Dr. Tunde Elebute, Deputy Director, Crime Victims Foundation of Nigeria (CRIFON), Lagos State chapter, is a development economist, rights promoter and public affairs commentator. In this interview with EJIKEME OMENAZU, he speaks on crucial issues in the polity,including the 25 years of uninterrupted democracy, the high cost of living, among other issues. Excerpt: 

 Nigeria just celebrated 25 years of uninterrupted democracy. How do you see the event? 

I thank God we are able to maintain democracy for 25 years. It never happened before. But, the politicians have tried to maintain democracy, no matter the quarrels. That shows a level of maturity. The military too is becoming more mature. They have not capitalised on any situation or used any excuse to intervene in the nation’s democracy. They have continued to keep to their constitutional role of defending the territorial integrity of the nation. However, this does not mean that everything is okay. In these 25 years, Nigeria should have been higher than where we are now, but for the greed of the political class. The remuneration of the political office holders is too high. They take good care of themselves and not the people. The National Assembly, which has power to influence both the executive and the judiciary, appears to be taking better care of the members than the populace. From one regime to another, things are getting from bad to worse. Why? There are still many areas they should work on. The National Assembly should have looked at why multinationals are leaving the country. People are losing jobs. Can there be a policy that could have made the companies productive and retain people in employment. The politicians should really do things that will be of benefit to the people. The environment should be made conducive for business to thrive. Look at the insecurity. They should see how it could be reduced because the cost of living is so high that people find it difficult to feed. Farmers no longer go to farms due to insecurity. The National Assembly should look into this. There should be policies to block all loopholes through which people steal money. The National Assembly, the Presidency and the state government should find a way to reduce high unemployment. This will also reduce crime levels. 

Looking at the current administration, would you say it has performed creditably well so far? 

There are areas they have done well. But, there are areas they have to look into. They should look at the area of insecurity. The food prices are too high. They made efforts at federal and state level to give palliatives. But, they should tackle the issue of food insecurity and make the business environment attractive to check the exit of people and companies from the country. They have kept democracy going. The president recently came out with an Executive Order increasing import duty on food items, but six months is not enough. It should be between one and two years. That Executive Order is a way of listening to the cries of the people, but the period is too short. 

What is your take on calls by some members of the House of Representatives for regionalism and a single term of six-years for presidents and governors? 

I support regionalism. When we were under regions, each region was making progress. But, when they brought us under the current federal structure, many regions have been slowed down. Some states are not working. They just rely on federal allocations. They could not generate money for their states. The governors of such states just feed fat on federal allocations. Regionalism will bring positive rivalry among the regions. So, let us go back to regionalism. Some states are behaving as if without the federal allocations, they cannot exist. Coming to the six-year single term, it is neither here nor there. The four-year term is good because if a governor does not perform, we can vote him out and deny them a second term. But, six years is not good because the governor or president can enslave us for six years. They do not need six years to perform. Four years is enough. Those who want to come back for a second term should perform well to impress people so that they will be voted back to power. 

What is your view on the inability of federal and state governments, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and Labour to agree on the national minimum wage? 

That is one of the reasons we need to return to regionalism. Let each state or region determine what their workers will get based on their resources. The Federal Government can also decide what to pay federal workers. For the private sector, the labour unions should sit with the Organised Private Sector to determine what should be paid to the workers. I have to stress that Labour should know what they are talking about. The N250,000 they are demanding now is unrealistic. No matter what the president and the lawmakers earn, it will not reflect much on the economy. But, if Labour is granted the N250,000, it will lead to hyperinflation. So, Labour should have a rethink. They should accept N62,000. N250,000 will kill the economy and many companies will downsize. The Labour leaders should be properly educated. What the society needs is not really a salary increase. They should have mounted pressure on the government to reduce prices of goods and services. Even if it amounts to opening the borders, it will be better. Government should reduce the cost of raw materials and the price of machinery. N60,000 to N62,000 is okay. The bottom line is that each state should determine what it will pay its workers. 

How do you see the plans for the purchase of new presidential jets for the president and the vice president bearing in mind the current state of the nation’s economy? 

The state of the economy does not support the purchase of two new presidential jets. While I am not opposed to the comfort of our leaders, they should look at the state of the economy and the effect of their actions on the people. I think they can go for refurbished ones. They can refurbish some of the ones in the presidential fleet. Looking at the state of the economy, they cannot afford to go for new jets. The Pope flies commercial airlines. Even if the economy can carry jets, they should channel the money to making the lives of Nigerians better. 

What advice would you give to stakeholders in the coming Edo and Ondo governorship elections? 

We need peace. Let there be equity and fairness. Let the will of the people be upheld. They should not force anybody on the people. The stakeholders should have a spirit of sportsmanship. If a winner emerges, let the losers congratulate him. Let the conduct be fair. The elections should not give room to disturbances in the states. Can we eradicate vote buying in Nigeria? Activities of vote buyers should be eradicated. It is good to say, but will the politicians adhere to it? 

How do you think the Rivers State crisis could best be resolved for peace to reign in the state? 

The problem is that Governor Fubara has not been able to manage the crisis maturely. He should have used his position to reconcile Wike with other leaders and elders in Rivers State, like Dr. Peter Odili. Even after the Appeal Court, the case will still go to the Supreme Court. Whichever way the court’s decision go, the court cannot restore peace in Rivers. Fubara should have called a stakeholders’ meeting which would include all leaders, elders, traditional rulers, and Wike. Let them tell themselves the truth and apologise to one another and let Rivers move forward. Even though the police said there should not be protests and Labour which wanted to protest on behalf of the local council workers obeyed the police, there have been protests on a daily basis since then by pro-Wike groups and even a bomb was detonated during one of the protests. There should be a political solution outside the courts. Wike should call a stakeholders’ meeting where all the issues should be resolved. Fubara should reach out to Rivers elders and statesmen to resolve these issues. 

Why is it difficult for the Leftists to make much impact in Nigerian Politics? 

First, they do not have the financial muscle. Nigerian politics is not grammar. If you do not have money, no one listens to you. Some of them are not popular. They should have organized themselves to become councilors and grow from there. Some of them may have money, but may not be willing to pump it into politics. They are not known at local levels or the rural areas. Only the elites know them, but how many of them go out to vote? Look at the late Gani Fawehinmi. People knew him for several reasons. He was fighting for the masses and students. Many people know about Omoyele Sowore because of the media. Also, the current federal structure does not allow the Leftists to make much impact outside their localities. How many people know the Leftists? If the Leftists really want to win elections, they should make themselves known to the elites and the grassroots people. They can establish non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and start helping people and doing projects in some areas, like digging boreholes and other things people in those areas need. By doing so, people will come to know them. They should be willing to spend money too, because without spending money, they cannot go far in Nigerian politics.