Durojaiye: Buhari deserves another tenure

Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye is the chairman, Board of Commissioners for Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Durojaiye, who represented Ogun East in the Senate during the Fourth Republic on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), spoke with reporters in Lagos on why President Muhammadu Buhari should be re-elected, the division in Afenifere and other partisan issues. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI was there.

The presidential election is about a month away. Can you give us an assessment of the chances of President Muhammadu Buhari?

Very robust, if Nigerians would be objective and deliver a sound judgment. I think President Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, should be given a chance to serve for a second term; they have done as much as any man can do, given the circumstances of this country. If you recollect what the country has gone through since the return of civil rule in 1999, particularly given what could have been, going by the revenue that has accrued to the country; the indebtedness of the country in many areas; the collapse of many values, including education and electricity generation. The only area I can give the PDP administration credit is that of agriculture. The administration scored more than average in agriculture in 16 years. They also did well in telecommunication in the sense that it is in their time that GSM was introduced into the country. There may be others, but those are the two that I remember. Otherwise, it was an abysmal failure. Since this administration came in four years ago, look at what has happened in the banking industry, in terms of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), that is a very good thing for the economy. The Buhari administration has done well in the area of putting the economy on sound footing. Electricity generation which is a necessity for industrialisation was at an abysmal low level when the administration came on board. Not that we are through the woods yet, but things are a bit better now, in terms of electricity generation and distribution. Then look at the area of telecommunications where I have my own experience. The sector today contributes about 10 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of this country. Every quarter we contribute about three to four trillion naira. Look at what the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali, is doing. Smuggling may not have stopped, but when you look critically you will see a marked improvement. Then look at the wonderful work Babatunde Fowler is doing in the area of tax generation; there is hope for this country.

Another quality of Mr. President that people may not have noticed is the tendency to build rather than to destroy; the tendency for continuity. I said earlier that the PDP did well in agriculture; Mr. President has continued the good work in that sector and we are all seeing the dividends today. What I’m saying is that where Buhari finds something good, he doesn’t disrupt it to massage his own ego, but rather builds on it for the progress of the country. Nigeria has been so fortunate to have Akinwunmi Adesina as the immediate past minister of agriculture and he has been followed by another minister, Audu Ogbe, who is also doing very well. By this time last year, Governor Ibikunle Amosun invited me for a function and I saw for the first time a rice pyramid. When we were growing up, we were familiar with the ground but pyramid in Kano. This is a sign of good things to come. One of the factors that have undermined our development was that most governments do not follow up on the good things that their predecessors did. They would rather stop such initiatives, so that they can award their own contracts. This is one of the negative things we experienced during the era of national planning. There is something good in the continuity of a programme or of the same party in power; you don’t just disrupt, just because you want a change. Invariably, if you look at it critically, the bulk of it is selfishness, because they are not getting enough under a particular project or government and if there is a change they would be able to get enough share of the national cake. It is this same Buhari administration that is revisiting the steel project at Ajaokuta, which is necessary for our industrialisation. There is no way we can industrialise without iron and steel; it is the basic raw material we need to make corrugated iron sheets, to make steel doors, to fabricate many things, including vehicles and the rest of it. It was in the development plan of Nigeria, but after the era of the super perm secs, who assisted General Yakubu Gowon in his administration, see what has happened to the country. So, we have not been able to put iron and steel at the level it should have been. Look at the improvement on roads. For instance, during the 16 years of the PDP, no serious attention was paid to the Lagos/Ibadan expressway, an important road that services the whole country. Not only is the Buhari administration fixing the roads, it is also revamping the railways. I understand the Lagos/Ibadan rail project has passed Abeokuta; I’m sure it will be completed in a matter of months.

What is your assessment of the way this government has handled security in the last four years?

You should be fair to me. You would not expect me to come out openly and criticise my own party, unless I have a major reason to do so. Those who know me know that I am always outspoken. It has been a major terrible situation in terms if security. But the Book Haran insurgency started more than four years ago and it is not a creation of the APC. If anything, the APC has done more to quell it and reduce it to a manageable level. I understand that you journalists have made some adverse contribution to the matter. For instance, I saw it in the papers that the military had a plan to make a movement, but one newspaper leaked it and Boko Haram vamoosed before the military could take a step. It is a collective effort; those of us in the communication industry have a responsibility to contribute our quota to make sure that this people don’t disrupt our progress. I believe it is a question of time before they are vanquished.

The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, appear to be divided over the coming election, with members supporting different parties. What is your reaction to this development?

What is going on in Afenifere is not new. The skirmish started almost 20 Yeats ago; at least when Pa Abraham Adesanya was still in charge. It was a very hot debate, as to whether the organisation should go all out and campaign for a particular political party. There were people in the group who were senior to us who said we should go all out as a political party. But I opposed the idea and Papa Ayo Fasanmi was another member who spoke along that line. He saw the point I was making that we should not deviate from the ideas of the founding fathers of Afenifere, which translates to welfarism. Moves were made to reconcile the issue in-house. I remember that the late Governor Lam Adesina once hosted the two sides at Ibadan, in 2004, to try to solve the problem. But the reconciliation failed.  But regarding developments now in the group, I want the people to decide which of the two sides of Afenifere – those supporting Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and we that are supporting APC – is right. It is not yet time to talk; let’s go to the election first. I want to let people to know about the achievements of President Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbanjo’s administration. When we talk of welfare, let us take a look at Marketmoni and TraderMoni ; it is a novelty for the welfare of the people. All these amount to welfarism i.e. greater comfort and happiness to the masses of the people. This is what the Yoruba call Afenifere. And that is why the “Afenifere alias Egbe itesiwaju Yoruba” strongly supports and recommends that all fellow Nigerians should vote for Buhari/Osinbajo, as well as all APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.

Do you mean if Papa Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin and Pa Abraham Adesanya were alive today they would support the APC?

No doubt about it; we know what they stood for. Look at these people,  who are saying that they are the original Afenifere and all that, how many candidates do they have in t local governments of their respective areas, in the state assemblies, in the federal House if Representatives or the Senate? Go and check, 90 per cent of the politicians you will find in the above positions are members of the APC Afenifere. It is because of the arrogance I spoke of that brought about the Hon. Wale Oshun-led Afenifere Renewal group. In the end, I believe we will still come back together, but will be after the election.

Are Yoruba elders supporting Buhari out of fear?

Fear? Throw it away. How many people have the type of courage the Yoruba had when they confronted the former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha (rtd) under the umbrella of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO)? Though we have some Igbo like Real Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd), but they were very few; it was mainly the Yoruba and then Pa Anthony Enahoro. Those who engaged vicious military dictators this country ever had are Yoruba. I suffered more than a year in isolation. I was on a floor in a small room, given one meal a day: does that reflect fear? And when it comes to integrity, I am one of those who can beat their chests. So, the theory of fear cannot be justified by fact. I have run for the president of this country.

Are you in support of restructuring?

Yes, certainly, we believe in restructuring; we as Yorubas and I think the Igbos too. In fact, there are people in the North who also believe that restructuring makes sense. Restructuring is not the only thing we are asking for. We also believe the presidential system is too expensive and should be scrapped and replaced with the parliamentary system. Some of us have been asking for that right from NADECO days, because it is cheaper. So, restructuring cannot be achieved by warfare; we have to convince those who are opposed to it, to see the merits of our argument and why we need to restructure. Until they see it, it will not be easy.