President of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus has stressed that considering the increasing rate of terrorism and banditry in Nigeria, the United Nations’ projection that about 82 million Nigerians might face acute hunger in the next six years, could end up as a child’s play.
In this interview with Newspot, he warns that if the government does not take an urgent and decisive action to arrest the trend, something worse than the projection would definitely happen in Nigeria. He also spoke about other issues in the country. Excerpts!
Last month, a new national coalition, Save Democracy Mega Alliance 2027 (SDMA’27), launched a campaign to amend Nigeria’s constitution so as to remove the President’s authority over the appointment of heads of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the judiciary. Do you see that changing anything in the way elections are conducted in Nigeria?
The truth about the matter in Nigeria is not even about who appoints. Yes, who fires who matters to some extent but if the president can appoint but he has no powers to fire or to remove, that might solve the problem. It is the fear of being fired if you do not do what they want is what makes them do what they do rather than just because you appoint them, because even if you appoint somebody and you don’t grease his elbows and he doesn’t fear that if he doesn’t do what you want he might be fired, then he will not be obliged to do what you want him to do. So, the issue here is, it doesn’t necessarily matter who appoints who, but who fires who.
Secondly, the institution has to strengthen to the level that people will even fear to do the wrong thing.. In China, they have a rule that one can lose his life even in some common things we call gratifications here, not even real bribery. If judges, INEC boss or any other person knows that he can lose his life if he does the wrong thing and it is traced, that check and balance can make them to do the right thing.
It is not who appoints, but as I said who fires and the laws have to be in such that the checks and balances are so stringent that for you to do wrong, you know you could lose your life, you know that all your families will be obliterated, you will not do it.
So, I think these are the things we need to introduce in the law, rather than who appoints and who doesn’t appoint. And then, we can strengthen the law to go beyond that, by saying that even the person who influenced them to do the wrong thing should equally be treated the way the offenders are treated. In that way, we can ensure that things are done rightly.
You know the problem is not that we don’t have laws on ground. As I am talking, there are laws on ground that I believe, we have checks and balances in this regard, but the institutions are weak; and because they are weak, these laws don’t mean a lot. So, we should know how to strengthen the institutions, whether it is INEC, the police, the military or the judiciary, so that they can be independent. They can have real probity, accountability and then a respect of law will come in. We have already messed the system up and it would require these draconian rules and laws to be able to do the right things.
There was a report that members of the House of Representatives were set to consider a bill to increase the derivation funds for the oil producing states from 13 to 50 percent, what are your thoughts on that?
That shows we are going back to the parliamentary system; what obtained before the intervention of the military in 1966. You know that before the military intervention when the regions were still operating, they held back up to 50 percent of whatever revenues that accrued to them and the other sent to the federal body for the running of the federal government. This is like bringing back the pre-military intervention constitution because the constitution of 1963 provided for such an arrangement. Each region produced whatever it could, held back 50 percent from such proceeds and gave 50 percent to the federal government or whatever it was.
Now, we are coming gradually to what some of us are saying that we should go back to the 1963 constitution, by updating it to accommodate current realities, using the 2014 Confab Report and then we can have through what we call referendum, the people’s democratic constitution, and actually that was what the patriots tried to do when they met Mr. President.
So, if the House of Reps is doing that now, it is just like saying we endorse what the patriots are doing, let’s go back to the 1963 constitution.
Now, rather than doing this, why can’t the national assembly say, ok gentlemen, let’s bring back the 1963 constitution, which was truly the people’s democratic constitution, update it and let it now follow the process established by that constitution, with the 2014 confab report, to give us a constitution that will be acceptable to Nigerians and address our contemporary issues.
So, picking it as a lonely item from the constitution, doesn’t address the problems, whether it is physical federalism or whatever. It’s better to look at the constitution, use the processes of that constitution, which was the last people’s democratic constitution, update it with the 2014 confab report, which attempted to address our current and contemporary issue to get a constitution out that we can adopt through a referendum and that will solve our problems.
We cannot just be saying we are running a presidential system and then we pretend to adopt things from the parliamentary system which we left and try to resolve contemporary issues. It will create more confusion.
Recently, a Federal High Court ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to stop disbursing monthly federal allocation to Rivers State until the state House of Assembly starts to function normally again. What do you think about such an order of the court?
I am not a lawyer but based on my training during my postgraduate degree programme in law, I think I am allowed to make rational deductions through cause and effect. To that end, I can only say that if that is what the law says, I have no objection because there is no alternative to adherence to the rule of law.
But, if the law is twisted, then there will be a problem with its implementation and all that. So, I wouldn’t want to delve into an area I am not conversant with but my advice is that the law as it is should take its course. And if the law is flawed, let the National Assembly do its job to amend whatever it is in the law so that we can have one that operates well.
The United Nations has just warned that 82 million Nigerians, which is about 64 percent of the country’s population, might face acute hunger by 2030, that is in the next six years. Do you agree with that projection?
If the trends of insurgency and terrorism which are increasing by the day are not addressed, that projection could be a child’s play at the end of the day. We may not even all be here; we may scatter and be elsewhere because people can’t go and do farm work. And even when they do, these criminals would go and destroy crops deliberately to ensure that the people are left without food.
So, what the UN is saying would happen if the insecurity in the land is not addressed and it may even be worse. So, the earlier our government doubles up to address the issues the better for all of us.
For instance, why should non-state actors be controlling parts of Nigeria, and why should we continue to live with insurgency when our military has the capacity to address some of the issues? So, let the president have real and adequate political will to address the issues. Let the sentiment of religion, ethnicity and all that be taken out and let us address the insecurity problems, otherwise what the UN is saying, as I said earlier may even be a child’s play.
Recently, a new terrorist group was reported to have emerged in the North Western states of Kebbi and Sokoto and have been killing and terrorizing residents in those areas. What do you have to say about the new development?
The truth is that these people have been around for some time, but it is unfortunate that our security agents have inadequate information about such development. They have kept mute over a long period of time until what is happening now started to happen. How will a government, an organised system called a state like Nigeria, allow foreigners to come into its territory and start implementing whatever it is at will?
It is a sign of state failure. And if one says that we are running a failed state, they will say no and attack you from all fronts, but it is unfortunate and something has to be done immediately. They have to be flushed out immediately and mercilessly. They are not Nigerians and we cannot allow foreigners to occupy our country. It doesn’t happen anywhere.
The National Assembly has just approved a $2.2 billion fresh loan for President Tinubu to complement the 2024 budget, what are your comments on that?
It is quite unfortunate that we are funding recurrent and unnecessary expenditures, not even capital projects, with loans, putting generations yet unborn in debts. It is quite unfortunate that Nigeria has found itself in this situation.
If the loan is for capital projects, Nigerians wouldn’t bother at all. But not when they are for consumption. After all the economic issues confronting Nigerians, it is unfortunate that we are still surviving on debts.
For example, if we have a project that is capital in nature, which will generate revenues for Nigeria, then we can say it is worth it but undefined terms like saying it is meant to complement; what are complementing? We are only getting Nigeria indebted and ruining the future of our country. These loans are not necessary
Nigerians just have to learn like the Indians did. At a stage, India even refused to import medicine, insisting that if Indians could not produce the medication required for her citizens, they should be left to die.
That was how India survived and today, it is among the developed nations of the world. So, it is unfortunate that we still have people who think that getting loans all the time is the way to go; that attitude has to change.
Whatever we have, let us work with it and develop production until we are able to survive and export. I think that is the way forward. I don’t support any loan taking any more because it will mortgage the future of our children.
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