The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and founding member of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Gani Adams, in this interview with KEHINDE OLATUNJI, spoke on why President Bola Tinubu should review his policies that increased hardship in Nigeria. He suggested a return to agreement by Nigeria’s founding fathers on true federalism and regionalism as a solution to the multifaceted crises facing the country.
How will you assess the administration of President Bola Tinubu amid the protest against hardship and hunger?
Truth be told, some of President Bola Tinubu’s policies are harsh. For instance, the removal of fuel subsidy, personally, I didn’t buy into the idea. No matter the situation, a leader should preach understanding to his people. If you want to increase fuel prices by 300 per cent, as a leader, president, and father of the nation, you need to explain it to the people. Even parents at home discuss important decisions with their family before implementing them. 
Similarly, as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, your first inaugural speech should not have been to totally remove the subsidy, causing the fuel price to skyrocket from N180 per litre to N580 per litre. Now, we are buying fuel for between N700 and N900 per litre, and that’s not even considering the scarcity and adulterated oil.
Most of the promises made about the refineries being repaired and the subsequent decrease in prices have not been fulfilled. While I don’t want to focus solely on his policies, as a citizen and leader in this country, I must speak out on issues like the electricity bill, which has also skyrocketed. These are things that affect people directly.
I was watching the protests in Ghana, where citizens are demanding that their government step down due to various grievances. One of the main issues is the unstable power supply in that country, which was exacerbated by 5.6 per cent increase in electricity bills. In contrast, Nigeria’s minister announced a staggering 300 per cent increase. This has severely impacted the whole economy.
I urge the president to take action on these two critical issues. Additionally, I appreciate his promise to remove taxes on food, medicine, and other essential items. However, I want to emphasise the need to revert the cost of electricity to its old tariffs and address fuel price increase. These issues are of utmost importance.
There have been calls to decentralise powers of the federal government in the light of the socio-economic realities, including insecurity. Do you agree with the solution?
To address the issue of insecurity, state, and regional policing should be considered. Some argue that governors will abuse state police, but we have three structures of governance, and power shouldn’t be concentrated in one entity. Decentralise power to address regional security concerns. You have the army, air force, and navy, which governors cannot control. If a governor misbehaves, the federal government can deploy air raids to apprehend him.
Can state police confront air raids? Any police involvement would be a special offence against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. People are being killed daily, yet you prioritise political privileges for few Nigerians. Earlier in the year, Lagos State Police Command warned of kidnappings in Oworonsoki and Third Mainland Bridge. If we had our own police, we could deploy 200 officers, some in plain clothes to patrol the area 24/7, who will dare the kidnappers. Within three days, we will identify the culprits and bring them to justice.
As someone who travels regularly and is exposed to different structures and policies, I’m disheartened by the state of our country. We need effective solutions, not political games. Allow states to have their own police force, and partner with foreign investors to improve electricity generation. Address insecurity and create an enabling environment where businesses can thrive. Stop deceiving us with empty promises and take action.
What are your thoughts on restructuring?
Nigeria needs to be restructured into regionalism. Without restructuring, Nigeria cannot progress. Currently, different regions have separate rules and agitations, but restructuring into provinces or regions would significantly reduce calls for separation.
However, you’re hesitant to give power and autonomy to the people from whom you have taken resources. The current centralised structure won’t work in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and polarised nation.
When fighting for a cause, don’t stop, but continue, because sooner or later, you will succeed. Take the restructuring we are advocating for instance, I believe it will happen whether anyone likes it or not. Nigeria has been cornered economically, politically, and in terms of insecurity. This wasn’t caused by anyone, but rather by deviating from the agreement our forefathers made in 1960. They established Nigeria as a Federal Republic to be run on the basis of federating units, with each unit having its own region. That was the agreement.
And because we defaulted on that agreement, it laid the foundation for our problems. We started defaulting on the agreement from Aguyi Ironsi’s time in 1966. Later, when General Yakubu Gowon came to power, he saw an opportunity to adopt a unitary system of government that would concentrate more power at the centre. They created states to dismantle the regional structure. Since then, Nigeria has been on a downward spiral, and that’s the fundamental problem of our country. If we don’t resolve it, we are deceiving ourselves.
How would you react to claims by some governors that they can’t pay the approved minimum wage?
Lawmakers receive millions as ‘hardship’ allowances, but the government is unwilling to pay workers a fair wage. This is inhuman and strange to hear some governors claiming they can’t pay N70,000 but the proceeds from fuel price increase have doubled their allocation. Don’t they realise that as the president increases their allocation, the cost of goods, rent, and everything else will rise, and affect their workers? Therefore, the more the president takes from the people through these policies, the more the salaries of workers should increase. The more allocation you (governors) receive, the more you should pay your workers. If that would be difficult, they should have cautioned the president that increasing the fuel price would lead to workers demanding higher wages. The recent fuel and electricity price hikes have caused significant trouble. This is also evident in the exchange rate of N1,600 /$1.
If I were President Tinubu, I would have adopted a slow and steady approach to addressing economic issues instead of sudden removal of subsidies. I would identify and block wasteful government expenditures, ensuring transparency and accountability. For instance, ministers using six or eight vehicles should reduce their fleet to two. This would demonstrate a commitment to reducing the cost of governance, allow people to see the efforts being made to fix the economy.
When leaders prioritise people’s needs and lead by example, they can appeal to the masses for understanding. However, when those in government lavish money while asking people to be patient, it creates resentment and that explains the recent hunger against hunger and bad governance in Nigeria. The president should prioritise being in touch with the people, garnering their support by addressing their concerns. There seems a total disconnect between the government at all levels and the people and this is not good for our democracy. All their policies should reflect the wishes of the people and that is the essence of democracy.
But, there seems to be global economic challenges, which most critics of President Tinubu’s policies seem not to acknowledge?
Yes, economic recession is not only in Nigeria. But as a leader, you must be cautious and listen to the masses, and prioritise their concerns. You should allocate 75 per cent of your attention to the masses and 25 per cent to the establishment. Ignoring the establishment entirely may lead to problems for the government. However, if you don’t strike a balance, the establishment will dictate the terms. Currently, everyone is feeling the pain, and I won’t deceive you. I didn’t want to discuss Tinubu, but due to the questions raised, I felt compelled to share my thoughts.
What other measures do you suggest should be taken to address hardship in the country?
I think the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should address banks’ interest rates, which are excessively high, ranging from twenty-something to thirty-something per cent. What business can thrive with such loan terms? How will borrowers repay the loans? Our banks are just declaring profits without disbursing loans. Only a few individuals dare to take loans. Not everyone is bold enough to take such risks presented by the banks.
In the United States and most advanced countries, interest rates for genuine businesses are reasonable, ranging from 12 to 17 per cent. CBN should instruct banks to offer fixed deposit rates not exceeding seven per cent, as depositors have sufficient funds to invest.
I propose a policy where fixed deposits earn a maximum interest rate of seven to10 per cent, while loans have an interest rate of between 15 and 18 per cent. This would encourage entrepreneurship, and people with business ideas. Currently, only the Igbos (people from the Southeast) are willing to take loans due to their higher risk tolerance. They take bold steps, unlike the Yorubas, who are more cautious. Yorubas will only take loans when interest rates are more reasonable, between 15 and 17 per cent. This shows that Yorubas are capable in business, but need more favourable conditions to thrive.
The CBN should address this issue to foster an environment where we can create millions of millionaires, similar to the Asian model. During my two visits to Thailand, I saw young entrepreneurs running successful businesses worth millions of dollars.
I inquired about their success and was told that their banks offer loans with interest rates as low as 13 per cent and flexible repayment terms. This encourages young Thais to take loans of between $10 and 20 million to start their businesses.
I was informed that this is a deliberate policy in Asian countries like China, Japan, and South Korea, where banks provide loans to individuals from good backgrounds. However, in Nigeria, accessing loans is much more challenging.
The banks will invite you to take a loan, but with an interest rate that is as high as 27 per cent, and you will need to provide collateral, such as your house documents. I think this is stringent. As for the Bank of Industry (BoI), how many people can they reach? There’s a need to implement a good policy, collaborate with the CBN and banks, to enable Nigeria to produce more entrepreneurs that will employ people in the labour market, and the private sector will thrive.
