Detractors should let Jonathan be, says Onasanya

 















Chief Joseph Onasanya, national Chairman, Advance Progressive Forum (APF), an independent political pressure group, says the proposed national dialogue should focus on general overhauling of the country’s political system. Fielding questions from TUNDE AKINOLA, he commented on salient national issues, as the country proceeds towards the 2015 general election.
 But President must deliver dividend of democracy to Nigerian people
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has announced that the national conference would start early this year despite several skepticisms; what issues should be on the front burner of this discourse?
  The national conference that the President is calling for is a good development and we in this group are in support of it considering that similar conferences were held in the past that till date, we only heard about them without something concrete coming out of them
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  The only one I can vividly remember is the last one under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which eventually landed us in the ‘Third Term Agenda.’
  At that time, if you remember, they came out with almost 117 agenda and the only one that Nigerians got to know eventually was the third term agenda.
  But I wouldn’t know if we have learnt from that; so, I just want this President to allow Nigerians contribute their quota and the outcome of this conference should bring the desired peace to the nation.
  However, I want to also advise that it should be an opportunity to critically look into the presidential system of government that we are operating in Nigeria. I am worried because the Second Republic started this presidential system and we all know what came out of it, how the economy of the nation nosedived and Nigerians were, indeed, eating from the dustbin as at that time the military struck.
  From 1999 till date, we can see that this presidential system of government has landed Nigerians in more poverty. Some people may say the presidential system is good, then what about the operators? We have been disappointed; so, the conference should look into this critically.
  The First Republic came up with regional system of government, whereby the regions were given autonomy and they controlled their resources and till today, we can still see the level of development that system brought. The roads and other facilities, we are still enjoying them in most places and Nigerians were better off then.
  Even as of 1963 when there was no oil, it was this same regional system of government that opened this country to the world, that we became the third country in the world that supplied cash crops. We were actually feeding the world as at that time. So, I believe the President should open his doors for Nigerians to come around and discuss the ways we can move this country forward.
  I also think the conference should address the issue of unemployment among our teeming youths, as this tends to be a major cause of most of the crises bedeviling the country.
  The national dialogue needs to fashion out ways to create wealth and at the same time attend to the needs of our younger generation because without this, the problems will still resurface if they are not addressed once and for all.
In other words, you are saying there shouldn’t be any no-go areas?
  Yes, there shouldn’t be any no-go areas because the presidential system has done more harm to this country. We all know the issue of zoning or no zoning; if you come from this place, you cannot contest; if you come from the other part, it is your birthright and all that.
Are you calling for a parliamentary system?
  If that is what will bring peace to Nigeria, yes, why not?
What some people have against the parliamentary system is that the party with the majority will always produce the Prime Minister, and that in this country, the North tends to have majority in the legislature, which will give it the upper hand. How will you react to that?
  You are talking about the 1960s, in the First Republic, but I am talking about the principles. However, that is why there is a problem in this country because I believe that the census that we have been having in this country has not always been the right census, and it should be one of the areas that this conference should look into.
  When we are able to get the correct census, we will get many things right. We should not entertain any fears; all we need are honest people. It is about time we took away a lot of things that are not making this country to progress.
  Let us have a well-conducted census, done with sincerity because today, we don’t even know the statistics that they are giving us. In some places, you will hear we are 160 million; in other places 170 million, or 180 million, even 200 million in some places. That is the problem we are having, but let us have a genuine census so we know the actual figure.
  I don’t agree that some people will be dominating things because it is worse now under the presidential system. What we are practicing is not bringing peace. Some people believe that power must shift, and if some, who have been agitating, get it, they will want to corner everything to their area because they know that they may not even get it again. Is that the right way to rule a country?
  With parliamentary system, like what happened in the First Republic, the centre was rendered powerless. At that time, we had a ceremonial president. This is the power we are talking about.
  When you have the resources, you will be able to take care of the needs of your people. I know who is going to become the Premier of my region; I know the family, I know the house; we won’t vote for people we don’t know; you vote for people with good record and we will make sure we support them.
You seem to be advocating a general overhaul of the system?
  This is what I think we should do.
Are you not worried about the saying that mega political change tends to bring mega political instability?
  Let me ask you; is the present situation in the Nigeria the best we can get? That because I come from the South, I cannot be safe in the North; if I go to the East, I am not safe; that Nigerians are no longer safe anywhere they go; is that the best?
  We have never had the history of Boko Haram, the history of Nigerians killing themselves. Till date, no one has been able to tell us why Boko Haram is operating. If genuinely they are operating, what is their reason for doing that?
  Things are not right and that is one reason you must consider. There are so many stories going round; everybody is agitating; everybody wants things done their way.
Talking about not having peace, former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote President Jonathan recently, pointing out things that are not going well; and the President in his reply, said he is doing his best, and that the problems were on ground before he came into power. But should that be the approach to governance? Don’t you think both leaders are missing the point?
  You will agree with me that Jonathan is not the problem. Jonathan inherited problems; he inherited very serious problems from previous governments and there is no way he could just wake up and resolve all the problems.
  There are lots of problems in the system; Nigeria was never settled and since Jonathan took over, he has been trying his best, as far as I am concerned. For him to have agreed that this national conference should hold is a good omen.    
   Talking about the issue of President Jonathan and former President Obasanjo, I am worried. The problem in this country is that we have been having the kingmakers, but no man is an island and I don’t know of any reason one person will think that without him Nigeria cannot be.
  The problems of this country actually started in 1979, but we are looking at Jonathan as the man we can put all blame on his head. We all know that as at 1983 when the Second Republic collapsed, this country was run down. Ministers in that government were saying even if Nigerians were eating from the dustbin, they had not picked enough and we know what happened then.
  We know how the economy of this country was run down, yet Obasanjo says he brought Shagari into power. The same Obasanjo wrote Shagari sometime in July 1982, to say that the economy of this country had collapsed. Why is he always having problems with people he handed over power to?
  I think they should let Jonathan be; he is a listening President, he should be his own man. He has made promises to Nigerians, and he should follow them through.
Many people believe that the President is part of the problem of the PDP, especially because of his refusal to allow the chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to go. How should the party crises be sorted out?
  All I can say is that it is their internal problem in the PDP. My interest is about Nigeria, about moving this country forward. So, whatever is going on within the PDP, they can sit down to resolve it.
  But when it comes to Jonathan, as the President of Nigeria, he holds allegiance to the people of this country, and not to the PDP and that is why he should concentrate more on delivering the dividend of democracy to the Nigerian people.
  Like you said: that the chairman of the PDP is causing more problems for him than providing solution; well, my reaction is that they may have their reasons.
  I don’t think that Jonathan singlehandedly picked Bamanga Tukur and even if he did, he might think that was the best for the party at that time. But if now some people disagree with him, well, that is for the party to sort out.
  The truth of the matter is that there is more to it and it is affecting the Nigerian people. They are saying Mr. President cannot run for a second term because he, perhaps, agreed to a single term.
  But the truth is that the Nigerian Constitution allows a second term and as far as we are concerned, he is just serving his first term, which is going to end in 2015. This is the reality; this is the Constitution.
  The PDP constitution is not Nigeria’s Constitution. Whatever agreement they signed among themselves is for the party, but what the Constitution of Nigeria says and what the Constitution has given to him is that he has an opportunity, if he so wishes, to go for a second term.
But has he done enough to deserve a second term?
  As far as I am concerned, they have given this President more troubles than he bargained for. Some of his aides may even have contributed to all these things because it is not every allegation against Mr. President that they must respond to. If they have to respond to every criticism or everything that people say, there would be problem.
  They are supposed to work in unity with Mr. President genuinely, to give him advice, so that he can have time to do his job. However, if the President finds out that some of these aides are part of his problems, he should do some restructuring.
  By the way, there are some people out there who also fought for his enthronement; they are there looking at events from the flanks. I think Mr. President should look into his record and bring in the genuine people. It is not about bringing people from his party, but about bringing in Nigerians who can help him.