By Omoniyi Salaudeen
Blunt and down-to-earth, Senator Rufai Hanga will always call a spade a spade, no matter whose ox is gored. Though a former disciple of President Muhammadu Buhari in the defunct Congress of Progressives Change (CPC), he is unhappy with the turn of events since the present administration came into being in 2015.
In this interview, he gives a bleak prognosis of a hard time lying ahead of Nigerians in the New Year as a result of the inherent flaws in the appropriation bill already signed into law.
What is your analysis of the 2022 budget already signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari?
The budget is very unprofessional the way it was done. It was not done scientifically and I don’t think it is realistic. Whoever analysis the budget will tell you that it is a very sorry situation. It is very disheartening to even talk about it. The government is on a solo drive because they are doing things without knowing how to do it. Look at how much we have borrowed without thinking about tomorrow.
But the Minister of Finance said the government needed to borrow so much in order to spend its way out of recession. Isn’t that a genuine reason?
I don’t think the Finance Minister is a qualified economist and I don’t think there are qualified people to advise them on what to do. That is why I said they are running this government in a solo manner. They are doing things without applying any reasonable knowledge about how things are done. It is very laughable the way they are doing things. We have never had it so bad since the beginning of Nigeria. When people criticized this government for not having economic advisers, President Buhari constituted a committee which he doesn’t even use. The committee was never listened to by the president. So, the Minister of Finance can tell you anything, but she is not talking from the point of view of knowledge.
What then do you make of the recent appointment of Dr. Doyin Salami as Chief Economic Adviser?
This appointment is done very late. It should have been done long ago. If he had appointed the man some four years back, things would have been different. Where will he start from now? The damage done cannot be remedied now. I hate talking about happenings in this country. We can only pray for them to finish this tenure and leave peacefully so that we can start afresh. There are hard times ahead of us because they have done damage that cannot easily be remedied.
What legacy do you think this government wants to leave behind at the end of its eight-year tenure?
I don’t think they want to leave any legacy because they turn down advice on all fronts. There are so many self-centred people around the president. And unfortunately, the man does not have the capacity; he takes whatever they tell him because he doesn’t know. That is why those around him are having a field day. Whatever they concoct, he takes. So, they are not thinking about leaving any legacy. They have lost it on all fronts. They have taken us more than 50 years back. I don’t know how long it will take us to recover. They have mortgaged the country with loans. I have never seen things done like this way in the whole world. Yes, countries take loans, but not these kind of loans. The money being used in serving the loans is more than a burden for us. Obasanjo came, cleared all our debts and we started on a fresh note, which was excellent for the country. But unfortunately, this man came, destroyed the system, and put us in this sorry situation.
Politics is gradually picking up. Gladiators are now out to do whatever they want to do to get what they want. Do you think President Buhari is capable of keeping the pressure that is likely to ensue in check without distracting the smooth running of his government?
Yes, gladiators are warming up. And like I rightly observed, they are all blinded by lust for power. Whatever happens to the country is nothing to them. All they are interested in is getting the soul of the country. Unfortunately, the majority of Nigerians do not understand them because they have had a terrible dose of poverty and ignorance especially here in the North. They all ran away from the country immediately after the last elections. Now, the moneybags are back in the country and the people are running after them to get something from them. The only good thing that can happen to us is if the people can abandon the ruling and the main opposition parties and come up with a credible alternative. By so doing, we may get a better chance to start again from somewhere. I am really alarmed by the happenings now. I am afraid that Nigerians may run into the hands of these hawks in the ruling and opposition parties. Until then, we have to sit back and continue praying for the best to happen for the country. For now, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
How would you react to the speculations about people putting pressure on former President Goodluck Jonathan to come back to re-contest the 2023 election?
That is a big joke. Certainly, Jonathan did better than this government. But if they ask him to join the ruling party to re-contest, they are only deceiving him. If I can see him, I will advise him not to accept the invitation because he is better off now that the world is celebrating him. What did he forget in the State House that he wants to go and take? He should maintain his present position as a credible person recongised by the world; after all, he has done better than what they are doing now. And people now understand that he was misunderstood before. He should keep faith in that. He should not accept their offer of an invitation to come and join the ruling party to contest the coming election. Even if he contests, he will not win. In any case, I doubt if they will allow him to contest. What they are saying is too good to be true. He should not think or contemplate doing it. I hope I will be remembered for saying this if he makes the mistake of contesting another election. I mean well for him that is why I am advising him this way.
The issue of electoral law is still on the front burner. The majority of stakeholders in the ruling and opposition parties are saying that direct primary is expensive and that Nigeria is not mature for it. What is your take on this?
I don’t believe that. Direct primary is not as expensive or as dangerous as indirect primary because the indirect primary is not an election, it is selection and imposition. Right from the grassroots to the top, it is selection or imposition. But indirect primary, at least, if not 100 per cent, quite a good number of people will have their say and the right candidates might be elected through the process. In this case, unless you have your party card, you can’t go and queue up to vote for a candidate. And even with the party card, you must be at least six months or more as a member before you can be eligible to vote or contest in the primaries. If proper screening is done, it can guarantee credible candidates. If INEC has said that it can do it, who else is saying it is not possible? How is it expensive? The only thing is to make sure that only those who have registered with the parties for at least six months or more before the primary are allowed to vote. If it is well monitored and is transparent; it will allow people to have their say. The indirect primary is an imposition by the power-that be. And when such candidates come to power, they work for the masters that propped them up; they don’t care about the people who put them there. That is why we have the current situation in the country. One is surprised that Buhari who is a product of direct primary can now come out to say that it is expensive. How much did he have when he was elected through the direct primary? Then, he believed that it was transparent and fair. But now he is saying it is expensive. There was a prediction ab initio that governors would not allow him to sign the Electoral Act and it has come to pass, which means he is being controlled by some people. It is very unfortunate. We have never had it this bad. I am disappointed, all Nigerians are disappointed; 99 per cent of Nigerians are disappointed with the way things are going in the Buhari administration.
Since the president is adamant about not signing the amended Electoral Act because of direct primary, what do you expect the National Assembly to do in the present circumstance?
The National Assembly will do nothing. We have never had National Assembly that is a mere rubber stamp like this. They will do the same thing they have been doing. In fact, they had already approved it even before it was sent to them. The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said that they would amend it and take it back to the president. The present National Assembly is subservient and clueless. They don’t even know their responsibilities because they are always working for the executive.
The declaration by Governor Bello Masari of Katsina State that people should acquire arms to defend themselves has reignited the agitation for the creation of state police. But the president is insisting that it is not the way to go. What is your position on the issue of state police?
What Masari said is a vote of no confidence in a government he is a part of. It is a vote of no confidence in the president he holds high like God. He has lost confidence in the Federal Government; he has lost confidence in the president. It is as simple as that. No more. If the government cannot protect the people, why are they stopping the governors from constituting something that will give protection to their people? They should allow them to constitute something that will give protection to their people. That is why I have never objected to the state police because the Federal Government has failed to guarantee the safety of the lives of the people.
What about the fear being expressed in some quarters that the governors may abuse the state police as they abuse the state electoral commission?
It depends on the law accompanying the issue of state police. We cannot just constitute the state police like that without any law enacted to control it. There must be a law accompanying it. Even we can amend the constitution to make laws that will control the abuse of state electoral commissions. It is just a matter of the National Assembly coming up with a law to control it. But they are not willing to do it. They are willing tools to the executive. It is very unfortunate. We’ve never had it so bad.