Dr Eddie Olafeso
The immediate past National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (South-West), Dr Eddie Olafeso, speaks with OLUFEMI OLANIYI on the lingering security crisis in the country, and why he accepted the result of the election between him and Ambassador Taofeeq Arapaja during the recent PDP Congress held in Osogbo
The level of insecurity in Nigeria now is frightening. What do you suggest should be done to bring it back from the brink?
We need good leadership. We need seriousness, justice, equity and we need to bring the nation together. At independence, a lot of things happened that did not bring Nigeria together. The first regional government worked and succeeded very well and created competition among the regions. We have to look at the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and make sure that each of the federating units is autonomous and that they can act together in a way that will make Nigeria a great nation. The security problem in the country has to do with leadership incompetence. I have said at various fora that a nation without borders is just an open field for crime. From Libya to Senegal to Chad and to Niger and northern Cameroon, the country is just open for all criminals. Hoodlums and people that are willing to short-change Nigeria because they have no stake in it just troop in on a daily basis. Everything boils down to leadership because if a good leader comes in, he or she will have to take a look at all these and the way we live together. Such will ensure equity and make sure that everybody has a stake in modern Nigeria that we all can call our own.
But there is an ECOWAS treaty that allows citizens of ECOWAS countries to move into countries in the region. What do you think will happen to this?
The treaty does not stipulate that you should abdicate your responsibility as a sovereign state that must protect its own territory. So, which treaty will prevent security agents from carrying out their duties and make sure that individuals coming into the country are properly screened to know that their coming will not endanger our lives? That has nothing to do with ECOWAS, it is about us and the laziness of the leadership.
Many of these criminals come through illegal routes because of the porous borders. How do you think this can be checked?
Man your borders. Ensure you monitor the Seme Border, monitor our borders with Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroon. Make sure everywhere is properly manned. Post immigration operatives everywhere and make sure that people cannot just penetrate easily. It is simple, but they don’t want to do it because they are benefiting from the madness. Can you imagine the number of arms and ammunition ferried across to Nigeria from the desert and nobody stops them on the way? The impunity of committing crime in Nigeria without any form of deterrence is the reason why crime is flourishing.
South-West Speakers last week urged governors in the region to come together and purchase drones and helicopters for surveillance. Do you think this is a good idea?
Whatever each of the federating units can do to secure their people is okay. Security of the people is their first responsibility. Each state must also do everything to protect the lives and property of their people, so it is not out of place if they can do that. But they have created an insecure environment where people are not even settled to get involved in any commercial enterprise that will bring money and to make the people taxable. Our country is in dire need of good leadership at the local government, state and federal levels. The whole system is decadent.
South-West governors some months ago held a meeting and announced that they had banned open grazing. The same position was taken by all the Southern governors a few days ago. Do you think the South-West governors are serious about enforcing this ban?
Time will tell. If there is a gap between what they promised and what they deliver, it means they have failed. There are consequences for failure. I have confidence that they will do the right thing.
Some people have said that restructuring will help in no small measure to address many of the problems confronting Nigeria. What is your position on restructuring?
We need to change the constitution. We have no stake in the 1999 Constitution because it was done by the military. They invited those they felt they could invite. It was like a circus show of the military that was handed over to us. ‘We the people’ in that constitution is a fraud! The lawmakers should question it. The soldiers wrote it and not the people of Nigeria. Let us create a new constitution that will take into consideration our differences and what will unite us.
The economy is in crisis now and prices of foodstuffs have skyrocketed. What is the solution?
The reason for food scarcity is obvious. Farmers have since abandoned their farms because of insecurity. Fishermen can no longer go fishing for fear of being kidnapped. Those of us who rear domestic birds can no longer do so because their feed has become very expensive. Farms are destroyed with impunity, farmers are kidnapped, raped, some maimed and some killed. So what is next? Hunger is the next level promised by the APC (All Progressives Congress) government. Hunger is very deadly. It will kill more people than Boko Haram, kidnappers and even COVID-19. Many Nigerians are extremely hungry, having nothing to eat. It has never been this bad. Those who you think are okay are not okay at all. It is terrible and something drastic needs to be done about it. It is so unfortunate that in the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.
How do you think the PDP can be repositioned, especially in the South-West?
I have set an example. I made myself the sacrifice for unity and for peace to reign. In an election which I clearly won, they said there was an arranged victory with 13 votes despite that most of the votes voided were mine. They even allocated some ballots that were not accredited and we agreed because we wanted peace to reign. I sacrificed all that because I did not want anybody’s blood to be spilled. I decided to build the party by my sacrifice. Whosever is desperate about building the party should be given a chance. We will continue to support the party. For me, what is most important is building the party and affecting the lives of Nigerians positively and not holding a position where I will be ineffective to serve my people. Being united and ensuring that we play the game according to the rules and ensuring that the constitution of the party is taken seriously are important. The greatest problem Nigeria has are the political parties. They are far from being sincere about the process of producing leadership. That has been the reason we always have mediocre people in charge. That has been our bane. For me, we can do it. I have nowhere to run to. I started with the PDP and I will remain there and will continue to work for the betterment of my party, no matter the persecution on my way.
Do you mean that the South-West Congress of the PDP was rigged in favour of the winner, Ambassador Taofeeq Arapaja?
The process was messed up completely but we have gone past that now and it is no longer important. When I was the chairman, I was able to produce the governor in Oyo State. We also did it in Osun State but you know what happened. The present chairman should also do his own and I will continue to support him wherever I can.
