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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Elder statesman and former Secretary General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr Anthony Sani, has said that for democracy to return to the embattled Niger Republic, Nigeria must play the big brother, socio-economic challenges notwithstanding, at the home front.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, Sani noted that under the leadership of former President Julius Nyerere, Tanzania was able to help to push out Idi Amin of Uganda for democratic government.
The former ACF scribe also spoke on President Bola Tinubu’s ministers, saying that those of them that are technocrats-cum-politicians will perform better in office than mere technocrats. Excerpts:
The ECOWAS nations are bent on using military force to return civilian rule to Niger Republic. But many people have kicked against use of force. What is your position on this?
Democracy however imperfect is preferred over military regime precisely because it is government of the people, by the people and for the people, while military regime is through the gun, which is also use of force.That is why ECOWAS is not favourably disposed to military regime. Most people do not like coup because apart from using force, military regimes hardly live up their pledge to bring about order, justice, common decency and prosperity for all. Nigeriens themselves know this from their experiences under military regimes for about 50 years. And in order to return Niger to constitutional order, most people do not like the use of force by ECOWAS which though used force in Liberia and Sierra Leone.You would note the same ECOWAS has not used force in Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. What is more, socio-economic implications of war are far reaching. Hence the preference for other options of diplomacy, dialogue and even economic sanctions. I, therefore, see ECOWAS trying to play Leo Fox.That is to say, playing belligerent lion and as savvy as the fox. Reason being that ECOWAS wishes to negotiate from position of strength in order to secure the best of terms.The decision to try and make the junta return Niger to constitutional order is that of ECOWAS and not that of President Tinubu who is only its chairman. I believe if ever force would be used at all, it would be the last resort.
The argument that because Nigeria faces challenges at home, it should not participate in the efforts to make the junta return power to democratically elected president does not hold water.This is because we must not have enough before helping our neighbours. No country has enough as condition to help other countries. America as supper power does not have enough for its citizens, yet it helps many countries.When President Julius Nyerere helped to remove President Idi Amin in Uganda, it was not because Tanzania had enough for its people. Nigerians should, therefore, support ECOWAS to bring constitutional order by prioritizing the use of variegated pressures with force bringing up the rear.
Should Nigeria go to war with the neighbouring Niger Republic while our own country is currently suffering from internal security challenges?
Nigerians join other international communities in condemning the coup in Niger and supports the use of various methods of pressure to make desired result come to pass with the proviso that force is the last resort.This is because war is not a tea party that could be embarked upon with sleigh of the hand. Nobody should embark on war unless it has to do so.The use of Leo Fox approach should be the way to go.
The rate of socio-economic hardship in the country is so alarming to the extent that some Nigerians are calling for the return of former President Muhammadu Buhari. What is your advice to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on this situation?
I have never known any regime that is popular in Nigeria except that of Murtala regime that lasted for only six months. President Bola Tinubu inherited an economy that was struggling as a result of scarcity of currencies and of fuel. It was under such situation that the president removed fuel subsidy and devalued the naira amid spike in inflation due to COVID-19, climate change and war in Ukraine.The increase in hardship is a natural concomitant of such situations. I, therefore, see President Bola Tinubu as making spirited efforts to stop the downward trend and revamp the economy which is not matter of ON and OFF like a TV. Nigerians should, therefore, rally round the president’s efforts to stop the trend and revamp the economy. This is because the good things of life are never pre-ordained, but attained through consciously directed efforts to make desires possible and then actual.The situation is not beyond redemption.
Nigerians have not seen the palliatives promised them following the removal of fuel subsidy. Even at that some economic experts have faulted the arrangement, saying that palliative should have been put in place before the removal of the subsidy. What is your take here?
I agree with the experts that the whole shebang was poorly handled, considering how the removal of fuel subsidy was not part of the written inaugural speech, but made off hand. For the removal of fuel subsidy to be excluded in the written inaugural speech suggests the management was not well thought out. To me, to use N500 billion and pay N8,000 per person per month to 12 million people out of 216 million for six months would not solve the problem of hardship. It amounts to replacing one form of consumption with another one without productivity. My suggestion is that fuel subsidy be paid into a Trust Fund and be used to improve the quality and volume of both education and health.That way, our human capital or Human Development Index would increase for over all good of the economy.The sacrifices Nigerians would go through would be for the collective improvement of the human capital and make competition in mechanism of community living fair.
The Senate President announced transfer of funds recently to each Senator’s account to go and enjoy the holiday. This was coming amidst hunger in the land. Are the poor masses not in trouble in this country?
It is wrong to regard what the Senate president said as “transfer of fund” to individual senators.The media should investigate to know the nature of the said allowances, whether it is their entitlements or not. In any case, when the cost of nomination forms charged by political parties were skyrocked and cost of campaigns unreasonably high, Nigerians were silent. Nigerians did not consider that such high cost of nomination forms and campaigns would be recouped from government’s coffers.
Northern Nigeria appeared to be worst hit by the hardship in the country. To this end, many stakeholders in the region have expressed disappointment with President Tinubu’s government. As a Northerner, what is your stand on this?
The North has been carting home gold medals in misery indices by way of poverty and ignorance way back before the emergence of President Bola Tinubu. Northern governors should go as far as effort can go and reverse the trends through consciously directed efforts to make desired feasible and then actual.
The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai was among the three ministerial nominees not cleared by the Senate because of damning security report against them. But that of el-Rufai generated controversy and more reactions across the country. What is your reaction?
I am not a fan of former Governor el-Rufai because he is a grim man who loves duty more than humanity. Maybe it is because I live with disability that I think so of him. But I have defended the former governor several times on grounds that his traducers are most unkind and unfair to him. Here was a man who publicly said he was done with public service and President Bola Tinubu publicly pressured him to change his mind only for him to be mortified by the Senate on grounds of petitions bordering on security. I know some people have accused Governor el-Rufai of religious bigotry and sponsoring of Fulani bandits. But the same el-Rufai confronted Islamic Movement fatally. He also advocated for bombing of bandits in the forests by Airforce, and threatened to bring in mercenaries to help him fight bandits and kidnappers. That the former governor could be controversial does not mean anything can be said about him. Let Nigerians be fair to the man.
What is your take about the quality of the just screened and confirmed ministers?
I do not know some of them let alone to know their content of character and their performance. But I want to comment about the clamour for technocrats being promoted by the media for performance. I do not believe technocrats who are not politicians are the magic wand. Measure of performance by technocrats are normally not one and the same with those in the public sector.That is why many of those appointed from the private sectors hardly succeed in the public sector. Because resources are scarce and cannot go round everybody and every sector, governance is not more than art of balancing competing demands among the constituent parts and socio-economic sectors. Since leadership is impelling progress by multiplying the leader’s strength through others, and motivation is the instrument while social skill is the requirement, those judges appropriate for appointment should be politicians who are also technocrats.
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is still warming up to go back to the streets for the strike against some of the policies of the Federal Government under President Tinubu. What is your advice to the labour officials?
I believe labour union is aware of why President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy. Many of us supported the labour strike in 2012 against President Goodluck Jonathan’s removal of fuel subsidy because we thought the government could afford it. But now that our production quota and prices of crude oil are half of what obtained in 2012, it is clear that fuel subsidy is no longer sustainable. Hence our support for actions of President Tinubu. The labour union should preoccupy themselves with how best the government can increase the yield of the limited resources at its disposal and turn round the economy rather than strike that can only prolong the suffering which predate the current administration. A situation where workers in public service on salary GL 12 and below would not work for one year during COVID-19 without effects on the system calls into question the productivity of workers, especially those in public sector.
