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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Chairman of the Northern Sates Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF), Elder Sunday Oibe, has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of worsening Nigeria’s economic hardship and insecurity, declaring that the socio-economic conditions facing ordinary Nigerians are more difficult today than they were under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
In this interview, Oibe said the growing concerns being expressed by Catholic bishops and other Christian leaders over insecurity, economic hardship and governance should not be dismissed as political criticism, but regarded as patriotic efforts to draw the attention of the government to the suffering of Nigerians.
Do you think the recent criticism of the Tinubu administration by the Catholic bishops accurately reflects the mood of the nation, or do you think it overlooks the administration’s achievements?
First of all, I think many people do not understand. Catholic people did not engage Tinubu because they want to criticise his government or because they want to be heard and seen as just talking. They are moral shape of the society. They are people who deal with the people on daily basis. And having seen the cry and the feeling of the people, they only help to direct Mr. President to see the need to address this all-important matter. In a responsible government, Catholic bishops should be praised, they should be adored. But before the issue of the Catholic bishops, the former president of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was the first person who drew the attention of government to the fact that this government has not done well in areas of economy, in the areas of insecurity, in the areas of policy directions that’s supposed to have direct bearing on the people. And Bishop Bakare, and David Oyedepo followed the same line, and so many other religious leaders have come out to explain. So to me, it is a noble and a patriotic engagement that the Catholic bishops have done, and they have done a great service not only to Nigeria, but they have done a great service even to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the president of Nigeria, because no government can be secure, well-secured without this kind of constructive engagement. So rather than criticising the Catholic bishops, I think this government needs to applaud what the bishops have done. The greatest undoing of Mr. Tinubu’s presidency in relation with not just religious organisations but every other honest groups and individuals who meant well for Tinubu are some of those characters he gave appointments to, that suddenly became attacking dogs for Mr president and his administration. They have become notorious for insulting anyone that criticises Mr. President and his policies towards governance. These characters are creating problems for Mr. President beyond repair. Tinubu should know what and how to tame these characters. Otherwise, his government efforts will evaporate before his very eyes.
President Bola Tinubu has argued that his economic reforms are difficult but necessary for Nigeria’s long-term prosperity. How would you assess his leadership style and its impact on ordinary Nigerians?
If I must be honest with you, rather than going into self-defence and self-appraisal, I would have expected Bola Tinubu to have listened quietly and take a deep reflection on this constructive engagement by the Catholic bishops and other Nigerians. But typical of Nigerian politicians and typical of APC government, Bola Tinubu decided to score himself high that his economic reforms are difficult but necessary for Nigeria’s long-term prosperity.
Now, whatever economic policies you are putting in place, if the people that are alive today are not living to see tomorrow, I don’t know who he is bringing those reforms for. An average Nigerian today cannot feed himself. There’s hunger in the land, and the farmer who’s supposed to go to farm and farm and feed everyone – because Nigerians are not lazy – the Fulani herders and bandits and kidnappers have stopped farmers from going to farm. That is the stark reality because I live with the people, as I’m talking to you, I used to farm, but over the last four years, I have stopped farming because my family cannot afford to pay ransom to any useless people if I’m kidnapped. So for him to appraise himself, that his economy is in the right direction, the leadership style of Ahmed Tinubu, I think I have to juxtapose it with, that one of late President Muhammadu Buhari which was leading us into destruction so people can decide to jump the ship and look for a safe place. But the leadership style of Tinubu has no definition. So, it is difficult for me to agree with him that there’s economic direction and that his government is leading Nigeria anywhere. That to me, is just self-appraisal because he’s in the comfort zone. He’s not paying electricity bill, he’s not buying food, the cloth he wears, everything around him is sponsored by the government. So, he cannot understand the reality of what ordinary Nigerians are passing through. If there is any time there’s hardship in the life of this country, it is now. It was hard under Buhari, but it is worse under Tinubu.
With inflation, unemployment, and the rising cost of living affecting millions of Nigerians, what immediate policy actions would you recommend to ease the burden on citizens?
It is difficult to recommend any policy action because this is a deaf and dumb government. A government that does not entertain and accommodate constructive criticism, how can you proffer solution? How will you be able to advise him on any policy direction that will bring about ease of burdens of the citizen? He does not even believe that Nigerians are suffering. He does not even believe that there’s hardship in the land. So, it is difficult to bring any suggestion. So, APC government under Tinubu is a government that knows it all. Even at the expense of the life and the feelings of the masses of this Nigeria. So, whatever you plant, that is what you reap. Nigerians saw it coming, Nigerians were warned. Because this is not a man who has been able to come up with a clear policy direction of how he’s going to bring about change. Because he was in Lagos and everything about Lagos was centred on him. Nigeria is not Lagos, Nigeria is bigger than Lagos. But Nigerians were ready to collect N5,000, N2,000, noodles and wrapper. That is why we find ourselves here. So, the man has decided not to listen to anybody and because the power has been vested in his hand, so Nigerians are paying a heavy price. Was he not the same man who was calling Nigeria to the streets when Jonathan was in government? Were we suffering that time? That time a bag of rice was less than N6,000. Today, go to the market and you’ll know it better. A tuber of yam, some are N15,000, some N11,000. It is a small one that you can get for N7,000 or N8,000, which you can cook and eat immediately. So, these are the issues. So, there is no suggestion you are going to give to this deaf and dumb government that they will listen to. So, I will not waste my time to recommend anything. Rather, I would say God has used the Catholic bishops and the rest of them. Let Nigerians take their destiny in their hands. That is what I will say. So, there is nothing that you say to APC government that they will listen to you.
Insecurity remains a major challenge across several regions of the country. What should the Federal Government be doing differently to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s security architecture?
The issue of insecurity will remain unabated unless Nigerians decide to engage this government. It was late General Sani Abacha who said that when you see a situation that persists more than 24 hours, government has a hand in it. The kidnapping, the banditry, and all of these things that is going on all over the country, are you saying the hand of government is not in it? Don’t we have cases of people that have been arrested, who said their sponsors are in government? Why is it that anytime issues like that come, it is the people in government who will rise in defence of the bandit? The issue of insecurity in Nigeria is a creation of man, and it is done by the Nigerian politicians, particularly those of them in government. So, this problem is solvable.
In other climes, why are they succeeding? Look at Burkina Faso, a small country in Africa. Look at the way the President of that country is tackling the issue of insecurity. Look at Enugu State here in Nigeria, when the issue of banditry, kidnapping, and insurgency was too much, the governor decided to use drones. And look at how they have been able to decimate these bad guys who have been terrorising the place.
With the huge resources that God has given to this country, if President Tinubu wants to stop the issue of insecurity, it is doable. Use modern technology, engage these people wherever they are, and smoke them out and uproot them. How many are they? It is because the government is playing pranks. Honestly speaking, when government appointees will say that these bandits are our brothers, it is giving you a signal that actually they know whom these people are, and they are not having the political will to deal with them. That is why the issue of insecurity is festering, and look as if it is insurmountable. I challenge Mr. President to declare emergency, to declare war on the issue of insecurity. And in less than 24 hours, you will see that they will decimate it, and will uproot it, and Nigerians will be able to sleep with their eyes closed. And if the security architecture of this country is failing, why will we not seek help from other countries that are more fortified and more technologically advanced than us to come to our aid to make sure that we tackle this thing? It is because government is benefiting from this madness, and that is why they don’t want to solve the problem.
How would you evaluate the government’s performance in terms of transparency, public communication, and delivery of campaign promises?
When you ask what is my view about the pace of governance, accountability under this current administration, how would I evaluate the government performance in terms of transparency, public communications, and delivery of campaign promises? My answer to that is simply zero. One: where, how often do you see Mr. President having a media chat engaging Nigerians? A responsible government in a democracy is supposed to engage the country at least once or twice every month, media chat, media engagement, so that Nigerians can understand. But what do they choose? They choose to speak through some persons who find themselves as political appointees, they will be abusing and bullying people everywhere!. This government has failed in areas of public communication. This government has failed in areas of delivery of their campaign promises. Is it not this government who said, without anybody putting gun on the head of Tinubu when he said that “If I don’t give you light 24 hours, if I come for your vote, don’t vote for me”? I want to ask you, as a journalist, do you have light up to 10 hours where you live? Look at small businesses packing up! You cannot buy fuel exorbitantly to be able to power your small generator as a barber, or as a hairdresser, or as a machine grinder where you grind maize and other domestic consumables. You can’t do that and make profit. But this is the promises that this government made. Can we say that he has fulfilled his campaign promises? In areas of security, is this government transparent?. It is of recent, have you not heard of an unknown agency that was created, given an office in a Federal Secretariat, and naming the Chief of Staff to the government, and so on and so forth, and the government is jumping from here trying to cover up? Where is the level of transparency in this government? Where is the honesty?
So in terms of governance, in terms of transparency, in terms of public communication, this government is minus zero!.
There are indications that many young Nigerians are frustrated by limited employment opportunities and rising emigration. What concrete steps should government take to rebuild confidence among the youth?
“If the government is responsible, the government should do everything possible to tackle the issue of mass exodus of the workforce of this country that are eloping and leaving for other countries of the world. Because the trend, if it is not checkmated, the future of this country is bleak. It is not even only the young people that are frustrated. Even people who use their youthful ways to serve this country and are retired, they are living in frustration. Even the few who are in employment as civil servants are living in frustration.
You will see a person who has been a civil servant for 20, 30 years, 35 years, one useless dropout, one thug because he became a political appointee or became a politician, he’s swimming in money. And the people who laboured to put this country where it is, even their entitlement is not given to them.
So the issue of frustration is not about the young people, every Nigerian who is not a political appointee or who is not in the APC government, they are all living a life of frustration. But more worrisome, the issue of the migration of the young people leaving the shores of this country for a greener pasture where they’re living like glorified slaves in another foreign man’s country, it is heartbreaking. And any responsible government must do everything to ensure that we curtail the exodus of our young people leaving the shores of this country. When there is opportunity, nobody gets a job based on merit anymore; it is who you know. How will young people continue to live like this?
So government should be serious about it and do everything possible because as we are losing our workforce to another country, if this trend continues, in another 10 to 20 years from now, I don’t know what the future holds for this country.
As Nigeria prepares for future elections, what message would you give to citizens who feel disillusioned with the political class and doubt that meaningful change is possible?
Honest message to Nigerians ahead of 2027 election is that: Yes, I am with them in the state of their disillusionment. I am with them in the state of their pain because I’m pained. I am with them in their state of frustration because I myself am frustrated. But since democracy is the government that we desire and that is the only thing that can bring a meaningful change, I will encourage, just as I encourage myself and my household, I want to encourage fellow Nigerians that the future of this country belongs to us. The privileged few who find themselves in political offices don’t own this country more than you and I. Therefore, we must take the destiny of this country in our hand. Go and get your PVC. Hold it tightly, nurture it, polish it. Let it be with you, be sure of where it is 24 hours. And we, the Nigerian electorate, must ensure that our votes in 2027 count. We must not allow anybody to intimidate us, and I use this opportunity to call on the armed forces: the police, the navy, the army, the DSS. You are only as important as this country exist. Those people, politicians who find themselves in political offices who are bullies, who may use you to bully your fellow citizens, don’t own this country. Your oath and your allegiance is to the State of Nigeria, not to an individual. So please, don’t allow anybody to use you to harass, to bully your fellow Nigerians. Our right to bring about a meaningful change is our vote. And when we vote, please don’t be an instrument to steal our vote. Don’t be an instrument to be used to intimidate us to change the figure in favour of some certain persons. Whosoever Nigeria decides to vote for in 2027, that vote must count. And anybody who wants to snatch electoral materials, anybody who want to turn the result to deny the people the right to make a choice of who will govern them, that person must be made to face the wrath of the law. This is the clarity of Nigerians. So, Nigerians, please let us have faith in this country. Let us not be afraid. Let us not be discouraged. Let us not write this country off. Nigeria is blessed, and this is the only place that God has given to us. We must not be afraid of standing to defend our vote come 2027. Don’t say you will not vote. If you don’t vote, you are the problem. Don’t say, ‘If I vote, I will go and sleep. Whatever happens does not concern me.’ It concerns you. We are not giving anybody any room to rob us. So, the police, the DSS, the Civil Defence, the army, the Air force, the judiciary – all of these, I am calling on you: First of all, your allegiance is to the State of Nigeria. It’s not to any politician. The era of politician using you is gone and gone forever. Look at a professor that was used the other time. The professor is in prison, and the politician is there enjoying himself, laughing. And the professor is languishing in jail. So, all of those of you that they will use as returning officers and whatever, be careful. Be a Nigerian. Don’t be a stooge to any politician come 2027.
