Dr Ajuji Ahmed is the new national chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). In this interview with TAOFEEK LAWAL, he shares his thoughts on the state of the economy, talks about possible merger by opposition parties against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Excerpts:
How would you appraise the prevailing socioeconomic situation in the country?
Unfortunately, from every indication, the situation is becoming worse. Despite all the challenges that we are going through, it appears that Nigerians must brace themselves up for even a worse situation because the tax increase that was recently announced is completely, as far as we are concerned, unnecessary. People are not ready for it. The income level is too low. People are struggling just to exist not to even live. We believe it (tax increase) shouldn’t have been embarked upon at all. Similarly, the sudden removal of the so-called fuel subsidy on petroleum products is the beginning of trouble for Nigerians under this administration. The removal was announced suddenly and implemented abruptly. If at all it is necessary to remove fuel subsidy, Nigerians should be prepared for it. Some measures should have been put in place to cushion the difficulty that will be anticipated because the difficulty is very predictable. Economic policies should have been brought up to speed to cope with spiral inflation. On the whole, a lot of groundwork should have been done for the policies to be introduced over a period of time for people to cope. With some cushioning effects put in place, people would have adjusted gradually. Wage earnings are never in speed with the rate of inflation. If it were to be an NNPP administration, we would have looked at it carefully, gradually, systematically and introduce it over a period of time rather than as it was abruptly implemented by this administration.
How does the current situation affect the state of security?
It’s a multidimensional problem. Introduction of unpopular policies like this will always push the desperate ones among us into criminality. That is not to say that the abductions, kidnappings were not there before the introduction of draconian economic policies. They were not resolved and we all know that if is not tackled, it will worsen the situation rather than solve it in the sense that more and more people will resort to kidnapping and abduction for ransom as a desperate measure. It is very predictable. What should have been done is to tackle the security situation headlong. You and I know it is unbelievable that the same Nigerian security forces that will go abroad and restore peace in other countries but sadly cannot overcome issues such as kidnapping for ransom, banditry which is rampant in the North-West and across the country.
Concrete measures should have been brought in to address the situation frontally. We are now faced with the problems of security and fixing the economy at the same time. The problems, as I said earlier, are multidimensional. We practically brought this upon ourselves. I call on government to stand up to its responsibilities and put a permanent stop to what Nigerians are presently passing through. It is doable. Securing the country is within the grasp of the security forces. They could have done it if they really committed themselves to that call. But, we hear a lot of things associated with it that there are cases of internal sabotage within the security forces themselves despite the bravery they have displayed and the sacrifices they have been making. Tackling insecurity is not beyond the security forces because they have the capacity to really solve the problem. Now, everything is compounded.
What is your stance on the initial speculation about plan of foreign military missions to establish bases in Nigeria?
Every foreign country that looks for a base on your soil is there to protect their own interest or to exploit your own weaknesses. They are not there to solve your problem in any way. As the minister of communications rightly observed, there are adequate security arrangements with a number of countries that we could have drawn from to strengthen our capacity to address the challenges of banditry and kidnapping. I guess that has not been done judiciously. Certain foreign countries will also see our challenges as their own best interest. We keep quarrelling ourselves, fighting ourselves, fighting hunger and not bracing up to become a strong nation we have the capacity to become. Therefore, we would not pose any challenge to their regional dominance in West Africa subregion and African continent as a whole. So, succumbing to the pressure to establish any foreign military base in Nigeria is counter-productive and will not be in the interest of the country.
Nothing much has been heard about your preparations for the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States. Is it a forgone conclusion?
No, they are not no-go-areas for us rather it is a go-area for us. We did our primaries, we produced our governorship and deputy candidates. We have inaugurated their campaign councils and they are working hand-in-hand with the national headquarters of the NNPP to fashion out a strategic campaign system that will put us in a good stead as far as the elections are concerned in both Edo and Ondo states. We have equal chances like the APC and the PDP if not even ahead of them since it is the vote of the people that matters not the existence of a ‘big name’ that is being paraded around. We have a credible and strong candidate whom we believe can pose a very good challenge to both the APC and the PDP. If you have not been hearing from us in the preceding weeks, you will definitely begin to hear from us as the campaign heats up in Edo State.
Your party still seems to be battling leadership problems as some people are laying claim to owning NNPP. What will you do as the new man at the helm to bring about reconciliation?
One of the very first statement I made on assuming office was that the party’s doors are open to reconciliation with anybody or any group that has been disagreeing with us. We hope in a matter of time, all of us will pull in the same direction. Remember, it is one group that has been making all the noise but they can as well be ignored because they filed cases after cases. They have been the one taking us to court here in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja which we won and filed another one in Awka, which we also won as well in Kano. The judge referred to them as intruders. Despite these, our doors are still open for reconciliation but it appears they are not ready for reconciliation and they were expelled from the party in June, July last year and I think it’s the pain of expulsion that is catapulting them to be making noise all over the place.
Is NNPP ready to go into a merger or alliance with any party in 2027, going by what Nigerians are facing under the present administration?
We are worried about the direction the country is going. Everybody knows that the only opportunity the citizens of this country have is to vote out the APC in 2027. Therefore, all measures should be on the table by citizens, social groups, democracy advocates, advocates of law and order in the country to ensure that a new order comes in 2027. Right now, we are not looking for alliance with any other party, that I can tell you about categorically.
However, politics is a very fluid game and by tomorrow the dynamics can change and you can hear that alliances are being formed here and there. We are not ruling out alliances with anybody including the two big parties if they want to align with us. But we have a dynamic manifesto that we intend to implement when the time comes when we have the opportunity. This is therefore why we are not going to compromise. We are not going to compromise on our economic policy which will favour every common man in the country rather than buying SUVs for the elites, compromise on our education policy which we believe is the ultimate investment a country can make in its youths and the coming generation.
So, alliance, merger whatever is possible but it’s not on the table right now. As a party, we believe we have the strength and the dynamism to fight any election whether it is general or state election throughout the country. However, I’m not ruling out that when the time comes and the dynamics of the situations change, we will be pragmatic to look into it critically and make a stand.
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