By Adadareporters
Civil rights activist Chidozie Okolo, in this interview, warns Nigerian leaders to approach governance with conscience and truth, asserting that the country is moving towards a crash unless “we tell ourselves the truth and do the right thing”. The excerpts.
What is really the trouble with Nigeria in your own perspectives?
Our leaders are not sincere. When somebody aspires to become a leader, his core objective matters a lot. A majority of political leaders in Nigeria are deceitful. They are aspiring for their personal interests and aggrandisement. They are not holding offices for the people that gave them their mandates; that is if they were actually legitimately elected. Let the conscience of our leaders judge them. It marvels me that when a budget is presented and approved, the implementation becomes politicised. This is the only country that government officials want to be celebrated for carrying out assignments from public purse.
In the face of the suffering and pains which most Nigerians are passing through, our leaders have not shown enough concerns as people holding the mandates of the people. Have they reduced their cost of living? They ride jeeps that cost over N150m despite that in their localities, hunger is everywhere. The same leaders squandering our public funds are against the increment in the minimum wage of civil servants. Who is fooling who? They are making fellow citizens slaves.
We got to the height of these pains under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu. What does it portend?
It is a sign of failure on the part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is because the primary role of any genuine government is to improve the living standards of the led. I am surprised at what is happening. I think this regime is pushing towards referendum where Nigerians should choose what they really want. It is so disturbing recently when some northern Arewa said Nigeria is not worth to be a country, and demanded separation. It is a clarion call, and until Nigerians start to tell themselves the truth, things will continue to be the way they are. If a system is tried for one year and it is not working, can’t it be changed? It is so because some people are feeding fat from the failed system. Before, we used to have the high, middle and lower classes in Nigeria. Today, the middle class is no more. The high class now want to make the citizens slaves, but it can’t work. The military under Abacha and Babangida tried it, and it didn’t work. It can’t work because Nigeria is very diverse. I don’t know why our leaders can’t do what is right. They are here buying a yacht, jets and rebuilding residences that have no humanitarian values, but they can’t approve N250, 000 minimum wage for civil servants. The approved N70, 000, what is it going to do?
What options are left for Nigerian masses?
For me, I believe in protest, but in a different way. Today the government is setting the protest, and not the people who are aggrieved. Even the N70, 000, I understand many states are yet to start implementing it. Government is now arranging another protest. If I don’t have money, how can I go to my office? People will then systematically stay at home because they lack the capacity to go to work. Government is arranging a better protest. Government is few people in society. This is the limit. When somebody is very hungry, it is between hunger and death.
People blame a fraught electoral system as Nigeria’s albatross. What is your take?
It is either you are a Christian, traditional worshipper or a Muslim. We know what is right and wrong. If you are a judge in the court of justice and if you are a man in the temple of court, a priest in the temple of God, we all know what is right. If we fail to do the right thing, whose fault? At NNPC, if Mele Kyari is not doing well, remove him and thank him, then find a replacement. Avoid using the name of party membership to hold Nigerians to ransom. Forget about being turn by turn. Make changes that will be phenomenal. You and I know what is good and bad. I think Tinubu does not have conscience or he is not advised to have conscience. How does Tinubu get advice because he is not on the street to feel the impulse of the masses? Nigeria is heading for a crash.
As an Igbo stakeholder, what stake do Ndigbo have in Nigeria’s present realities?
I don’t know the antecedents of Ohanaeze. The fact remains that since we are republicans, we should always arrange town-hall meetings, where our people should collectively discuss and agree on common positions. We don’t have that anymore. We must first understand we are a community. We must understand that only truth can make our community better. When someone does something that is wrong, and he is not rebuked, how would he know that he is wrong? If we don’t tell yourselves the truth, it is the problem we have.
A leader is somebody who people respect. In our localities, those you say are our leaders are sell-out. Ndigbo are suffering distrust. But the major problem of Ndigbo is to understand when to confront betrayers and move on. Holding Nnamdi Kanu is a fault. What did he do? People locked him up because he is demanding what is right for his people. It is an indictment on the government of Nigeria and those that support such. Tinubu should understand that Ndigbo are humans.
