•Charles Anike
Hon. Charles Anike is the National President of Eastern Union (EU), a political pressure group for the people of the Old Eastern Region. In this interview, he takes a critical look at the Local Government Autonomy, hike in tariffs on essential goods and services, and ongoing maneuvering towards the 2027 elections, among other issues, reports Sunday Independent.
Excerpts:
How do you see the way state governors are controlling the affairs of local governments, including manipulation of Council elections despite the Supreme Court ruling on Local Government Autonomy?
We must understand that this country is governed by constitutional provisions. The country ab initio is run according to the wills and decisions of the person in power at a particular time. References to the constitution are rare and always at their will. Talking about the state governors and their control of the local governments, we must understand that the governors have over the years arrogated a lot of powers to themselves thereby making them operate like emperors in their states. Thus, they make local governments extend their offices. In their various states, they do whatever they want, without anybody daring them or questioning their authority. Whoever dares the governors may never live to tell the story. Therefore, no matter whatsoever the Supreme Court ruled or may still rule in future is none of their business. The state governors will always have a way of scheming things to their own advantage, irrespective of how their actions hurt the people. Who is that Local Government Chairman that can question the authority of his state governor? Remember, of course, that Local Government Chairmanship position, among other positions at the local government level, is often reserved to compensate the local election riggers.
So, how can you question a man who just merely appointed you to ‘come and chop’? Which smaller thieves have the right to catch bigger thieves? They are just partners in crime. Even the Justices at the Supreme Court knew they were wasting time making pronouncements on Local Government Autonomy. Is it not better to scrap the third tier of government than deceiving ourselves?
It does not make any sense wasting more resources on local government administration. It is working elsewhere, but it cannot just work here in Nigeria.
The Local Government Chairmen, so to say, are mere errand boys, or men of either the state governors, or some political heavyweights in the states.
Would you say that the various hikes in tariffs of essential services are really improving the economy as they are adding to the financial burdens of the citizens?
The continued hike in tariffs of essential goods and services is another aspect of injustice of the APC government’s insensitivity about the plights of the ordinary citizens.
The APC government since it assumed power, from Buhari to Tinubu, is out to inflict pains and more pains on the masses of this country. This is why the more the people complain and cry for the government to lose their yokes, the more the government introduces harsher policies and increases tariffs to tighten its yokes on the masses.
Go everywhere across the country, you will see people weeping and practically dying of hunger. But, does it matter to the task masters? No! The successive regimes of the APC lack ideas on how to run a good government and grow the economy to reduce hardship. They rather weaponise poverty and continue to focus on how they can perpetuate themselves in power to continue their stealing spree to maintain the status quo. Their myopic nature is such that they feel that the only strategy to remain in power to continue their looting spree will be by continuing to weaponise poverty. But, they are charlatans and a bunch of lying wonders that will last for too long. Shame on them!
What is your take on the increase of ATM charges by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as well as the hike on POS operators? What do all these say about the fiscal policies of the federal government?
This also boils down to the same thing already highlighted that what we have is a government that has no idea of how to grow an economy. This is why their only idea of revenue generation is foreign loans, more taxes and hiking of tariffs.
Even the supposed ‘experts’ among the government’s team has over time been converted to political propagandists. You can notice that every step they take is always geared towards retaining power and increasing the pains of the citizenry.
The pure truth is the APC operators have no genuine economic agenda or think tank. Rather, they will continue to operate on a trial and error basis, while taking every advantage to recruit and re-circle their partners in crime and cronies to powerful positions.
Would you say that President Bola Tinubu and the federal government’s Economic Team is really living up to expectations and capable of pulling Nigeria out of its economic quagmire?
Point of correction. Neither Tinubu, nor his federal government has any Economic Team. Do you at all know what an Economic Team means? Or, is it because we misuse words and terms in Nigeria? What we know they have is a political banditry team and should not be mistaken to mean an economic team. Okay, let us assume, or if you call them economic team(s), then who is their coach, or head of the team, or squad?
And what have they been able to achieve in the last two years? Please, let us not allow this set of clueless politicians to continue to deceive or play on our intelligence. Some of us are far better well educated than most of those people in government that are parading Toronto, Chicago State University and other such fake credentials. You cannot plant groundnuts and expect to harvest maize. It is not possible.
You appoint political thugs and election riggers and you call them an economic team or advisers and foolishly expect an economic boom right? Things do not work that way please .It is what you give out that nature gives back to you.
Do you think the ongoing realignment of Northern and Southern political forces can defeat the APC administration in 2027 and scuttle President Bola Tinubu’s second term dream?
Whether alignment or realignment, it will be very difficult to defeat Tinubu in 2027, if the necessary things are not fought for to be put in place before 2027. There is a whole lot to be done if Nigerians will ever experience the change they really deserve and have been clamouring for. Before 2027, the electoral law must be reviewed and amended to compulsorily favour electronic transmissions of results right from the polling units to the servers.
Without electronic transmission of results from the polling units, nobody should waste people’s time and resources because anything less will amount to wasteful and fruitless ventures.
Unfortunately, most of those we currently have at the National Assembly are beneficiaries of the fraudulent 2023 polls. Therefore, who then will bell the cat? We must understand clearly that Tinubu is not Goodluck Jonathan and he does not at any time in his political career believe the language, or in anything called free, fair and credible elections. His language and ideology was and still is, ‘grab it and run with it’. Without the review and amendment of the electoral laws and, of course, making electronic transmissions compulsory, the 2027 elections, like that of 2023, will be an exercise in futility.
It will rather be just a mere fanfare for Bola Tinubu and the APC. The realignment is very important and necessary only if such a realignment can excuse some clowns and inconsequential political liabilities, who over the years have squandered their opportunities and now are constituting nuisances in the nation’s political space. But realignment is very necessary since no one geopolitical group can win the presidential election.
For electoral victory, we need the collaboration and cooperation of all the zones. However, the most important step is that there must be joint forces that must compel the National Assembly to do the needful. Otherwise, there will be no need to waste people’s time and resources.
By the way, what is Prof Mahmood Yakubu still doing at INEC? And we are here preparing and talking about 2027. Any election that will take place in future under Prof Mahmood Yakubu’s watch will be nothing, but a jamboree. The guy is already gazetted to be fantastically corrupt.
Further discussion on the need for realignment can only make sense and produce the desired successes, if some elements with inordinate ambitions and ‘born to ruin’ mentality can be avoided or bypassed in the new arrangement.
We are really referring to those who jumped in and out of PDP at will. Those are people who proudly joined forces with the enemies of Nigerians to bring the country down to where we are today. We are still talking about those power drunk individuals who are liaising with all the parties and creating conflicts and confusion in the parties. Yes, those who do not have party ideology and integrity, but desperately understand every rule, are just too eager to fulfill their greed for power.
Tinubu and his APC would be a walk over and easiest to defeat, if these measures are put in place. Because Nigerians, even from his home state, already believe that the names, Tinubu and APC, are plagues over Nigeria that must be jointly uprooted by all means and at all costs come 2027.
The only thing Tinubu has been consistent with is changing people from their offices, replacing other tribes with his Yoruba friends and renaming vital institutions and other frivolities to buy time.
What leadership alternative would you say the Leftists can provide for Nigerians since both major political parties, APC and PDP, have been tried and failed?
In Nigeria, it is very difficult to really differentiate between various political groups and beliefs because there is always a mix-up of the Leftists and those in the Right wing. Nigerian politicians lack political ideology and integrity. So, their driving forces are usually the quest for material acquisition and power control. Otherwise, what on earth should have brought Buhari and Tinubu together in the same boat?
