Akinjide
served as minister of education in the Tafawa Balewa’s cabinet in the
First Republic and as minister of Justice and Attorney General in the
Second Republic government of President Shagari. Akinjide was a
frontline member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN and
served as the party’s legal adviser prior to his appointment as attorney
general.
He is presently, a member of the Board of Trustees, BoT of the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In this interview, he reviews the actions
and inactions of the Buhari government, the prospects of the PDP
following its recent electoral loss among other national issues.
You have not been so visible in politics in recent times.
Is it age or you are just playing it cool?
I am a prominent member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP and I
play very active role in Ibadan, Oyo State and in other parts of the
country. So I am very active in the PDP.
Apart from the former Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Jumoke
Akinjide, is there any of your other children who is also in politics?
All of them. Abayomi who also is a lawyer is very active in politics,
Mobola, my daughter is very active in politics and if you count Jumoke
that makes them three, so my family is very active in politics.
What is your assessment of the assignment of portfolios to the ministers?
He nominated very good people, I have no doubt about that. But my
concern is with Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. When we were in
Lagos as Federal Capital, Yar Adua was a Minister for Lagos and he came
from the North. When Obasanjo was in office before the Capital Territory
was created, a Yoruba person was in charge. But since the Capital
Territory has been created, Northerners have been ministers throughout. I
don’t think that is the best for the country.
I will like to see an Igbo, Yoruba, Middle-Belt man be a minister in
charge of the Capital Territory. To consistently pick someone from the
North as Minister for the Capital Territory is not in our national
interest and is not good. I am not saying the people that have been
picked are bad but I am talking about geographical spread. We should not
give the impression that the capital territory belongs to a particular
part of the country. It should be something that belongs to the whole
country. That is the objection I have and I hope that will be corrected
very soon.
Since President Buhari assumed office six months ago, how can you rate his performance in the fight against terrorism?
He has been trying his best. I mean there are areas in which I might
have done things differently but overall, I will give him a good pass
mark as president of the country.
So Nigerians did not make mistake voting him as the President?
I would not say Nigerians have made mistake although I would have
preferred Goodluck Jonathan to win the election. But since he has been
elected, I accept the election and all of us will support him to
succeed.
In your wealth of wisdom, what do you think the president should do to make this country better?
Economically, Nigeria is the greatest in Africa. There is no doubt
about that. But, we have a committee of 20 of which South Africa is a
member and Nigeria is not, I don’t think that can be supported at all.
Nigeria should be one of the people in the committee of 20, why Nigeria
is excluded, I don’t understand at all. It cannot be defended, it cannot
be justified. We should not be looked upon as if we are the colony of
Europe or somebody who should be playing third or fourth role in that
regard. Europe and America, Japan are wrong.
What is your candid advice to both the Federal Government and the Pro Biafran protesters on the Biafran agitation?
Anybody supporting Biafra must be very, very wrong. I don’t know
their reason but whatever their reason, they are wrong. We fought a war
for three years over Biafra and Biafra was defeated and the whole
country united with the belief that Nigeria should remain one country
and the Igbo joined the country and since then they have been governors
in the country, they have been ministers both at the state and federal
levels. They have been ambassadors abroad. I don’t see why anybody
should now be asking for Biafra again, I think it should be rejected.
I think they should call them to a meeting and talk to them as father
to son and ask them to stop because there is no reason for them to do
what they are doing. In the last government, we had an Igbo as Minister
of Finance (Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) and also, we had an Igbo as
Secretary to the government, we also had Igbo as ambassadors in many
parts of the world. So, there is no excuse for anybody to say he wants
to break up the country again after we fought a bloody war of about
three years. We don’t want to go back to that. We want peace everywhere
and we want a fair share whether you are from the North, East, West,
South, Middle-Belt everything should be evenly and fairly distributed.
While you say you are still active in politics but the likes of Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, and Edwin Clark have chosen to opt out of politics.
Do you think it is good for the polity when men of your stature are
opting out one by one?
Those people you have mentioned have positions and are statesmen.
There is no way they can get out of politics. It is in our blood; it is
part of our life and it is in the national interest for us to be
actively involved in politics and in governance. I will forever be in
politics throughout my life, I will not opt out of it at all either as
an adviser or as a statesman. In whatever form that is appropriate, I
will definitely play some role in the national interest.
What do you think actually led to the defeat of PDP in the last general election?
I don’t want to talk on the defeat of PDP. In all elections, somebody
has to win somebody has to lose. Nobody should talk of defeat as if it
is a disease. When they do elections in America, one has to win one has
to lose. The same in England, even in Germany, Israel, Australia and
Japan. Defeat in election is not a disease; it is a normal process. One
party cannot be in power forever and one party cannot be in opposition
forever. I don’t see defeat as a disease; I see it as a normal political
process.
But the fact is that with the reputed numerical superiority and
influence that PDP wielded years back, nobody thought it could lose
election quickly?
I don’t use the word quick. What happened was normal; sometimes, a
party rules the country and in another election it is defeated and after
another election that party finds its way back. Don’t look at winning
or defeat as a disease it is a normal process. It happened recently in
Canada whereby the son of a former prime minister is now a prime
minister in Canada.
Looking at our electoral system, what do you think should be done to
make it more attractive to people outside to stop complaints of rigging?
It is culture. This type of election is not in our blood. We
copied it from Europe and America and other countries, and over in the
generations and years to come it will become part and parcel of our
culture. Look at India. India is the second largest country in the world
following China and yet in my view the greatest democracy in the world
is India. I will rate India better than America and that is very good
and that is what Nigeria should copy.
So, do you see any role for the BOT of the PDP to return the party to winning ways?
Leadership is very important, leadership of the party with the right
person. Then, two, we should nominate the right candidate, once we have
the right leadership and candidates who have credibility. I am sure the
country will vote for PDP again.
The issue of internal democracy was very loud in the PDP in Oyo State
and some other states prior to the last general elections. So, what is
really the way out?
That is subjective whether there is internal democracy or not. What I know is that in any election, one will win one will lose.
Whether this is the reason for winning or losing is a different
matter. But I have no problem that what happened has happened and I have
no doubt that PDP will come back to power again, PDP will win
elections.
In 2019?
As soon as possible.
Can you say precisely that PDP did well in the last 16years?
Very well in many respects.
Very well?
That comment is subjective. It is not objective and other people may
hold opposite views. Politics is argument and I listen to anybody
whether it is right or wrong. But in my view, PDP has done well. Once we
pick the right leadership to run the party and we pick the right
candidates to contest elections for us at all levels we will be winning.
Do you agree with Raymond Dokpesi when he said that the party made a mistake on the issue of zoning?
He said the party ought to have allowed the North to complete its
term and also to allow the North to go for a 2nd term instead of
choosing the former President Goodluck Jonathan.
You may be right you may be wrong. I respect his opinion that is what is
called democracy. You may see something as white, I may see it as black
and you may see it as green.
Ok sir, do you believe in Zoning?
Oh yes. Certainly, we cannot be monolithic. One country cannot be
run by a set of people all the time. We can have a Yoruba running it
this time next time it could be Igbo after that it may be Kanuri, Hausa
or Fulani. I believe that we should be moving the offices from place to
place.
Given the recent kidnap of Chief Olu Falae by some Fulani herdsmen
and the agitation of some Yoruba leaders on the issue, what suggestions
would you proffer to solve the issue of Fulani herdsmen in the
Southwest?
What they did to Falae was very bad and we all support Falae. But, I
don’t believe we should break up the country. We should be objective; we
should be nationalistic. We should warn those people and if they don’t
stop they should be called to order.
What is your advice to the APC government, at least on how it can do things better?
We should offer very strong opposition at the federal level and make
sure the government is run properly and in those states where we won
elections, we should provide good government and run the government
properly. In those areas where we are opposition, we should be good
opposition, we should not make it as a matter of life and death.
How has the judicial system fared in the last 55 years after independence?
Oh Nigeria we’ve got the best democracy and judiciary in the whole of
Africa. I have no doubt about that at all. If you look at our judgments
and law reports it is as good as anything in Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, England and we will continue to do better. I am proud of this
country. I am a member of the English Bar, Nigeria Bar and African Bar. I
practise in three jurisdictions and I enjoy it very much.
Is there any of your children practising law?
Oh yes. I have about nine or ten of my children who read law and
wife and grandchildren who are studying law and I have about three of my
grandchildren who are in banking and I also have in business and I am
very proud of my children and grandchildren. I have been lucky the boys
have married very well likewise the girls and we will do our best to
continue to contribute to the well being of this country.
Monday, 30 November 2015
The apex Igbo organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, rose from its Imeobi (highest decision organ) meeting in Enugu and called on the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the detained Director of Radio Biafra and leader of IPOB, unconditionally. Nnamdi-Kanu in court Nnamdi-Kanu in court However, the meeting, which was billed to hold with representatives of MASSOB and IPOB was boycotted by the pro-Biafra groups. Ohanaeze‘s directive was contained in a communique jointly signed by the National President of Ohanaeze, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey and the Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nworgu. They said that agitations and public protests over Biafra had been exacerbated by the detention of Mr. Kanu, the director of Radio Biafra. At the meeting attended by representatives of both the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, in Enugu yesterday, Ohanaeze further expressed displeasure over the continued incarceration of Kanu, saying that it was gravely concerned over current wide-spread public Biafra agitations in states of the South-East and some other states of Nigeria for the actualization of Biafra. The communique read in part: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organization of Ndigbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora, is gravely concerned by current wide-spread and public Biafra agitations in states of the South-East and some other states of Nigeria. “These agitations and public protests have become exacerbated by the detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the promoter/proprietor/director of Radio Biafra by Department of State Services, DSS.” It further stated that “Ohanaeze Ndigbo fears that these developments may threaten the security and peaceful co-existence of Nigerians wherever they may be domiciled, and consequently, decided to summon an emergency meeting of Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo to discuss the situation. “This emergency meeting was held in Enugu at the National Secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on Sunday, (yesterday), November 29, 2015. Representatives of the various organizations and associations involved in the current public protest also attended the meeting. “The Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo, after extensive candid discussions and analysis of the situation is of the view that the current agitations are the direct result of the excruciating pain of severe injustice, marginalization and exclusion of Ndigbo from decision making structures in Nigeria as currently configured. “The Imeobi Ohanaeze Ndigbo strongly avers that the exclusion of Ndigbo in decision making structure presents danger to the unity and well-being of the country, not only now, but also in future, and should be redressed urgently. Attacking Uwazuruike Meantime, the movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, also yesterday, lashed out on the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, accusing him of hypocrisy and deceit over his call for the unconditional release of the incarcerated director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government. This came as the former Chairman of Police Service Commission, PSC, Chief Simon Okeke cautioned some Igbo elders to “stop making pronouncements that can be very infuriating and dishonourable to the agitating groups . He also urged them to speak out early when youths start derailing, instead of keeping what he called “criminal silence” and subsequently condemning them when things get out of hand. MASSOB and IPOB leaders after their joint meeting attended by other leaders of the two groups said: “Chief Uwazurike’s appeal was “an expression full of insincerity.” The groups’ statement made available to newsmen by Mr. Uchenna Madu, and spokesman of IPOB Mr. Emma Powerful on behalf of other leaders, also alleged that “Uwazurike has never liked Mr. Kanu because he (Kanu) is becoming more popular, consistent and trusted by Biafra agitators,” adding that “in Uwazurike’s mind, he is happy with Kanu’s ordeal in the hands of the Federal Government .” Chief Uwazurike while addressing loyalists and friends of MASSOB who stormed Owerri for the third anniversary of the exit of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which had Ojukwu’s wife, Chief Bianca Ojukwu, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun and Major Hamza Al- Mustapha in attendance had called for Nnamdi Kanu’s release. “We do not believe in Uwazuruike’s call for Mr. Kanu’s release, just as we condemn the speBiafra is dead and buried – Akinjide
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