By Daniel Kanu
Dame (Dr) Blessing Nwagba represented Aba North Constituency twice in the Abia State House of Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
She later moved to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where she used the platform to run for governorship in the 2019 elections.
Nwagba also ran for the Senate in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), slugging it out with the then state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu (PDP), and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of APGA and former Minority Senate leader, who was later declared the winner of the Abia South Senatorial District poll.
In this intervie with Sunday Sun, she speaks on sensitive national issues, including some of the controversies surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, insecurity, Nnamdi Kanu’s detention, cabinet appointments, hike in cost of living. Excerpt:
You are a staunch supporter of President Tinubu and also ran for Senate in the last election. How satisfied are you with some of the policies of the president in view of the hardship in the land?
Let’s properly situate issues. President Tinubu took over on the 29th of May, 2023, expectedly, being human, there are some of his policies that didn’t go the way he envisaged them ab initio. Many Nigerians will say that the removal of subsidy on petrol was ill-timed. While the blame is on the president for not allowing the June deadline as the budgetary provisions for subsidy were provided for by the previous administration. The question is was one month enough for planning and implementation of palliative measures to cushion the effects of subsidy removal? Another policy of the president which some Nigerians also criticized is the floating exchange rate which has ensured we have a single exchange rate in the country. For me, there is nothing wrong with these policies, as it is a matter of time. We are going to benefit from them. Once our refineries start functioning optimally, the Forex spendings on the importation of refined petroleum products will be channeled to other areas which will help in stabilizing the economy. In all, President Tinubu’s policies so far are good, and there is need to exercise little patience. Definitely, no human being can get it 100 per cent. Be that as it may, I think we are headed for the right direction. Policies still need time for implementation, growth and development.
Some Nigerians see the policies as anti-people. Do you share this view?
Unfortunately, you didn’t mention the policies ‘some see as anti-people’. I would have loved to deal with specifics rather than assumptions. However, in my response to your earlier question, I did state how I feel about the two policies of the Tinubu-led government which seem controversial. Some time you don’t blame some people when they take certain positions. Some take their positions from the point of view of ignorance. Some may criticise because they are in opposition. For me, I think it’s even too early to get an adequate or correct assessment now. We still need some time as I pointed out earlier.
How will you react to the president’s appointments which have been criticized by many as being lopsided, and favoured more of his South/West constituency?
During the administration of the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, he was equally criticized for lopsided appointments. President Tinubu while appointing his Service Chiefs ensured that the three major ethnic groups of the nation are represented in the leadership of the nation’s security architecture. He also ensured that the two major religions are represented.
It is also on record that Asiwaju Tinubu is the first Nigeria President to appoint a Southerner the Minister of FCT. In the last administration the majority of the appointment went to the North and the then president claimed they are the people he was comfortable to work with.
President Tinubu as the governor of Lagos State, selected his team from across the Southwest and even from the Southeast. I don’t think it is right to bring ethnic colouration to some of the president’s appointments. It is on record that most of these people are people the president had worked with over the years, and they are individuals whose competence are not in doubt.
As a former state legislator, what do you think can be done to make the states less dependable on the federal?
The issue of making the states less dependent on the monthly allocation has been a subject of public discussion for a long time. Many have called for the implementation of President Jonathan’s CONFAB report of 2014 while some are calling for the convening of a Sovereign National Conference. Issues of resource control and devolution of power have been on the front burner and many are of the opinion that the nation goes back to the regional system of government which enabled many regions to be less dependent on the centre. During which regions invested heavily on the things they have comparative advantage over the other regions.
To make the states less dependable on what comes out from Abuja, a lot needs to be done, maybe we need a brand new constitution because I think the amendment and review hasn’t actually helped our cause as a nation. The responsibility lies on the National Assembly members to give us a better constitution that will devolve more powers to the states and other federating units as this will make the states less dependent on the Federal Government.
The rising prices of goods and services is becoming a source of concern for many Nigerians. Does this bother you?
In September the inflation rate rose from 25 per cent that it was in August to 26.72 per cent. The high cost of goods and services is a source of concern to everyone. While many people may attribute it to the high cost of petroleum products in Nigeria and the single exchange rate policy of President Tinubu. The truth is that in the last three years a lot of events have happened or are still happening in the world. In the year 2020 the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world and crippled the world’s economy, as the world was recovering from the effects of Coronavirus, the Russia-Ukraine war started which has negatively impacted the West. While we are still trying to contain the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Israeli and Palestine war started.
As a developing country, we depend a lot on the West, hence the reason these wars affect our economy. Recall that within the first two quarters of the year, the poor management of the naira redesign policy crippled our economy. I think with the calibre of men the president has assembled in his economic team, in less than no time we will navigate past this economic quagmire we are in now.
The Southeast has been under siege in the hands of unknown gunmen. What will it take to have lasting peace in the zone?
Saying that the Southeast is under siege is very wrong . Everyday economic activities are going on in the five states of the Southeast region, if the region is under siege, there would have been a call for a state of emergency to be declared in the region. What is happening in the Southeast is a pocket of violence here and there which is not peculiar to the region alone. And these people who are called unknown gunmen have taken the gorilla war pattern which has made it difficult for the security agencies to deal decisively with them.
The agitation started with the arrest of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which led to the issue of sit-at-home and the violent enforcement. For me, the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, will calm a lot of nerves and will also help the security agencies to separate agitators from criminals and give the criminals the kind of treatment they deserve. I implore President Tinubu to have a good look on the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu situation. He needs his political sagacity at play here to douse tension in the zone, and by extension more support for our great party, APC.
Insecurity has spread to every zone. How did we get here and what will it take to secure Nigeria?
The issue of insecurity in the country didn’t start today, remember the Niger Delta militants and the approach the late President Yar’Adua took in handling it. In Abia State, we had the Osisikankwu era when kidnapping and broad daylight robbery was reported on a daily basis. The Boko Haram insurgency is over 15 years and recently the issue of banditry in the North-central and Southwest.
The approach President Tinubu has taken so far on the issue of insecurity is commendable. Appointment of Lt.-Gen. Lagbaja as the Chief of Army Staff and the appointment of northern Christian from Southern Kaduna as the Chief of Defence Staff. Before now the killings in Southern Kaduna was given religion colouration, so having both Christians and Muslims in the country’s security architecture is a good one. Also remember the immediate past administration didn’t have a South easterner in the country’s security architecture which President Tinubu has corrected. So, back to your question rather than asking how did we get here, the question should have been how do we get out of here? Because we have been there for a long time. There’s hope that we will overcome the major security challenges bedeviling the nation, going by the steps the president and the Service Chiefs have taken so far.
Do you share the view that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable?
Nigeria is made up of different ethnic nationalities. Sometimes you hear things like – people from a particular region giving those from another region notice to leave their place. Sometimes you hear a politician telling people from a particular geo-political zone that supporting his presidential ambition is their shortest route to getting to the presidency.
If we are an egalitarian society, there should be equality amongst all the ethnic groups, be it the major ethnic groups or the minority. A situation where some ethnic groups consider themselves to be in the majority and consider themselves indispensable in the Nigerian project calls for negotiation in the unity of the country. There’s need to convene a Sovereign National Conference where issues concerning the unity of the nation will be discussed – issues of marginalization and secession will all be discussed. Even in marriage, which involves two adults agreeing to live together, at some point in the union, the parties involved come to the negotiation table to know whether they will continue or go their separate ways. Many consider the amalgamation of the Northern Protectorate and Southern Protectorate by Lord Frederick Lugard as a forced marriage hence the need for negotiation. Another question that needs to be answered is, as at 1914, what was the population of Nigeria and what is it at this time? In conclusion, I feel there is a need for us to sit and talk, forestall those things that led to some of the violence we have experienced or still experiencing in different parts of the nation. Our unity must be on equity, justice, and fairness to all.
Use this opportunity to advise the FG on the economy?
I will tell Mr President to prioritize production and increase the patronage of locally made products. There’s urgent need to get our refineries to be functional at optimal level.These will reduce the pressure on the Fore market which will in turn enable the naira to be bullish against the dollar in the exchange market. For companies in Nigeria to break even, we must get it right in the power sector which seems to be an age-long problem in the country. If these measures are taken, in less than no time the inflation rate will reduce and the economy will bounce back.