Follow Us on Google
By Omoniyi Salaudeen
Senator Adegbenga Kaka combines executive and legislative experiences as a former deputy governor of Ogun State. Assessing the outlook of the economy under the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in this interview, he suggested some critical areas of immediate attention, including to lift the poor out of poverty and enhance food security. Excerpt:
From the outlook of the current leadership of the 10th National Assembly, what are your expectations?
Unfortunately, I am not familiar with any one of the leadership of the current National Assembly. But as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), my expectation is for them to let their loyalty be first and foremost to God and then work with the executive to give us the best legislation possible. Most of the extant laws that are already stale should be reviewed to make them compliant with what operates globally. There is no doubt that a lot of job needs to be done in reviewing most of these extant laws. Beyond that, they need to do more in their oversight functions. This is more so now that we have an economy that is wobbling. They need to put in place the necessary legislations that will enable the Federal Government to harness collectible revenues and block the leakages. We must be able to strengthen the arms of the law to ensure that deterrents would be emphasized. As they are blocking the leakages, the government must double its efforts in bringing back the economy to life.
You must be familiar with the pedigree and credentials of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola who is now the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation. How would you expect him to bring his experience to bear on this challenge of identifying the areas of leakages as you mentioned?
Naturally, you cannot get experience to buy in the market. Neither can you find it anywhere in the books. Except we want to be uncharitable, 20 years plus in legislative duty is an experience only a few people can beat. It should be possible for him to bring the experience he had garnered over the years handy in the discharge of the onerous responsibility of the appropriation chairman. It is a terrain he is familiar with and I have no doubt in my mind that he will do a good job in that aspect.
There is a great deal of expectation for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, given the way he hit the ground running with the announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of foreign exchange rates. Yet, the hardship of the economy seems to be getting worse by the day. Is there any hope that he will get the economy back on track so quickly?
If you have an ailing body, it will take time for the healing process to take place. The deterioration and dwindling of the economy didn’t start overnight. It took us time before we got to where we are today. So, naturally, it is going to take time for the healing process to bring about the desired results. It is not a misplaced expectation for people to be eager to see changes. The unification of exchange rates you mentioned is part of the leakages that need to be blocked. Though the beneficiaries may not find it palatable, it is a good omen. However, that must be complemented with other activities that will enhance productivity across the board. Apart from our oil resources, none oil sectors must be reformed to generate foreign exchange earnings that can justify the unification of the FOREX rates. Again, the removal of subsidy has to do with the leakages that I mentioned earlier on. It was primarily meant to be a social leveller, but some individuals had abused it. And until now, there had been no deterrent whatsoever. So, to achieve the success of the removal, the government must rebuild the trust of the people. It takes renewed confidence and trust for the people to believe that the removal is in their own interest. What the government is trying to remove is the inefficiency in the system. If our refineries are working, the cost of fuel will come down. We all know why the refineries are not working. We all know that some people are benefitting from the Turn Around Maintenance, as well as the haulage business. Rather than sustaining the old regime of subsidy that benefitted only a few, it is imperative for us now to increase our productivity to cushion the effect of the removal. We must begin to do things more efficiently and more effectively so that we can prevent some individuals from reaping the government of its good intention.
The palliatives being proposed by the government especially the planned disbursement of N8,000 to the vulnerable segment of the populace is already generating controversy. Some Nigerians have spoken against it because of the experience of the past and the fear of abuse. What is your take on this matter?
That is why the government needs to rebuild the people’s trust. This is a new administration; we have to give the government the benefit of the doubt. Granted that the past government had made several promises that were not fulfilled, we cannot continue to grope in darkness and allow things to continue to deteriorate. So, let’s give the current administration the benefit of the doubt. Let’s give them the necessary support because two wrongs will never make a right. Let us hope that our endurance will turn into a healing process for the economy. Besides, they have even promised that the N8,000 palliative would be reviewed. The review is currently ongoing, but the atmosphere is tense. In a haste to get things done, there could be miscalculations here and there. Let us cooperate so that we can land on a favourable plain. Let’s give more time to the administration.
A lot of anxiety has been over the ministerial list President Tinubu is expected to submit to the National Assembly as that will give the actual direction of his administration. What calibre of people are you expecting to form the new cabinet?
My expectation at this time is completely irrelevant. We have put our expectations on Mr. President. The buck is, therefore, on his table for him to pick the best hands that can assist him in discharging the onerous duties of administering a complex country as ours. We have given him the mandate and we should give him the opportunity to do the necessary selection. But with the little I know of President Tinubu, he is so vast with the knowledge of this country that even in his sleep he can concoct the first eleven in his cabinet selection, second and even the third eleven. What is left for him is to get the best for us. Only the best is good for this country. We will continue to pray for his success because his success is a success for all of us in this country including those who voted for him and those who voted against him. We are all desirous of his success and by the grace of God, he will be successful.
Food security is now on the front burner, especially following the president’s declaration of a state of emergency for food production. What measures would we expect the government to put in place to address the aims and objectives of the declaration?
We thank Mr. President most sincerely for declaring a state of emergency on food security. As an agriculturist, I appreciate him very much. It is often said that a hungry man is an angry man. That there is hunger in the land is no more debatable. The first step is for the president to have all the necessary powers to move the agricultural sector forward. We would expect an increase in the level of productivity that will be able to feed the nation. The current food inflation is very alarming. With a state of emergency, Mr. President will be given the latitude to deploy resources to the primary production geared toward food sufficiency as well as raw materials for our industries. We would also be looking forward to foreign exchange earnings through exportation after value addition. It is a value addition that will further help in creating employment opportunities for our teeming youths. Already, Mr. President has told us that land would be there for would-be farmers. If what we heard from Dele Alake is anything to go by, there will also be farming mechanization. They are also talking about processing and value addition. I believe there will be a great take-off if all these can be put in the right perspective. In addition to this, I will passionately beg Mr. President to look into the possibility of declaring a state of emergency on other insecurities that are confronting us. One of these is health which will directly or indirectly affect productivity. The other one is education. It is Robert Obet who said: “If education is expensive, try ignorance.” Added to all of these, we must be able to harness potentials in the energy sector, electricity generation in particular, for increased productivity in our factories and for the general day-to-day running of our economy. If it is only these three of four areas he is able to concentrate on by declaring a state of emergency, we will be better for it. He has started well and by God’s grace, he would be empowered with the courage to see it through. With the support of all of us, things will be better.
What kind of legislature/executive relationship are you looking at this time around?
A robust one, having citizens, especially the youth and the women, as a focus.
