Senator Ali Ndume represents Borno South Senatorial District at the National Assembly. In this interview with Muhammad Kabir, he speaks on the ongoing review of the constitution and insecurity, among other issues]
Looking at what Nigeria is going through and the cost; is there any need for a review of the constitution?
First of all, you should know that I have been in the National Assembly in the last 22 years, and on several occasions, I tried to bring a new narrative through sponsoring of bills like that on corruption but they have not seen the light of the day. Democracy is not cheap, democracy is expensive. Just because you want federalism, you don’t go for a blank cheque.
I don’t see problems with the constitution. Section 14(2) of the Constitution clearly spelt out the responsibilities of a government and the governed. So, I don’t see reasons for the review of the constitution. No matter how many times you review the constitution, the issues still remain the vital needs of security, poverty and unemployment, welfare of citizens, strengthening of institutions of government.
That is the local governments, state and the federal units, as well the judiciary, which is supposed to ensure checks and balances. The legislature is supposed to be an institution that checks the government; you don’t need regular tinkering of the constitution by the National Assembly. Looking at the retreat on review of the constitution; there were issues and they centered on federalism, state police, local government reforms and the electoral law.
On federalism, we have 195 countries in the world and only 25 are practicing federalism. So, the clamor for federalism is not necessary. If it is better; out of 195 countries, about 100 would have adopted it. Democracy means government of the people by the people, so decisions that will be taken should be by the people.
The media will do this country a great service if it downplays the issues of constitution review and focus more on the main issues of transparency, equity and justice as well as accountability because the president and the legislators are not above the law. That is not what is happening in Nigeria today. If I talk, they say Ndume, but I can’t talk to you if not that I’m a senator.
Federalism has its own advantage and disadvantages, and looking at countries that have gone far ahead, they have systems which are not necessarily federalism. Our major challenge in this country is corruption. Up till now, we have no law that can proactively or even reactively address the issue of corruption in the country.
If you see somebody in our system, especially in politics or government, and he is not corrupt, then he is lucky that he is God-fearing. Otherwise, it is only in Nigeria that you steal money and you walk freely, and then you are celebrated. If you come into an area like this, people would start lobbying you and do ‘dobale’ (bow) for you and he knows that the money was stolen.
It is only in this country that somebody had no money yesterday or last week, but the following week, he buys 10 cars, buys jets and his brothers would fly with him, his mother would fly with him, his uncle would fly with him, and they would say Allah has blessed our son.
How does the review intend to change the narrative on local government autonomy?
I support autonomy for the local governments. We say that there are three tiers of government and that was why the President went to Supreme Court and got judgement. But technicalities have started coming up.
People in a whole state wore uniforms and went to their governor and said ‘we don’t want autonomy for the local governments. We grew up at a time councils built roads; what is not needed is blank autonomy because if you do that some will die naturally.
That is why we are looking at constitutional reform to make them viable. I also support conduct of local government elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) because the commission is underutilized. I believe INEC could do other things. One doesn’t understand what is going with the way council elections are manipulated by the state independent electoral commissions.
It is only in Nigeria that you steal money and you walk freely, and then, you are celebrated
What is your position on state police?
I don’t support state police for two reasons. Right now, we have less than 400,000 policemen and less than 200,000 army personnel. All our security forces are less than one million; we don’t have reserves.
The Nigeria Police have performed credibility; it is only now that you hear about corruption.
That is why I call for adequate training, modern equipment and overhaul of police management. How can you pay those who come out of police training school N50,000 without any other support?
Nigeria is 64; do you think that independence anniversary is worth celebrating?
I don’t support celebration of independence anniversary but I support the marking of Independence Day. We can mark the day without going to the stadium or wearing of uniforms. I support evaluation of the journey so far, asking of questions and seeking of solutions for our problems.
What is your take on the security challenges that seem to have defied every effort of the government?
There are three major security challenges the country is facing; Boko Haram, banditry/ kidnapping and separatist agitation. If the government is serious they can be addressed in six months or at most one year.
These criminals are not trained and the weapons they make use of are those taken from the security agents. Today, Nigerian security agents know where I am. If they can effectively track political enemies effectively, who only want to talk on issues, why can’t they also track these criminals? So, there is something fundamentally wrong.
These bandits are not trained and not equipped. Most of the equipment they used are delivered to them or taken from our armed forces. I commend the Chief of Army Staff for highlighting the unrealistic task of securing 230 million people with meager resources.
The solution is to recruit more youths into the Nigerian Army as 70 per cent of our population is made up of young people, who are eager to serve, but lack opportunities and encouragement. Unfortunately, many are losing faith and becoming desperate, even taking risks to become modern-day slaves in other countries.
In the past, our forefathers were captured during the slave trade, but today, our youths are going into slavery with their legs. Boko Haram reached its picks in 2014 and somebody advised that we should engage a private military who were well paid. In collaboration with the Nigerian military, they pushed them out. When they came, they collaborated with the army and recruited civilians to assist in the fight and right now in Borno, insurgency has gone down.
Today, all the service chiefs are in Sokoto but they cannot get Bello Turji. The Nigeria Army is known for its ability but when you don’t take care of soldiers’ welfare, nothing will happen. If you give them what they want, just give them few days and they will take care of the situation.
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