, they will move against the elite. Who will calm them down when they come out again? This generation doesn’t listen to anyone.
Many northerners felt the protest was planned to bring down President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. If we don’t address that, how can another protest that doesn’t involve the two regions succeed?
Something will make them unite. Hunger, unemployment and insecurity will unite them. There is a card my northern brothers usually play. The card is that some elements in the South want to fight us. The North should understand that if they don’t support certain things and things explode, the elite of the region will be sacrificed. But the South is different. They move against their own president. But the North won’t do that. They breed illiterates who won’t challenge their leaders. It is a deliberate strategy. One day, something will unite the two regions.
Do you think that passing the Electoral Amendment Bill into law and including electronic transmission of results, will address the issue of rigging?
To some extent, it will address the issue of rigging. But my only fear is that, Nigerian politicians are very smart. To me, these politicians have already created a way out. Notwithstanding, I believe it is a good thing. I think it is time to enlighten ourselves. There is no part of Nigeria you’ll go to and not find network, except those areas where you have problems with insecurity. I believe areas where network is poor, something can be done. Now, we can vote and our votes can be transmitted electronically. Let’s plead with the INEC chairman. He has to be firm and ready to ensure that only electronic transmission of results will be accepted. He should not give some areas preferences. He must be willing to ensure that what happened in 2015 must not happen again, where some parts used card readers and others didn’t do that.
There is the problem of voters’ apathy. How do we address that?
Another reform we need to handle is to ensure that we can vote through our mobile phones. That’s the next level we should move to. Big Brother did that. We should also make the process seamless. We can stretch it and make the voting last for a one week like they do in the United States. On the last day, collation will be made and things will be different. You don’t expect over 200 million people to vote in one day. INEC has a lot to do.
There is this argument about zoning. Should power be ceded to the South since Buhari would have spent eight years by 2023?
A country not built on sincerity, issues like this will come up. Unfortunately, there are issues. We have trust issues. We don’t trust numbers that come from some parts of the country. We have seen cases where people were imported from other countries to vote. We have seen under age people voting. There is a trust deficit. But for now, I support zoning and power should shift to the South. As it is today, our unity is very fragile. Northern leaders should understand that they must do what is right. Eight years of the North, power should be ceded to the South. If we want to address some issues and insist on no zoning, we should have proper census to know the true figure of the two regions.
It is only in Nigeria that you see more numbers in the desert than in the tropical region. This is not possible. We need a genuine census. You saw Kano state brought almost two million votes during the presidential election, but couldn’t do half of that during the governorship election. That should tell you something. With false figures coming from certain parts, the South can’t trust them.
If zoned to the South, do you support micro zoning or you believe the three geopolitical zones should compete for it?
As it is today, the South West has ruled for eight years. The South South has ruled for five years. The South East has not ruled. If the South West wants to be fair, it should allow the South East and the South South decide on who should be the next president. The South West has not helped the unity of the South. In 2015, they took sides with the North and Jonathan lost. The same thing they did during the Biafran war. If the South West produces a candidate, they will be at the mercy of the North. South East and South South won’t work with the South West. I’m from the South West. But leaders from the South West should canvass for a president from the South East or the South South