By Christy Anyanwu
Susan Fajana-Thomas is a British politician and activist in the United Kingdom, who has served in so many public offices with distinction.
She is currently serving on the Council and Board of many organisations, including London Housing Consortium (LHC), East London NHS Foundation Trust and Islington Refugee and Migrant Forum.
She is making a significant impact in the UK and worldwide in her role as a Universal Peace Ambassador, Chair of the African Achievers Awards Advisory Board, President of Nigerian Women in the Diaspora Leadership Forum (NWIDLF), Country Director of SD-F International, a member the global women movement, All Ladies League (ALL) and founder of SFT Foundation Trust.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, she spoke on Nigeria and the upcoming general elections, among other issues.
What is your assessment of the presidential candidates in the forthcoming election in Nigeria?
That’s a difficult question, but I would look at it from a politician’s point of view. You can assess candidates in two ways; firstly, the positions they take on issues; and secondly, the leadership qualities and experience they would bring to the office. We know that among the many presidential candidates, the three individuals who can smell Aso Rock are Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Abubakar Atiku and Peter Obi. I won’t name names, but I don’t think they’re all presidential in nature. In addition, what is their position on issues affecting Nigeria and Nigerians, such as insecurity, inequality, terrorism, unemployment, corruption, ethnic conflict, economic crisis and resource mismanagement, to mention a few? On the second point, which one has the qualities and experience to offer Nigeria and advance the country in the modern world? Who amongst them is committed to helping people and representing Nigerian interests, good communicator; has a visionary dream, understands how to transform visions into successes, and demonstrates honesty and integrity? I hope, though, that the electorate will use their votes and vote for someone who is a great political leader and can easily distinguish between success and failure.
Election year in Nigeria is around the corner. What kind of leader do you think Nigerians need at this point in time?
Nigeria needs a leader who can address its challenges.
A leader who will see Nigeria as a nation with diverse communities that will work together and not make decisions based on the sentiments of Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani and Hausa. A leader who will address the tensions that frequently arise when it comes to the control of the country’s natural resources. Who will tackle corruption that infiltrates all political, judicial and economic organisations? One that will take decisive action to reduce violence, kidnapping and other forms of insecurity. Somebody who has vision and purpose and believes in checks and balances, honesty and integrity. A leader who will see to it that the government, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary are all bound by the Constitution, and no one is above or beyond the Constitution. This may seem impossible, but as already mentioned, I am optimistic about Nigeria’s future!
Looking at Osun and Ekiti elections, how would you assess INEC ahead of the 2023 election?
It was good to see an improved system during the gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states. Yet a free and fair election means more than just the electronic transmission of results. INEC would have to go further. It is about political freedom and fair processes leading up to the elections, a fair count of eligible voters issued with PVC, working with the enforcement agencies to address candidates using thugs to steal ballot boxes and threaten voters during elections and other voter suppression. On my birthday a few days ago, on September 28, the campaign officially opened as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Thus, from here until the election, we should look forward to seeing the ‘good, bad and ugly’ political campaigns.
What is your take on insecurity in Nigeria?
We know that there have been serious and ongoing threats to national and individual security through kidnapping, killing, political violence, fearsome insurrection of Boko Haram in the North and other religious fundamentalists and fanatics across the country. The fight against insecurity must be the first priority of the new president. Safety and security are many things, including a stable economy, improved health and well-being of citizens, improved productivity, protection against crime, and psychological safety.
How would you assess the state of the nation as the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is winding up?
I agree with many Nigerians who believe that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in both his leadership and his two-term presidency. As a politician who was elected on a manifesto, I based my assessment of the PMB on its promises to Nigerians in 2015. He failed to live up to his election promises to secure Nigeria, but there are daily massacres, kidnappings, bombings and rapes perpetrated across the country by criminals, religious fundamentalists and fanatics. Moreover, there is no significant progress in the fight against corruption and unemployment and no equality of opportunity irrespective of religion, ethnicity and political affiliation. PMB changed politics fundamentally by defeating an incumbent president, but failed to do things differently. Best of luck to him on his second retirement!
What is your take on the Muslim/Muslim ticket of the APC?
Nigeria’s form of government is a democracy and not a theocracy. We are electing a political leader and not a religious leader. The issue of Muslim/Muslim is nonsense, as well as the zigzag – Muslim/Christian ticket. My appeal to Nigerians is that deciding which candidate to vote should not simply be about religion, ethnicity or stomach infrastructure. But to vote on the basis of specific characteristics, they feel that the next Nigerian president should have. In summary, a leader that will uphold the supremacy of the Nigerian Constitution, as stipulated in the preamble – to promote the welfare of all persons in the country, on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and to consolidate the unity of Nigerians.
How do you see the impeachment threats of the National Assembly to President Buhari on insecurity in Nigeria if he fails to address it?
Where have the members of the National Assembly been since the beginning of the PMB’s second term? It is too late and inefficient.
What is your take on the allegation that the people in the Diaspora are not carried along with the ‘going on’ in Nigeria?
I don’t think it’s a Diaspora issue. Even in Nigeria, ordinary people are not carried along with the ‘going on’ as you put it. The former Chief Special Assistant to the Governor of Ekiti, Femi Odere, recently wrote a fascinating article about the subject. In a democracy, ordinary people participate in the government process mainly through elections. Elections provide citizens with the opportunity to exercise their right to vote and elect their representatives. So people are involved indirectly with the government through their representatives. Unfortunately, members of the Diaspora still cannot exercise that right, and we can only continue to lobby the National Assembly to change the relevant electoral law. The Diaspora population will continue to be marginalised and denied participation in policy development until Diaspora voting becomes a reality.
What do you think the Queen will be missed for the most?
Her devotion and love for people. There are few people today who remember a time without the late Queen Elizabeth II. So people are going to miss her constant presence in our lives. She was an amazing woman, who brought stability and continuity to the United Kingdom through the many changes of the later half of the 20th Century and into the 21st Century. The late Queen was an inspiration, she devoted her life to service and did both great and small things with great love for over 70 years. I am grateful to have met the late Queen in 2012 and will treasure the memory forever.