From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
Engineer Patrick Ndubueze represents Imo North Senatorial District in the Senate. He is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Steel. A member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he speaks on national issues including the recent defections, why Nigeria must return to regional government, state police and others.
In the past weeks, there has been a flurry of opposition party members moving over to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). While this is good news to your party, what does it portend for the general health of Nigeria’s democracy?
We don’t need a multi-party system in Nigeria. What we need in this country is two-party system and independent candidature. When you have two-party system and independent candidature, do you know what it means? You cannot defect, you cannot. If you do, then you lose your seat. The arguments will be very robust. The bills being produced will be close to impeccable bills and everything we do will be very, very qualitative, projecting us as the expected giant of Africa. So, it’s better we are having one-party system by defection than having this multi-party system.
Remember, I was in the House of Representatives in 1992, when my President was in the Senate. That’s 33 years ago. IBB, who gave us two-party system, was very thoughtful. I won’t deny that. But the whole thing derailed somewhere. However, in the present circumstance, I’m happy we are harvesting these people to strengthen our party. If I’m to give Nigeria the kind of democracy they will have, I’ll give them a two-party system with independent candidature, and the two parties will be very, very strong.
So, in line with this your answer, what do you have to say about the coalition that the opposition is coming up with?
They can’t even fly. I’ll end it like that. Read between the lines now. Read the ball. They can’t fly. It’s a coalition of unlike minds. Maybe some will be having genuine thoughts, but the majority will be pursuing their selfish thoughts.
Let’s talk about insecurity in the country. Can the Senate’s two-day security summit really address insecurity in this country?
When that was discussed or debated and adopted, I think I was outside on official function. I wasn’t there. However, let me tell you, when insecurity started, it ought to have been nipped in the bud. There was direction under Jonathan but maybe he didn’t have the political will and he was stopped. He stopped fighting it. That one is gone. Another government came and said it is opening borders, people should trek in, walk in, fly with your cow, climb your camel and come in and take visa on arrival. Even when no visa was given, they were all coming in, claiming to be Nigerians and they were distributing themselves into the forests here and there. That is insecurity. It’s a difficult thing, that thing is difficult to curb. Lives are in danger. It is so difficult, but what you asked me. It is not an issue of gathering. Ask me, what’s my own kind of solution?
Let us wake up in this country and govern ourselves properly. How do we? We have experimented in the past, in the 60s, and we saw how the West was growing. You saw it? All the cocoa, the tall buildings, the television houses, the rest of them. We saw that the cocoa became a major source of income. We saw how the South-Eastern region was growing and it was described as the fastest growing economy then. See how palm oil, palm kernel became market, and the palm plantation here and there. Go to Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo State, everywhere. The premiers then were so visionary. Nobody was restricting anybody. Walk at your pace. Even come to the North, you see how they were growing then. So, when you look at all these, tell yourself the truth. We should go back to regional government. That is me. I believe if we go back to regional government, give Nigeria 10 years, you will not believe it’s Nigeria. For me, I don’t agree with state police because any person, any government can prioritise it, privatise it, and pocket it. Let’s have regional police. When you have regional police, you have about six governors there, no person can privatise it. You have federal police in Abuja here. You have DIGs, manning them. You have IG at the centre here. Abuja here will be taken care of; the federal police will be taken care of by AIG. And we move ahead. In that case, in Ogun State, Ondo State, Oyo, the police there are from such areas, the criminals will be from such areas, they know them, they know where they are, they deal with them. Everything will surrender overnight. The same thing in the east and all the rest of them. In the North-East, Boko Haram will go. There will be proper understanding. Regional police is the answer. We have our military at the centre. It’s for everybody. Interior, foreign affairs. And we will be better focused. Then we will now contribute to the centre. There is no region that is not heavily enriched by nature. Let me tell you, middle belt will feed the whole West Africa with agriculture. We will now start exploring our own talents and creativity. I’m telling you that is what we need, any other thing we are just wasting time. If we go into regional government, all of us will be happy.
So recently, it was reported that President Tinubu endorsed Prof. Charles Soludo who belongs to APGA for re-election when he went to Anambra State for some state functions. Don’t you have an APC candidate in Anambra State?
I’ve not watched him endorsing Soludo. I’ve not watched it. So, I will urge him to tell Soludo to decamp and join us.
If you were to review the past two years of Tinubu’s administration, how would you score him?
You see, I don’t want to be in a haste to evaluate somebody. Somebody gave us music saying Nigeria jaga jaga. So, you see, it didn’t start with him. I want to give him three years before I can assess him. You see, abroad they talk of 100 days in office. You know why? Every facet of every aspect of their governance has been established, totally established. Here, we are yet to establish. We need to prioritise. Here we need rail lines, electricity, road networks. I have my own approach to governance. Now, you can understand the type of fraud that was going on, on the issue of subsidy. He needed to stop that thing. Without stopping it, by now we may not be paying salaries. I believe that he is doing his best. He has ambition to make Nigeria the best it can be. That’s the way I view it. So let us not be in a haste to evaluate him, to judge him. Give him three years. By that time, the things we are coming up with will be showing us the fruits.
How is it that it’s too early to assess him, but there are already talks about supporting him for re-election? What’s the yardstick for re-election?
You see, he is not the one saying that, it is those people shouting. You see, that’s what I don’t like. You see, when people ask me what will you contest for, they talk of governor, they talk of Senate and I say I’m trying to complete the tenure in which I am in. I want to see what I can do different from other people that have represented my people. After doing that, then you can evaluate me whether I will go or not. So, Tinubu has never told you that start campaigning for me, I am going for second tenure or whatever. It is people and they are trying to distract him. They should think along with him. I took a decision to think along with him to see what I can do to help him excel and that’s what I’m doing.
Last Thursday, the Senate approved your bill mandating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to procure made-in-Nigeria cars for second reading. We have heard so many pronouncements on patronising made-in-Nigeria goods without the political will to implement them. What makes you confident that this bill, which was not initiated by the executive, will get presidential assent if passed by the National Assembly?
It is not necessary that every important bill must come from the executive. We are legislators, why are we there? When the executive brings bill, they bring it for us to legislate. So, the legislator himself who has the nation at heart can bring up bills to legislate on. And the difference in this case is, if this bill as you have said, is the type that the executive can bring, it means that the president will sign it the same day it comes to his table. I started this bill 16th October last year. If not for interjections, interruptions, delays in the chamber, this bill ought to have been signed into law by now. I am always looking forward to how to perfect this regime. My thinking every day is, how do I help the president make wonderful history? What do I do to contribute my quota so that he can give Nigeria the best? And that is how I came up with this last year.
You will recollect that some decades ago, Nigeria was producing up to 60 percent of automobiles in Nigeria. We had Peugeot, Volkswagen and co. What happened?
We were not producing them, we were assembling. Let me tell you, in the late 60s, we started using Peugeot in Nigeria. And I will tell you that in the 70s, that’s early 70s, General Yakubu Gowon commissioned the factory for Peugeot assembly in Nigeria. Peugeot was coming from France and they were made to come down here and build their factory. That was when they started their assemblage here, Volkswagen came here, and so on and so forth but today there are no more there. Peugeot was commissioned in 1973 and they served in Nigeria till 2007. Now, most of those vehicles being assembled in this country left because of our problem of infrastructure. All these are because of maladministration, misappropriation. Misappropriation is not only funds; misappropriation of priorities. That’s a major problem we have in Nigeria.