Things are going worse in Nigeria, but those who should speak are not because of ambition –Salvador

Hon. Moshood Salvador, a former member of the House of Representatives and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, in this interview speaks on the state of the nation and what President Muhammadu Buhari should do for his administration to succeed. PATRICK OKOHUE reports.

**********It has been 21 years of democracy, what is your assessment of the progress made so far?

I don’t see anything to celebrate about this democracy; democracy is government of the people for the people and by the people. I know what I am talking about, because I have MSc in political science. How can we say this is democracy when we rig elections, where we have instituted stealing, defrauding the government, putting government money in our pockets, where you don’t care that money budgeted for education is diverted. Where a huge amount of money is set-aside for sectional people in the budget and you are saying this democracy is for the people.

What is there to celebrate? I can’t understand this; every zone has their leaders, you can imagine how articulate the mandate Edwin Clarke broke out on democracy Day was, saying how this government is sacking their people and replacing them with Northerners. Look around, who is doing it for the Yorubas? There is nobody, and when the masses come out and say; let us go to war, we are the one that would be used for the war, therefore let our leaders use their brain. Nobody is fighting for us here in the South West, it is not just to talk and allow the poor masses to suffer.

**********But Yemi Osibanjo is a Yoruba man and Asiwaju Tinubu is a leader of the ruling party?

My own is that nobody speaks for the Yorubas. We have articulated all these shortcomings and put them together to be forwarded to the government; nobody wants to talk for us because they have ambition.

***********But are you saying Tinubu and the rest have not been talking?

It is difficult for anybody who has ambition to talk, in the past they do, not now. Why can’t the government do things right; it is only when this is done that we can move forward. I have a group called; Conscience Forum, it is an NGO, it is for this kind of thing; if anything affects the Igbos, we would come out and talk, if it affects the Northern man, we would come out and talk about it, If it affects the South-South man we would also come out and talk.

 I am the treasurer of Yoruba Unity Forum. You can ask Goodluck Jonathan the kind of pleasure I do give him, Senator Anthony Adefuye used to talk, but now everybody just keeps quiet and things are going wrong.

************What is the way forward then?

I am sad, you can imagine what is happening in America, since I was small I have been hearing about KKK and now they are in power. When they killed that black man and their President did not apologise to them it shows the directive on the killings comes from the authority, you don’t need to be told. When they were protesting the George Floyd killing, other blacks have also been killed, the Covid-19 show that blacks are the highest people infected in the U.S, they would just treat the white allow them to go and the black are treated shabbily, that is racism. That is why they did not keep quiet, everything the man has been doing from day one shows racism and mind.

He became President just by manipulation of the system, that is why he can’t stay there by peace. You can see what is happening there, you would see the response to people’s demand when they were demanding for the scrapping of the Police.

The council quickly removed the status of slave traders that has been there for decades, it is different from what is happening here, if such happens they would just say ok go and form a committee and that would be the end of the matter. Imagine authorities giving some people money to protest what is bad. It makes me sad and withdrawn from politics.

So Mr President needs people that would project his name, all these people he is appointing I really don’t know.  It is sad someone contests for legislative position and he would be running after contract, all he thinks is to be running after juicy committees.

When you are saying democracy is to go with culture, culture is a way of life of the people, what is our orientation here? It is corruption, it is culture plus environment, when you open the television what they are showing is this man stealing ten million, EFCC took this man to Court and he was granted bail. You can see them put people in jail and they are released and they go back to the Senate and sit down again.

***********What is your take on the Honour for the late MKO Abiola by Muhammadu Buhari?

It is good that they honoured Abiola at the end of the day, but to me I have been blaming Abiola right from day one, I don’t know what he wanted in politics, if you are so interested in politics; if you have so much money and you have extra put it aside and be buying garri and be giving them.

*********But Abiola wanted political power?

Political power indeed, once you leave them you don’t attend to them they would not come to you and your company, maybe you just have to be attending their functions and when you can’t attend you give them apology. Abiola was a very useful brain and successful man, but he allowed people to push him; the people that pushed him are still enjoying until now, they enjoyed themselves with the military and they are now enjoying democracy.

Once you are gone you would not be able to speak to the people that you are crying for, I sympathise with the man and I appreciate the honour to him and thank the government for that.

***********What lessons are there to learn on the annulment of that election?

I talk about culture; this is the orientation they are giving young Nigerians, that you have to be corrupt, rig elections. To get there start dealing with the opposition, opposition is part of democracy, but now it is the ruling party that is talking against themselves, I am a member of the ruling party, ones I am not happy with what they are doing I would say it.

I have not taken one contract from anybody. I say it every time. What is the big deal about all this? The best thing is to think of what to do for our people and how to move forward?

***********INEC says they are ready for electronic voting in 2021. What is your take?

If they are very realistic about it ok; it was because they said they wanted to use electronic voting that I contested for senate in 2011, we started the election, I was leading seriously, but around 1pm they canceled the election with one nonsense reason and conducted it again within a week or two just because they were unable to distribute money to their people on time, against someone that has no money.

Is that the way to use power? And you are saying the government of the people for the people and by the people. Nigerians too have their blame; it is money, money and money. Anybody that does not have money in Nigeria is dead, they worship money, you come and they would all see a thief and stand up; it is so bad to the extent that it is not only politicians, civil servants too are involved, politicians are seasonal thieves.

You would go to a programme an Imam would sit down and be lying, even pastors just because they gave him money; we have to go back if we are serious.

**********Do you believe in zoning the presidency in 2023?

We should go back to the constitution on that and know what to do. If the constitution is not specific hold the constitution responsible. Power would come to the South if they are ready for that.

***********But there are insinuations about Bola Tinubu being interested in the presidency in 2023?

Well that could be speculation, I don’t know, Tinubu has not told me he wants to contest for the president of Nigeria, those putting up his name now could also do the same for anybody tomorrow.

***********Buhari is five years in office. What is your assessment of his administration?

Apart from insecurity, I have just come back from a tour of some states, I felt bad for our roads in the South West, but some areas that I saw I can see that they are serious and what to do something but the people around him he as to overhaul them and he has nothing less than 18 months, even less than that, after that forget.

************What is your take on the current crop of federal lawmakers?

The people are going there for the aim of making money, in the four years they want to make money; there is no time for them to think about you, the crop of lawmakers we have are repetition. It could also be good when they spend a long time there and get experience, but most of them are there through godfathers; it is in Lagos that we had a lawmaker that was there for 12 years without any contribution. They hold constituency meetings and know what affects them, through that they can generate bills and motions.

Quote

It is difficult for anybody who has ambition to talk, in the past they do, not now. Why can’t the government do things right; it is only when this is done that we can move forward. I have a group called; Conscience Forum, it is an NGO, it is for this kind of thing; if anything affects the Igbos, we would come out and talk, if it affects the Northern man, we would come out and talk about it, If it affects the South-South man we would also come out and talk.