Nigeria in debt trap, accelerating to debt crisis – Onovo

A former presidential candidate, Engr. Martin Onovo, who is also Head of Policy Positions, Movement for Fundamental Change, in this interview with NATIONAL DAILY, decries the poor indices of Nigeria’s economy and security which he said have been precipitating monumental crisis in the country. He advocates the need for better governance of the country.

Would you agree with the Transparency International ranking Nigeria 146^th of 180 country in its 2019 ‘Corruption Perception Index’?

Yes. According to the celebrated labour and human rights activist, Barr. Femi Aborishade, ‘APC government is deeper in the pit of corruption than any regime in the history of Nigeria’. We agree with him. The facts and reports, including Transparency International’s reports and United States Department of States reports confirm that this is the most corrupt government ever in Nigeria. The government is so corrupt that it chants anti-corruption slogans to deceive the simple minded.

The “anti-corruption war” was deliberately designed to promote corruption by the membership of the ruling party and persecute members of opposition parties. All the positions, actions, inactions and results seen so far, confirm that this is the most corrupt government ever in Nigeria. You can remember the position of the National Chairman of the ruling party who said, “once you join the APC, all your sins are forgiven”. You can confirm how some opposition party members proclaimed as most corrupt by the ruling party were appointed ministers when they crossed over to the ruling party. You can see how clear allegations against leaders of the ruling party are corruptly ignored by the EFCC. We can see how the Auditor General of the Federation, the United States Government, leading ethical analysts and Transparency International have all confirmed increasing opacity and massive corruption in the government. We must not forget the FOREX scams, the oil subsidy scam, the NEMA contracts scam or the N18 billion Boundary Communities Development Agency contracts scam or the $25 billion  (N8 Trillion) NNPC contracts scam, etc.

Is the ranking of Nigeria as the 3rd terrorist country in the world not disputable?

We think it is obvious that Nigeria is one of the most terrorized countries in the world. The ranking of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) uses the number of fatalities caused by terrorists. The only way to dispute it will be to contradict the index or the numbers. If the GTI uses other indices like the number of soldiers killed by terrorists or the number of military bases over-run by terrorists or the number of IDPs resulting from terrorism, Nigeria may actually be the most terrorized country in the world.

Are the southwest governors justified in establishing Amotekun?

Yes! Most definitely!! They are justified. It is their constitutional responsibility to protect their people. They can proceed to establish the legal details as agreed with the Attorney General of Federation to prevent any friction with federal security agencies. We know that terrorism and violent crimes have reached unprecedented levels in many parts of Nigeria. Governors as constitutional Chief Security Officers of their states have the constitutional authority to take appropriate steps to protect life and property.

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Is the federal government not right in declaring Amotekun illegal with reference to the constitution?

The Attorney General of the Federation is reported to have said at his meeting with Southwest Governors, that the position of the federal government was misinterpreted.

Can Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the associated burdens be justified?

The rising debt burden cannot be justified. This Gen. Buhari government claims it has been borrowing since 2016 for infrastructural development but we have not seen any significant infrastructural development. We have not seen any new refinery or new power station. We have only seen more debt and increased recurrent waste. Currently, the country is in a debt trap and is accelerating to a debt crisis due to the reckless and unpatriotic borrowing by this cataclysmic Gen. Buhari regime.

Is it rational for Emeka Ihedioha to return to the Supreme Court on the Imo Governorship Election judgement already concluded by the apex court?

It is right to approach the Supreme Court for a review if a case is clearly perverse. His Excellency, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, should insist on a review by another Supreme Court panel that is selected strictly on seniority of judges that were not in the first panel.

Would you consider federal government’s release of repentant Boko Haram members a way of ending the security crisis in the North East Nigeria?

No. That is dangerous and discriminatory. That is a way of promoting Boko Haram terrorism. People have been convicted in Nigeria for stealing N2,000. Hundreds of unarmed Shiites were killed in Nigeria for allegations of blocking of the convoy of the Chief of Army staff. IPOB members were killed for peaceful protests. Presently, Boko Haram has killed and kidnapped innocent citizens, destroyed infrastructure and properties, burnt Churches, killed thousands of Nigerian soldiers and over-run many military bases and, then, we release their fighters? These fighters can go back to re-join Boko Haram. Gen. Buhari must go, now!

Was the Nigerian Senate right in admitting that the country’s security system has failed?

The rubber-stamp Nigerian Senate was late in admitting that the country’s security has failed because it failed many years ago when the Gen. Buhari government negotiated and paid a C2 million Euro ransom to Boko Haram. Since then, Boko Haram resurged.

What do you think are the flaws in the current security system?

The flaws include lack of sincerity of purpose and corruption in all its dimensions. We saw how the Dr. Jonathan administration degraded Boko Haram early in 2015 and how Boko Haram resurged after Gen. Buhari took power, arranged negotiation with Boko Haram and paid a huge ransom of C2 million Euros to Boko Haram. We also know that our soldiers are de-motivated by the corruption, sectionalism and mediocrity in the military.

How would you evaluate the government under President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress?

We agree with the conclusion of Aisha Yesufu that the regime is Incompetent, Clueless and Inept. We add that it is also extremely corrupt. The results are obvious, insecurity is higher, poverty is worse and corruption is worse.

1. And what should be done?

Gen. Buhari must go. He must resign immediately or be impeached. The government is extremely corrupt and has failed catastrophically on all fronts.

On the release of Boko Haram, does this imply sympathy for the terrorist group by President  Buhari?

It was reported that Gen. Buhari declared that, ‘An attack on Boko Haram is attack on the North’. The actions and inactions of the Gen. Buhari government suggest that he has sympathy for Boko Haram. His government paid a huge ransom to Boko Haram and released their captured commanders back to them. Also, many of their captured terrorists were released on the claim of repentance. If you look at the Mission Statement of Boko Haram and the ‘Sharia Declaration’ of Gen. Buhari, they are very similar.

According to Boko Haram, ‘By Allah we will not stop fighting until every Nigerian abides by Sharia law. If you don’t abide, we will kill you’

According to Gen. Buhari, ‘I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God-willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia all over the country’

Senator Abaribe has asked Gen. Buhari to resign over the rising insecurity in Nigeria. What is your opinion?

Senator Abaribe is a very brilliant, courageous and patriotic politician. He is right. We can remember that the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) first called on Gen. Buhari to resign some years ago. We insist that Gen. Buhari must resign or be impeached immediately to forestall further destruction of Nigeria.