Docile Opposition, Bane Of Vibrant National Assembly – Buhari

The meeting was very impressive. In politics, only you cannot do; only us can do it. It is just a very simple philosophy; divided we fall, united we stand. This is also applicable in politics; the more you are, the stronger you are. That is my simple take away from the meeting.

It may be that they were busy. When you call a meeting, you cannot expect everybody invited to be present. Let us assume that those who did not attend the meeting had some other important things to attend to, but they can send an apology. The issue is that the Press always exaggerate and blow things. The more you do that, you are just creating something out of nothing. If you call a meeting and I don’t feel like coming, it is not a big deal. Those of us who felt like going, we went and you saw us there.

But don’t you think the impression created by their absence at the meeting is that they are not interested in the reconciliation process?

You are the one speaking for them. You don’t know their minds. You don’t need to speak for anybody. The truth of the matter is that there are some people whose mindset is ‘let us wait and see. Is it (the meeting) genuine? How are they going about it? Are they sincere? If they are sincere, then, we will join them’. There are some other people who are like, ‘who are the people at the meeting? Are they sincere? Do they have honest opinions? If they are not, then we will stay away’.

Some people always look first before taking decisions and this is applicable to all aspects of life. It is just like an examination. If you are conducting an examination, what you will want to do is have a marking scheme to determine the pass mark. The moment you have 70 per cent, that is A. If you have more than 70 per cent, it is good. The remaining 30 per cent would see reason and appreciate you.

When you talk about reconciliation, what should come out from your mouth is soft word to allow people to see reason why the reconciliation must take place. Don’t forget that the opposition would be adding their own pepper to thwart the reconciliation process; they would be urging some of the aggrieved APC members not to attend the meeting. This is because we are talking about politics here; it is a game.

The opposition would be happy and they would be reaching out to the people that didn’t attend the meeting. It is a normal thing; just like as we too, are interested in some of the people who are not with them again in their own political parties.

So, don’t let us exaggerate or make any big deal out of those who didn’t attend the meeting. The most important thing is that there was a larger reconciliation meeting that was held in the house of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala in Ibadan. Some of us attended and, as far as I am concerned, it was a very big success.

Did you see the meeting as a big step towards ensuring success for the APC in the 2023 elections in the state?

It is too early. But if you ask me personally, I will say I want it that way. But I am one of the few people that face realities; I don’t deceive myself. You must do the needful and the right thing. You cannot be doing things in the same way and expect a different result.

If you are a politician, the meeting is a step in the right direction. For the first time, since after the 2019 elections, you saw all the aspirants sitting together at the Ibadan meeting and they were exchanging banters. That was commendable and even if that was the only thing achieved there, it was good. All of us were cracking jokes and shaking hands, in our new COVID-19 style, using the elbow.

And talking about who and who attended the meeting, we have two Oyo APC senators and the two of them were at the meeting; we have 10 elected members of the House of Representatives, eight of them were there; one is in England and the other is indisposed and he could not make the meeting.

You can now see that the meeting was really a success. We have plan to continue with the meetings. By the time we continue with this, and in unity, we will solidify and you will see a greater success. What we are doing is just like a German floor; it is the German flooring that we are doing now, to make it stronger and to be able to hold the pillar and the building.

That is a very beautiful question. But what next is in the hand of God. At the moment, what is my priority is to excel in my current assignment in the Senate and I am working hard to excel.

I am always happy when people ask me this question. Like you rightly said, I have been in the National Assembly for quite a while. Between 2015 and now, I have over 20 bills which is my primary assignment and I have several motions. Having over 20 bills as a senator gives me joy because it means that I am excelling in my primary assignment.

So, let me concentrate on what I am doing now. You can come back to me, maybe a year to the next elections and ask me same question. After I must have been able to assess myself, based on the assignment that was given to me by the people of the Oyo North Senatorial District, you can now ask me if I still feel like going back to the Senate, or if I am interested in the governorship or I want to be the president of the country or I want to go back home and face my business.

All over the world, the older and more experienced a legislator is, the better for legislative business. But that is not the case here in Nigeria. What is your take on continuity?

I am being honest with you, we have not reached there in this country and that is where people like you should come in. We need to re-orientate our people; most of them don’t know the reason they are not getting the dividends of democracy or attracting development into their areas.

By the time a newly-elected legislator is just settling down, the people will say ‘no, it is our turn o. You have had your own turn’. Because of the issues of rotation and ethnicity, most of our people don’t look at the competence of their representative or what he has been able to achieve. All what they are interested in is that the tenure of one has expired; it is the turn of another one. So, you now see that the products are always bad.

Based on my experience, if you enter the National Assembly or even the state House of Assembly, you will not be able to capture the Rule Book in the first three years. This is not what obtains in the US where the late John McCain spent 35 years in the Senate. Kennedy Junior has spent 28 years. Even Joe Biden who is now contesting for the American presidency was in the Senate for almost 40 years.

Now, let us come back home, the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, has been in the National Assembly since 1999. Arguably today, one of the best senators we have, James Manager from Delta State, has been in the National Assembly since 2003. The same thing with Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe who has been in the Senate since 2007. These people that I mentioned, because they have been there for a long time, know the rudiment of legislation.

But some people, I will not mention names here, go to the National Assembly and, for their four years, they will not even be able to stand up to mention their names, not to talk about addressing the floor. I will confess to you, legislative business is a tough job. The only thing a fresh legislator must have at the back of his mind is this: you wobble, you fumble. It is like an aircraft taking off: you drive on the runway; you take a speed, take-off and get to a cruising level.

You must learn. It is rough but, with determination and sacrifice, you can make a success of your career as a legislature. You have to read. Don’t be shy; talk to your colleagues, particularly, when you are able to identify somebody that is good.

While the role of the media in ensuring positive legislative business cannot be de-emphasised, the major bulk of the work rest on the politician. If you, as a legislator, really perform, your people will not have any problem in supporting you…

I know and it happens everywhere, even in the US, but the truth of the matter is that you just wait for such a person. In another four years, your thumb or your index finger will determine his fate when he comes back again. Unfortunately, 20 naira, 50 naira will not allow our people to do the right thing. They will tell you that it is because of poverty. Are we poorer than Ghana? It all bothers on self-contentment; unless you are able to convince me that the 500 naira they are giving you will solve your problems for the next four years.

Putting the right person there should be the first thing at the back of your mind. When you are able to do that, you are now laying the foundation for your own future; your children and grandchildren’s future. That is why I said the media should come in to re-orientate the people.

I sponsored a bill in the Eighth Assembly, but it didn’t see the light of the day. I sponsored it again in the Ninth Assembly. Now, it has gone through the first and second readings and the public hearing. I pray and hope the president will sign it. It is called the Mandatory Political Debate Bill.

If you look at what is happening in the US, do you know the person I love most is President Donald Trump? I love him, not for the good reason. Before the election that brought him as the president, the political debate showed him as a bad person and a bad leader, when compared with Hillary Clinton. But the Americans decided that they want him. That is not a problem; they should face him and bear all what he is doing to them. All what Trump is doing now came out during the debate.

Nigeria once had same experiment during the 1993 presidential election, but the system didn’t allow a robust debate to evolve…

You are right; we had it during the presidential debate between the late Chief MKO Abiola and his counterpart, Alhaji Bashir Tofa.

You made mention of robust bills, but the ninth Assembly is accused of being a rubber stamp of the executive, with Senate President Lawan saying he will accent to any bill brought to him by the president...

I will respond thus: in the Eighth Assembly, Senate President Bukola Saraki was accused of being too tough and that he only wanted money. That is Nigeria for you. When you are doing your job, they will say you are too tough and that you want more money. And when you are soft, they will say you are a rubber stamp legislator. But it does not work that way.

All over the world, the ruling party, if you have the majority, you will always want to work for the government. It is the opposition that is not vibrant. The present Assembly is not an all-APC parliament. If you are not in agreement with the majority, make your voice louder so that, at least, you will have one advantage; the majority will win, but the minority will have its say. So, why are you accusing us wrongly?

I remember in the Eighth Assembly, many people were fond of saying, ‘Don’t mind them; it is all about money and that is why they don’t want to pass the bills’. Now the Ninth Assembly is there, they are still saying ‘this one is too soft.’ what do you really want?

Nothing! Let me tell you this: You are going far. Two bills were rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari. One is called the National Transportation Commission Bill. The other one is called the Railway Corporation Commission Bill. He refused assent to them in the Eighth Assembly. I represented these two bills in the Ninth Senate. They have passed through the first, second and third readings. The two chambers of the National Assembly have passed them and we have presented them to the president for his accent.

This was after amending some of the observations by the president and which were genuine. For example, there was a particular clause which the president said is giving the power of the Minister of Works to the Minister of Transportation and that he does not want conflict within the executive arm of government. We clarified it and explained that no power is being taken away. The Highway Laws have already taken care of it because it has vested the power in the Minister of Works and that nobody can take it away. We explained it and they agreed with us. So, it is not that the highways will go under the Minister of Transportation.

Well, I was not there in the House of Representatives when they were doing all those things. But my belief is that what my colleagues in the Lower Chamber are asking is not much. It is not about probe; they were only asking questions. But it is the Press, as usual, that are turning it into something else.

What the Minister said was that we need to thread softly so that our funding partners would not be discouraged and run away. You know this oyinbos: they have one big problem. They are always afraid of their parliament and whenever their parliament say something, they obey it. They want a situation whereby our own parliament would stop the project which they have already invested in.

However, we have the mandate to ask how our money is being spent. This is because we are not only borrowing from China: We are doing what is called counterpart funding. So, I don’t think the minister is asking us not to ask questions. He was also a parliamentarian; he was a Speaker.

You see, my country Nigeria, is a very beautiful country to live in. Let me be honest with you; if I have my way, one of the things I will be begging journalists and the elite to do is to re-orientate the people. Don’t always pre-empt. I saw one funny scenario on the social media recently. The wife is not happy with her husband; that he is always squeezing his face and all that. She was even contemplating divorce. She discussed the issue with one of her uncles who advised her to ask her husband what is the matter. She went to the husband to ask what is causing tension in the house. The husband said: ‘Dear, I am sorry. It was because of the football match Chelsea lost to Arsenal’. Imagine what could have happened if she had gone ahead to kill her husband or even pack out of the house? We should not always pre-empt.

Yes, I agree. That is why I said we should embark on re-orientation. You see, we are failing ourselves. Who elected these leaders?

Of course, the electorate, but the four years of an elected public officer can be demanding, that is why I am praying and begging God that my bill, the Mandatory Political Debate Bill, sails through. It will be able to weed out many things: Number one, if you don’t have certificate; number two, if you are not competent; and three, if you don’t have the confidence to face the crowd or audience. You must be sure and have the confidence that you can face the genuine Press that would have genuine questions bothering on love for their state and country.

Secondly, when the aspirants now show up that they can do it, they should be able to tell us their programmes. There is what is called a blueprint. When you ask somebody, like they do in the US, on his or her take on education, health, transport and infrastructure, for examples, such a person should be able to tell us how they hope to finance and fund those beautiful ideas he has. He must be able to explain to us that he knows what he is doing.

Somebody wants to be governor and he has nothing upstairs. Somebody wants to go to the state House of Assembly or the National Assembly and you put him there because he gives you money, he will never get it right in the next 50 years.

Let me tell you and I am sincerely not playing politics about it. As a member of the House of Representatives, 17 years ago, I was one of the few people that followed former President Olusegun Obasanjo to launch this road. It is very sad that up till today, it has not been completed. Even the portion they claimed to have done is getting bad.

If you look at the numbers of Nigerians dying on the old road, that alone is enough for anybody who wants to be a senator or a politician, to be humane and be moved by what is going on. About two or three years ago, I was traveling on that road and I witnessed an accident involving promising students of a higher institution of learning. All of them died in that accident.

I moved a motion on the floor of the Eighth Assembly, that was when they wanted to do some patching on some roads. Some of us from this axis put pressure on the Minister of Works. But the truth of the matter is that the contractors are not going to site because they are not paid.

But thank God, they have been mobilised now and they have been working up to Elega. It is Elega to Ogbomoso that will join the Ilorin portion of the road. I passed through the road last Saturday. I saw the contractors building the bridge. I think they are waiting for more fund. It will be my joy to see the road  completed.