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An emerging pressure group in the Niger Delta, Technocrats for Nigerian Progress (TNP), says the Buhari administration has failed and that Abubakar Atiku is the right person to come in to repair and re-unite Nigeria at this point in time. In an exclusive interview with IGNATIUS CHUKWU in Port Harcourt, the co-founder of the group, Josiah Gershon Dagogo, a onetime lecturer, administrator, communications consultant, now an activist says security of lives and property has become the most important issue on the burner, saying only Abubakar Atiku from the North is serious with restructuring agenda.
Are the Technocrats forming a political party, pressure group, or they just want to be noticed?
Certainly not to form any political party, but to offer help to anyone who wins, no matter who that person may be. The group is starting from the Niger Delta but is open to all Nigerians. Niger Delta is like any other part of Nigeria. We know that the story of the Niger Delta has been made to appear like that of agitation for resource control and restructuring, etc. but we are for issues that affect everybody in Nigeria. The burning issues at the moment are security and restructuring so that all parts of Nigeria could feel reassured to pursue national development.
How do they assess the present administration since elections are coming close?
Well, I put it straight; the first function of any government is to protect Nigerians, their lives and property. In this area, this group would tell you straight up that the present government has not done well at all. They campaigned to come and do better but they have not done well at all. Killings happened in Enugu, Benue, Kogi, Adamawa, etc. then you begin to ask, what is the FG doing with funds and intelligence? The government has failed. It has not lived up to its billing. They need a lot of help, but we do not know if they will accept; intelligent ideas, etc. We hear persons from some neighbouring countries are now in Nigeria, even having voters’ cards. Some were found last week in Port Harcourt.
Many aspirants are indicating intentions to take over, are there some that you support?
I do not want to play politics with issues of security. The present administration needs help in security and any administration coming will also need help. I want to be non-partisan and every self-respecting Nigerian should look at it that way. We should admit that there is now an urgent need to save Nigeria in terms of security and national unity, trust and cohesion which can only come through restructuring.
Atiku came here last two weeks to declare intention; has your group anything to say?
Abubakar Atiku is the one that can unite Nigeria. Nigerian politics is now all about religion, ethnicity and age. Now, some people make it look like if you are old, you have committed a crime. The question is; is it every old man that has stale ideas, or is it every young man that has good ideas? These are the issues we must ponder on. The major issue is ability to rescue Nigeria.
In the past, most of did not give him any chance but now he is sounding reasonable. He is talking about restructuring. He is a unifier, not a divider. He is a gift to Nigeria at this point in time. He will restructure Nigeria and there is nothing wrong about that. It is not about dismembering but rearranging Nigeria. Some of our friends feel uncomfortable about this the word restructuring. They should have nothing to fear.
I used to be a lecturer at some point and I used to travel up to Zaria in Kaduna State. This shows how wide the country is. To sit in Abuja and to think about progress and development in Afikpo in Abia State or Bonny in Rivers State is a long shot. The present arrangement is unitary. To have a Principal in Abuja who thinks he can decorate all the nooks and crannies is not possible. There is too much poverty and suffering. Restructuring will change some of these things and put people wherever they are and pay taxes to develop where they are.
The time to restructure Nigeria is now, and Atiku may just be the right driver. Others may be paying lip-service, despite his age.
What major things outside resource control would you like to see in a restructured Nigeria?
In think the Nigerian presidential system should be reworked because it is too expensive, it even prohibits many people of ideas from throwing their hats into the ring. We need no more than 145 deputies or Representatives; that is four per state. Only 36 of them will make up the Senate. The party with the majority forms the government. Our present system is obtuse and unwieldy.
The grassroots need to wake up and fend for themselves while the FG will do four things: build critical infrastructure, handle diplomacy, taxation, law/order, and justice enforcement. All others should go to the states, county or city management committees.
Is there any evidence that any man who mentions restructuring will be the new messiah?
There is no evidence per se but there is a problem here; the way our political parties are arranged and the way the oppositions run their affairs, there is problem. I met Obed Mblaba in Durban in South Africa in 2010 and I did not understand their political system. The ANC is an old political party of over 100 years, arranging and re-arranging itself to be ever strong. They score those they elected into office on their platform right from their parties. If you do not meet a cutoff point, you do not get re-elected. That is what Nigeria needs to do quickly. We told Mblaba that the next time we would come, he would be doing a second term. He said no, that he had been scored poorly by his party on all the four areas; so, no second term for him. Imagine!
South Africa knows who will be next to rule; after Nelson Mandela, they knew it would be Mbeki, Zuma, etc. Now, Cyril Ramaphosa is there. They have a system. Imagine when in Nigeria when President Umoru Musa Ya’Adua died, we all felt it would come straight to Goodluck Jonathan, but it became a serious matter. Was it astro-physics? I do not know what nature Nigeria is made of; simple things do not work here. Our parties need to reorganise to make for internal democracy, we must begin to assess political office holders to find them fit to continue. Until this begins to happen, it would remain a problem.
Do we have the competence to score those in power?
What competence do we need? Just to say, this is how much you have received, how did you spend it? When money is well spent, it does not hide. We may not have the will to direct our leaders aright but that’s the only way to go. It can be done, starting from the parties. Only those that can win elections from integrity should step into the public space to seek power. That is where to start.
How does Atiku stand in the PDP to win the presidential primaries?
I would not know exactly because Atiku himself has made one or two mistakes because some of them who benefited from the PDP left in anger, and that is not good. But now that he has come back, he looks like the best man for the job. He comes from the North East and has a good organisation. He has a chance especially by how the present administration has performed. It is not going to be a piece of cake; he has to work hard for the votes.
Don’t you think; here we go again, choosing people blindly, only to regret?
How else do we choose? Atiku has been around, from public service to governor to vice president for eight years. So long as we are prepared to vote him in, he will get there. Except to say, how do we manage him when he gets there? How do we ensure that other than flying the restructuring kite, he can keep to his promise so that this country will actually be managed for all people? That is the assignments for us all including the media. Through media reports, a government can sink, just as the present government will not have a chance to come back due to media reports. The people have had enough. I don’t remember in my life such an era of unwarranted attacks, suffering, etc in this country.
I do not know how for example, Sam Ortom of Benue State will persuade his people to vote for them a second time.
Is Rivers State sure for Atiku, since he came here first?
He made the choice of Rivers State perhaps because of the charismatic nature of the governor here, Nyesom Wike, and his development projects. Wike has been on the side of justice so far. There are 36 states but we got lucky he chose us. Even the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, came here and gave kudos to Governor Wike. I think we owe so much to Wike for the recognition Rivers State has got now.
Is there any other matter you want to add?
Rivers people have to defend their votes. People should not just sit in hotel rooms to write election results. It cannot be tolerated. It happens only when good men do nothing, then bad men ride into power. People should not just sit at home but get out there and defend their rights, if they had any at all.
