If We Don’t Act Fast, Jonathan May Become Nigeria’s Last President – Kalu

Former Abia State Gover­nor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has expressed concerns over incessant terrorist attacks in the northern parts of the country by the insurgent group, Boko Haram. He noted that while the attacks constitute a challenge to the peace of the country, responses from some persons in the political and business classes pose the greatest threat to the peace, unity and the continued co-existence of the eth­nic nationalities in the country.

Kalu, who spoke to some avia­tion correspondents at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, late Tuesday, shortly after arriving from the United Kingdom, said he was worried about the ambivalence of the political class and the private sector to the Boko Haram threat. He demanded greater collaboration against the insurgent group.

He stated: “I am surprised about our political class, our private sector and the military class. I am sur­prised that they are joking with this matter.

“The country is in serious crisis; our citizens are in pains; there is pressure in the business class, with dwindling fortunes of businesses and we are taking it lightly. The way some of us are responding, I’m talk­ing about the political and business class, military and even some of us civilians. If we don’t do something to collaborate and work together as Nigerians, Goodluck Jonathan may be Nigeria’s last president.”

Kalu also spoke on the abducted schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State and how best to rescue them as well as issues pertaining to corrup­tion and good governance in the country.

Excerpts:

What do you think about recent attacks by Boko Haram in the coun­try and the kidnapping of school­girls in Chibok, Borno State?

Well, when I was travelling out of the country, precisely on the 26th of April, I remember I spoke to airport correspon­dents and I said there was the need to collaborate with international organisations to resolve this Boko Haram challenge.. You see, this issue is not about President Jonathan. Some people want to make it look as if the issue is Goodluck Jonathan. The country is in a serious crisis; our citi­zens are in pains. There is pressure on the business class, with dwindling fortunes of businesses and we are taking it lightly. The way some of us are responding, I mean the political and business classes as well as military and even some of us civilians. If we don’t take time, collaborate and work together as Nigerians, Goodluck Jonathan may be Nigeria’s last president. Jonathan may be the Mikel Gorbachev of Nigeria. And that is the truth; so we better wake up.

The political class and business class as well as the military, and even some of us civilians must stand up and work for our internal security. Our internal security is more important than anything we have done and I believe that once we are able to come together, Nigeria will be alright. This is not about which part of the country you come from; it is about Nigeria. Nigerian people should take what is happening seri­ously.

Are you saying that Boko Haram is capable of making Nigeria disin­tegrate?

Well, what I am saying is that Nigeri­ans should take this matter seriously. Can you imagine how many Nigerians that have been killed by Boko Haram? Can you imagine how many that have been wounded? And how many that have been displaced, rendered homeless, without jobs? These are Nigerians. I want people to be as wise as my grandmother. I want people to take this matter seriously. Any­body’s child can be kidnapped, whether it is in Chibok or in any other place by Boko Haram. Those kidnapped girls are our sisters; they are our daughters. Because none of us have lost anybody to Boko Haram and our daughters have not been kidnapped, that is why some people think it’s a joke. We should stop taking this as a joke and take the matter very seriously in order to move forward.

Already, there have been some predic­tions that the country could disintegrate and we have to be careful. Mind you, my friends, Ambassador John Negroponte and Ambassador John Campbell, predicted that this would happen. I don’t want it to hap­pen because wise nations of the world are expanding their territories, getting more countries to come together and getting big­ger and stronger. We should not allow ours to disintegrate. We should not lose what we have. We should come together as one family and fight Boko Haram. If we don’t do something, and I am repeating this for the second time in this interview, if we don’t do something, Goodluck Jonathan may be the last person that we will call the president of a country by the name, Nigeria.

Is it right then for the Federal Government to start negotiating with Boko Haram, especially if that will ensure the release of the kid­napped schoolgirls?

Well, the Federal Government should negotiate with Boko Haram, either formerly or informally because the lives of those girls are greater than any other consideration. They are the leaders of to­morrow. We cannot allow those girls to be suffering in the hands of these people. The government can chose to negotiate, either formerly or informally. It can send agents to negotiate on its behalf without getting involved. The US does this in Afghanistan and other places. It can negotiate formerly or informally.

What is your view on the recent call by some delegates from the South West to the National Confer­ence that the country should be re­turned to the parliamentary system of government?

I am of the opinion that Nigeria should abolish the presidential system of govern­ment. My reason is that the appointed ministers should be members of parliament so that they can see wisdom in serving their nation, so they could see wisdom in contributing to the discussions that would make us prosperous so that the lobbying between the ministers and the legisla­tures will stop. So, I see them working together and better as parliamentarians and ministers. This means that if you don’t win election, you cannot become a minister. This is the way it used to be before we changed to presidential system. Then, an added advantage is that it will also be less expensive. A minister will be entitled to one car, as a member of parliament and as a minister.

I believe genuinely that parliamentary system is cheaper and cost effective and it is also the best way for us to make our democracy cost-effective. I even propose that we should have a president and a Prime Minister and delegate roles and responsibilities to them. It happens that way in some countries, including South Africa. We don’t need the present Upper house and Lower house in our country because it is expensive to run them. Some of the things they are doing are duplica­tion of roles and duties and are they really necessary?

Look at the hatred in the country today; look at the enmity in the country today; people fighting each other; people not even believing in themselves.

Our country must survive on friend­ship, on the ability to speak to each other, on the ability to engender cooperation, on the ability to have one indivisible country. This is how our country is going to sur­vive. And it is for this reason that I believe in regional government because it will make the central government weak and less attractive and war against President Jonathan as well as struggle to be in Aso Rock will cease, as being president won’t be attractive. It also helps to develop the region, especially the rural communities.

When Ahmadu Bello was asked to be­come Prime Minister, he chose to remain in the region and asked the late Tafawa Balewa to go to the centre.

There are speculations that the opposition parties are sabotaging the Federal Government. What do you think?

For me, in a democracy, it is good for the government to have a good, healthy opposition. People say APC is a saboteur party, but I don’t agree with that. In a healthy democracy there is supposed to be criticism. So,I want my party, the PDP, to stand up. It is only through the existence of a viable opposition that leaders will stand up. Leaders will be sleeping when there is no opposition. So there is no such sabo­tage. Even the alleged infiltration of the military by saboteurs or terrorists should be taken as a rumour. Nigerians should have respect for our military. We have good and strong military, which has done well in peace keeping all over the world. The Nigeria military has done exception­ally well to keep peace outside the country, whenever they are called upon to do so.

However, the major problem we have in our system is corruption and we have not been able to address it. Within the middle class and upper class, there’s corruption; let nobody deny it. We have been shouting about corruption for over 20 years and we are still shouting. In Nigeria, thieves are celebrated. When are we going to have jus­tice in this country, as regards thieves? It is when there is justice and our institutions are strong that our country will be strong. But we should not doubt the competence of our military. We have the best, that I know too well.

The Sun.