From Idu Jude Abuja
A Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), and pioneer Director-General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has advocated for a need for the government to re-examine the process of transferring money under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to the masses, so as to ensure the downtrodden feels the impact of the intervention.
The FCT Chairman, Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) and the CEO Ebegba Center for Environmental Science and Sustainability, in this interview, also spoke on other issues of national importance.
As a member of the ruling APC, tell us how you feel about the recent unfortunate incident of stampedes in some parts of Nigeria?
There are many reasons why organisations and individuals would like to give gifts to some people during the festive periods. Of course, so many of them feel there are people among us who are less privileged, others are within the status to support them which includes civil responsibility. At the same time, we must understand that when we want to carry out all these activities, it must be a structured arrangement so that those who are coming for the palliative or any support wouldn’t be victims of circumstance.
Unfortunately, these people were killed, and the Federal Government, as well as the Catholic Church, has expressed concern over the unfortunate incident.
I am tempted to say that those who died, died as a result of poverty, as a result of institutional failure, and also, they died because they wanted to survive, they just wanted to meet their social and economic needs. Unfortunately, what has happened has happened and there are so many reasons to attribute it to. Number one among many is a fractured arrangement and second is a failed institutional arrangement. And we can also link these to the irregularities in governance. But the unfortunate thing is that when we take a look at those things, we realise that various arms of government are involved. Talk of the Federal, State, and local governments, and if every arm plays its role in providing for the people, I believe we won’t be talking about the federal alone or putting much attention or pressure on the federal. Given these, the citizens need to question what role the three tiers of government play on their citizens to ameliorate the socioeconomic menace.
The Federal government comes with the overall policy direction for the economic problems that we are facing. And to the states, what policy do they come with?
I know that many people see the problem of subsidy removal as one that came with lots of socioeconomic problems. With a record of high costs of food items, transportation, unemployment, and so forth.
Even when on the side of the government, it was to avoid waste, a situation where few individuals used the petroleum subsidy as a means of amassing wealth at the expense of the majority. We also believe that the impact of the subsidy removal is going to be positive in the future, but it is not something that is going to be immediate.
Looking at the recent stampede, and the creation of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, do you think the ruling party has done much to alleviate the food crises in Nigeria?
You see one of the major challenges we have is that there is no proper monitoring to see that government funds released are judiciously used. That is the major challenge and when you talk about humanitarian affairs giving money to the people, what comes into mind is, what apparatus or means are they using to transfer these money to the people? Believe me, the most downtrodden people in Nigeria are illiterates who don’t even have the means of receiving money through the banks. So many of them don’t have means of communication, even when millions and billions of naira are said to be given to them. I suggest that there should be a proper re-examination of that process so that the government can do proper monitoring, which is very much required.
My take on the performance of Tinubu’s economic team, is that, there are policies that take a longer term to manifest, while there are those meant for short-term measures. But the reality is that any policy brought to change the system always make people experience pain because there is a distortion in the way people do things.
What do you suggest as short-term measures for food availability in Nigeria?
It is not as if there is no food in Nigeria, it is the purchasing power that is the challenge. Sometimes, you see the food, but the income of the citizens is low, and also, the inputs to produce foods are high, but the people must eat. In that case, the food would be there, but they can’t buy the quantity they need. So, it is not as if there is no food in the country but the price is not within the reach of poor masses. Recently, the Federal government increased the minimum wage to N70,000, and when you ask yourself how much 70,000 is equivalent to dollars, the fact is that when you equate the dollar to Nigerian currency, you realise that things are cheaper in Nigeria compared to what such can buy abroad. There are lots of measures, but what we are saying is that there is a need for government to cushion the effects of hardship need.
Talking of other sectors of the economy, like transportation, which is very skewed, is also affecting the distribution of goods and the provision of services. The rail line, which was supposed to be for the masses, is now meant for the elites. We have a rail line from Itakpe to Warri, which is good, but from Itakpe to Abuja, there is a disconnect; why? But assume we have a direct rail line from Abuja to Warri, the cost of products will be cheaper and the movement of people easier, and this is because air transport fares have skyrocketed.
The government needs to look into many issues, including transportation, the government talks about putting in more rail lines, but those existing ones are not yet functioning well.
When I took a look at the FCT metro rail line, I realised that the project was made for the elites, who also have cars to move about. So, sometimes we don’t look at what is the priority of the common man.
Take a look at the issue of electricity; Nigerians have always paid for what they don’t use. Presently, there is availability of power, but they decided to classify the masses into bands A, B, and C. Why would they make the electricity bill beyond the reach of the ordinary man? The classification means that some must be in darkness for some time.
Are you interested in 2027?
Yes, what I have come to understand is that Nigerians talk about politics, some people have seen politics as their industry. And if you look at this critically, you would understand that anything everyone gets in this country is determined by the political system. And if the political system in the country is faulty, Nigerians suffer the consequences of political will. On how much I would get involved, yes, I did consultations looking at the possibilities when I was advised I could become Governor of my State, and after the consultation, I realised that some of us may not contest to be governors but can contribute immensely in electing the right leader. As for me, 2025 is going to be the deciding factor on where some of us are going to, but whether I am going to contest or not, I can’t tell you right now. But all I know is that I will be involved in making sure that right leaders emerge in Nigeria.
It seems the campaign against public acceptance of GMOs has been on the rise since you left, what could be responsible?
When I was at the National Biosafety Management Agency, I wouldn’t have done everything, I only did what I could do within my ability when I was in the office. They have a new chief executive and I think she is doing well. I also think that she is trying to carry out what is known as evolution, moving from a lower level to a higher level. So, when people decide to attack, and during my time, it was so vicious, there were demonstrations at the National Assembly seeking my sponsored Act to be repealed and to be dismissed. So, what the anti-GMO are trying to do is to test the will of the new DG, and I can tell you that, she can withstand this thing. But one thing is that all agitations against GMOs have recorded no evidence that it can cause harm to the environment or individuals. It is all based on fear and fear mongers always come out to confuse the public. I have always said that there is a trade war between the agrochemicals industries and biotechnology industries. There is some money given to NGOs to go and advocate that it is dangerous to humans. But one unfortunate thing is that all these activists travel to America and Europe to eat GMO foods and come back to Nigeria to condemn them. I always say that GMOs are products for intervention and are not bound to be in the country. And I can tell you authoritatively that all GMO products released in the country are safe for consumption.