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By Chukwudi Nweje
Emmanuel Arigbe-Osula was the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Governorship Candidate in Edo State in 2007 and 2016. Before that, he represented Oredo Federal Constituency of the state in the House of Representatives between 2003 to 2007 and was the Deputy Minority Leader. In this interview, he speaks on the forthcoming 2023 general elections, why Labour Party’s Peter Obi should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023, and other national issues.
What is your assessment of the state of Nigeria as we prepare for the 2023 general elections?
Nigeria is in a saddening, and deplorable state. This is the lowest the country has ever fallen to, and to realise that I was part of those that helped the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to get elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019 has made me to repent and to seek forgiveness from God; the blood of everyone who this terrible administration has, through economic strangulation, insecurity and other social mishap this administration foisted on us, led to their early grave is on the hands and heads of everyone who one way or the other helped this terrible administration come to power. We all should set some days aside to fast and pray hoping that God will forgive us.
When President Muhammadu Buhari was first elected in 2015, he campaigned on three major pillars ─ security, economy, and anti-corruption ─ how do you rate the performance in these areas?
I will score him zero, if you are scoring him, zero being the lowest grade and 100 the highest, I will score him zero on all three. There is nothing good to write about at this point. In security, we are worse off, whether it is in economic security or physical security, the protection of lives and property or social security. In the area of economy, our currency and income per capita is at its worst in history.
Corruption on the other hand is at its worst. I had held President Buhari in high stead when he came to power in 2015. I thought he would fight corruption based on his antecedents during his military regime but what we have today is the most corrupt administration in history. The nepotism and reckless use of national resources is unheard of and mind-boggling; every project executed by the administration was done at a tsunamic cost of what it should have been. This is not what people voted Buhari for.
What do you think about the Naira redesign policy of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN)?
The redesign policy made sense but as usual with this administration’s programmes and policies, the implementation was nonsensical. It defeats the purpose if it cannot be implemented as painlessly as possible. How do the average artisan and people in the rural areas who do not know what POS is get cash?
The policy is designed to meet those that hoarded money in their houses at a point where the money will be useless to them, but the pains of the common man should have also been put into consideration. It is the common man that is suffering the Naira redesign policy. What is happening now is characteristic of this administration’s acting without thinking.
How best should the policy have been implemented?
The CBN should have first ensured the availability of the redesigned Naira notes is guaranteed by making sure that the common man and those who need it most have access to them. What we see is that it is the corrupt people that have access to these notes while the common man does not.
The 2023 general elections will begin in a few weeks’ time, what do you see especially with the biting fuel scarcity and unavailability of the new Naira notes?
The general elections could be affected by this scarcity. The 2023 general elections will be the most important election in the history of Nigeria, and it could signal the making or breaking of this country, and everything needed to make it a success should have been in place now. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not be speculating that there could be a delay or postponement, that does not show a Commission that is ready to do its job. The success of the 2023 general elections will determine if Nigeria stays as one country.
What do you mean by 2023 presidential election determining if Nigeria stays as one country?
The common Nigerians have been pushed to the wall and they will fight back. We are already seeing it in banking halls where people strip themselves and are begging to be shot, we saw it at EndSARS. If this election is not done the right way and the country does not make the right choice, no matter how persevering they say we are, Nigeria may be going off the precipice and nobody will escape it.
18 presidential candidates will be going to the polls, three of them Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi are hyped as ‘the top 3’, how do you see these candidates?
I think the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu should not have been running at all; looking at him, he is a shell of his former self. This is not Tinubu that was Governor of Lagos State; this Tinubu should not govern a village not to talk of a country. The greedy people pushing him don’t love him, they are after their own selfish interests; if you watch Tinubu talk, you will see how poorly coordinated he is and he should not be aspiring to lead Nigeria at this time.
Atiku on the other hand should have known that this is not the turn of the North to produce the president just as it is also not the turn of the South West. The South East has the strongest link of somebody who is ready, capable and has what it will take to lead Nigeria out of the woods, and that is Peter Obi.
Critics of Peter Obi question how a man that was an importer all his life will drive a movement from consumption to production, what do you say to such people?
The fact that Peter Obi is a trader does not mean he cannot create. He has seen every economic avenue through which Nigeria has been drained. Among these three candidates, Peter Obi is the only genuine businessman, the other two enriched themselves politically at the expense of Nigeria. Peter Obi has been an importer, a businessman, and he is the only one without scandal and baggage. The other two have scandals and baggage following them, and such people should not be contesting for the most prestigious position in Nigeria. Peter Obi is also from the South East, the zone of the country that by equity and fair play should get the presidency. Atiku and Tinubu should not be in the race if we want to have an inclusive and fair country.
Critics also say Obi has no structure by virtue of Labour Party not occupying any elective position presently, how do you react?
I had this discussion with Obi and fortunately he is a man with purpose who has designed a way to go at it from day one. I can tell you that the Labour Party will win substantial seats; they may not have candidates for all the elective positions but even in most advanced countries, the big parties do not field candidates for every constituency at every election.
How do you see the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC?
It is insensitive and a complete disrespect to the Christian population to have a Muslim-Muslim ticket. The APC ticket is the most insensitive thing anyone has done to Christians in Nigeria coming at a time there is great persecution of Christians.
You were a member of the House of Representatives between 2003 to 2007, the only ANPP representative from Edo State in the lower chamber, how easy was it to work with other representatives from your state?
I had a good working relationship with the other lawmakers because it was not about me, it was about Edo State first and then Nigeria in general. We took an oath of office and had a constitution to uphold so there was no personal ego to it; we had to do what is in the best interest of Nigeria and when some people wanted me to decamp to the PDP, I told them it had nothing to do with political party platform.
What are your views on restructuring of Nigeria?
Whether Nigeria will be restructured or not has to start with the 2023 general elections. Tinubu is contesting when it is the turn of the South East. It is also offensive to see a North easterner contesting; the North east has also not produced the president but after eight years of the presidency being in the North, it is unfair for the North to succeed President Buhari. If we care about this country and restructuring, the first thing is to elect Peter Obi and demand that he performs.
The clamour for restructuring is because of bad governance. If the country were moving in the right direction and average Nigerians were living a decent life in which the fundamental objectives of state policy are met, nobody would care about the structure of the country. That, however, is not to say that the structure of the country is not important, but until we get a decent administration, we are not there yet. You cannot have 16 years of recklessness under the PDP and now eight years of extreme pilferage under the APC and think people should not complain especially with this Buhari administration which is the most nepotistic.
Assuming Obi wins the presidential election, do you think he can fix 16 years of recklessness and eight years of extreme pilferage as you called them in four to eight years?
If Buhari had fought corruption, he could have fixed Nigeria in one year. All Obi must do is to block all the leakages; if he does this, everyone will realise that they don’t need to steal to be successful. Obi did it in Anambra State and it is easier to do it in Nigeria because Nigeria is more resourceful than Anambra. With the purpose and sense of value, Obi is bringing to Nigeria; the country can be fixed in two years.
