Barr Okey Joe Onuakalusi is the lawmaker that currently represents the people of Oshodi/Isolo of Lagos state in the House of Representatives with a vocal voice on grassroots representation. In an interview with SUNNY IDACHABA, he spoke on many issues including the need to accord local government areas their rightful place.
You are the lawmaker representing Oshodi Isolo Federal Constituency of Lagos state on the platform of Labour Party. As a non-indigene, how did you succeeded in garnering votes in an APC-controlled state?
The most important thing is whether the people from that part of the state need you. To start with, it’s a competition where you throw your hart into the rings and the people would elect you based on their own convictions that you can deliver to them the dividends of democracy. Historically, I have been contesting for elective positions for sometime now, so it’s not a new development for me. This however came at a time Nigerians needed to have another level and crop of leaders in government that would be people-driven; so, we found ourselves in that flank and campaigned under it with a promise to be different through presentation of bills that would positively affect the lives of Nigerians and in particular speak on behalf of my constituent. These were the cardinal principles that ensured our success at the poll.
Tell us about your scorecards in the last one year
In the last one year for instance, we have tried to present bills and initiate motions that would affect the lives of Nigerians generally and my constituents in particular. I started here by introducing a motion for skills acquisition and development in our constituents. Not only that, when there was issue of flooding last year, we raised alarm. Also, when we discovered that our libraries were becoming moribund all over the country, I brought up a bill for the rehabilitation of the libraries across the 774 local councils in the country. Those bills are in the pipeline of becoming part of our laws now. We have equally gone ahead to put up a bill for the patronage of locally-manufactured goods. This is because I belong to the school of thoughts that says we should be able to produce what we would eat and eat what we can produce. Remember, no nation develops another; you develop yourself. Ordinarily, Nigeria is supposed to be at the forefront of everything good, but poor leadership had been the bane of our progress over the years. It would interest you to know that Nigerians all over the world have excelled in all fields of endeavours, so why can’t we make Nigeria a better place? We came in to make inputs towards driving that goal into a reality because leadership is about service. So far, we have about 17 bills that we have pushed and12 motions since inception last year.
What is the state of the bill on price control that you sponsored sometimes ago?
Yes, we did that as a result of the skyrocketing cost of living in the country. All over the world, there are regulations so that people and system that do not tally with government programmes can be checked. If you take a look at the constitution, there are certain categories of goods that government should be able to oversee and ensure that their prices are not outrageous. It’s not as if the government would dictate the prices of those products, but would regulate what happens around such vital products like cement, fuel and certain classes of foodstuff. Take, for instance, what happened lately with flights to Britain in which almost billions of naira was needed to fly there. Now when you move to Cotonou in order to fly into same Britain, you pay less than four million. But when Air Peace came on board, the prices were forced down which means all that time, government was not taking a hard look at the costs and Nigerians were suffering under the yoke of unbearable flight cost. This is why price control system is needed all over the world. British Airways and other airlines hitherto exploiting Nigerians reduced the cost of flight after Air Peace joined the route. All those price disparities were because there were no control mechanisms in place; its not just about being a capitalist economy. That was the whole idea about the bill. It’s in the pipeline too.
What do you think the government should do to ameliorate hardship in view of the current cost of living in the country presently?
Well, you must understand that globally there is depression and Nigeria is not an exception. The only thing I can say is that the situation appears dire in Nigeria because the previous administration performed woefully in the area of mitigating its effects on the economy. The present administration inherited a lot of rots and that translates to what is going on here now, but I hold no brief for them because they belong to the same party and campaigned on continuity. At the level of parliament, we don’t have the power other than appropriation, bills and motions. That is why every bill the executive arm brings here to cushion the effects of the depression on Nigerians, we attend to it speedily. For instance, in the 2024 budget presented to us, we passed with a speed of light even though some of us disagreed on certain procedures. I must however say that the present administration needs to answer to the yearnings of Nigerians. On May 29 2023, the president removed the hitherto cancerous fuel subsidy, so when proceeds saved from the removal is rightly ploughed into the economy, we expect to see a revamp, but it seems the reverse is what I see. It means that something is not rightly done. At the level of parliament, we are trying to oversee some of the things being done by the executive arm, but the responsibility lies squarely on their shoulders as we can only appropriate and oversee. Another issue I want to raise is this idea of focusing only on the federal government. States are liable too. State governors receive monthly appropriation which the people need to ask them how the money is spent to change the narratives in their states. That money received by state governors can actually translate into good governance, if properly used.
What is your take on the recent bill for local government autonomy?
The constitution provides for three-tiers of government. Local government should be made autonomous. On no account should the money meant for local governments go to the states. Way back when local government administrations were functional, they had tractors that willing farmers can rent to cultivate plots. My father used to do that, but many years after, the councils are practically non existent and ineffective because states have squeezed them out of existence to the point that they are at the verge of being extinct. In the past, what is known as Trunk C roads were done by local councils with security in place too. It is therefore imperative that they should be allowed to function to reduce pressure at the centre. I completely belong to the school of thought that local councils should be allowed to function effectively so that we can have food and security at the local levels.
How is the relationship between Labour Party, PDP and the ruling APC in the House in terms of cooperation since you and other PDP members are in the minority?
We all came on board via different party flanks, but one thing is certain: as soon as you enter the House, your alignments become one for the interest of the country. Whenever any issue arises, everyone would speak their minds, but as the saying goes, ‘the minority would have their say while the majority would always have their way’, but at the end of the day, it’s the good of the country we all seek. That is the extent of our relationship.
Lately, your party has been having internal crisis which is almost tearing it apart. As a lawmaker on its platform, what is your take?
Every party has its own internal crisis which we now call a family affair; so it’s not just peculiar to Labour Party. We are looking at it internally and would resolve it internally. At the end of the day, the party would come out stronger and better to represent the views of Nigerians. We are looking forward to providing more platforms for more Nigerians to join the fold and move the country forward.