•Martin Onovo
Chief Martin Onovo, a seasoned activist and politician, is the 2015 presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) and currently, the Head, Policy Positions, Movement for Fundamental Change (MFC). In this interview with Daily Independent, Onovo speaks on the recently held Edo governorship election and the fall-outs, among other issues. Excerpts:
The Edo governorship election has come but the outcome is still reverberating. Could you give us your view on the election?
Please, there was no democratic election in Edo State. Do not call that an election. There is no democracy in Nigeria. Democracy is from the Greek ‘Demos’ and ‘Kratia’. ‘Demos’ means people and ‘Kratia’ means govern. So, democracy is government as directed by the people. The two pillars of democracy are the rule-of-law and the integrity of the ballot. Both are absent in Nigeria presently. What we have now is a maximum civilian dictatorship. The current civilian dictatorship in Nigeria arranged a charade and appointed a governor for Edo State. It was not a surprise to us because we know the undemocratic Emi lo kan modus operandi of the current civilian dictatorship in Nigeria and we expected the Edo State charade. After the ‘coup d’etat’ called presidential elections in 2023, the ruling cabal consolidated its scheme for the seizure of governance in Nigeria. Thereafter, we saw the Imo State and Kogi State charades. Now, we have seen it repeated again in Edo State. It is a celebration of criminal brigandage and impunity. Very clearly; Jagaban Tinubu publicly promised to “give” Edo State to APC. He proceeded to do so with impunity. He used INEC and the Police to “give” Edo State to his APC. The partisan INEC with Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman also had Wike’s cousin and acolyte as Edo State REC. They violated the rules of the election. In some constituencies the fraudulent results showed the number of votes higher than the number of accredited voters. Collation was hijacked and agents of participating parties were excluded to allow the criminal forgery of results. The Police officers were viciously intimidating and arresting supporters of other parties and also provided cover for the hijack of collation and forgery of results. Most importantly, the declared results are different from the authentic results published on the INEC IReV. We can accept the electoral fraud in Edo State the same way we accepted the 2023 ‘coup d’etat’ or we reject it categorically. The acceptance of the 2023 ‘coup d’etat’ is the precedent and foundation of our current civilian dictatorship.
Who are those you think should be blamed for irregularities observed in the Edo governorship election?
INEC is independent by law and has the responsibility to conduct elections. INEC conducted the election and INEC declared the fraudulent results with impunity. INEC must be blamed. That is the same way INEC rigged the presidential election, the Imo State election and the Kogi State election prior to this Edo State election. That is now the norm. It is terrifyingly incompetent for the mass media to continue to call this Stone Age dictatorship, a democracy. If the leadership of INEC is corrupt and slavish to the ruling cabal, that cannot shield them from responsibility for forgery of results.
Do you think with the new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) in place the courts could be trusted to correct the perceived injustices in the Edo governorship election?
We think it is beyond any CJN because the problem is systemic. You can refer to the valedictory speech of the former Deputy Chairman of the NJC, the Hon. Justice Dattijo, JSC, to validate our position. Remember that the new CJN was in the notorious Supreme Court panel that appointed a Supreme Court “governor” for Imo State in 2020. She can surely try, but it will take a lot of effort and sacrifice and she may not foster the motivation and the fortitude for the herculean charge because the problem is systemic.
The Ondo governorship election will soon be held. Would you say the experiences in Edo will also play out in Ondo? If so, why?
Following the clearly established and consolidated trend, we will say that whoever the ruling cabal wishes to appoint as governor of Ondo State will be appointed after a charade and the other candidates will be advised with impunity to ‘go to court’. I will not vote again in Nigeria until I am convinced that my vote will count. There are two viable options we see for Nigeria now, a peaceful people’s revolution or restructuring to true federalism.
What are some of the issues that have come up in the local council elections recently held in some states? How could these challenges be corrected?
Local council elections conducted by states have comparatively been worse. Consistently, it is near 100 percent victory for the ruling party in almost all the states. In many states, there is no voting. Typically, the ruling party directs the SIEC officers with the election materials to their coordinator in an LGA. The coordinator distributes the materials to their party agents who arrange to thumbprint ballot papers secretly in a private property and then complete the result sheets and return to the collation centres. The impunity is suffocating.
The Rivers State crisis is yet to be resolved. How do you think the crisis could end?
Clearly, if Barr. Wike does not back down, the crisis will only escalate. He has failed in his desperate attempt to vicariously control Rivers State.
Would you say the militarisation of elections is a plus or minus? How could elections be held without militarisation and it will still be peaceful, free, fair and credible?
In the lawless ambience and insecurity in Nigeria, special security measures are necessary. The military provides peripheral and back-up security for elections. The corrupt Nigerian Police still leads elections security operations in Nigeria.
What is take on federal government’s recourse to intimidation of unionists and activists with the actions against Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, the arrest threat against Omoyele Sowore, National Leader of the African Action Congress (AAC) and the invasion of SERAP’s office in Abuja?
We are not surprised. We studied and understood the man called Jagaban Tinubu. We have predicted flawlessly. We predicted he would visit violence on peaceful protesters and we were right. We predicted he would abuse the office and we are right. We predicted that he would disregard the law and we are right. To understand Jagaban Tinubu, you must understand his Emi lo kan profile. Emi lo kan, properly understood, implies selfishness and lawlessness. These have become the norm and some Nigerians are resisting them. The Emi lo kan template is similar to mafia tactics. They first try to bribe people to tow their line. If that fails, they threaten or force persons using any form of violence. All those that refuse to be bribed, they will attempt to compel by violence. Remember when Chief Gani Fawehinmi was attacked in the court premises in Ikeja. Remember the violent attack on the NLC President in Imo State by the thugs of the ruling party backed by the Police. Remember the peaceful protesters that were killed in August. These attacks will continue with the Police, DSS and the judiciary will be manipulated to tolerate these abuses. Nigerians must persevere. The Emi lo kan template will surely fail. It is already failing, the SA Media and Publicity has resigned. The DG NIA has resigned. The DG DSS has resigned. Hundreds of Army personnel are resigning. The regime has failed woefully like we predicted and intimidation and violence cannot help it.
A cross section of Nigerians has been calling for a revolution to end bad governance. What form do you think this revolution should take for it to be successful and receive mass support?
There are two viable options we see for Nigeria now, a peaceful people’s revolution or restructuring to true federalism. Currently, the overwhelming majority has concluded that Alhaji Tinubu is unfit to lead. Some are calling for a ‘Government of National Unity’. Others are calling for Restructuring and some others are calling for ‘RevolutionNow’. The revolution will take the form that the political majority prefers.
As an expert in the oil sector, how do you see the recent hike in fuel price?
It is clearly unjustifiable, but the matter is beclouded by the false propaganda of the government and their apologists. It becomes more complicated by the level of illiteracy and the very poor quality of education in Nigeria. Subsidy properly defined, is when the cost is higher than the sale price. With the fundamental dysfunctionality of importation of petroleum products, fuel prices are definitely much higher, but with domestic refining, fuel prices should be much less. We must encourage domestic refining to grow our GDP, reduce unemployment, conserve FOREX and reduce the product cost.
What is your take on the ongoing disagreement between Dangote Refinery, NNPCL and Independent oil marketers?
It is principally rooted in the unpatriotic vested interests in the importation of petroleum products that are threatened by the Dangote Refinery. The preferred petroleum products supplies from Malta are threatened by the Dangote Refinery and so, they moved unpatriotically to destroy the refinery. They failed woefully. The Dangote Refinery, though privately owned, is a very valuable asset to Nigeria. The NNPCL leadership is not only incompetent and corrupt, but also completely shameless. Independent oil marketers are private business entities committed to defending their business interests.
What is your take on the planned cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu?
Is Alhaji Bola Tinubu a ‘president’? According to Mrs. Aisha Yesufu, “Nigeria has no president” and we agree with her. Alhaji Bola Tinubu, with his INEC and judicial acolytes, cannot impose himself on us. He lost the elections woefully. Anybody that accepts any appointment from Alhaji Tinubu should review his moral criteria.
