The debate over who control the country’s economy is a critical challenge that Remi Sonaiya, the Presidential candidate of KOWA believes that if properly handled will change the economic fortunes of the country. She recently spoke to FRANK ELEANYA and LOLADE AKINMURELE on what she would have done differently if she had won the last election.
When President Buhari came in there was a delay in appointing ministers which was largely interpreted to mean he was serious about getting the right people for the job, but many people were disappointed by the ministers he appointed, what does it take appoint the right people into government?
It was a kind of anti-climax; the delay had raised a lot of hope. For one thing I believe that we have a great deal of competent, well trained Nigerians both in Nigeria and outside. And I believe that many of them are ready and willing to give their expertise to the nation. I have thought that, were I to be elected, I will call for nominations. I will talk to my countrymen and women and ask them if they know of such exceptional people – people who demonstrated unusual abilities in different areas of endeavour and I believe that such people exist. I will request for information to be provided so that we will have a broader pool to select.
I will not assume that my limited sphere of political association is enough. I have been in the university, so I could tap from that as well. But I am certain that the generality of Nigerians might know some extremely gifted people and should be able to recommend such people. They will back up their recommendations with facts. I will like to throw my net wide open like that. I will start it early. One could even start it now, maybe open a website. I am talking to people already about the modalities.
If you take that route, you will be emphasizing a culture of meritocracy, do you not see that conflicting with federal character?
Look I am convinced that there will be a general spread. I am not sure that the lip service that we are paying to federal character, that we are getting the best from each state. I am certain that each state must have at least one of such individuals. I don’t see a possibility of a state not being able to come up with somebody that is not competent.
What if your party stalwarts do not like the choices from the people, a case where they already have their people positioned to fill the positions?
The kind of understanding I have with my party members and which I will continue to stand firm and preach is the kind of notion that says “Nigeria’s interest above all else.” That is a fundamental principle of operation in my dealing within the political party. I am certain that not everyone agrees 100 percent, but I know how I have been dealing with them. For me the party is not my constituency, Nigeria is my constituency and it is the interest of Nigeria that I am going to prioritize. Unfortunately, it is special interest that has gotten us to where we are.
I see us standing at the threshold of opportunity and to fully take advantage of it we need to completely abandon the ways in which we have operated so far. If we don’t we will just remain at the level of potential. People say “think outside the box,” I am saying to Nigeria “break your box.” Maybe you don’t need a box and what you need is a tent, parachute or whatever. Create something totally different.
What would be your ideal economic model taking into consideration Nigeria’s peculiarities?
There is far too much government in Nigeria – government managing too many areas of our lives not just economy. I see government role as not being in every area. That is why I prefer a truly federal system. I believe that they should divest power to the states and local governments. In fact what I will like to see is Mayors for each town. This is so that they can get a handle on development in their localities.
I believe that the role of the central government is to create an enabling environment that is propitious for prosperity, development and to manage the security of the state. Federal government has a role in managing interaction with the rest of the world. Leave the state to handle developments in their various states. I don’t believe that there is a one-size-fit all for every state in the federation. Let each state determine what approach it will take to develop. Let every state exploit what they have on their land. For those who do not have mineral resources they can create intellectual resources. The whole essence is to create wealth, bring money. The rest of us will contribute to the centre to run.
Do you support deregulation?
Yes I do but you have to protect the interest of the ordinary people. If you leave the economy to private individuals with money and power, the poor will suffer for it. So there is a need to set some controls. Somebody has got to protect the consumers. You must think of everybody.
If you had won the election in Nigeria and inherited an economy like the present one, how would you have addressed it?
I would have taken serious steps to scale down the cost of governance. There were expectations when President Buhari stepped in that were not met. I would have probably pleaded with Nigerians that, “could we start with the appointment of 6-8 ministers at the most?” Leaders have to know how to communicate with their people. When people see a leader that means well, who they can trust – I think they will follow. So this whole business as usual attitude, I don’t think there is time for that.
People were expecting that the present government will sell off at least 9 of the Presidential aircrafts, up till now nothing has happened. If the President is not demonstrating that these are austere times, what kind of sacrifice do you think you have the right to ask people to make? The Presidency is still holding fun-fare parties and book launch at this point, is this the time for government not to be transparent? The government has to give a clear direction. The President of Tanzania is making waves because he is walking the talk or austerity.
Aside from cutting down cost what kind of policies would you put in place?
In every state there are resources, what I would do is to focus on the services that people need in order to allow those other potentially revenue generating activities to boom. I will focus on developing our infrastructure. Attention will be given to things like electricity, because I know those are the rocks upon which the rest can be built – aid diversification. We know what we are supposed to do. All the ministers are talking about it, like the Minister for Mining. This is the opportune moment to diversify.
In view of the rising inflation, what kind of incentives would you put in place to ensure that the private sector performs as expected?
The answer is infrastructure. Look at how much some of the companies spend in running generators to do business. Some are completely on generators from morning to night. That is ridiculous. Who can do business at such an expense and you expect them to make profit?
The present government want to shore up revenues using taxation, would you have considered it as a last or first resort?
Taxation is a legitimate way for government to make money but not unfair and unjust taxation. You must be able to put the services that the people are receiving with the tax you are taking in order to ascertain fairness. That’s why when they raised the electricity tariff, NLC threatened strike. Where is the electricity that you are raising tariff for?
What areas would you look to generate revenue for Nigeria since the oil isn’t doing very well at the moment?
There is no new thing – agriculture. We should be able to feed ourselves. We have good arable land. There is also mining, people have done extensive work listing out the various minerals in different states in the country. I thank God for young people in Nigeria. The entertainment industry has contributed so much to Nigeria’s GDP. There is a lot to cover in that area.
How are you going to address the issue of corruption?
I am a firm believer in the way people perceive their leader. Leadership is very crucial. If we have a leader that the people believe in, who is willing to walk the talk I believe people will tow that line. People had thought that Buhari will be an example but as we have seen no fundamental change is happening. If we have a leader that says corruption is not tolerated and you are the first to show that it is not tolerated and make the sacrifice you are asking people to make, people are likely to follow suit.
What about the delay in passing the budget?
I often ask myself do our leaders have the right to make us so ashamed. I have the urge to go on the screen and scream “You don’t have the right to shame us this way. You don’t have the right.” What is in a budget? How many governments in the world make budgets and pass it in record time? I think is a question of corruption. It is a big surprise that people will be doing this kind of things under the present administration. I am disappointed.
I will ensure that I supervise what is happening. Ensure you make your position known to the people that you are working with and you tell them to pass it on so that it trickles down. The vision you have should be communicated to them so that they buy into it. They should understand that this is for the benefit of us all. I just feel that there is a way that leadership should talk to us that they are not doing. They don’t know how to talk to us. In one of my books, I wrote some speeches on speeches I wish that I had heard from some of our leaders when they get into office or during their campaigns.
In your view, are we making the right progress with regards to terrorism in Nigeria?
It is what we are told, what we hear. But I believe it. Definitely, a lot more has been accomplished under this present administration than under the previous administration. It is obvious. If the money that was supposed to equip our soldiers were used for just that we wouldn’t be here. If now the money is getting to the right channels, the soldiers themselves then we sure are winning. However we should not celebrate yet.
