‘We can present ourselves as third alternative party there is a conspiracy of silence on BokoHaram’

Former Secretary to the Federal Government Chief Olu Falae, led the Southwest delegation to the just concluded National Conference.

In this interview, the former presidential candidate of the defunct All People’s Party, APP, explains how and why the confab succeeded. He debunks insinuations that the conference was influenced by external forces. Speaking on ways the outcome of the exercise can be implemented, the former Finance Minister says it should be subjected to a referendum. Excerpts:

While the national conference lasted, what were your fears?

Let me be honest with you, I never had any fears.

Why?

What was I to fear? Was it fear that the conference might break up? Or fear that we would not be able to achieve any result? I never had any fear. Beyond the uncertainty that surrounds a new venture or undertaking, there is no absolute certainty until it is achieved. Beyond that, I had no additional fear. I felt within me that nobody would really want to wreck or ruin that conference because most of us know that Nigeria was and is still in a bad shape. The conference holds out, perhaps the only possible way out of that predicament.

Therefore, to sabotage or destroy the conference would mean more or less Nigeria committing suicide and bringing into reality the prediction that Nigeria will disintegrate about this time. So, in the light of all that, I never felt that there was any real danger of the conference crumbling.

How were you able to resolve the contentious issues that faced the conference?

Well, I think the most contentious issue was the issue of what would constitute a valid decision. Would it be two thirds majority or seventy five per cent as some people wanted it to be. That was very contentious. First of all I felt, along with many others, that the conventional method that is decisive, even in our constitution, is two thirds majority.

We felt two thirds majority was enough to make a matter acceptable to the whole country and there were others, especially from the core north, who felt it should be 75 per cent (but) we felt that percentage was unusual and unnecessarily excessive.

The debate went back and footpath and finally the leadership of the conference invited some of us into discussions and there, we were able to insist on consensus. I in particular, insisted that it should be consensus and that if we failed to reach a consensus, we should be locked up in a room until we reached a consensus. In a family, you vote because there will be winners and losers and the losers would feel uncomfortable.

However, we finally agreed on 70 per cent. Many people felt that would be difficult to achieve but I did not think so because I am an active member of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly which came into existence in the last three years. We felt there were problems peculiar to the South and there was need for us to meet from time to time to discuss those issues. Finally, we were able to agree to form the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly with headquarters in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. All that was happening before the conference idea surfaced.

By the time the conference was announced, the three southern zones had been able to achieve a considerable degree of rapport. We were bonding together and we discovered that some of our problems were similar. So it was easy therefore to harmonise our programmes before going to the conference.

That meant we would have a solid group that would back whatever issues that would be canvassed at the conference. We also knew that the number of delegates from the South would not be sufficient to achieve whatever we wanted to achieve.

So we reached out to the North, they call it the Middle-Belt but it is considered to be part of the North. We knew that delegates from these states plus the southern region would command a very size able majority at the conference.

If that was carefully managed, we would be able to get through most of the things that were important, provided of course we succeeded in putting together a consensus programme. So building the consensus package was the main task that we had.

Despite all the threats and negative press statements by some people and interviews, not once did we have any walk out, not once did we have any division. There were plenty of shouting and rowdy sessions but when it came to the votes, the ayes had it on most of the occasions. All the time, it was voice votes.

Would you say that the conference was a success?

It was a huge success. Before we went, Tinubu said it was unnecessary and that it was a jamboree. Later, some people from his party said we were going to the conference to cook up a third term for Jonathan, which I said in an interview to be an insult.

Jonathan never approached me or anybody to give him a third term. What should I be doing a job for which I was not invited?

In any case, at my age, how can I be part of an action that would amount to a violation of the constitution and something that is anti-democratic?

Was there any external influence?

I say to you as a Christian that not once did I have the slightest indication that anybody was trying to influence anyone. The president left us to do our work. Even when the issue of 70 per cent was becoming problematic, the president asked us to resolve it among ourselves.

When the leadership of the conference tried to get his support on what to do, he said if the ground cannot resolve the problems of Nigeria, then there was no future. He said if he could solve the problems, then why did he invite us? Everybody now agrees that the government did not set up the conference to achieve any particular objective and that the government never tried to influence us on any issue. They never tried it, not once.

Is it true that the Southwest was unable to push for its agenda owing to disagreement among the delegates from the region?

Not at all. We achieved most items on the agenda. We did not achieve two things. We wanted regionalism, but the committee that dealt with the matter, the Restructuring Committee, was opposed to it.

Why?

Because there was opposition from all over Nigeria. Both the core North and the Middle-Belt do not want regions because they felt that would return them back to Kaduna. In the Southeast, Ebonyi said they were not returning to Enugu. Rivers State also said they were not interested in the idea. In the southwest, there were some initial resistance but it was later abandoned.

So it was clear that the overwhelming majority was against regionalism, however, I want to say that we still got 75 per cent of all that we wanted. Having prevented us from getting the region, they were ready to give us any other thing we wanted. If you ask me, I would say that it was probably a better approach.

You can see now that we did not get regionalism not because there was disagreement in the southwest delegation, but because the rest of Nigeria was not prepared.

There were those who saw the idea of a region as a signal that the Yorubas wanted to leave Nigeria and once we leave, Nigeria will disintegrate. I say we will be last to leave Nigeria because we have no other country, we have made huge sacrifices for Nigeria. If we leave this country, where are we going to?

Was there a point that some of the governors that were opposed to the conference made attempts to influence or sabotage the conference?

I am not aware. If there was, I am not aware. I did my job and I got cooperation from everybody.

How optimistic are you that the outcome of the conference will be implemented?

Let me tell you first of all that what I believe is that in life everybody or group has an assignment. We had our own assignment and by the grace of God, we have done it. If the report does not exist, there will be nothing to implement, so we have taken an essential first step by giving Nigeria a consensus document. It contains measures, which I believe if well implemented, will change Nigeria forever.

Will it be implemented? No one can say for sure because until it happens, nothing is certain.

However, I believe there is an excellent chance that it will be implemented.

Why?

First of all, everybody has something for him or for her in that report. Each state can have its own constitution, its own police force, can have its own prison service, can create its own local governments and in addition, in the economic domain, solid minerals that had been the exclusive preserve of the federal government since independence, have now been brought to the concurrent list. States can now create employment and develop their own states.

With all that, it liberates everybody, it opens up the political domain for people to develop themselves. Why should anybody go and sabotage the implementation of such a potentially beneficial report?

In any case, I see this report as the only positive thing that is happening in our country today. This is something positive and beneficial that can guarantee our stability, prosperity and create jobs for our people and also make the state government less dependent on federal revenue.

For these reasons, in a rational and reasonable society, I expect that there will be enthusiasm in wanting to implement the report.

I believe that the president who set up the conference, wanted change and in his closing remarks, he made it plain that the people of Nigeria and the National Assembly should be involved in implementing the report.

People have asked does it mean he will send the report to the National Assembly? I do not think so because contained in the report as recommendations. We are not a committee of the National Assembly that will report to the National Assembly. I don’t think the president has the powers to approve everything we have done. Clearly, our recommendations are to the people of Nigeria and the way to get them to approve the report is to arrange a referendum. If the referendum approves these recommendations, then that becomes the approved drafting instructions to a new constitution.

Away from the national conference, what is your take in the ultimatum given to President Goodluck Jonathan over the abducted Chibok girls?

I don’t get involved in such matters. President Jonathan is the one who knows how to deal with the ultimatum given to him. If you want to know my views about the Chibok girls, to me, it is a mystery. I suspect there is a conspiracy of silence.

In other words, it will not surprise me if Boko Haram has collaborators among the leadership of the Northern part of Nigeria. I am surprised also that since the western powers said they were going to help, we have since not found the girls. I am surprised that nothing has happened, there is an eerie silence about it really it is a puzzle.

What signal is the recent take-over of some northern communities by Boko Haram sending?

It means it is another ISIS, they want to take over and set up another Taliban type of government like what ISIS is trying to do in northern Iraq and Syria. It is left for us to move quickly and eradicate these people before they become too difficult to handle.

What should Nigerians expect from your party, the Social Democratic Party? Are you forming an alliance?

There is an alliance I am going to Abuja on Wednesday to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with a number of parties like PRP, Hope. Accord Party has been participating in the discussion; I hope they will sign the MOU. I have spoken with the chairman of APGA, he is interested in the alliance and not a merger.

The National Conscience Party of late Gani Fawehinmi has been part and parcel of the discussions and there were several parties that were deregistered who will collapse into the alliance. It is an alliance of parties, civil society organisations and important individuals.

I can mention Chief Segun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State; he has participated in the discussions. We believe that if we are able to bring it up together and formally, we can then present ourselves as the third alternative. We want to present ourselves as the credible alternative to the PDP and APC. I believe if we are able to do that, we will do fairly well in the next elections.

We are offering ourselves as the credible alternative because it is our view that the PDP and APC are two sides of the same coin. They have the same rigging tradition, thieving tradition and so, Nigerians should regard them as two sides of the same coin.

Nigerians now need an alternative in terms of morality, corruption, centrality of the wealth of the people in the affairs of government, this is what we represent. The difference is clear. We will make it clearer still as we unveil ourselves.