Ernest Elochukwu, former President of Association of Nigeria Customs Licence Agents (ANLCA) and Chairman/CEO Nestello Gateways Group, Nigeria have been practicing unbroken civil rule and not unbroken democracy for 25 years which he described as civilian tyranny
In an interview with DICKSON OKAFOR, Elochukwu also spoke on a number of other issues, including the financial autonomy granted to the 774 local governments, the proposed national minimum wage, creation of Ministry of Livestock Development and the hardship in the country. He also noted that Nnamdi Kanu should be released from detention.
FG and NLC have agreed on N70,000 as new minimum wage. But would you say the fuel subsidy removal last year was the major cause of the economic hardship that led to the demand for salary increase?
First and foremost, fuel subsidy is a necessity for Nigeria because it is an advantage to us as a people that the Almighty God has given a free gift of abundant mineral resources. But we cannot say we have enjoyed this free gift from God. The removal of fuel subsidy is making us believe that we are not entitled to any sort of relief, which is wrong. It is not the fuel subsidy that is the problem, but corruption that is in the operation of the petroleum industry. Therefore, the agreed N70, 000 new minimum wage is not enough as take home pay for Nigerian workers at the present state of the nation’s economy. What can N70,000 buy for an average Nigerian worker now that the prices of food items have gone above the roof? Rather, prices of foodstuff and services will further skyrocket. So, government ought to have tackled corruption in the oil industry without actually removing the subsidy. On the other hand, before subsidy should be removed, government should have put measures in place to cushion the effects. But none of these was done because the subsidy removal was done in a most careless way by former President Muhammadu Buhari from the 2023 budget which took effect from June while he left office on May 29, 2023. Again, the information about it is what I will call the calamity that has happened before President Bola Tinubu took over. During his inauguration on May 29, 2023, Tinubu said subsidy is gone. Why am I saying this? If we cast our mind back, we will understand that it was not Tinubu that removed fuel subsidy; it was Buhari. However, Tinubu had the right to say it would continue or not since it was the outgoing government that removed it from that year’s budget. The way and manner he made the announcement that subsidy was gone, immediately the effect was first felt at the filling stations, as fuel sellers adjusted their meters to reflect the presidential pronouncement. So, the question is, why didn’t the Buhari led administration allow the subsidy removal to commence during his reign? It means that there was no adequate communication between the outgoing and the incoming governments. Of course, the reaction to it became calamitous because Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) quickly adjusted its pump prices even though before then they were selling with the subsidy. So, now with subsidy removal, they saw the opportunity of making more money. One would have expected NNPC as the highest authority as far as petroleum industry is concerned to have even said no and continue selling at the old price until imported fuel comes in. Rather than do that, they too adjusted their pump price and that brought about the various reactions that have culminated now to the high cost of living and inflation. Of course, experience has shown us that it has affected virtually everything, as prices of goods and services have gone up. Another thing is foreign exchange management which Nigerian banks made to go to high heavens and may never stabilise.
There is food crisis in the country, with prices of foodstuff beyond the reach of families. What’s your view on this?
First, I want use this medium to commend the Supreme Court for granting financial autonomy to the 774 local governments in the country. It is a welcome development for the funds to go directly to the third tier of government. It will no longer go through the governors. On the hunger and economic hardship Nigerians are going through, we know how we got to this point. It is caused by years of misrule and corruption that have contributed to slide in Nigeria’s economy. It is apparent that the problem has come into a dimension that required people with focus to come and manage, but things went the way of Nigeria. The way of doing things anyhow with impunity knowing that nothing will happen. Things have gone worse to the extent of economic woes. The situation is bad and requires acute management, but being that Nigerians have become used to it because we have wrong people in the right place. They are either appointed or they manipulated themselves into sensitive positions and hence we are now faced by what we could have prevented. The indices are there to show those who contributed positively and give us what we see in the global economy, which may not be favourable to Nigeria. Little wonder that Nigeria is now having economic challenge that is having a larger effect on the poor people. Right now more than half of the population of Nigeria are poor.
Members of the House of Representatives have offered half of their salaries to the federal government for six months to help ameliorate hardship faced by Nigerians. Isn’t that a good gesture?
That is indeed a good gesture, but it is not enough. We expected them to do more by reducing their allowances and the benefits they enjoy at the detriment of Nigerians. I assure you that economic hardship will continue after six months because there is no measure or plan put in place to revamp the economy soon. Think about the huge amount the members of National Assembly collect as allowances and other benefits they enjoy, hence we expected them to forgo their allowances so that Nigerians will know that they are making sacrifices too.
What’s your opinion about the recent creation of Ministry of Livestock Development?
The creation of Ministry of Livestock Development outside the Ministry of Agriculture is a duplication of responsibility by the Federal Government. It is a reintroduction of RUGA in disguise, just like the defeated Grazing Route Bill, Waterways Bill and National Livestock Bill. It is not in the best interest of the country and may not bring an end to food scarcity and restore security in the country as envisaged by President Tinubu. Yes, there is no doubt that insurgency contributed to food scarcity in Nigeria. If the truth must be told, we need to go back to the basics. We must find out what brought about insecurity and banditry in the country. It is because the economy is not running as it ought to and governance in Nigeria has not been attended to the way it should be. Most people in government see it as an opportunity to enrich themselves and nobody does anything about it. Therefore, it looks as if the masses encourage them to do whatever they like and so these are things that cannot be treated individually, but collectively by all the tribes, ethnic groups and individuals having relationship with each other. For instance, in the days past, good governance has shown that companies and establishments that produced goods and services employed people and every other thing were running the way it should run and there was peace. But because of bad governance from the beginning, with what is being done at the political circle, that is what contributed to bad governance. We all know, for instance, how Boko Haram started in Nigeria. When you put that story alongside with insurgence and banditry, you will find out that they are related. So, everything boils down to bad governance, which the people are ready to continue to tolerate.
Many are of the view that Nigerians made a huge mistake by voting APC, as things have been going from bad to worse under the party…
When you say Nigerians accepted change, I won’t totally agree with you. What happened was there was a series of actions that took place before the 2015 general elections, which pointed to the fact that the government in power then was not at optimum performance. People bought into the ruling party in 2015 as a result of the mega alliance of the main opposition parties mainly Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and part of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). It wasn’t this merger that brought APC to power, it was the alienation of the five governors in the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Those five governors picked tickets under APC. And because within the media, there were certain stories that tend to give wrong impression of President Jonathan administration. It was because of the political prowess of certain persons that made the merger to work. I think it was also as a result of mismanagement then under Jonathan and the crisis within PDP that actually gave right to that merger. And Nigerians thought that with the past record of former President Buhari when he was Head of State, that things would be better. But things got worse and are still getting worse.
Many had thought that members of the Labour Party (LP) elected into the state and national assemblies would effect a change, but it has been business as usual too. What is your take?
Even though there are different dimensions to this, I cannot verge for the patriotic and commitment of every person that got elected under the Labour Party (LP). LP became very attractive because of the entry of the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi as presidential candidate of the party. And so, it is not unlikely that a lot of people who are already politicians in other political parties joined LP in order to get victory. And that does not make them different from whom they are. That they found themselves in such positions, as far as governance and democracy are concerned, it was not clear if any of their objectives would have stopped any of the decisions to buy the SUV, the purchase of the presidential jet for President Tinubu or build Vice President residence. It was reported that some LP lawmakers who refused to take the car later took it. Nigeria has gotten to a point where many believed they cannot fight for the general good again, only what will give them comfort no matter how small it is, for them take advantage as life goes on. But what we are saying is, for Nigeria to be good, every Nigerian must do his or her own part, including saying no when it is necessary to say so.
Nigeria marked 27 years of unbroken democracy on June 12. Would you say the efforts and sacrifices of our heroes of democracy are in vain considering the state of the nation?
I have my own views. Everything done in the country is politically motivated. Considering the June 12 debacle, the real question is, apart from being the day that the mandate given to MKO Abiola was violently and maliciously taken away, has it stopped the stealing of mandates? It hasn’t. We all knew what happened on February 25, 2023, that was another mandate that was stolen. The symbolic celebration over June 12 has no meaning to many Nigerians because we have not been practising the so-called unbroken democracy as was presented to the people. But to me, what we have is unbroken civilian rule. What the politicians of the First Republic between 1960 and 1966 did that led to the first coup cannot be compared to what politicians are doing today. Because the people of this time have done worse and they get away with it. So, it’s like the people have accepted it because they cannot do anything. When I said the people, I mean all the people in Nigeria, including civilian and the military. They have all accepted what the politicians are doing as our norm. So be it.
With the state of the economy, is this the right time to buy a new jet for the president and spend billions renovating the home of the vice president?
Any right-thinking Nigerian knows that it is a misplaced priority because people who are in economic problem don’t buy expensive things. And because overtime politicians have been doing this and getting away with it hence the reason or the other the people have been docile. May be because of long years of military rule, people don’t have strength to fight for their right anymore. You hear them warn you not go and try to stop corruption, that they will shoot you if you dare. And until Nigerians start to create awareness and be ready to oppose injustice and bad governance things won’t improve. The police and soldiers who are given guns to shoot Nigerians who are protesting over genuine concern know that they are in the same condition with the people. The economic condition has always affected everybody and will continue to affect all. So, until Nigerians become patriotic and committed and stop the squandering and stealing of public funds, things will continue to be worse. It’s still unimaginable that all we have today is civilian tyranny and that is why I try to correct people who said we have had unbroken democracy for 25 years or so. And I vehemently opposite it, what we have been practising is civilian rule and not democracy. And unless we say the sacrifices of those who founded the tenets of democracy are fools or they don’t know what they were doing, we will continue to be oppressed. They say government of the people by the people and for the people, but can anybody tell me when the government is coming to the aid of people in Nigeria? Rather, the people are at the receiving end of what comes in form of tyranny. Do you call it democracy?
What is your assessment of Tinubu’s one year in office?
What are we assessing about the present administration? Was there or are there targets? If there is a target, it must have been communicated to the people. For instance, if a government wants to come to power, it will outline its targets through its manifesto or through a declaration that this government or political party says if voted into power, we are going to do this or that. Then every Nigerian who went through the manifesto of APC will be able to know what Tinubu’s campaign promises were. Today, after one year in office, how much has it achieved? But if you are talking about other assessments such as economical assessment, the prices of foodstuff have climbed the roof top, especially rice. They did not only hit the roof, they ran through the roof. So, there is poverty everywhere in Nigeria.
Since Nnamdi Kanu has chosen the path of resolving his issue with government out of court, it is a welcome development for peace to reign in the South-East. Meanwhile, I join the South-East governors and town unions from the region to demand freedom for Nnamdi Kanu. I sympathised with the Nigerian Army and the families of the fallen heroes who were killed by some miscreants in Aba recently. May their souls rest in peace. I will also say the idea of killing of security operatives in any country is highly condemnable because the security of the people depends on them. Any of such acts doesn’t portray good omen.
Do you advocate that President Tinubu should rejig his cabinet and engage capable hands that can stabilise the economy?
The effectiveness of those working in a company is as good as the vision of the owner or the head of that company. I have always asked myself a question, was the vision worthy to achieve? Because before you send out marketers, you must give a target. When you give certain target it means that they must bring so-so volume of sales. That is what is done in the corporate world and that is why the corporate world is functioning properly. Those appointed ministers or appointed to sensitive positions, were they given a specific target of what they should achieve? Because the target will determine how the heads of departments and their subordinates will operate. Did President Tinubu give members of his cabinet targets to deliver? If they are given a target, they will work hard to achieve it. Then when you talk about professionals, Nigerian government does not appoint professionals in most cases. In terms of the economy, those who study economics according to western system, which is different from ours, such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), they cannot be effective here because we are talking about different system altogether. If you appoint those who have World Bank or IMF experience they will not achieve anything here. Those who can do it are those who are trained locally or in our own environment. The people who have practical knowledge are those who will be effective in economic and financial sector.
Do you think this administration is capable of salvaging the economy within the remaining three years?
When we are talking about four years of salvaging the economy of a country, it’s like we are not realistic to ourselves. As I speak with you, the re-election of President Tinubu has being on top gear without minding the hardship the people are facing. There are people, that is presidential appointees, who are now working for the re-election of Tinubu in 2027 and not about how to curb hardship in the country. So, if what is happening in Nigeria is anything to go by, you can’t say you don’t know what is going to happen because going by the circumstances of what had happened, nothing is unexpected.