By Dickson Okafor
Abumchukwu N. Okoye, national coordinator, Take Back Nigeria Initiative (TBNI), has described the coalition of opposition parties as power chasers who have no plans to build the country. He also spoke on other issues of national importance.
Excerpts:
What is your assessment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s two years in office?
Within two years of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, things have not been easy for Nigerians because most families are living below the poverty line. Nigerians are facing acute hardship and hunger because of the economic reform of the government. Notwithstanding, to some extent, President Tinubu has performed well during his two years in office. Even though he was not expected to succeed with the challenges he met on ground. We know that he met an empty purse and we know how much Nigeria was owing. The worst and critical issue was fuel subsidy. How can you be paying fuel subsidy and you are owing World Bank and other international financial agencies billions of dollars and you want the economy to flourish? This is the template President Tinubu met on ground when he took over in May 29, 2023. The link road between the South-West and the South-South, which posed a great challenge, the construction is ongoing, which is the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. You can also see that the enemies of democracy are losing the battle when it comes to the economy, because with the ongoing reform policies of government things are improving even though the reform has brought hardship and pains to Nigerians. It will soon be over. As we speak, prices of some foodstuff and items are going down and, unfortunately, some uninformed people are saying Tinubu caused the hike in food prices because he wants to use it to cause problem. This shows that some people are working intentionally to make sure President Tinubu does not succeed, but this administration has proved them wrong. Look at infrastructural development going on across country plus student loan that is being run by this government. The government is working tirelessly day and night to ensure Nigeria survives.
As the opposition coalition gathers momentum with political gladiators like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and Rauf Aregbesola behind it, don’t you think the alliance could be a threat the ruling party in 2027?
We need strong opposition to keep the ruling party on its toes. So, it is a matter of choice. Of course, the coalition becomes important because the main opposition parties are weak and they lack the character and strength to be a strong opposition. It is not the fault of APC that key opposition members are joining them. Unfortunately, the coalition crusaders are power chasers not nation-builders. The majority of them are politicians who have held public offices, but did not give good account of themselves. It is only Peter Obi who has a clean record, when he was Governor of Anambra State. They tricked him to join the coalition and, as it stands, Atiku will not step down for Peter Obi and that will create a brighter chance for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027. If Atiku had supported Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of PDP in 2023, they would have won. I don’t see the coalition dethroning President Tinubu with Atiku as its presidential candidate. However, the South must complete their eight years before power will go back to the North. So, more key members of the opposition will defect to APC before the end of the year, because democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people.
What has Nigeria gained from the June 12, 1993, struggle for which MKO Abiola paid the supreme price to restore democracy?
The death of Abiola was an eye-opener and brought about political awareness. If you see what Abiola has done for us, you will know that in all ramifications Abiola’s death brought about political awareness and the tables had to turn. Our brothers across the mountain were bent on holding on to power perpetually, but because of the death of Abiola and the struggle of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), power was handed over to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 as a compensation for the death of Abiola, the winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election and later June 12 was named Democracy Day in Nigeria. It was meant to be so, but our experience towards democracy has shown that this brand of democracy, which the West gave to us, is not our own brand of democracy. We must device our own system based on who we are. We believe in our local system just like option A4, which the late Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, the former NEC chairman, used to conduct the most credible and transparent election in Nigeria. However, this must not stop us from knowing that Abiola died for our freedom, he died to actualise true democracy and if Abiola had not died we won’t have uninterrupted democracy that we have today. We would have autocracy of those who say they are born to rule. To them, President Tinubu is a disturbance because Tinubu is not pursuing their agenda, which is not favourable to Nigeria’s unity.
