Right now, we are being underled or poorly led at all levels; in families, in churches, in businesses, we are being poorly led. But by the appropriate time and with the mercies of God, He would give us visionary leaders who would know that the purpose of power is for service and not for self and who know that the purpose of government is for the welfare of the people who God gave the resources of any land. So, I’ve done my bit, but I have not stopped. A wise man foresees trouble and flees, the fools run into it and they are punished. If you look in the Bible, most of those that God used in strategic intervention in governance were not campaigning for elections. They went to them to ask them. Joseph was in prison when he came and interpreted a dream and gave a blueprint for the economy of that nation not to go into ruin, Daniel was in captivity when he was invited to join those who would serve and he served excellently. They threw him into the lions’ den, the lions could not devour him. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were his colleagues. They threw them into fire and fire could not burn them.
Why? Because they purposed in their hearts not to defile themselves. Esther took part in a beauty pageant and then became a queen, Nehemiah was a butler who became one who inspired the building of the wall of Jerusalem and became the governor of Judah. These men did not campaign for election. They came to ask them. That’s why you would not see me form any political party and that’s why you would not see me join any political party. I don’t join political parties. When my services are needed, wherever the services are needed, they will come to ask me and if I see that the men that I want to run with are men of equal passion and credibility, I can stay with them. I’m not ready to go down with any dog and get up with fleas. So I choose my company and I choose my friends according to the Bible which says a righteous man chooses his friends wisely because the companions of fools destroy them.
What is your assessment of Jonathan’s government in terms of security, economy, power and infrastructure?
You can’t compare Jonathan’s government in vacuum. You must have a holistic approach to it. Talking of infrastructure and development in our country, look at Lagos State, the bridges that you point to today, whether it is Eko Bridge or Third Mainland Bridge, they were done by the military. Now, electricity has been a major problem but even when the almighty and all-knowing and all-wise Obasanjo was in power for eight years, he didn’t fix electricity. All we are hearing now is corruption, but corruption is not something that Jonathan started. He inherited some of the problems. You can’t blame him for Boko Haram, it was existent before him, it only escalated under him. And a people deserve the leadership they get. If President Jonathan has done poorly, I think he has done his best. Nobody can give more than what he has. You can’t give more than what you have. Look at it holistically and ask if it could have been better. See, in the western world, in America, in Britain, they go to Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge to drag the best brains they have to come to the civil service to formulate policies and see them through. Here, we look for the dropouts and the men that can easily be settled to be in charge of that. If you don’t sleep with the wife of the man suffering from hydrocele, and the man succeeds in sleeping with your wife, you would still catch hydrocele one way or the other. That’s the problem we have.
It is not just one man that should be blamed for it. Number one, our constitution, as it is presently, can never deliver a good and progressive nation. Number two, we don’t even know our census, we don’t know how many we are, so how can you plan effectively? Number three, the political class believes it is all about them and greed is the motivating factor for seeking power in Nigeria. How could anyone tell you that if you want to serve the people, and if it is for the president’s seat, then the form, you have to purchase it with N33 million? Are you wise? Are you stupid? Is the man going to serve you if he gets into power? Has he paid this N33 million just for fun?
There was a time you said there would be no 2015 if 2014 is not fixed. Now we are heading for 2015. What is your view?
There was the Save Nigeria Group that I convened in the days of the power hijack when the dying President Yar’Adua was smuggled out of the country and the cabal had taken over power, wanting to continue to use the insignia of office. We insisted that constitutionality be followed. I thank God that at the end of the day, that came to pass. Under some tremendous heat, the National Assembly came up with the Doctrine of Necessity. Then we had another President who on the 5th of May at the demise of former President Yar’Adua, became substantive President. From there he moved in to four years of an administration. He is now looking for another four years. Though he has not said so, his body language has pointed in that direction. He’s been adopted, he has not denied it. If you look at all of that, you would conclude that it is smooth sailing, but we are in the eye of the storm.
One of the things we advocated for was National Conference, for Nigerians to come together and talk about how they want to be governed and led. On 5 May, 2010 the Save Nigeria Group came with what we call a blueprint, a minimum of things the electorate should demand from those who govern them. And by the time we got to the National Conference, all parts of what we have been clamouring for became a reality when that conference began to settle old scores. If there is courage and will to implement what we got out of that conference, Nigeria will never be the same again. That is why I said the train has left the station, when I was interviewed. That’s part of the fear and the trouble we foresaw at that time because we were putting the cart before the horse and when you do that and you don’t make progress, then go backwards. There would be movement, but it would backwards when you put the cart before the horse.
This does not mean that the coast is clear. Look at the decampees. Nuhu Ribadu was in ACN, Nuhu Ribadu was in APC, Nuhu Ribadu is now in PDP. Obi was in APGA. He used APGA for eight years. Obi is now in PDP. Mimiko, the Iroko, uprooted himself from Labour Party and is trying to transplant and take root now in PDP. My friend, OGD (Otunba Gbenga Daniel) was in PDP, he left for one party he started, and then he became part of Labour, and now he is back in PDP.
So, why are they all looking for a place to hide their heads? Look, I don’t understand. Politicians must know what they are doing. Why can’t we build institutions and political parties that would not pave the way for a one-party state in Nigeria so that we can have what is available in America with the Democrats and the Republicans and the UK where some minor parties really take care of peculiar interests. Why can’t I have a party that would only make sure the local government in Abeokuta is doing well and the people are happy? That is where the elite have to come in from bottom upward. Let’s begin to take and position people in these local governments and states to bring about a difference.
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