Dr. Tunji Braithwaite
Human rights lawyer, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, in this interview with LEKE BAIYEWU, speaks on the 2014 confab report and the 2015 general elections
The 2015 general elections have begun; do you think Nigeria was prepared for the exercise?
What should have happened before the elections, which would have saved this country from an imminent political crisis, is the constitutional amendment and restructuring of Nigeria. That is the only thing that will avert crisis in this country. I don’t see how we can avert a serious political deadlock; I do not see how we can avert it at this stage.
What could have been done within the short period between the 2014 National Conference and these elections?
What could have averted political crises in this country would have been the implementation of the outcome of the confab. But for some reasons, President Goodluck Jonathan allowed himself to be hoodwinked out of such an historical step, which would have saved this country. Everything depends on the constitution and the system that a country is operating. The 1999 Constitution has never been a constitution suitable for the Nigerian situation. We have described that document as prescription for chaos. That document has now thrown this country into political precipice. It was a constitution suitable for other countries, especially theUnited States. We agreed to use the 1999 Constitution to kick-start the return to democracy. After that, we would produce a constitution that is suitable and acceptable to all the peoples in Nigeria. That was never done.
For instance, each state governor has become an emperor and that is why we find – from 1999 – governors that will determine his successor in office. They will nominate their chiefs of staff, relatives and relations to cover their corrupt tracks. We have 37 emperors in Nigeria, apart from the President. The constitution purports to be a federal constitution, in practice it is not. We don’t have fiscal federalism.
The constitution, again, puts a cap or ceiling on the potential possibilities of the people of this country, particularly the younger generation. The constitution promotes wide-scale corruption. That is why we can see governors becoming billionaires. They steal the states dry. They do what they like because they are clothed with immunity. We could not have allowed these people from grass to riches.
More important, the current constitution does not make for development of the vibrant sector of the population – the younger generation. There is too much power concentrated at the centre and the mutatis mutandis in the states. It is a horrible constitution.
Who have hoodwinked Jonathan from implementing the confab report?
He was hookwinked by his people in Abuja; his political associates. There are certain people in Abuja who will prefer the status quo. They benefit from this lopsided constitution. If you look at the emoluments that the legislators carry home, they are disproportionate. They don’t deserve such. Despite the lip service to patriotism or sense of responsibility, they don’t care about what happens to this country as long as it benefits them. Such people would oppose anything that will remove all this largesse. This is why it is unfortunate that Jonathan had a very unique opportunity to restructure Nigeria in a way that will set Nigeria on a path of rapid development and social emancipation of the people.
They claim that we are the biggest economy (in Africa) but what is the benefit of that? What is the meaning of being the biggest economy, yet in smaller economies they have regular electricity supply, potable water, better roads and they live relatively more peacefully than Nigerians? What is the value of all these paper promotions? The bottom line of all these is a missed opportunity. Just before our independence in 1960 when we were students abroad, we were all very excited about the independence. Nigeria was at par with countries like India and the Asian Tigers but we made a mess of it.
With the non-implementation of the confab report up till now, would you agree that the exercise was a jamboree?
Certainly not! The confab was never a jamboree. The confab did its work but it is not for the members to force its implementation. Everything was transparent; the proceedings were covered and followed. That was the best constitutional conference that ever held in this country; it was even better than the pre-independence conferences. The delegates sat down to analyse the difficulties, taking into account local prevailing cultures and tried to restructure the country on equitable basis. How can you describe such as a jamboree?
This is why it will go down in history. Jonathan must take the credit for convoking that confab but that was as far as it went. Unfortunately, the man allowed himself by members of his party to put such a wonderful, historical document aside for partisan politics. I hope he does not regret it.
If you think Jonathan is not disposed to implementing the report and APC cannot bring the changes the report could have brought, what would have been the options available to the electorate?
The people of any country know their rights; they always have options. They know they can take their destinies into their hands; they know they can force whoever is in government to do their bidding. I can only hope that with global modernisation, the people of this country will do that. If the elections failed to usher in orderly transition, I can only hope that the people of this country will take their destiny into their hands and force the change that is necessary. I have been saying this for years.
And you still don’t see the APC offering an alternative?
The APC is in no condition to offer an alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party. Unfortunately, the record of the PDP for the past 16 years is poor. Corruption has gone through the roof. And who are the members of the APC? Are they not substantially the defectors from the PDP? You will find out that those who are not defectors and those who are clamouring for APC are doing so not for what APC can do but they are doing so as a protest. They are rooting for APC as a form of protest against the unproductive, corrupt leadership of the PDP. When you say some people are founding fathers, like Olusegun Obasanjo — who from the point of view of many people have a bad record — and a man like that can come out to denigrate his party, what does that say? It tells you that the umbrella has become rags and tatters. That is not to say that the APC is the alternative. We shall see.
But is Obasanjo’s exit from the PDP a plus or minus for the party?
It is certainly not a plus for the party, in the estimation of right-thinking people. It is an embarrassment to the party because he claimed to be one of their founding fathers. It means that their centre could not hold. If he was expelled, that would have been a different matter. Not only did he exit the party, he came out with terrible things against the leader of the party. That is dreadful.
Who will lead Nigerians in a revolution where the so-called social crusaders and activists are perceived to have been corrupted by the political class?
There are stronger silent forces genuinely committed to a revolution in this country. The ones that you see are committed, in one way or the other, to the corrupt government; they cannot move the masses to action. We know those who can move the masses to action in this country when the time comes. And I believe the time is very imminent. If you keep in mind that there is a divine dimension in all of these as well, that there is a time for everything, Nigeria has reached its time for a revolution.
President Jonathan had said calling for Interim National Government was treasonable.
It is not treasonable to say that there is likely to be an interim administration — an interim administration in the sense that there can be no vacuum in government. When the chaos comes, there has to be a government in place.
Do you see the National Assembly stepping in like in the case of ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua’s death?
Certainly not this National Assembly. They are part of the reasons why there has to be an interim government.
So, who will spearhead the process?
It is a normal, natural process in the ensuing chaos to hold the country together. It is a normal, natural course of development in the ensuing chaos. The only way to avert that is to make sure that there is an orderly transition of government.
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