Dr. Chris Ekiyor, the Capoon of the Benbow Deck of the National Association of Seadogs(NAS), has advocated for the return to the Option A4 if Nigeria desires to fix the ill plaguing the democratic system whereby non-state actors dictate the tunes.
He lamented that 25 years after the birth of democratic government in Nigeria not much has been achieved “we expect better.”
According to him, “we have more of burguoise leaders who service the elites as against the masses in the policies that they pursue. We are not doing the right things. I think we have a top bottom approach in solving our problems.”
On the gains accruing from the removal of petroleum subsidy, he averred that “what we have seen is that you took the money that government should pay on behalf of the people and passed it to the people to pay and that money you have taken has not reflected in the social structure for the people to benefit. Take for example if because you have removed subsidy schools from primary to secondary at all level is now free. Healthcare for people below 16 years is now free. Then we say your subsidy removal has paid off because that money has been invested in health and education.
“Public schools don’t function whether it’s state or federal government owned except those for the elites. Most private schools now provide education on behalf of public schools. This includes universities. Hospitals do not function. Ideally, the tertiary hospitals owned by the federal government and the specialist hospitals owned by the state governments should be the role model for healthcare and the private hospitals should be pursuing to catch up. The reverse is the case. Now, it is easy when the elites in power want to approve or assent to a law that will favour them. But it is almost always difficult to just assent to laws that can change the system.
“For instance I read a publication that says ‘the borders have been reopened you can import rice’. Who is going to import the rice among you and I seated here? That business is still for a few elites who will import and horde it and sell at a control price that they will decide. So it’s not solvable. The government today need to recalibrate and take certain defence steps that will fix common problems commonly. I am hearing the Minister(Of Works and Housing) say about super highways with electricity on all the highways. Citizens don’t have electricity in their house. Fix that first. It is not such an impossible thing to do in Nigeria. It is the elites that are making it impossible because they’re settling for less with the common patrimony of everybody.”
On power, “there is gas all over the Niger Delta all the way to Lagos. It is just like buying a generator and gasing it. The only infrastructure you need is networking the supply chain. It could be state responsibility to do that. They have unbundled the power laws so it is no longer in the exclusive list. Every state must have power. Federal Government must take the bold step to make sure that each state must have gas supply. If a state refuse to have turbine to power the state the citizen will know that it is the state that is failing. We must take certain collective steps to solve common problems.”
Talking about insecurity, “only a couple of days ago my kid brother was kidnapped on the Eweruni – Patani Road section of the East-West Road. Fortunately, some soldiers came to their rescue. I was shot at the same spot in 2018. This is 2024. That place is a security threat to commuters. It took Nyesom Wike to help in that Port Harcourt axis by going in with citizens and community boys. Our security system is challenged everyday trillions are spent on security gadgets that will not solve the problem. Get manpower. We are known for guerrila warfare. Knock off these aliens in our country that are creating the trouble. People can’t go to farm any more. We all have abandoned our farms. I have a farm I can’t go because even if I can defend myself I can’t defend the crops. We need to go back to the drawing board.”
On the national anthem: “They have been able to go back to the Nigeria we hail thee national anthem. Maybe it makes sense to the elites. I dont see any difference between that and the arise o compatriots. They are saying the same thing in different body language. Could they just go back to the 1979 Constitution or pre-independence constitution and take it from there.”
On the local government system: “Why are the governors holding on to local government autonomy perpetually? Is it there birth right? Because you are the governor in a state you cannot allow the local government to exist. Local government is just an appendicture of the governor who decides what happens there. So there is no development in anywhere in any form when you appoint a local government chairman through selective election. He knows that it is his turn to empower himself and his master. We should test our constitution, we should test the judiciary in a lot of these matters.”
He takes a swipe at the dollarisation of the economy, “why is the naira plumetting is it because Nigerians are importing so much? The answer is no. We can’t even import. The exchange rate is so high. It is because people are statching dollars and then banking sector through the Central Bank policy maker is making the dollar available to the elite to continue to statch. This is simple mathematics. If I want to buy a car in America I can’t pay in naira, I have to pay in dollars. That dollars doesn’t have to be with me in Nigeria. I pay my naira to my bank and my bank wires the dollar to the third party who sends me my car. That transaction can be trailed by the Central Bank, the MFIU and all the financial institutions. Why are we having dollars? You can’t find naira in the market in America or London.
On non-state actors taking control of election: “That is the kind of democracy that we are running in Nigeria. It is a shot gun democracy. The strongest not the popular cow the rest to submit to leadership. That is what we are practising in Nigeria. The most popular candidate may never win an election because the strongest will always have a way. I have always advocated for the option A4. You stand here I stand here others stand behind us. Everybody knows whose line is longer and we all rest. Nobody is going to say that. They will tell you that they are going to shoot there. We did it on June 12, 1993, it worked, nobody was shot.”
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