Soleye: Buhari Must Not Compromise His Values
Dr. Onaolapo Soleye, 82, is a former Minister of Finance under the military administration of Muhammadu Buhari, and a one-time Commissioner for Finance and Industry in Ogun State. In this interview with Ojo M. Maduekwe, the octogenarian set the agenda for
Can you assess the just concluded general election in the country? It was a successful election during which Nigerians spoke with their votes and chose their leaders into various elective offices including the office of the president. The elections also laid to rest the much talked about disintegration of Nigeria as a country. We thank God for making it possible amid fears and apprehension.
Nigerians must also appreciate the personal contribution of the out-going President, Goodluck Jonathan, who conceded defeat even before it was concluded. This, to an extent, doused tension across the country. I rejoice with Nigeria and Nigerians that in spite of the prediction about the election, it went on smoothly What lesson has the outcome of the elections taught Nigerians? I don’t know what lessons the elections had taught Nigerians, but personally speaking, it has shown that there is a limit to which we can rely on the media, including the so called social media. The media hype on the elections was so high that you will think Nigeria was going to collapse. To God be the glory, the elections have proven pessimists wrong that the media could speculate, create tension, but Nigerians would make up their mind on how to move the country forward.
It is also a great lesson that despite what people said or wrote, God has destined what would happen and what would be. If not that, Buhari would not have emerged the president, if all the negative things said about him were anything to go by. The lesson that I also learnt is that the Nigerian electorate are now more enlightened than before and can differentiate between what they want and what they don’t want. As a minister under Buhari, what should Nigerians expect from his government? I expect discipline and austerity which will later in the years lead to buoyancy of our economy. I expect him to turn around the fortune of Nigeria for the better, turning her economic woes to economic gains for the country and Nigerians. I expect him not to compromise his frankness, straightforwardness and thoroughness in the name of anything. In anything he will do as the president, I want him to always place the interest of Nigerians and not his party, the APC at heart.
No doubt, because he is now a politician, his party would have some elements of influence on him but he should always remember Nigerians that voted him into power. He must not compromise critical values he believed in like his anti-corruption stand. Under no circumstance must he concede to people who, in their lives, have known nothing except corruption. He must by his actions and utterances let them know that the situation has changed. You served as Minister of Finance under him and with the economic situation in the country today, what should be the thrust of financial policies you would like Buhari to adopt? It is not only his financial policies that are necessary; he must also maintain national stability. There are many other areas in our national life which he must address. If he wants to succeed in office, I suggest that he starts by addressing the inability of many state governments to pay workers’ salaries. Ordinarily, one may want to say that it is not the federal government that owes them but he should not forget that he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is shameful and a national disgrace as well as unethical and great disservice for governments not to pay workers that they are using to execute their progrmmes. I urge Buhari to address the issue as soon as he assumes office. If possible, I want him to give state governments that owe workers ultimatum within which to pay or face the wrath of the federal government. However, from available records, I must state that state governments in the country have no business not paying their workers.
The president-elect also needs to get the cooperation of the trade unions in the country. As much as workers welfare should not be jettisoned by him, I want to canvass that there should not be wage increase for the first two years of his administration. Since the first two years should be sacrifice, I also, want to canvass reduction in the cost of running government by at least, 50 per cent.
I am of the opinion that we are, wasting money in running government. I find it scandalous that our senate president earns more than the US president. That is spendthrift which must be addressed. Although my suggestion may meet with stiff opposition from members of our National Assembly, I think this is the best for Nigeria at this critical moment of her economic life. Appointment of Central Bank of Nigeria governor is tenured. What do you expect from a new government that will inherit a CBN governor that has another four years to complete his renewable tenure? Buhari is not inheriting CBN governor alone; he is inheriting the entire Nigeria Civil Service. So, he must contend with that reality. Don’t isolate the CBN, as far as I am concerned, the CBN position is governed by law and I know that Buhari is a respecter of law. It is natural that politicians will jostle for positions including the CBN, but Buhari should know that there are many of them that are statutory hence he can’t just remove the occupant of such a position without facing the wrath of the law that established them. How then do you expect Buhari to handle the series of new appointments by Jonathan, a few weeks to his exit from office? My reaction is that he is still the president and can still make or mar irrespective of what anybody or group says. All these things some people are saying about the appointments Jonathan is making in the twilight of his administration are nothing but pettiness. The task before Buhari’s administration is enormous than appointments. This I want Nigerians to note. He can’t succeed without national stability and discipline, which will lead to the eradication or reduction in corruption in the country.
However, this may be difficult for him to achieve if Nigerians saddle him with mundane and petty issues. The expectation of Nigerians is so high that he can’t afford to reduce himself to petty issues of who gets what. As a former military officer, I believe he will handle it with tactics and integrity, putting the interest of Nigeria first. How do you describe Buhari and do you think he still has the vigour to deliver change? I will answer this question by appealing to Nigerians to support Buhari’s administration and see whether he has or lacks the vigour to run the country. As someone, who had the chance of working with him, I know he will run this country well. He is a man who is highly religious, fears God and has absolute confidence in those working with him. Even as a military head of state, he was not as dictatorial as many of his adversaries want Nigerians to believe.
I remember very well that there was a situation when he crossed the name of somebody from a list of contract brought to him for approval not by me though, however, I went to him to know the rationale and he explained that he did not want to be blackmailed. He is such a person who carries along his subordinates in the schemes of things. There was also an incident when the Chief of Air Staff took a proposal to him to purchase alpha jet or do something. What the Chief of Staff was expecting was that Buhari in his capacity as the commander-in-chief would just say ‘minister, go ahead’.
But the service chief got the shock of his life when Buhari asked him to get in touch with the finance minister. In a military regime, that was strange because the Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Defence Staff, and other security chiefs were expecting the Head of State to call the minister and say ‘Minister, call your perm sec, and see what you can do’, but instead, Buhari would say go and convince the minister of finance. That is Buhari’s personality for you and I don’t think he has changed. So, I expect those who will work with him to bear this in mind. As much as he will have confidence in them, they must know that they will be under careful monitoring and make sure that they don’t betray the confidence he will repose in them. But do you think he can survive the pressure from politicians and others who back-rolled his election? There is a limit to decadence that Buhari will tolerate, whether anybody or group financed his election or not. Having worked with him, I know he is a very disciplined and courageous man. Should Buhari probe the outgoing administration? To me, probe is diversionary and when you talk about it, you continually look back, when actually you are supposed to be moving ahead. Probe wastes a lot of time and I want to advise that Buhari should look elsewhere. But If in the course of running the country, he crushes people along his way, I am sure he will have the cooperation of Nigerians instead of probe. How do you want him to handle the problematic oil subsidy and power sector? As a former minister in charge of ministry of petroleum, he will know how to handle the issue. But I want to appeal to him to handle the issue with national interest. Do you think Buhari has the skill to fight politicians, who made him president? Why not? Let us wait and see whether he could do that or not, but if it is the same Buhari that I worked with as finance minister, politicians should not expect business as usual. I am sure he will not fight them, but he will let them see reasons why certain things cannot be going on. So, Nigerians should brace up for austere period if they want Nigeria to be a better country. They must be ready to cooperate with him as well as ready to make unconditional sacrifice. How do you feel when people blame the military under which you served as finance minister for being responsible for Nigeria’s current economic woes? Financial recklessness? Not in Buhari’s regime. In fact, we managed more debts, making members of the cabinet to be calling me minister of debt management. Our debt was so high that we were paying both domestic and foreign debts. It was a disciplined regime and that was probably why we didn’t last two years as we were kicked out after 20 months in office.