Why INEC Can’t Guarantee Free, Fair Election – Former Minister
POLITICS DIGEST – Peoples Democratic Party chieftain and onetime Minister of Transport and Aviation, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, in this interview weighs in on some current national issues, including President Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign trip and PDP’s next line of action, after their loss at the Supreme Court
What is your reaction to recent statement by the APC Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole that President Muhammadu Buhari can rule from any part of the world?
Well, that is what Oshiomhole, as the chairman of the APC believes and as far as I’m concerned, it is their affair to determine what happens to themselves. But I think that the Vice President has done very well such that he can act as President, and it is unfortunate we are being told that he can govern Nigeria from anywhere as long as it is convenient for the APC.
I think the APC is doing a lot of injury to themselves and their reputation because President Buhari cannot be working for us from London. He is not British Prime Minister, neither is he American President. Something is wrong and I think if they like they can ask him to govern us from the moon.
But the constitution stipulates a number of days the president could travel that it would be mandatory for him to hand over to the Vice President?
I have not been able to read the constitution to know the number of days he can travel without handing over to the Vice President, provided he does not exceed that. But I will consult my constitution to see what it stipulates. But even if it is for one day, there is nothing wrong for him to transmit power to his deputy via a letter to the National Assembly as he has done before. It has happened before, even though I’m not a member of the APC, and the Vice President is from the state of my political mentor, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, but he did very well in the president’s absence. He might be suffering for that competence of that time right now. They are afraid of him because he performed very well when he acted as President some years back. But hat is APC’s affair, but eventually, Buhari will discover the truth.
How will you assess the economy under President Buhari, and to what extent do you think the 2020 budget and its associated economic policy can deliver on his promises?
Well, I wish him the best of luck. But speaking seriously, the economy has been bad all over. Since he took over in the country, the economy has been in a mess. He has budgeted N10.3 trillion for 2020 and oil prices are falling, but God bless him on how he is managing the economy. As an elder statesman, I cannot say otherwise, but right now, the common man is hungry and that should be an issue of serious concern to the President. It is sad that one of his ministers said recently that the common man can be fed with a meal of N50. That is distortion of facts in a country where several international agencies have said about 90 million people are living below poverty level.
No matter what the National Assembly does to the budget, the fact remains that the economy is rolling down by the day and I will want the President to sit down and really attend to the economy to ensure that the common man is able to eat and live happily in a free country.
How prepared is your party for the Kogi and Bayelsa elections holding on Saturday?
Our party, the PDP is always prepared and ready, but the INEC is the major problem of this country. Whenever I look at the Chairman of the Commission, I just shake my head. The INEC may mess up this country, because I cannot see their readiness to guarantee free, fair and credible elections in this country. My fear is that they will rig the elections in favour of the APC. If that happens, good luck to them. But I know that the day will come, like we used to sing in the prison, when Buhari put us in prison after the 1983 coup, that ‘one day will be one day, monkey will go to the market and it will never return’. In Nigeria, one day will be one day when the electoral monkey will go to the market and it will not return.
As the Director of Organisation of the then Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), you were imprisoned in 1983, where you developed diabetes and today, you have lost your sight. Would you say that imprisonment has a bearing on your current health status?
Well, I don’t blame that on Buhari, though I went to jail with my colleagues. But thank god I’m alive today. I’m going to be 77 years old in the next two months. I will not blame him for imprison me because he did so to so many of us and some of my colleagues like Solomon Lar, Adamu Chiroma, Abubakar Rimi are all dead. I’m lucky I’m alive and whatever may have happened the struggle must continue. What we are asking for this country is that Buhari should give us a system that will guarantee free, fair and credible election.
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Your party, the PDP and its presidential candidate in the 2019 polls lost their appeal at the Supreme Court. What is your reaction to this and what is the party’s next line of action?
I still feel very sad about the loss of my party at the Supreme Court. I have articulated my view on what should be the way forward for this country. Look at Kenya here. Recently, the Supreme Court in Kenya gave a verdict that will stand the test of time, but here it is the other way round. Well, I wish the Supreme Court judges and Nigerians the best of luck. But I know that our party is ever ready and by the grace of God, PDP will defeat them someday because APC will be forced by the circumstances beyond their control to give this country the free, fair and credible election it deserves. And that is not far off, because 2023 is around the corner.
But right now, there is this argument that Atiku Abubakar should not contest in the 2023 election and some governors, especially those on their second term, are oiling their guns for the polls?
We will put our house in order, but I don’t think anybody can bar anyone from contesting any position, provided he is a citizen of this country. I’m aware of some forces among us, forces that are dancing Rambo in the doors of the APC and Buhari made sure that Atiku and the PDP did not win. But as far as we are concerned, we are ready and when the PDP kick-starts its preparation before the elections, it will be very glaring for all to see, as PDP will give Nigeria the leader we want and that leader will come from our party.
Youth unemployment is one of the issues bothering Nigerians right now. What do you think should be done about it?
Something must be done and very quickly too, because the young men and women are the future of this country. I am very sorry for the APC from the way they treat issues affecting the youths. As things are now, we should be seeing maximum participation of the youths in every aspects of governance – in their own future and in the future of this country. I want to see them put in place polices for youth development which radiate around the youths to ensure their participation in the affairs of this country.
The closure of our borders is still ongoing. Don’t you think this is an indictment on the security agencies?
I have never supported this idea of border closure. The reasons given for the closure are too simplistic and naïve. It is incredible that Nigeria has closed its borders on an African continent where everyone is suffering. Yet they said they closed the borders to stop smuggling and infiltration of arms and ammunitions. Not too long ago when herdsmen were troubling Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom spoke his mind that many Fulanis, either from Mali or Kutuwenji were all over Nigeria. What are you doing about this? There are many Fulanis in Nigeria who are not Nigerians, but that notwithstanding, I do not subscribe to this indefinite border closure. Ultimately, it is going to harm our economy.
I do not blame our security agencies really, because they too will want a tighter coverage of the borders. Let the security agencies be given free hands to protect the country. It is their professional job. I know we have good security agencies, and some of them can be bad sometimes, but largely, they are professional. They should not close the borders indefinitely, rather they should continue to promote that African brotherhood, even as they ensure border control, payment of necessary customs duties and obey relevant trade agreements with African countries. Because today, there are Nigerians all over Africa- in Ghana, in Mali, Chad, Guinea and all over, hence we should not take an action that will back fire.
You were Student Affairs Officer at the University of Lagos in the late 70s and had to leave following the Ali must Go protest. Have your entitlements been paid?
No. That was a long story. Even my entitlement thing did not come up. President Olusegun Obasanjo was the military Head of State then when we were sacked. I wrote a simple leter to them to pay me my entitlements, but up till today, I have not been paid. I also wrote to President Shehu Shagari, who in my judgment was a clean leader, but I was not paid, but the entitlements of all other persons in the university and other agencies were paid. I keep my finders. If they don’t pay me, I know that someday, the story will change. My children are Nigerians and they might be paid.
How do you see the current phenomenon of sex for grade in our universities?
It is a very obnoxious thing. When we were in the university system, this thing was not common then because there was high level of discipline. Even now, I am aware there are lots of highly disciplined lecturers in the universities. But I know there are lots of young men and students in the universities these days and the lure can be very strong. But no matter how strong, it is must be discouraged. We must ensure that our daughters are safe in the universities so that they can complete their courses decently.
Source: New Telegraph
