BEVERLY HILLS, April 11, (THEWILL) – Chief Ebenezer Babatope is the former Minister of Transport. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party. In this interview with AYO ESAN, he speaks on different issues as they relate to the country and his party. Excerpts:
How will you react to the current insecurity in the country?
The security situation is terrible that everybody should be afraid. The security situation is so serious, nowhere in the country is safe for anybody now. And that is a challenge for all of us to get together and ensure that we have a country where all of us can freely live. I am not happy about it, it is a very sad situation and believe me, it is frightening. Very frightening.
Do you support the creation of state police as solution for the current insecurity?
The state police will help. If it will help us to achieve peace and also help us to toe the path of true federalism, let’s get ahead with it. If state police will help, let’s go ahead with it. But I think what is important is for all of us to know that we are all Nigerians and we should ensure as much as possible we have a safe country for all of us to live in.
But recently, the Yoruba Leader, Professor Banji Akintoye and Chief Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho said they want a Yoruba nation. How will you react to that?
Well, that is an intelligent thing to say, Yoruba nation, because you can have a Hausa nation, you can have an Igbo nation, but what all of us will want is that, we don’t want Nigeria to break up. We want Nigeria to remain as one country but then, the life of every nationality must be given to it. The life of every Nigerian should be given to them to ensure that they live in peace with themselves. And we should not have anything that will make us feel sorry that we were once called Nigerians.
The recent attack on the Yoruba people especially the killings, maiming, kidnapping and raping of women by the Fulani herdsmen, are you satisfied with the response of the governors in the South West region to the attack?
I think the South West governors are doing their best. They don’t belong to my party, only one of them is from the Peoples Democratic Party. But having said that, I think the Fulani herdsmen should know that this country belongs to all of us, even though one of their kinsmen is the President of the country. That is President Muhammadu Buhari, but the country belongs to all of us. And we must ensure that we live in peace, and we live as brothers and sisters in a country that is fair. The country must also ensure that there is peace and security for everyone.
How do you see the Federal Government’s effort to restore security in the country?
I can’t be satisfied with the effort of the Federal Government to curb insecurity in the country. How would I be satisfied? The insecurity is a terrible, frightening situation. The Federal Government should increase what it is doing and ensure that there is peace in the country and that we should have a country we can call our own. Frankly speaking, I am a 78 years old Nigerian and I would not want to be a member of another country entirely. But when we are talking of nationhood, it is recognised in law in every part of the World. Having said that, the country must remain one, indivisible and united. And the Federal Government should ensure that it increased its effort to give us a peaceful country.
You are one of those who fought for this democracy Nigerians are enjoying now. Are you satisfied with what is going on in this democracy? Or put differently, is our democracy on the right path?
Well, we should improve. We should call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that democracy thrives in the country. This is because there is nothing as good as democracy in any country. When Fela Anikulapo of blessed memory sang his song, he said Nigerian democracy can be classified as ‘demon crazy, crazy demon. Demonstration of crazy’. He was talking sense because our democracy makes no sense now. It has no definite meaning. We should improve and ensure that democracy thrives in our land, because a democratic state is a free state.
How will you assess the managers of your party, the PDP at the national level?
They are trying their best. We are waiting for their blue card and their blueprint on where the party should go in 2023 election. I am a loyal PDP man and I have no complaint against anyone of them but they must give us their blue card so that we will know where we are going as to getting power back to the PDP.
You mentioned 2023 election now and many Nigerians are eagerly awaiting that date. How prepared is the PDP for that election?
We are very, very ready. We made mistakes in the past, we have realised those mistakes and we won’t make such mistakes again because we badly paid for it. We were paid back for it, we want power back in the country. We want the PDP to be at the head of that struggle to liberalise Nigerians and we are prepared for it and if by the Grace of God, we are given back the power this time around, we won’t make mistakes.
One issue that is of importance concerning 2023 election is the issue of zoning of president. A committee of your party recently said that zoning should be jettisoned. What is your opinion on the issue of zoning?
Whatever the people at the party echelon decide is what we will take, provided it will guarantee us the victory at the election. I think the party should know what to do on zoning when we know what other party is doing. The other party is in power now and it will complete the Buhari administration in 2023.
Having said that, we want power. The National Executive Committee of the PDP should ensure that the power is given to the area that will maximally give PDP victory in the election.
Many people are of the opinion that the South East that has not been given the opportunity of producing the president should be given the chance in 2023. Are you in support of this view?
There is nothing bad in that, because it is only the South East that has not produced the president. I am not against them, they should be given the slot.
Recently some PDP leaders in the South West geo- political zone like former House of Representatives’ Speaker, Dimeji Bankole and former two – term Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, left the party and joined APC. How do you see this development?
I am very sad about that, very sad because Bankole and Daniel are good materials for any party. I am so sad that they have gone to the APC. I hope they will retreat their steps and come back to the PDP because they are very important people and well respected. I respect and like Daniel and Bankole but I won’t support their going into APC. They have taken wrong steps by joining APC, if they return, we would be happy and I am sure they are going to do that very soon.
The National Assembly said it will embark on review of the 1999 constitution. It also promised to reform the Electoral Act. Which areas do you want changes in the electoral reform?
Well, the electoral reform is a good thing. Reform that is good is a reform that will give the people of Nigeria the freedom to choose those who will guide them in the elections and the freedom to choose those who in fact will plan to reshape the future of the country. This is because right now, people are being chosen at will and that is very bad. People should not be chosen at will, we should have election that will give the people of Nigeria the chance to elect those who should govern them.
Some Nigerians are saying if concrete steps are not taken to curb the insecurity ravaging the country, the 2023 general election may not hold. What is your take on this?
I won’t pray for that. I will pray for the continuity of the country in a manner that it will make democracy to thrive, in a manner that it will make the people to have rights to participate in elections and make people to elect those who are to govern them. And I also pray for a situation that will make them to be happy to do so.
What is your advice to the managers of the PDP as we move towards 2023?
My advice to them is that they should allow the will of the people to thrive. They should also allow the will of the people to thrive within the PDP. They must not do that which is arbitrary, they must not do things that are not sanctioned by law and not sanctioned by the constitution of the party.
The issue of restructuring has been a recurring one. What is your position on restructuring?
Honestly speaking, restructuring is in my mind. If you want me to give it meaning, it is redefinition of the Federal nature of the country’s existence. We are a federal state and should not only restructure but we should restructure in a way that gives federalism proper meaning in the country and that is what we have been saying all along. The military changed the tune and we must really push the military out of it now because they should not have been involved in it. We should ensure we restructure in a manner that we would have a new federal authority, a new federalism that will bring unity in the country.
How soon can we achieve restructuring?
Buhari was going to allow it but some hawks within his party changed his mind. I believe he should restructure the country. If we don’t restructure the country quickly, we will be courting failure and disaster and that will be very dangerous for us.
Do you want us to have another constitutional conference or the government should adopt the reports of the past conferences in achieving the desired restructuring?
I think the past conferences should guide us particularly the last one which was held in 2014. That was a conference that examined almost all the problems of Nigeria. And that was a conference that gave proper meaning to what is called Federal Nigeria. The military gave it a wrong meaning in which authority was concentrated in a particular person and did not even allow the people the choice of how they should be governed. When we do that, then we are restructuring the country and we are redefining the federal nature of our country’s existence.
The situation in the country has made people weakened, economically, they are down and there is also problem of insecurity. If you were to address majority of Nigerians what would your message to them be?
Well, I want to appeal to them not to be deterred in fighting for one Nigeria. They should not be tired in ensuring that they put together and stop this insecurity that is threatening our peaceful co– existence.
How would you advise the Independent National Electoral Commission as it prepares for the 2023 general election?
INEC? I have never in my life time believe that, that INEC can do anything. They should change because the only election they have conducted which Nigerians have applauded is the Edo election, the rest they have failed. Unless INEC changes, the country is in trouble
What exactly do you want INEC to do ?
They should give us free and fair election. They have not done that. They should guarantee free and fair poll. They should also guarantee the right of Nigeria people to elect those who should govern them. They should fashion out a system that will check election fraud. It is election fraud when you say somebody who has not won election has won election. They should do that which is right, which is fair and that which is just.
What is your advice to President Muhammadu Buhari as he continues piloting the affairs of the nation?
I want to advise him that he should be above partisan politics. It is difficult but he should do so. He should also try as much as possible to ensure that the people of Nigeria have the freedom like I said earlier in this interview to elect those who should govern them. Once President Muhammadu Buhari does that, he would have done the correct thing and history will have him in hall of fame. He should not be rigidly committed to making APC the only party in the country.
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