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Chukwudi Nweje
Major General Henry Ayoola (Rtd), is a former Commander (Special Task Force) OPERATION SAFE HAVEN in Jos. He is currently the National Coordinator of Initiative for Peoples Rebirth (IPR), a non-governmental organisation focusing on inculcating a change of attitude in young Nigerians, and National Chairman 2014 Nigeria Movement, a political platform aimed at identifying, engaging and resolving the challenges facing the birth of the New Nigeria. In this interview, he calls on Nigerian leaders to be vigilant in responding to the looming threats posed by deliberate, organised, massive influx of Northern youths to Southern Nigeria.
How do you think the government is handling the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria?
Thus far, I will give kudos to the government on how they have handled the pandemic thus far. It is how you made your bed that you will lay in it. We knew the conditions of our healthcare system before COVID-19 came. We can’t suddenly expect some magic from the government because of COVID-19. I think the government has tried given the circumstances. I like the engagement the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the collaboration between Federal and State Governments. The closest thing to this was when we handled Ebola in 2014. The real issues now should be what lessons are we learning from the COVID-19 and how to start putting up those things that ought to be in place that are not yet in place.
In the military, we have what we call Post Mortem or After Action Review, where you ask yourself what did we do right and how can we improve on them, what didn’t we do right and articulate lessons learnt. If we do this after every incident or experience, we will avoid repeating the same mistakes. This may not be the last pandemic we will see. It is better to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best and it is better to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it. We must work proactively to deliver something better than we have now to the next generation.
One arrangement put in place by the Federal Government to check the spread of COVID-19 is a ban on inter-state movement but we have seen massive influx of Almajirai and other people from Northern parts of the country to Southern Nigeria. What do you make of that?
A few things are clear; this is a deliberate, clandestine, coordinated massive movement. It is happening at such a critical time when all attention and efforts have been concentrated on fighting COVID-19. We need to clarify some facts; are these Nigerians? or something else? Which countries are they from? The logical enquiry we should therefore make should be to establish the identities of these people, identify the intentions of their coordinating authority, that is those behind them, what is their mission and the ultimate end-state.
Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el’Rufai confirmed the agreement of Northern Governors to return all almajirai to their states of origin, so why are there people moving to Southern Nigeria? Moreover, if you watch the video of some of these people intercepted while being smuggled to Southern Nigeria, you will see that they are not almajirai; they are adults, not children. Immediate actions should include arrest, investigation and prosecution where culpability is established. Unfortunately, there is a deafening silence and inaction from those who should be first responders in this matter. This calls for national vigilance because this COVID-19 period could be a good cover to hatch some sinister plot. This is an urgent wake up call for everyone.
As a military commander, you dealt with insurgents first hand during the Operation Safe Haven in Jos, what are your concerns?
Considering the state of security of the country, my concern is that these are apparent indicators, indices, signatures and indeed constitute a precursor of a looming crisis.
COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a fall in the price of crude oil, the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. How do you think the imminent economic downturn and its consequences should be handled?
It is often said that there are opportunities in adversity. This pandemic offers us ample opportunities to overcome our reluctance to implement restructuring and engage it constructively no matter the minimum definition anyone would want to give to it. This COVID-19 should make us look inwards in that direction. The sustainable benefits of a restructured Nigeria far outweigh whatever transient gains obtainable with the current status quo. Efforts of successive administrations to diversify the economy have not yielded tangible results. We should put an end to the rhetorics of diversification and walk the talk with sincerity and tenacity of purpose. It is obvious that Nigeria is not working the way it is structured now. A restructured Nigeria will optimally exploit our immense natural and human endowment to create stupendous wealth for the common good. We can better manage our diversity and take full advantage of the strength, synergy and unity derivable. A New Nigeria can then emerge as a harmonious ethnic klaedoscope, a consolation and pride of Africa and Black Race at large.
Some people think the Aburi Accord of 1967 provided a good template that would have made Nigeria great. What are your thoughts?
The Aburi Accord deliberated on a wide range of issues which we cannot exhaustively discuss here, so I would not want to dabble into the issues on Aburi Accord.
What would you want the structure of government to be like, the strong central government and weak federating units we have now or stronger federating units and a weak centre?
There is no consensus on how federations should be. Federation means that there should be independent sub national components that agreed to come together on certain terms, mutually respected and jealously guarded. However, the peculiarities of each environment will determine how their federation will work. I think Nigeria had a template before, the regions operated that way in the First Republic, we don’t have to necessarily go back to the exact model. There are various possibilities of implementation plan so we can look at our present realities and see what will work for us.
