And we have history behind us to indicate the correctness of a system based on public interest first. During the First Republic and the colonial period, these problems we’re battling with now, the problems of disabling level of corruption, stealing and criminal waste of resources, insecurity, unemployment, collapse of public services, the mindless quarrelling within the ruling class, were not as much as we have today. During the colonial times and the First Republic, nobody could steal public funds or corporation funds, nobody could steal their monies and get away with it.

I have always worked in finance since I started work in 1953. Up till 1975 when I retired, I was either working in the treasury or I was a financial administrator or second in command in public institutions.

So I know when corruption and these problems emerged. They all emerged during the Second Republic. During the colonial times and First Republic they were not there, and I’ve given you an example of public funds; nobody could steal any public funds and get away with it. He would be investigated, prosecuted and if found guilty he’ll go to jail whoever was his father or godfather and so on. I can give examples of persons in power today in Nigeria who were found guilty at that time.

In terms of insecurity, nobody could organise violence resulting in loss of lives and property without also being investigated and if found guilty, punished. In those days, we used to have this organised violence only at intervals of 25 years, mostly in connection with land or community quarrels in the South and in the North in connection with the conflicts of economic interest of Igbos and the Kano people. And because of the leading role of the government in the system, these were contained. But from the Second Republic, 1979 till today, we have been having these organised violence at intervals.

Do you think the Confab was necessary? If it was necessary how do you suggest the issues should be articulated and what issues?

In the first place, the conference Nigerians have been asking for is different from the conference that the President organised. The conference Nigerians were asking for is a conference of elected representatives of the people but the conference organised by the President now is a conference based on his own agenda. His overview is very narrow on his agenda for the 2015 elections.

That’s why he has been the deciding factor. In the conference, it is he who came to agree that there should be a conference, even though he was opposed to it for a very long time. He later decided for his own purpose to have the conference and it was he alone that appointed the committee for the modality of the conference. It was he that gave them the terms of reference and everything. It was he that single-handedly appointed everybody who participated in the conference. So the conference is not a national conference but a presidential committee to manipulate the situation in the country, either for his own idea of national stability or for his interest in the 2015 elections; you can’t see beyond that.

Would you accept the outcome, now that it has submitted its recommendations?

None of them mentioned the roots of the problems of Nigeria and the problem is the system; the leadership produced by the system. Most of them, selected to participate in the confab, were responsible for the present negative state of the nation which the so-called conference is supposed to deal with, which they have not dealt with. Can you mention any member of the national conference who mentioned the root other than the result? Nobody. Their attention was drawn to this in a very articulate way, but they couldn’t face it because it will affect their class interest.

A group of northern youths gave southerners ultimatum to leave the North when they visited the Emir of Kano recently. What is your view on this?

Yes, certainly it is a threat, but I think they’re seeing what will happen and must be trying to draw attention. They may be reactionary but they’re drawing attention. For instance, there was this pass law allegedly introduced by either Imo or Abia state. Such could work against the same people who introduced it.

Take the North and South, I think there are at least 20 times the number of people from the South that lived and worked in the North. And at least 20 times the number of northerners that lived and worked in the South. And if you take economic resources also, the economic resources of southerners living in the North are 100 times more than the northerners living in the South. And if you take bank deposits, you can see the proof of it and may even underestimate the extent. Now if these laws, because they’re similar to the laws in the apartheid South Africa, continue the South would suffer more than the North; so many times more than the North.