Ambassador Omolade Oluwateru was the deputy governor of Ondo State during the six-year administration of the late governor Olusegun Agagu. The former envoy, who once served as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Uganda, shares views on governance in his state and the state of the nation in this interview with PETER DADA
You have kept a low profile in recent years, what have you been up to?
I have not been talking to the press but I have been doing a lot within my party. You know I’m a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, in addition to being one of the leaders in Ondo State. So, we have been doing quite a lot trying to bring our people together and talking to the presidential aspirants as to how they can come together and reduce their number. Even though the constitution doesn’t mandate them to, they can adopt a consensus candidate among themselves or at least reduce their number to the barest minimum. However, as democrats, we believe everybody has the right to show interest and prove that they can do the job. The final decision lies with the delegates at the convention.
Your party is making efforts to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2023 presidential election, how serious is that bid?
We are in the opposition, but Nigerians can testify that things are not normal in Nigeria now; is it the economy, security or the unity of the country? The country is so sharply divided now. A lot of work has to be done; whoever is coming in as the next president must be somebody who can bring everybody together. There are problems everywhere; in the North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West, even North-Central and the South-South. Why are there agitations in some parts of the country? It is because things are not moving as they should. The economy is so bad that everybody is complaining. When PDP left power in 2015, the dollar was about N190 to a dollar in the black market, but today the dollar is about N600. In the early 1970s when I was in school in the United States, whenever I sent money home, they exchanged $2 for N1. Today, it is so ridiculous. Throughout the time Obasanjo was there, even when I was the deputy governor, a dollar was still around N120 by the time we left office in 2009. Look at the debt portfolio now. So, if we are to say the truth, the economy is in a shambles. You spend over 90 per cent of the total income generated on debt servicing and you now depend on borrowing to survive. Where in the world would you find that? How do we grow in such a situation? Even when they borrow, they are not borrowing money for investment, it is for consumption. These are problems that must be addressed.
Apart from the economy, would you say the government has done well in other areas?
The level of insecurity in the country is very terrible. During the PDP era, we were crying that Boko Haram invaded our country and it was restricted to certain areas in the North-East, but see what is happening today. We must not shy away from telling the truth. See what is happening in the North-West and North-Central. With the attacks in Kaduna and the Kaduna-Abuja highway, if care is not taken, they might attack the presidential lodge very soon, God forbid. This government has not done well. When they were campaigning, they said Nigerians should give them three to six months to chase out all the terrorists, but they (terrorists) are growing wings day in, day out. Terrorists attack barracks and cart away ammunition. Honestly, things have degenerated so much that there is the need for proper change not the kind of change the APC talked about. In the South-East, urgent attention is needed with the situation of things in that area. Even in the South-West, people are being kidnapped. You can’t even travel by road from Akure to Abuja without the fear of being attacked. Flight is also not affordable by people who could take that option in the past. Every Nigerian knows now that the present government has failed. There is no need for these (APC) people to be there again. We have tried PDP and we have tried APC government for almost seven years now, so people should be able to compare and contrast the one that is better. A bag of rice when the PDP was in government was between N7,000 and N8,000, but today it sells for between N28,000 and N30,000. What we have now is hyperinflation. You know how much you bought a litre of fuel during the PDP era and you know the price now. I was Nigeria’s ambassador to Uganda from 2012 to 2015, so we know how things have changed. Nothing is working.
Many people are also skeptical that the PDP could bring about the desired change.
We are very serious, that’s why many people are jostling for the presidential ticket of the party. We want to make sure we pick the best among the aspirants. All of them are eminently qualified but we need someone who can win the election and perform; I mean someone with the capacity, knowledge, courage and fitness to govern. We need someone who can take bold steps that will take us out of this terrible situation we are in now. So, PDP is very serious about it.
What is the position of the party’s leadership over the option of consensus?
That consensus issue relates to a particular set of aspirants. It is not the party’s policy. If they can reach a consensus, it is good, but we are democrats and in a democracy you allow everybody to participate. At the end, the majority will have their way while the minority will have their say. There is nothing bad if all of them go for the primary but if they can reduce the number within themselves, it’s alright. However, nobody will force them to do it.
Are you sure the best among the aspirants will emerge, considering the fact that delegates tend to move towards the highest bidder and moneybags?
The best will emerge because even among those you called moneybags are some of the best. Some will bring out money but people will look out for quality. You may be shocked that someone will bring out the money and still lose because they will look at his records, character and capacity. There are a lot of things we have to take into consideration.
The issue of power rotation has been on for a long time. Some believe it’s the turn of the South while some believe it should be left open, which side are you on?
The party has ruled that everybody should be allowed to contest because we want the best for the country. However, let us be sincere, PDP was in power for 16 years, out of which (Chief
Olusegun) Obasanjo spent eight years, (late Umaru) Yar ‘Adua spent about two years and (Dr Goodluck) Jonathan spent about six years. If we are to be fair, PDP should not say we should pick people from the south again because 14 out of the 16 years that PDP ruled was by southerners. In my personal opinion, I believe the North should be allowed to also have their way this time round. As far as the PDP is concerned, the South cannot continue to dominate the other part of the country in terms of power.
The primaries are a few days away, what are the measures put in place to ensure free and fair primaries of the PDP?
We are putting a lot of things in place, but it is the delegates who would pick whoever they believe should be the candidate.
How do you plan to handle the usual dissatisfaction by some persons after the primaries?
The moment the aspirants see that the process is transparent, free and fair, they won’t raise eyebrows and everyone will support whoever emerges as the candidate.
Many people were not happy with the high cost of expression of interest and nomination forms sold by both your party and the APC, do you think the forms were too expensive?
Honestly, that of APC was too outrageous for N100m. What is that man going to earn for the whole tenure, if he doesn’t steal or manipulate things. But then, that is the APC. The parties believe they have to organise so many things, like the screening. You are not going to ask the aspirants to contribute money to pay for the accommodation or feeding of the screening committee members. No, it is the secretariat that will pay for it. For the convention, they would have to hire some things. These are some of the areas they have to spend money on. That of PDP is not too much, same for the SDP, but that of APC, particularly when they are the party in government, is outrageous and exorbitant. N100m?
Should the parties wait till election time to get revenue; shouldn’t there be a way to get money from members, maybe dues?
In advanced countries, the parties have ways of making money. The party members contribute on a monthly or annual basis to the purse of the party. In our case, go and ask an average Nigerian to bring N500, they won’t, because they believe they have not even earned money to eat not to talk of contributing anything to the party. It is only a few of us who contribute money towards the running of the party. Don’t forget, the people at the party secretariat will earn salary or allowance. You will also maintain it (the secretariat). In advanced countries, people contribute money and candidates raise money to prosecute their election. In this part of the world, the economy is the problem. Somebody who has not seen anything to eat won’t be able to contribute to the party’s purse.
What about those supporters who have been donating to buy forms for candidates?
Let’s agree that it is their supporters that are buying forms for them. Of course, there are many rich supporters. These businessmen want to have a say that they assisted the person to get there. In the PDP, we gave concessions to the youths and women; they paid a lower amount.
Some people are already saying with the way things are going, the election may not hold in 2023. How optimistic are you that there will be credible elections in 2023?
That is what we are praying for. We have to have that kind of belief that by the grace of God APC will allow free and fair elections in 2023, particularly when President Muhammadu Buhari will leave the stage. You know what happened in 2019; we knew there were manipulations here and there. Notwithstanding, we are praying this time round that the electronic transmission of results would help. Look at Imo State whereby the person who came fourth later became the governor of that state. They said there were two bags of votes that were not counted by the electoral officers. The Tribunal did not accept, the Court of Appeal did not accept, but the Supreme Court said they must accept them. These are the issues.
What do you make of Chief Afe Babalola’s recent call for an interim government after Buhari’s tenure to allow for the drafting of a new constitution?
I still believe elections will hold. If it doesn’t in some sections of the country, that will not deny whoever wins the election to be the President of the country. Talking about the interim government, if a government cannot do anything for over four years, six months will be too small for people to do any re-organisation. And if you are to review the constitution, who is going to pass it? There must be a body. Are you saying that the military should come in? Those that are going to be appointed, which power are they going to use, and from which section of the constitution? The constitution will not uphold that, which is why I believe in restructuring.
The issue of restructuring has been on for a while but nothing concrete seems to be happening in that regard?
The people at the centre are not interested in making it happen. That is the problem.
But your party didn’t do it when it was in government either.
I agree. Obasanjo did not believe in it then but he is now clamouring for it.
Since APC came to power in 2015, they have consistently blamed the PDP for the country’s woes. Do you agree that your party mismanaged this country?
From their statements, you would know that they are not serious. They did not prepare for governance. They just wanted to take over power. Before they came in, they made all kinds of promises, but we are all witnesses to how well they fulfilled those promises. Buhari said he would reduce the presidential fleet and sell some of the aircraft, has he done that? Did the opposition stop them from doing that? Again, he said within six months, the Boko Haram insurgency would be crushed. This is his seventh year in office. I think it is ridiculous to keep blaming your predecessors.
Do you think things can still be turned around in the about one year left for the present government?
There is nothing they can do within the remaining period. From now till February and March next year, politicians will be preoccupied with the electioneering. So, there is nothing they can do again. After elections, many will be looking forward to working with the incoming government. This government has totally failed.
As a former ambassador, how would you compare Nigeria with other countries, particularly African countries?
When you talk of advancement, you will be surprised that those nations you think are small are doing better than us in Nigeria. Take electricity as an example, how many megawatts are they generating in Uganda, where I served? Not up to one quarter of what we are generating in Nigeria. But then, they concentrate their power supply on the major cities that you will think Kampala is one of the best places to be in Africa, because there is constant power supply. Even when there will be power outage, they will announce it. It may be for 30 minutes or one hour and they will restore it. Throughout my stay there, there was no time electricity went off for five to six hours. Go to Ghana, it’s the same thing. They celebrated one year of uninterrupted power supply as far back as 2012. In Nigeria here, can we celebrate one week of power supply? No way, and we call ourselves the giant of Africa. It is ridiculous.
You were once a local government chairman, what is your take on the argument that local governments should be scrapped while some say autonomy is the way to go?
The law has been passed at the national level. When we were there, even though that autonomy has not been fully entrenched in the constitution, as the deputy governor, our administration gave them total autonomy and we were giving them money to add to whatever they received. Ten per cent of our internally generated revenue was given to them. I was the one supervising the local government then. When I was the chairman of Akure South Local Government, we received zero allocation for months. Consecutively, three months we might not get anything because everything was being used to pay teachers’ salaries. When I got there the first thing was to review the allocation system. So, it is a good thing to have the autonomy.
As one of the leaders of the party, how prepared is the PDP in Ondo State ahead of 2023, considering the lingering leadership crisis in the party in the recent times?
In every party, you must have some rancour, particularly when elections are near because so many aspirants will emerge. After the primaries, the party will come together again. Also in any association, even if it is social association and you want to elect officers, there could be little divisions here and there. When we had the recent bye-election, there was a little disagreement as to who would be the party’s candidate but after the election we have closed ranks. The party is now working in unity.
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