Prof. Olusola Adeyeye, Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate in an exclusive interview with Britain’s N0.1 African newspaper, AFRICAN VOICE reveals seismic changes in Nigeria, his insight on the senate and other issues.
AV: Honourable Senator you have been involved in politics of Nigeria for almost a decade now, what is your assessment of the political situation in the country today?
OA: It is the situation of the good, the bad and the ugly, all combined into one dynamic experience. But I’m an optimist, I’m sure that by the grace of God things will continue to get better.
AV: There was the rumour of military coup plot and subsequently we witnessed the retirement of some military officers. What is the true situation as at today?
OA: I don’t know. I heard the same rumour like you did. There are always movements in the military and from time to time you have retirement, especially because of the scandals which have bedevilled the handling of the battle against insurgency, so one doesn’t really know what is happening but I don’t think the military will take over the government in Nigeria. Military government has gone out of vogue in the World and should anyone try it I believe the Nigerian people will resist.
AV: Some people are saying the American Presidential system of government is too expensive for our nation, that there are too many duplication in government, and are therefore calling for true Federalism. As someone who have worked and lived in America what is your candid opinion?
OA: Well, the Presidential system in itself is not inimical to true Federalism. We had a parliamentary system before and we have problems with how we ran our Federalism and that was why this experiment with Presidentialism was brought about. I happen to be one who prefers the Parliamentary system to the Presidential system but whether we have a parliamentary system or we have a Presidential system, what matters the most is that those who are at the helms of the affairs of the nation should keep faith in the Nigerian people and keep faith with the constitution.
AV: You have left a professorial chair in one of the leading universities in the world to be part of nation building in Nigeria and as one of the disciples of Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, how does it make you feel to be in the hallow chambers of senate with a Senate President and Deputy both attending to criminal charges in court.
OA: Nobel Laureate was my teacher. He’s my friend, of course, but he’s also my mentor and one of my heroes.
I am very close to him and I’m privileged to have learned at his feet. He is one of the brightest stars on this planet. As for what is happenning in the Nigerian senate.
Of course every senator is sad that we are under this spectra in which both the N0.1 and N0.2 leaders are under criminal prosecution. And the Nigerian constitution presumes the innocence of everyone who has been called to court till the court pronounces otherwise and therefore my prayer is that all of us, regardless of what position we occupy, we give the best to the republic. That’s what we need to do.
AV: In other democracies in the world, leaders such as the Senate President would have resigned until proven otherwise. Why is the Senate President staying put and the senate is not asking him to do the honours?
OA: The behaviour of politicians around the world is influenced to a large extent, by the rules that is, the laws of the country as well as the tradition. Unfortunately Nigeria’s tradition is not long enough to see this kind of behaviour because, you know, the greater part of our national life has been spent under military dictatorship. But I do pray that the time will come when we will not look for the minimal requirements of honour for those who occupy public offices.
AV: Nigerians are complaining of economic hardship yet legislative arms of government especially the senate are reported to be buying luxury cars and allocating huge allowances, do you support what is going on in the senate and what can be done to correct this abnormality?
OA: I’m opposed to the buying of public cars not only for senators but for every public office holder in Nigeria. Unfortunately, what we are seeing, in so far as the National Assembly is concerned, is a cheap blackmail, because all of the parastatals buy the same cars, all the ministries buy the same cars and all the corporations buy these same cars. So if a Local Government Chairman can buy a Prado SUV, why do you say that the Senator cannot buy a Prado SUV. What we ought to say is the same thing that Obasanjo said during his first regime as a military Head of State when he gave us Operation Low Profile in which even our Head of State was riding a Peugeot 504. We need to go back to that era of frugality in running public offices. Not just to focus on the amount of money that the Senators are spending because the budget of the national assembly is only 1.8% of the budget of the republic. What is at stake is the recklessness with which public funds are handled throughout Nigeria.
AV: The Senate seems to have underperformed in its role of law making. Are there any laws that the eighth assembly has passed that you would say have a meaningful impact on the living standard of Nigerians?
OA: This is part of the cheap blackmail, again, of the National Assembly. Number one, it is not as if we don’t have good laws right now, the laws we have right now are not even enforced faithfully because of structural weakness in the system. Number two, you don’t judge a parliament by the number of laws it has passed. It is better for a parliament to debate laws and to refuse passing bad laws than to, in order to have quantity, keep passing laws.
People don’t realise that most of the laws passed by Nigerian national assembly in the last 18 years that is from 1999 have not even been signed into law. So what is the point going through just the motions when at the end of the day they are not passed. I for one would like to also go back to the era of parttime politicking as we did before the military came. That will mean of course, that we’ll have to go back to maybe some semblance of Parliamentary system or we go back to a re-arranged presidential system. Either way, what matters is not the numbers of laws we pass but what the quality of those laws that we passed are.
AV: The world is witnessing the rise of women in politics. But, recently the Nigerian Senate shut down a bill that would have given impetus to the contributions of women in Nigeria. Is the senate undervaluing the capacity of our women?
OA: Not really, that bill you are talking about is asking for a quota system. Even in the so called Federal Character, we have misapplied it to mean quota, in the manner in which unfortunately, we don’t often bring the best talents of Nigeria to particular positions because we are simply trying to balance states and ethnic interests. What we are saying is “Look let every party evolve its own mechanism mindful of the fact that greater that 50% of the electorate are women and because of that women must be given their rightful place. But for us to decree a quota system is what we’re saying should not be. You don’t have a quota system in the UK, you don’t have a quota system in the USA but these things evolve overtime and they will evolve. Look at the USA over 250 years of democracy, they’re yet to have their first female president, they’re hoping that Hilary will succeed.
AV: Your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), promised change to Nigerians. What, in your own assessment has changed?
OA: When, in the history of Nigeria, have so many loots been recovered since independence? See Nigerians sometimes pretend that nothing is happening but seismic magnitude changes are taking place! This is the first time in the history of Nigeria that the number three citizen of the land that is, the Senate President is being prosecuted. Some are even blaming the president for that. Is that not Change? Those who are in very high offices are being asked to account for their wealth. Not just that, those who thought that they could get away, because of the immunity they had, either as governors or as deputy governors, are now being asked to come to the furnace of accountability. That is a big thing! Billions and billions already have been recovered and I am certain that there are billions and billions more to be recovered. That begins an era of morality and accountability in the politics of Nigeria. That is a big change!
AV: Nigerians on the streets are still saying they are not feeling the impact. Till date, Nigerians are among those crossing the Mediterranean to flee the country. Is there any hope?
OA: There must always be hope. I am an incorrigible optimist, an eternal optimist. The thing is, if you are able to recover 600 billion naira today, that money will not be divided on the streets of Nigeria.
That money will be used to build our refineries, build our railways, repair our roads, and to repair our schools. Anybody who has done the most elementary course in Economics knows that economic growth is always ahead of economic development, so the changes you are seeing right now, will not transform into overnight development but the truth is, the change has begun and by the grace of God the change will stay.
AV: I want you to address the Diaspora now. Many Nigerians are put off from returning home, especially, for the new generation of Nigerians born abroad. What is your advice?
OA: It’s a choice! I’m a biologist and all animals migrate from any environment that threatens the survival of their species. So if a Nigerian wants to stay in Britain that is his or her right. If a Nigerian wants to stay in the US, that is his or her right. We will not be the first people in the history of the world to emigrate from our country. The reason these things seem so strange to us is that it is only in recent times that Nigerians left their country in droves. But the truth of the matter is that there are some Nigerians that also know that the experience overseas is often the experience of the myth of the ‘greener grass’. Many of those who are abroad are doing the most menial jobs that they wouldn’t do if they were in Nigeria. Many of them also know that life can be better and more meaningful if they return to Nigeria. My prayer to God is that we who are in government will run Nigeria in such a way that will provide opportunities for our young people to return home and help their country. All over America are immigrants from India, China, Korea, and Pakistan. Live wherever you believe you can find your best niche in life. There is only one life.
AV: Lastly, do you have any parting words for Nigerians in general?
OA: Whether you are abroad or living at home, first I want Nigerians to be optimistic. We are a great people, we are a dynamic people. We are a teachable people What has been wrong is that a pack of kleptomaniacs, a pack of locusts, thieves, who call themselves politicians have taken our national patrimony, looted it and used the wealth for their own advantages at the disadvantages of the people. We are correcting them. By the grace of God I pray that I will live to see the era where my children will be proud.
AV: Thank you so much Senator.
