Granting Pardon to Nyame, Dariye Sad – Yunusa

The National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr Tanko Yunusa, speaks on the recent pardon granted former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and former Governor of Taraba State, Revd. Jolly Nyame by the National Council of States, in

The National Council of States recently granted pardon to former Governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and former Taraba State Governor, Revd Jolly Nyame alongside other 159 Nigerians. What is your take on this?

The action sends a wrong signal to the people of the country, as regards the so-called fight against corruption by the current Federal Government. It also sends a wrong signal to those who are corrupt or those that are facing trial for corruption-related crimes. The general feeling will be that at the end of it all, everybody will be pardoned. There are many people who have less issues and it seems to us that the people can be set free, even if they committed the most heinous crime in the nation. I think Mr President missed it in that direction. It is a wrong step that will send the wrong signal to those who have been found wanting one way or the other.

Preparation for the 2023 general election has started in earnest, but one thing we have seen is that the cost of nomination forms and forms of intent to contest are so high, with both forms going for N100m for a presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC). What does this portend for our electoral system?

It says that our electoral system is highly monetised and it serves the interest of only the highest bidder.

It is very clear in this country today that if you don’t have excess money you cannot contest elections. This blocks the opportunity for the younger generation, who may have the integrity and the know-how to put the country in the best shape, but cannot contest elections because they don’t have money. I must say here that it is only those who have stolen government money that can run for election in Nigeria. It is very sad. I will not entirely blame the people because those who have genuine money are not involved the electioneering process. So it is difficult for us now to get credible leaders who have not stolen government money to run for political offices. It is a very sad situation for us as democrats.

Are you comfortable with calibre of people from the APC and PDP who have indicated interest in the presidential race?

It is also sad that even the media are promoting only the aspirants in the PDP and the APC. There are other aspirants running under the platforms of other political parties. They should be promoted. That is the only way we can challenge these two political parties that have become the cankerworms and destructive tendencies in our political setting. You can see that today if it is not PDP, it is APC. They keep turning people’s heads up and down. Fortunately and unfortunately, the leadership of the APC is completely led by former members of the PDP. And some erstwhile leaders of the APC are also in the leadership of the PDP. So there is no integrity in the process and it is because our electoral law, which is the legal framework, has not stopped people from doing political nomadism or political prostitution. If the laws had been very stringent, many people would not have been in one party in the morning and move to another party in the night. The media should also be promoting other political parties who are existing on the INEC register.

Some people are of the opinion that with the

worsening insecurity, the 2023 general election may not hold. What is your position on this?

It will be devastating and very destructive if the 2023 election does not hold. Those who are advocating it are only predicting doomsday for Nigeria. The truth is that if the elections do not hold in 2023, it will hold one day. Even after civil war or any war, you still go to the roundtable and fix a date for an election date. So why should we waste our resources and be killing each other when we can easily make use of the ballot papers and ballot boxes to effect the changes we desire. So it is better for us to campaign for credible candidates and let them win elections than to say elections should not be held. It is undemocratic and dangerous for our country. I am of the opinion that elections should be held. We should do whatever we can to encourage our people to allow the election to hold and elect credible leaders at all levels that can change the present narratives and the predicament of our people in the country in the near future.

The issue of insecurity, it is unfortunate that for some

of us, who have been in this position, it is a conspiracy against the state. This conspiracy started during Goodluck Jonathan's tenure when those in power used insecurity to cause problems for Jonathan’s leadership, not knowing the same thing will come and haunt them in the future.

The story has always been that there is a conspiracy between those in government and those outside the government to put the common man in danger, using him as a pawn in order to win an election. But they don’t know that God is also watching and God is the best planner of all. And all of their secrets will be exposed in no distant time and then the people will know the truth. But today we have come to realise that among those that are ruling us, are those that are conspiring against us and killing innocent people. The President should rise up to his responsibility and if he cannot, I think the best for him is to resign and let those who can lead the country, lead us well.

the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) who recently advised the President to resign his position. Will his resignation solve the problems facing the country?

I had held that position before the NEF made the position known. It is only that they take a queue from those of us who have been vocal. We have been saying this because of our passion for our country.

What qualities do you expect the next Nigerian President to possess?

He must be somebody who can carry everybody along. Those who are in opposition and those who have won an election should be carried along. The next Nigeria President must be somebody who has the capacity to unite the country, in terms of religious differences, tribal differences, and bring the economy back to life. He must be somebody who is strong and healthy and has the foresight to think outside the box. He must be somebody who cares about the downtrodden, the masses of this country. Somebody, who can take a bullet in defence of the country. Somebody who can speak and the whole nation will listen. That is the quality of a leader we are looking for. It doesn’t matter where he comes from, as long as he can solve the problems of Nigeria and put Nigeria on the right path, Nigerians will welcome him.

What is your position on the usage of consensus arrangements to pick candidates for the election?

It is a development of weaklings, trying to force somebody that the people do not want on them. A popular consensus comes from regular voting. People pick the candidate they like through direct or indirect election. This is the practice in democracy all over the World. A consensus arrangement muscles people out and creates problems in the future.

Quite honestly, it is an unknown democratic principle that a set of people are trying to impose on Nigerians, but it will boomerang. If you are being defeated at the poll fairly and squarely, you will not have any room to grumble. But if you are being muzzled, you may either want to go to court or create an ungovernable situation. So for me, consensus is not the key to our democratic system. Let the popular will of the people prevail and let the popular will of the people triumph. That is how democracy can reign supreme.

We know your party, the National Conscience Party, is still battling with the INEC in court over its deregistration. What is the situation now?

We have been meeting at the level of the National Executive Committee of the party and we are trying to tell our people that in order to remain relevant we may have to enter an alliance with other political parties as we continue to pursue our case at the Supreme Court. But meanwhile we cannot be oblivious of the political terrain. We are planning to have an alliance at least to keep our people very busy and select the best candidates. If by chance, the court rules in our favour then that means we will participate in the election.

But for now what is left for us is to continue with our case while we look for an alliance with other existing parties or candidates.

What is your advice to the electorate as we move towards the 2023 general election?

My advice is very simple: Use your voter cards to choose the right people who can do the right thing for you and the country. You must hold them accountable. When you give them your votes, you give them trust and you must monitor them to ensure they fulfilled their promises. That way, we can start having good leaders both in our local government areas, state houses of assembly, Federal House of Representatives, Senate, governors and eventually the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is only by votes that we can get these things done, not by fighting or by killing each other.