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By Daniel Kanu
Dame (Dr) Blessing Nwagba is a former member of the Abia State House of Assembly, where she represented Aba North Constituency twice on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
She later moved to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and was the governorship candidate of the party in Abia State in the 2019 elections.
Dr Nwagba also ran for the Senate in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), slugging it out with the then state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP, and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of APGA and former Minority Senate leader, who was later declared the winner of the Abia South Senatorial District poll.
In this chat with Sunday Sun, the grassroots politician and rights advocate, speaks on sensitive national issues, including some of the controversies surrounding President Tinubu’s economic policies, insecurity, hike in cost of living and recent appointment of his son by the president, among others. Excerpt:
One of the scion of the Nwagba dynasty, Engr. Uzoma Nwagba, your son, has been announced as the new Managing Director/Chiéf Executive Officer of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP). How do you feel?
I think it’s a good development, not because he is my son, but more because it shows President Tinubu’s eye to hunt for talents. I do not think that the appointment was done because he is my son, but I think he was found to be eminently qualified for the position. I think also it’s purely on merit because the young man has shown capacity to deliver in all that he has laid his hands to do over time. He has been a good testimonial for hardwork, focus and strategic planning and thinking. He is a young man that is full of energy and in love for the progress and development of his country. I wish him well because I know he will do well. I have no doubt about that. He has a track record of great performance, he has the set skills and I am optimistic that he will deliver on the mandate of the office. It will also be próper to úse this medium to commend Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Tiñúbu on his eye for talents. The truth is that it is not an easy task to be president of Nigeria, so I also wish him well. He is a grounded politician and I have no doubt that he knows the problem of this country and he knows what to do to fix Nigeria. Things may appear a bit difficult now, but I still think it’s part of the process we need to experience before getting to our eldorado. Nothing good comes easy unless when you fail to be realistic.
We know you to be a staunch supporter of President Tinubu and also ran a senatorial race in the last election. How satisfied are you with some of the policies of the president in view of the hardship in the land ?
I have been confronted with this question many times. My answer has always been that we need to situate issues properly. President Tinubu took over on the 29th of May, 2023, expectedly, being human, there are some of his policies that didn’t go the way he envisaged them ab initio. Many Nigerians will say that the removal of subsidy on petrol was ill-timed. But it was a way out. While the blame is on the president for not allowing the June deadline as the budgetary provisions for subsidy were provided for by the previous administration. The question is was one month enough for planning and implementation of palliatives measures to cushion the effects of subsidy removal? Another policy of the president which some Nigerians also criticized is the floating exchange rate which has ensured we have a single exchange rate in the country. For me, there is nothing wrong with these policies, as it is a matter of time. We are going to benefit from them. Once our refineries start functioning optimally, the FOREX spendings on the importation of refined petroleum products will be channeled to other areas which will help in stabilizing the economy. The Dangote refinery will soon be in operation and with other refineries in operation, things are expected to get better
In all President Tinubu’s policies so far are good, and there is need to exercise little patience. Definitely no human being can get it 100 per cent, be that as it may I think we are headed in the right direction. Policies still need time for implementation, growth and development.
But some Nigerians see the policies as anti- people?
Different individuals have a right to their views, but the most important thing is whether something positive is being put in place and my answer is yes. However, in my response to your earlier question, I did state how I feel about the two policies of the Tinubu-led government which seem controversial. Some time you don’t blame some people when they take certain positions. Some take their positions from the point of view of ignorance. Some may criticise because they are in opposition. We still need some time as I pointed out earlier. Mr President is not up to one year yet.
The president’s appointments to some have been criticized as being lopsided and favour more of his Southwest constituency, what’s your reaction?
During the administration of the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, he was equally criticized for lopsided appointments. President Tinubu while appointing his Service Chiefs ensured that the three major ethnic groups of the nation are represented in the leadership of the nation’s security architecture. He also ensured that the two major religions are represented.
It is also on record that Asiwaju Tinubu is the first Nigeria president to appoint a Southerner the Minister of FCT. In the last administration, the majority of the appointment went to the North and the then president claimed they are the people he was comfortable to work with.
President Tinubu as the governor of Lagos State, selected his team from across the Southwest and even from the Southeast. I don’t think it is right to bring ethnic colouration to some of the president’s appointments. It is on record that most of these people are people the president has worked with over the years, and they are individuals whose competence are not in doubt. Appointments are still ongoing because his cabinet are not the only appointments to be màde.
As a former state legislator, what do you think can be done to make the states less dependable on the federal?
The issue of making the states less dependent on the monthly allocation has been a subject of public discussion for a long time. Many have called for the implementation of President Jonathan’s CONFAB report of 2014 while some are calling for the convening of a Sovereign National Conference. Issues of resource control and devolution of power have been on the front burner and many are of the opinion that the nation goes back to the regional system of government which enabled many regions to be less dependent on the centre. During which regions invested heavily on the things they have a comparative advantage on over other regions.
To make the states less dependable on what comes out from Abuja, a lot needs to be done, maybe we need a brand new constitution because I think the amendment and review hasn’t actually helped our course as a nation. The responsibility lies on the National Assembly members to give us a better constitution that will devolve more powers to the states and other federating units as this will make the states less dependent on the Federal Government.
The rise in prices of goods and services is becoming a source of concern for many Nigerians. Does this bother you?
The high cost of goods and services is a source of concern to everyone. While many people may attribute it to the high cost of petroleum products in Nigeria and the single exchange rate policy of President Tinubu. As I have àrgúed at different fora, the truth is that in the last three years a lot of events have happened or are still happening in the world. In the year 2020 the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world and crippled the world’s economy, as the world was recovering from the effects of Coronavirus, the Russia-Ukraine war started which has negatively impacted the West. While we are still trying to contain the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Israeli and Palestine war started. As a developing country, we depend a lot on the West, hence the reason these wars affected our economy. Recall that within the first two quarters of last year, the poor management of the naira redesign policy crippled our economy. I think with the calibre of men the president has assembled in his economic team, progress will be made with time. Things will get better.
Insecurity has spread to every zone. How did we get here and what will it take to secure Nigeria?
The issue of insecurity in the country didn’t start today, remember the Niger Delta militants and the approach the late President Yar’Adua took in handling it. In Abia State, we had the Osisikankwu era when kidnapping and broad daylight robbery was reported on a daily basis. The Boko Haram insurgency is over 15 years and recently the issue of banditry in the North-central and Southwest.
The approach President Tinubu has taken so far on the issue of insecurity is commendable. Appointment of Lt Gen Lagbaja as the Chief of Army Staff and the appointment of northern Christian from Southern Kaduna as the Chief of Defence Staff. Before now, the killings in Southern Kaduna was given religion colouration, so having both Christians and Muslims in the country’s security architecture is a good one. Also remember the immediate past administration didn’t have a South easterner in the country’s security architecture which President Tinubu has corrected. So, back to your question, rather than asking how did we get here, the question should have been how do we get out of here? Because we have been there for a long time. There’s hope that we will overcome the major security challenges bedeviling the nation, going by the steps the president and the Service Chiefs have taken so far. With recent discussions by the lawmakers on the issue of state police, which is a good development, security challenges will be surmounted with time.
Use this opportunity to advise the FG on the economy?
As I have always advised, I will tell Mr President to prioritize production and increase the patronage of locally made products. There’s urgent need to get our refineries to be functional at optimal level.These will reduce the pressure on the Forex market which will in turn enable the naira to be bullish against the dollar in the exchange market.
For companies in Nigeria to break even, we must get it right in the power sector.
