By Gilbert Ekezie
A Lagos based Legal Practitioner and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Musa Rufai in this interview speaks on constitutional amendment, restructuring, state of the economy among other issues.
What is your take on the lingering issue of restructuring of Nigeria?
To say the fact, the issue of restructuring is very important and long over-due. However, before you talk about that, the 1999 constitutional amendment or review has to be done.
What does it take to review the existing 1999 constitution?
Actually, there is a process of doing that. There are clogs that we need to pass through to achieve that successfully. Are you talking about the 2/3 majority of each State House of Assembly of the federation? Are you talking about the lobbying that will take place? These have been the major clogs in our constitutional progress in Nigeria. Ordinarily, a constitution is supposed to be flexible in such a way that it will be easy to review.
But those who brought in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, had made it very difficult to be holistically amended. So, there are clogs in the wheel of its amendment, such that even if they said they have amended it, what they will do is to close their eyes against the contents of the constitution. Unfortunately, we are talking about running a federal system of government, while in actual sense, what we are running is a unitary system, and that has been posing a serious problem for us, as a country.
You talked about the clogs that made the 1999 constitution difficult to amend, what is the way out?
There is no society that is static, societies are dynamic. So the law should also be dynamic too and move as things are moving. What we need in that regard is a national referendum, because the power still belongs to the people. If the politicians are honest themselves, and allow referendums to take place in the six-geo political zones in Nigeria, they will find out the exact thing the country wants.
That was part of the things former President Goodluck Jonathan did back then when he came up with the constitutional conference, and you can see that they are now referring to the outcome of the conference. So, we need something like that, even much more, because Jonathan’s own was just like a prototype, it was for some selected people.
But, this time, we need more people to come together to discuss the common affairs of Nigeria. You see, to review the constitution is not the business of lawmakers alone, because they do not feel our pains, but it needs collective efforts of the entire Nigerians. And, the sooner they do it, the better it will be for the country.
What system of government do you suggest for the best interest of Nigerians?
We have tried the presidential system of government for so long and have seen that it is expensive, and not even giving us the dividends as it is. We started with regionalism, so why don’t we go back to the regions?
What do we stand to benefit from running a regional government as you have suggested?
Certainly, in regional government, there will be healthy competitions among the regions, and very few issues will be tabled collectively to the federal level, unlike now where almost everything comes from Abuja. In the present system, the FCT controls this and that, and it is not supposed to be so. When we were growing up, we learned in social studies and history, how the Western Nigeria developed her Cocoa Plantation, the Eastern part developed Palm Plantation and was producing palm oil, while the Northern part developed their area with groundnut pyramids. Then, everyone was self- sufficient, and the people were progressing.
But along the line, everyone decided to concentrate on crude oil. As a result, every other industry started dwindling, and crude oil became the center-point of Abuja development. That made our men become lazy and things started diminishing.
The worst of it all is that people began to see politics as a means of livelihood. So, without mincing words, I would say that regionalism is the best for Nigeria.
What is your assessment of the Nigerian law making body in Nigeria?
Are you talking about people, who collect five hundreds of millions of Naira for constituency projects, without doing anything with the money? You can see what is going on in the Senate, and how money is exchanging hands.
When Senator Abdul Ningi burst the bubble on the budget padding, I was just laughing because I knew that they would sweep it under the cupboard, and he was going to pay dearly for his action. As we speak, are you hearing anything about the padding issue again? Ningi was not the first Senator to have opened that can of worms. But you saw what that Senator from Ogun State, former Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation came out to say in defense of the padding.
In recent times, budget padding has become another name for stealing and looting, and these happen in a country that prides itself of equality before the law. Those, who are supposed to be representing the people, are there for themselves, and do not feel the people. That is why trillions do not look like anything today. You could see the Senate come out to tell Nigerians that there are things beyond the budget. Is it not ridiculous and laughable? You could see how they made Ningi become tipsy and forced him to resign his position.
Do you think Nigerians are doing enough to checkmate the political office holders?
Nigerians are voicing out strongly against the bad leadership of our representatives, but the problem is that they have succeeded in making the people hungry, so their voices are dimmed. Nigerians do not even eat well at the moment for their voices to be heard. The leaders have made hunger the weapon to lash us and divided us in the line of palliatives. That is to make us keep quiet. The system is just bad.
What do you think contributed to the present hardship in the country?
I think the major cause of the hardship is that some brave steps were taken by the Federal Government to improve the economy. The three steps are blocking Bureau De Change, removal of oil subsidy and tightening of our borders. So, we expect that those who feel cheated or victimized, will fight back. So, we should expect the consequences.
However, we will feel the pain for some time and things will normalize. It is like trying to cure cancer; it takes a gradual process. But with systematic approach, determination and integrity, I think Nigerians will come out of hunger stronger, and more disciplined.
How will the experience of hardship make Nigerians stronger and more disciplined?
Our people are so extravagant, and our extravagancies are becoming too much. It has gotten to an extent that our recurrent expenditure is killing the capital expenditure, and if such measures are not taken, the country will be grounded. So, the present tough condition, which we have been running away from, is what we should expect.
You were into politics and contested for a certain position, what is your stand now?
Yes, I did because I believe that politics is an instrument towards social engineering, and making the commonwealth of the people get closer to them in terms of infrastructure. It got me thinking that people called me to venture into it. And, when I took my stake, those who were witnesses, know how popular I was then. But one single thing made me withdraw and decided to take Nigerian politics like a pinch of salt.
What is the thing that made you shun vying for any elective position?
The reason is that as a politician, no matter how popular you may be, you cannot get there as a result of your popularity, but through the electoral colleges of some stakeholders. And, when you eventually get there, you must do the bidding of the so-called stakeholders. Failure to do so, they will use the press and the masses who do not know what happened, to mess you up. At the end, it will become an ‘abrakatabra’ thing.
What if you are called to come and serve?
I am already serving in my community as the chairman of Abule Onijomo Community Development Association, in Awodi Ora, and the Financial Secretary of the Community Development Committee (CDC) in Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area, Lagos State. Awodi Ora is a larger entity in Ward D, and it has six CDAs namely, Abule Onijomo, Awodi Ora Estate, Idi Ori, Awodi Ora and two others.
My brand of politicking is that everybody is a political animal, and it is a community social engineering and infrastructural development. I am someone who has passion for community development and I have a voice in my community. I contribute my quota regularly on matters arising, current affairs and how to compel the leaders to honour their roles in the areas of social contracts between them and the led, believing that the wealth of the community is not a prerogative of the politicians, but cuts across board in terms of infrastructural development of the community. So, I do not want a service where the commonwealth of the people will be used to pay me salary. I am content with the little I have for now. I pay myself and strongly work harder to pay people.
Which political party did you start with?
Well, I started with PDP, and later crossed over to APC. I am still a card carrying member of APC till date. I have not stopped party politics. But what I am saying is that in terms of position, I prefer being in the forefront of community development association, so that I will be able to lure infrastructural development facilities to my community.