Tunde Thomas
Former Director and Legal Adviser, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prince Anthony Olatujoye, has urged Nigerians to stop the blame game over on-going killings in some parts of the country.
He also advised Nigerians to rally support for the government so that the efforts being made by President Muhammadu Buhari to find solution to the problem would be realisable.
What is your reaction to the current state of insecurity in the country, especially killings in the northern parts of the country?
It is a truism that insurgency, herdsmen-farmers clashes and other extra-judicial killings are unfortunately and inexplicably posing very serious challenges to our fledgling democracy especially in these times when the generality of Nigerians are yearning for good governance. This cannot be good news; I am not happy in any way and I believe that all hands must of necessity be on deck as this situation is precariously hanging on political, religious or ethnic sensibilities. I submit that these vices must be collectively fought by all citizens, politicians, the media, security agencies and government at all levels. We must also refrain from trading blames on this issue. The more we engage in the ‘blame game’ on who is responsible, the more we will be unable to tackle this problem as a nation. If all afore-mentioned stakeholders come together to fight this collective enemy to a halt, we stand a good chance of putting an end to the carnage for good. I believe what is happening goes beyond the clashes and the mindless killings in the North- east, North -central and indeed the whole country and that is why we need to caution our politicians to stop the blame game for the sake of peace.
What is your advice to President Muhammadu Buhari on how to end the killings?
We all know that President Buhari is a Retired General who knows the appropriate Military strategy to employ to stem this most unfortunate tide. We need to encourage him to put in place a sustainable security architecture which will enable him to combat the menace effectively. This would involve the acquisition of modern technological and combat equipment such as the 12 Super Tucano fighter jets being purchased from the United States of America, capacity building in the form of training and retraining of military and other security personnel in the areas of guerrilla warfare; counter-terrorism and insurgency. Also, Mr. President is urged to solicit the cooperation of pressure groups, religious bodies and opposition party leaders to support this administration’s resolve to put an end to these mindless killings in whatever guise and form. Finally, the Judiciary should be encouraged to ensure that justice is always served in respect of captured terrorists and their sponsors.
Some prominent Nigerians have advised Buhari to sack the service chiefs and overhaul the nation’s security apparatus, what is your take on that?
I believe these ‘prominent Nigerians’ are entitled to their opinions. However, it is my view that sacking the service chiefs may not be the panacea for the problem of insurgency in this country. It is safe to opine that our security architecture needs to be improved upon in order to address insecurity in a more anticipatory and pragmatic manner with a view to ensuring adequate training of our military men in modern warfare, strategy and tactics. I do not believe that removing the service chiefs now can bring the vista we need to end the insurgency in Nigeria. The military chiefs should however up their strategies for the effective and efficient performance of their responsibilities.
The catholic bishops’ conference recently called on President Buhari to resign in view of the worsening security situation in the country, how do you see that call?
Again, that is the opinion of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference but I don’t believe the President has to resign as demanded by the Bishops. I reiterate my earlier position that we need to encourage and support this government to find enduring solutions to the worsening security situation in the country. We also need to avoid using religious sentiments to address national issues; rather we must proffer advice to government on how best to end the carnage.
What is your reaction to the formation of the Coalition Movement for Nigeria (CMN) being spearheaded by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and the Nigeria Interventionist Movement (NIM) being led by Chief Olisa Agbakoba as a third force to take over power from Buhari, and APC in 2019?
My reaction is simply that we do not need a coalition/third force/movement to unseat this present government. It is common knowledge that Sovereignty rests with the people and in them lies the power to elect or remove their leaders. With due respect to former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who is always passionate about governance issues in Nigeria, his government (between 1999 and 2007) was not without its downsides, therefore, his voice against the re-election of President Buhari, via a coalition, remains with respect, unnecessary. Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN is a friend and a classmate but I do not believe that he has the time to bring his vision to bear on the arduous task of wresting power from the President. In sum, I do not believe in this coalition syndrome and reiterate that sovereignty lies in the Nigerian people, who have the right to elect their leaders. This is however without prejudice to the fundamental rights of the people to vote along party lines.
Is the call for new wage justified in view of the economic challenges facing the nation?
Yes, I believe there is a need for a living wage for Nigerian workers having regard to the current economic realities in the country. Recently, workers in South Africa clamoured for a respectable living wage which is similar to what their Nigerian counterparts are demanding. So an increase in the minimum wage for workers is a welcome development in Nigeria and I urge the government to fulfil its September 2018 promise to increase the minimum wage as announced by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during this year’s May Day Celebration.
Remuneration and allowances of public office holders have been described as being on the high side, , do you support calls for reduction of salaries and allowances of public office holders as a way of saving costs?
In my opinion, the issue of remuneration and allowances of public officers said to be on the high side may not be applicable to all public office holders. It is noteworthy that the remuneration of public officers is determined by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) which is constitutionally empowered to undertake a review of the remuneration packages of political, public and judicial office holders in Nigeria.
However, it is a fact that the salaries and allowances of Legislators, though determined by RMAFC, are being implemented out of sync with those approvals, I say so with regards to the startling confession of Senator Shehu Sani at a recent plenary at the Red Chamber. It would be recalled that the distinguished Kaduna State Senator had no difficulty in announcing to the whole world that N13.5 Million Naira stands as running costs each senator earns every month exclusive of other emoluments. I hate to say that this is a flagrant infraction of the RMAFC Act and a deliberate usurpation of the Commission’s powers to determine the wages and salaries of public officers. While it is a welcome suggestion to adopt any means of reducing the costs of governance, it would be proper to put in place mechanisms to regulate the earnings of legislators and the unbridled waste in the public service which surely would save costs in the long run.
As part of measures being canvassed to save costs, some Nigerians have suggested the idea of having only one parliament, or that lawmaking should be on part-time basis, what is your opinion on this?
I am aware that a single (Unicameral) legislature is practiced in countries like Armenia, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Denmark, Turkey and Sweden but I don’t think it is necessary in Nigeria, especially if the current legislative houses are held accountable and required to accord some respects to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), relevant laws and other governance rules in the discharge of their responsibilities. Also, we need to elect people of proven/professional acuity and patriotic disposition toward governance so that they can perform excellently and transparently under our current bicameral legislature with due regard to how presidential democracy is being practiced in the United States of America and other advanced countries. However, I do not believe that our lawmakers need to serve on a part-time basis to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively.
To get out of the myriads of woes currently facing Nigeria, some have said restructuring is the only way while others are expressing concerns that restructuring may lead to breakup of Nigeria, what is your own stand?
For me, the issue of restructuring is a salient point but much more than restructuring the country into/by whatever forms, enthroning good and transparent leadership at all levels to wit: Local, State and Federal levels is sine qua non. If this position is taken, then we can talk of economic and political restructuring of our present governance system. And a lot of this has to be done under the instrumentality of the National Assembly.
Presently, the assembly is believed to be on top of the key issues of restructuring after a recent attempt at amending the 1999 Constitution in that regard. The APC seems to have woken up in its desire to enthrone true federalism in our polity but it appears that the process of bringing this idea to bed may be hamstrung by the looming National Convention of the party and indeed the 2019 elections.
On the question of whether restructuring will lead to the breakup of Nigeria, I say with all the emphasis at my disposal that restructuring will not only bring peace, growth, development but also assure or encourage competitiveness among states as witnessed during the 1st Republic. The successes recorded in the country’s pre-1966 political and economic structure have acquired such notoriety that I need not go into them here.