, who worked in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture; Raw Materials Research & Development Council, was the Director, Planning, Research, and Data Bank at the then National Agricultural Land Development Authority and later, served in a similar capacity in Space Science Office, Presidency from where he retired in December 2000. He spoke to on defects in the existing federal arrangement, 1999 Constitution and possible antidotes to national malaise.  

ONE of the issues doing the rounds in the political arena has to do with the Bill in the House of Representatives, seeking to make voting compulsory for all eligible Nigerians. It provides that whoever fails to comply with the proposed enactment should pay N1000, 000 as fine.

The National Assembly and the political class are living in the world of their own. They are so cocky and they are so arrogant. As far as they are concerned, it is like they see us as their subjects and the quest for them as that during election circles, we should endorse whatever they bring and then, they continue in their ways. So, they are beginning to realize now that the total number of voters is constituently becoming few. For example, in the last general election, less than 10 million voters endorsed President Bola Tinubu for president. If we 200 million as people normally say and you have just one percent elect president, that is not a legitimate election. I think that they are worried about the fact that they are becoming illegitimate in terms of the numbers people that vote at elections. In other countries, you must have 51 percent of the registered voters for the election to be valid. But in Nigeria, any number goes and they are worried and want to compel people to vote. Let them build more prisons; I for one would like to be in prison, at least they give us free food. Let them budget for free food for prisoners. When you are outside and you can’t eat, why not go to the prison and eat rice! So, the idea of compulsory voting and criminalising non-compliance is the stupidity of the highest order. But any stupid idea can pass because the whole system is occupied.

The governance system in Nigeria is not valid; it is not legitimate. One, the Constitution of Nigeria is not legitimate. We have been saying it. We need to write a new constitution that would give power not to states as federating units. States are not federating units. It is the ethnic nationalities that are the federating units.  It is the Yorubas, the Igbos, the Ijaws, the Igbiras and many others that ought to federate. So, the Yorubas would elect serious Yorubas to represent them. But Osun State, as it is now, for example, is artificial. Ditto Oyo, and others states. Look at Ogun State, they want to create Ijebu State. The Remos, that is, comprise ijebus, say they don’t want it that way because the boundaries were created by the colonial regime under provinces: Ondo Province, Ijebu Province; Ibadan province. They just put people together. Look at Osun State, the Ijesas are speaking like the people from Osogbo in language, everything is different. We don’t belong to one unit, though we are Yorubas. But the Ijesas would like to govern themselves through their representatives. The  Okuku-Igbajo are also on their own. We actually have 26 sub-nations in Yoruba land so, if you base on the 26, we would be a federation of Yorubas in the Western Region. The Ijesas would not cheat the Ijebus; the Ijebus would not cheat Remo, and so on. But the things run saying we are Yorubas is not equitable. 

No, let’s not be afraid of truth; let’s pursue truth wherever it lives. What we are operating now is not legitimate. We know it. No human society is totally perfect. Let’s change, at least, if you know that what you are doing is wrong. We can’t because of the fear of what would happen refuse to change. I’m an Ijesa person and a Yoruba person, and then I’m a Nigerian. Nobody can dispute that at all, okay. How big is Gambia? How big is Sao Tome?  Most of the people in Benin Republic are Yorubas. Because we are afraid of what might happen, we are now sentenced to uselessness. That is the issue. We should go straight to the point.

 I think that what is going in the National Assembly is a joke. They have just passed 39 amendments. If you have a clause that you are amending 39 times, why not throw the clause away and consolidate into one. You have already amended 40 clauses before; they are now amending 39 times again. So, does it make sense to be amending 39 times? Is not good to just throw away the clause? Let’s have a fresh look at Nigeria. We cannot even maintain 36 states any more. They are not accountable; they don’t publish their budgets. They spend security votes anyhow. Does that make sense? We have to discuss and find a better way; let’s find another way so that we can make progress. We should not be stuck on the path because we are afraid of change. That’s our problem; we are afraid of change even though we know we are all suffering, we are all reduced to nothing by the National Assembly. That’s why they think they can come up with this kind of bill; that they can force you to go to prison if you don’t go out to vote. Can you imagine their mindset! We are their slaves, as far as they are concerned!  

These people were elected by the Nigerian electorate….

They were not elected; they were selected. 

Oh, there was a glitch, like the UTME glitch now! At least, the executive secretary of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede was seen crying, whereas the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu  is just wearing new agbada and new cap in his own case; he has not cried like Oloyede. At least, Oloyede was fair to agree that there was a glitch. There will be many more glitches because we are not ready to do what is right. The authorities are planning to conduct a national census. .

Because the source of water is polluted, you cannot get things right unless. Take for example, there are two emirs in Kano. Do you expect a reliable headcount from there? Everything is based on fraud. 

We don’t have any cart; neither do we have any horse. We must first configure Nigeria along ethnic nationality line. Let the Yorubas identify themselves. Let the Hausas not be under Fulani again. Let the Ibibios stand. Let’s compete on that basis, the way it was in the 1960s. When we compete on that basis, there will positive changes. If the Yorubas are doing better, people will copy. . If the Igbos are doping better, the Hausas will copy. You have to believe in your nationality and your identity. But we are competing now on the basis of nothingness. Unless we change the rules of the game, we are not going to get a different result. 

We will go through it. I’m involved and there is a national summit under Chief Emeka Anyaoku that is coming up shortly. It is the last effort. I’m of the secretariat of that summit. We will put pressure on the Tinubu administration  and say ‘this is a better alternative’. They are not going to give up easily; it is a battle of wits. But we have to fight for it. If this summit works well, then we will have an instrument and alternative to the constitution. 

There is bound to be a stiff resistance from some circles, especially whose are benefiting from the system and would want the status remain. How is it going to take care of such interest and individuals?

Power is not given a la carte. What we doing now can solve all Nigeria’s problems completely. But we are saying let us give dialogue and intellect. If this effort fails, and they do the next election based on the current system, it will be too bad for the country.