Ekiti, Osun guber polls, litmus tests for 2015 –Elebute

Public affairs analyst and chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Lagos Mainland Province, Dr. Moses Tunde Elebute, in this interview with PRODUCTION EDITOR Ejikeme Omenazu speaks on what should be major issues at the National Conference and the importance of celebrating Nigeria’s Centenary. Elebute also discusses the expectations from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections as well as the recent suspension of the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Excerpts… 

As the National Confab took off last Thursday and Friday, what is your view on the ‘No go areas’ decreed by the president?

Dr. Moses Tunde Elebute

The ‘No go area’ is on the unity of Nigeria. The president does not want the nation to be broken under his presidency. I believe that Nigeria should remain one. If for nothing, the ‘No go area’ will keep the nation together. It is a welcome decision. Otherwise, I would have wanted a situation theethnic groups will sit down together, take a decision on whether they will live together. I believe Nigeria should remain one and we settle our differences, work out ways we can live together in harmony and love.

What is your view on the large number of people going to the National Conference through the appointment of the president?

I believe that was wrong. That he is president does not make him the most intelligent person in the nation. While I agree that he should be given someslots, it should not have been too many. The people he nominated can provide stability and unity during the conference. But if they are larger than the other groups, it will no longer be free for people to speak their mind. Most of their opinions will be what the president wants.

What do you think should be the major issues for discussion at the conference?

It has been my view that the issue of indigeneship should be on the agenda. We are Nigerians. Nigerians should have the right to live anywhere they like in the nation, acquire properties, practice the religions they choose, have the right to vote and be voted for where they live. In USA, we have Nigerians who are Mayors. Even naturalised Nigerians should be allowed to vote and be voted for during elections. The situation whereby people are driven away to their states of origin, wrongly termed as deportation, should not arise. They should also be careful in deciding on resource control. They should discuss what will unite the country and encourage Nigerians to be patriotic and contribute in any part they live without fear that one day their properties will be confiscated, or they are asked to leave. They should also discuss the essence of leadership, who should be our leader? We need to know who should be allowed to lead, the process of selecting leaders. They should also discuss the issue of corruption and how corruption will be reduced. They should also discuss the wages of public officers and how our politics will be an avenue of service. They should also discuss how people in government will not be stealing money and how we can develop our export.

President Jonathan recently said that the centenary celebration is more important that Democracy Day. Do you agree with him?

We should celebrate the centenary. It is in order. Things are not as bad as people think. We will benefit from it one way or the other. We have gained from being together as a nation. Majority of people do not worry where everyone comes from. People have been living together in parts of the country. It is our leaders that are fanning the ambers of disunity.  Average Nigerians are not tired of living together. Leaders should watch what they say and do. We should also celebrate the Democracy Day Both the Centenary and May 29 Democracy Day are important to the nation, even as the October 1 Independence anniversary is equally important.

Some people feel that the fund being spent on the centenary celebration is a waste. Do you agree with them?

Wherever human beings are, do not expect perfection. I do not consider structure, establishment of structures and buildings of markets as waste. Look at Festac Town in Lagos and other things built by the government during the FESTAC 77. They are still useful till today. Through the Centenary, businesses will be created for people and a lot of people will be gainfully engaged.

Ekiti and Osun states will hold their governorship elections this year. What do you think INEC should do to avoid a repeat of Anambra State experience?

The INEC should learn from mistakes of the past. They should look at the areas they did well and improve upon them. Where they made mistakes, they should correct themselves. They should do what is called SWOT Analysis. By SWOT we mean S for Strengths, W for Weakness, O for Opportunity, T for Threats. They should look at the dangers and prepare to mitigate all problems. They should prepare their staff, materials required far earlier than what they did during the Anambra election. The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and their teams in the states, Ekiti and Osun, should familiarise themselves with the terrains in the states and know how and when materials should leave their stores and the particular areas they are meant for. The question of materials not available should not be there. If they mess up in these elections this year, people will doubt their ability in conducting free and fair election in 2015. They should make elections the best so far.

What is your view on the recent suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi?

The suspension of Sanusi is a step in the right direction. It is a step that should have come earlier. But it is better to be late than never. If not for the time the president did it, many people would have agreed with him. But now, it seems he is being punished for revealing the corruption in NNPC. There is no doubt that he made some achievements. He is bold and can speak his mind. Nigerians benefited from his tenure. However, there are some actions he took and decisions he made that did not go down well with Nigerians. And he embarrassed the government on several occasions. This is nit the time that the country should be embarrassed when we are expecting investors to come to Nigeria. There were some expenditure he made that seemed questionable. His banking reforms made many people jobless. Reforms are good, but his efforts were not the best. He played to the gallery by the removal of some bank owners and put them in jail. His donation of money on religious reasons was questionable. No one would have questioned him if he had donated to universities for researches in areas of banking and finance, his core area.

What do you mean that the donations he made were questionable?

The donations he made because of Boko Haram were questionable. He could have sponsored and organised trainings for bankers. He should have spent money within his area of jurisdiction. One would advise government to be careful when appointing people. They should not appoint religious fanatics to positions because they will be bias doe to their lopsided views of the society.  We need fair minded people in every section of the country.

However, one has to express reservations over the nominee submitted to the Senate for confirmation as new CBN Governor. Why I have nothing against the persons he nominated as Sanusi’s successor and his deputy, one would have expected the president to nominate someone from South West. It has been a long time someone from the geo-political zone occupied that position. If he had appointed someone from South West, that would have helped to neutralise the allegations of marginalisation of the zone by the Jonathan administration.