Mr. Martin Onovo, the 2015 presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) and chieftain of the Movement for Fundamental Change (MFC), which is committed to the restoration of the rule of law and constitutional values, is dynamic, fearless and articulate. He spoke to The Next Edition Reporter, SIMPLE IKEM, on the recent killing of Nigerian soldiers by Boko Haram, the economy and other crucial issues.
TNE: With the recent killing of over 100 soldiers by the Boko Haram, would you support the call for the sack of Security Chiefs?
Authority and responsibility go together. The security chiefs were appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Commander-in-Chief and overall, he directs and supervises the Security Chiefs. He must accept responsibility for all security weaknesses and failures. If we sack the Security Chiefs and appoint others, the new Security Chiefs will still be under the direction and supervision of the Commander-in-Chief. We must sack the Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Buhari. He is unable to lead the security chiefs to success against insurgents and terrorists. He has previously shown very shocking tolerance towards terrorists and insurgents.
The Melete attack and all such losses were predictable and were accurately predicted by us. While our soldiers were being demotivated by corruption, poor welfare, inadequate men and equipment, the government paid a ransom of two million Euros (€2M) to Boko Haram for the release of some kidnapped Nigerian citizens. Apparently, Boko Haram has used these funds to reorganise and re-arm its terrorists to continue to attack our people and our soldiers. We predicted this very accurately. But, the government was more interested in scoring cheap political points. If we sack the Service Chiefs and retain the Commander-in-Chief, the situation will not change. The problem of Nigeria is the political leadership. We must sack the Commander-in-Chief.
TNE: South-East politicians criticised the recent closed-door meeting of their leaders with President Buhari, saying the President has nothing to offer the region. What is your take on this?
Buhari is a catastrophic failure. He has nothing good to offer Nigeria. He has nothing good for the North-West. He has nothing good for the South-East. Since Buhari was sworn in, insecurity has got worse, corruption has got much worse and the economy has been ruined.
Presently, Boko Haram has resurged and is killing our soldiers and country men in hundreds. Terrorist herdsmen are over-running farming communities, killing innocent farmers, destroying farms and occupying communities from the North-East to the South-South. Kidnappers operate freely across the country from Ondo State to Kaduna State. In 2015, we had about 1.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Now, with the increasing security crisis, we have about four million IDPs.
Corruption is now promoted with impunity while the simple-minded are deceived with a very elaborate false anti-corruption propaganda. The U.S. Department of State has reported “massive corruption” in the present government and Transparency International has rated Nigeria 148th from 136th in its ‘Corruption Perception Index”. The $25 billion NNPC contracts scam is the biggest ever in Nigeria.
The national economy has been completely ruined. We have gone from a growing economy in 2015 when this regime came to power, to economic recession in 2016 and to economic stagflation in 2017 and into a debt trap in 2018. Millions of workers have lost their jobs. Unemployment is very high, hyper-inflation is unabated, and poverty is so high that Nigeria is currently the world capital of extreme poverty. The reckless and unpatriotic borrowing by this government has returned Nigeria to a debt trap after the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo government got Nigeria out of a debt trap in 2006.
TNE: How do you see the recent PDP challenge to President Buhari for a live television debate with Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate?
In any authentic democracy, the people are sovereign. The people elect their leaders freely. For the people to make the right choice, the candidates must present themselves and their policy directions to the people. A debate is a very good opportunity for candidates to present themselves and their policy directions comparatively for the people to assess the candidates and their policy directions. Debates by candidates surely help the people to choose better leaders.
Since Buhari refused to participate in the 2015 presidential debate, many suspect that he will also refuse to participate in the 2019 debate. The mass media, as the constitutional watchdog, can insist that Buhari must debate against other candidates.
TNE: Chief Ayo Adebanjo, an Afenifere leader, recently said that the APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, cannot cajole South-West to vote for President Buhari as the region did in 2015. He said the region would support Atiku Abubaker based on his promise to restructure the country. What is your take on this?
Chief Adebanjo may be right. He is a popular leader in Afenifere and the position of Afenifere on re-structuring was announced a long time ago. Most Nigerian citizens from the South-West understand that Buhari is not qualified to run for president of Nigeria. They know that Buhari is very old, weak and slow. They know that his vision is sectional, parochial and obsolete. They know he is physically and intellectually very weak. And most importantly, they know that his failure in government is catastrophic. According to Dr. Femi Aribisala, Ph. D. (Oxford), the Buhari government is the “Worst government in the history of Nigeria.”
TNE: Some activists recently agreed to support the candidacy of Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC). How would you react to this development?
Individuals that agreed to support Sowore are very few. Sowore’s political platform is new and weak. We need the right candidate supported by a coalition of parties to defeat the old order of the two factions of the unpatriotic and corrupt ruling political class in Nigeria. No tiny fraction of political activists can mobilise the democratic tide to overwhelm the old, corrupt, failed and recycled political rulers of Nigeria. Mr. Sowore is definitely a better candidate than Buhari.
TNE: What are the issues that would determine the direction of South-East voters in the 2019 general elections?
The issues that will determine the direction of South-East voters in the 2019 elections include the identification of South-East voters with a particular candidate that highlights their challenges with the commitment and credible plans to address these challenges. Political and social inclusion of the South-East is also a major issue, particularly with respect to the exclusion of the South-East by the current regime. The South-East will most definitely vote against Buhari who led Nigeria into economic recession, very high unemployment, hyper-inflation, extreme poverty and very high national debt.
TNE: What would you say about infrastructural development in the current administration?
Infrastructural development in the current administration is very poor. National infrastructure has decayed further under this current Federal Government. National infrastructure cannot be developed with false propaganda. We have seen Nigerian presidency officials lifting construction photographs from I-Stock photos on the internet to post as false evidence of infrastructural development by this government. So far, this administration spent pro-rata about N2.6 trn of the 2015 budget. It spent N6 trn in the 2016 budget, N8 trn in 2017 and N9 trn in 2018. The total is about N25.6 trn so far. It also incurred several extra-budget expenses. There is no significant infrastructural development to show for these colossal sums. There is no new refinery, no new electric power station, no new Niger Bridge, no new teaching hospital, no new university, no new major road. We must hold the current Federal Government to account for these colossal sums.
TNE: How realistic is the alleged plan of APC to give its presidential slot to South-East in 2023 election?
It may be another deceitful political promise. There are reports that they also promised the same 2023 presidential slot to the South-West. A party that denied and disregarded the written campaign promises it made to Nigerians for the 2015 general elections cannot be trusted to keep unwritten political promises.
It must be recalled that Buhari also undertook to do only one term when he was running in 2011, but now wants a second term in 2019 when he would be 77-years-old so that he can stay in office till 2023 when he will be 81-years-old. We should not believe any political promise made by the ruling party or Buhari.
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TNE: How would you assess the performance of this current INEC leadership?
The current INEC leadership is very clearly partisan. The current INEC Chairman and the former Acting Chairperson were appointed by Buhari and are both from the same region and religion as Buhari. In addition, the former Acting Chairperson who is still a National Commissioner in INEC is reported to be a direct niece of Buhari. Since 2015, INEC under the current leadership has not hidden its partisan bias. In the Kogi governorship issue following the death of a candidate after the elections, INEC sought and used the opinion of the Attorney-General of the Federation who is partisan. In the case of the allegations of double registration against the Kogi State governor, INEC saw no evil. In the case of Buhari who does not have the minimum constitutional academic requirement, INEC neglected to disqualify Buhari and instead, advised citizens to go to court. In the case of the Ekiti and Osun states elections, INEC again showed its bias.
The current INEC leadership cannot conduct free, fair and credible elections. The INEC Chairman and the Federal Commissioner Amina Zakari, Buhari’s direct consanguineous niece, must resign because they have not been fair and cannot be fair. They can be re-appointed to other positions.
