Chief Willy Ezugwu is the Secretary General of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP). In this interview with EMEKA NZE, Ezugwu, who is also the life Patron of the Coalition of Civil Society and Human Rights Activists, the Convener of Save Enugu Group (SEG), speaks on restructuring, presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar, preparations ahead of the 2019 general elections and other national issues.
One of the issues that will shape the 2019 political campaign is the restructuring debate. Recently, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which initially rejected restructuring eventually came up with their own version of restructuring. What do you have to say on this issue?
It is quite interesting that the APC returned to restructuring, though the APC’s idea of restructuring is far from that of the rest of us, but it means that restructuring is the way to go to keep Nigeria united. At least, the grand advocate of restructuring in recent time, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will heave a sigh of relief. He was the one who brought back restructuring to the discussion table ahead of 2019 election.
Without mincing words, Nigeria, as it is today, is not working and we can only get to work by going back to true federalism. The unitary presidential system we are running will continue to create distrust among Nigerians because of growing sense of injustice.
Like Alhaji Atiku said at Nsukka in 2017, the rising tension and agitations in the country can only be checked with a restructured country that engages her people on productive activities, instead of all these killings going on in country. So, we need to restructure if we are serious about making progress as a country.
As a CNPP leader, whose membership cut across all political parties, how do assess the quality of candidates that have expressed interest to contest for president on PDP platform?
Of course, as you clearly observed. I’m a member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and I can tell you that my party will do everything possible to field a credible presidential candidate in 2019. However, to answer your question, I can tell you that the PDP has only two presidential aspirants. They are Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and others (laughter). If you are talking of a candidate that is sellable across the country on the platform of the PDP, in the north and in south, Atiku Abubakar is the man.
Nigeria needs successful business man to run it. We have tested military generals like Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari. We have tried politicians like late Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. It is time to try business men. Nigeria needs to be restructured and reorganised for greatness. Nigeria needs to achieve its full potentials and a business-minded person is needed at this time that our economy is at the lowest ebb.
It is believed in some quarters that Atiku is corrupt. His sources of income have been questioned. He has come out several times to challenge anyone that has evidence of corruption against him to come forward…?
(Cuts in) Today, we have a man assumed to be Mr. Integrity as President. How has that brought about better life for the people? When some political cabals don’t like any one’s face, they will tag you as corrupt because they know that Nigerians are suffering and they will see anyone with the tag of corruption as an enemy of the people.
Today, Nigerians are suffering. With 100 percent increment in the pump price of petroleum products, we still experience fuel scarcity. It means that there is more to it than shouting Mr. Integrity. What Nigeria needs at the moment is leadership. In the world today, business men are taking over political leadership in today’s world. American President, Donald Trump, is a businessman, and in Africa, we are following the trend. The new South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, is a business man. We cannot afford as a country to flow against the trend. If we are the giant of Africa, we must get our leadership right ahead of other African countries.
From the little I know about Atiku Abubakar, all the negative allegations against Atiku are just from the imaginations of people who don’t wish Nigeria well. They are the same people who packaged a lie and sold it to us as change. I want to ask, has any government taken Atiku to court, let alone convict him? This means, all the allegations are made in order to make sure that Nigeria is denied good leaders.
Because people have found that the only way to blackmail politicians effectively is to hang on their necks the necklace of corruption, they now tag anyone who has money as corrupt.
How does your not knowing my source of income mean that I am corrupt? Now, let’s look at Atiku businesses: he started transport business in 1971; that is about 47 years ago. Many of those criticising his sources of income were not even born then. He has told his story how he went over to Lagos as a bachelor after his posting to Idi-Iroko border as a young customs officer and the sole distributor of Peugeot then, SCOA and succeeded in signing a hire-purchase agreement and bought four pick-ups Peugeot and gave them to four different drivers who made daily returns. As a true and sincere business man, he would go to SCOA monthly and pay them.
So, he grew his businesses cutting across several sectors, including education, maritime, manufacturing among others. He has shown leadership in business and politics. He has remained the most outstanding Vice President Nigeria has ever had.
According to research, one of the major problems of under-development in Africa is poor leadership and Nigeria has few good and selfless leaders.
When we talk of leadership, we are talking of a call to service, a call to put others first in decision making. It will be an expensive mistake at this stage of our political life if we do not look for men of impeccable character, a strong will Nigerian who has succeeded in many sectors, who is also a nationalist that can unite Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar is a bridge builder who is at home in the six geographical zones of the country.
Today, there is obvious leadership vacuum as a result of the lack of purposeful leadership by the President Buhari administration, with its fruitless policies.
When you talk of corruption, we have never in the history of Nigeria witnessed the massive corruption being perpetrated under the very nose of President Buhari who has the fight against corruption as his major campaign slogan. Today, a whole N36 million will be swallowed by imaginary snake. Nigeria is not only becoming worse as a corrupt nation but incessant killings by herdsmen, sectionalism, nepotism, absence of rule of law, have become a very scary omen which have made the future blink.
And the country has continued to go round a vicious cycle of stagnation, poverty and hopelessness. This is because of lack of leadership. There is corruption in other parts of the world, yet they are making progress. So, we need a leader who has succeeded in business like Atiku Abubakar has.
The National Assembly has adopted a reordering of general election in the country. What is your take on the matter?
The truth of the 2019 general elections and other elections in Nigeria is that the presidential election should come last to save Nigeria’s democracy and the country from nose-diving into a one party state and if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should cooperate with the National Assembly because if the elections were not reordered, the party that wins the Presidential Election will sweep the polls at all level. This is dangerous for democracy.
I have heard of a few civil society organizations (CSOs) who kick against the presidential election coming last and I will advise them to retrace their steps because they are unwittingly trying to aide a rigging formula that will turn the country into a one party state.
So, if INEC wants to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the country devoid of rigging, the Commission should listen to the voice of the representatives of the Nigerian people, who are working hard to reduce bandwagon effects in voting. The members of the National Assembly should remain united in reordering the election as experienced politicians and major stakeholders in the outcome of elections.
You don’t put in place an electoral process in place with one man in mind because if another person comes in, the process will be inherited by the person. The process should be to do the right thing and follow the path that can deepen democracy rather than a party that will ultimately destroy all democratic tenets we have all laboured to build. The reordered election is the best thing the current National Assembly has done for Nigeria and democracy in the country. And anyone against it is a hater of Nigerian democracy.
We should not be deceived because the issue is not about President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid. It is about Nigeria after President Buhari. The INEC must do everything to ensure free, fair and very credible 2019 elections.
