Individuals, says Lawani

You get somebody arrested and he’s detained in the police station, before one hour a phone call goes to the commissioner of police that they should release him. Powerful individuals, weak institution. That’s the problem. Somebody steals public money and he’s detained but before you know it he’s out of detention. Small man like me, if I steal money, within two weeks they will arrest me and jail me. Some people steal much more than that; their case is still in court for over six years. Is that correct? We have very weak institutions and too powerful individuals. Let’s take them one by one. The judiciary is weak; the system is weak in this country

And it has nothing to do with parties now. We are all worried. Today, we have army and police controlling affairs. If there is breakdown of security and the hoodlums take over the roads and start shooting, they don’t ask you whether you are APC or, PDP or Yoruba, Hausa, Idoma, Tiv. So, it’s something that we all worry about. And you can see governors from all parties moving from one part of the country to another. But I think more needs to be done. If people cannot go to their farms to farm, there’s going to be starvation in time to come and that will lead to more trouble. So, the implication for insecurity is enormous and therefore, government must do something quickly. That is why I personally would say that if the Nigerian government cannot arrest the situation and it requires help from outside, let it do it. After all, in the past we aided countries which had similar situation. If we are not capable of arresting this situation, let us also seek assistance from outside.

Some are now advocating that responsible Nigerians should be allowed to bear arms to confront these criminal elements. Do you support that, too?

I’m one of those who said so but I’ve changed my mind because the implications are enormous. Even in the U. S., where people are allowed to carry arms, it has not stopped crime. Here that intelligence is at its lowest, and where there are no records, if people are allowed to carry arms, there will be problem. In America or Britain, you require license to bear arms and government can always follow if anything goes wrong. Here in Nigeria, if we say arms for all, I think it’s not good.

So, what would you suggest?

That’s why I’m saying that if this government has done it’s best and it cannot arrest the situation, let it seek external aid. That’s my own view. And by external aid, you know what I mean.

Nigeria seems to be more divided along ethnic, religious and party lines than before. What solution can you advance for this?

Well, I love my country and I have held positions of responsibilities in this country one of which is as deputy governor of Benue State. I’m not going to come here and sit down and tell you that all is well with Nigeria. All is certainly not well. I personally have spoken against what is happening and it is my desire that the government would put its ear to the ground and listen to what people are saying. In recent times, it has had to do with things like appointments only of people from certain parts of the country. It has to do with other factors; so many things too numerous to name. They can be solved. It has to do with the recent # ENDSARS protest. So, a lot of things have been enumerated. It is now up to those in authority to sit down and address these issues. The parties, both the major parties including the ruling party, have their solutions. It is time that we move fast, sit down and address these issues to save further chaos in the country. That’s all I can say for now.

I’m not disagreeing with you. If I did, I will be lying and even my age doesn’t allow that. We ( as a country) do have problems and they must be addressed.

Recently, the president finally listened to the cries of Nigerians by changing the service chiefs. Do you think the new ones have what it takes to take Nigeria out of insecurity?

I didn’t look at the CVS of the new service chiefs but I think even that one too, has it met with satisfaction in parts of the country? The answer is no. The problems are numerous, but I will appeal for patience on the part of Nigerians including myself. But while we are appealing for patience, the people who have power to do these things should rise up to the situation. The National Assembly should, the presidency should, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum should, and, of course, you and I should. It’s time all of those who have powers to solve the security situation of this country to rise up. It’s not beyond salvaging. We all have responsibility towards solving this problem; let us do it.

But with all that is happening right now, don’t you think it’s time we all went our different ways?

There are so many suggestions including what you are saying, but will that be the answer to it? Let’s perfect the system that we have because this is a system we borrowed from outside and it’s working where we borrowed it from. It can work here, too. When there’s a problem and you bring five Frenchmen, there will be seven solutions. Is that what we should do here? I think we should try and perfect what we have here. For instance, I believe one of the problems we have in this country is that there are too many powerful individuals and the system is very weak. It should be the other way round. Let’s have a perfect system. Let the EFCC do its job; let the police do its job and so on. You get somebody arrested and he’s detained in the police station, before one hour a phone call goes to the commissioner of police that they should release him. Powerful individuals, weak institution. That’s the problem. Somebody steals public money and he’s detained but before you know it he’s out of detention. Small man like me, if I steal money, within two weeks they will arrest me and jail me. Some people steal much more than that; their case is still in court for over six years. Is that correct? We have very weak institutions and too powerful individuals. Let’s take them one by one. The judiciary is weak; the system is weak in this country.

Are you implying that you are dissatisfied with the federal system we run?

I said I am dissatisfied with even the press; I’m dissatisfied with so many things, so, not just the federal the government alone.