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Barrister Onyinye-Gandhi Chukwunyere, an activist, is the spokesperson of the African Action Congress (AAC). In this interview with EJIKEME OMENAZU, he speaks on major issues in the polity. Excerpt:
How do you see the way governments at all levels treat the issue of agitations for good governance? Would you say the governments’ attitudes raise hope for a better society in years to come?
The response of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to the legitimate protests by the Nigerian people against its terrible policies is very concerning. The Nigerian constitution guarantees every citizen the right to protest to their government, the right to express dissenting views from those held by the government or its officials, and frankly, the right to draw the government’s attention to the widespread suffering across the country. Any responsible government will treat these legitimate protests with seriousness, and respond to citizens’ concerns in a way that recognises and honours their dignity. Sadly, the APC government has chosen a draconian response. It has chosen to antagonise citizens, attack them and wield the cudgel of treason over their heads in its bid to cow and intimidate them into supine submission. By the way, Tinubu and other elements in his government had previously benefited from the constitutionally protected right to protest. He and Buhari led massive protests in 2012 against the Jonathan government and rightfully so. To now criminalise the right to protest and deem every protest an attempt to oust his government is disingenuous and quite frankly a betrayal of the people. That is not how a free society operates. It is a cowardly resort to fascist methods, and it is bound to consume those who may temporarily find in it a false sense of security.
Following the way the government has been using its institutions to muscle voices of dissent, how do you think activists would continue to mount pressure on the government for an improved society?
Historically, no dictator has ever succeeded in suppressing the voices of the Nigerian people. Even in the decades of military dictatorship, Nigerians always stood up to oppression. Today, their response will not be different. Political activists aside, very active segments of the citizenry will continue to speak up, especially the young people whose future is being mortgaged by the ruinous policies of the Tinubu-led APC government. These young Nigerians are the real activists of today. You see them on social media and on the ground in cities, towns, and villages across the country, taking on this government, exposing its lies, and demanding accountability. Rest assured they will not stop. On our part, political activism is not a choice, but a responsibility. Speaking for myself and other conscientious activists desirous of transformative change in the country, we will not be intimidated. We have been constantly harassed, threatened, detained, prosecuted, and even jailed, yet we are unbowed. No amount of fascist suppression will dissuade us from continuously championing the cause of the Nigerian people, speaking up for them, protesting and exposing this government, and educating our people on how to take back their country.
What do you think the continued treason trial of #EndBadGovernance protesters even with pleas from Nigerians for their release, say about the current administration?
Interestingly, not even military dictators such as Generals Ibarahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) and Sanni Abacha could summon the depth of depravity required to arrest, detain, starve, torture and then charge scores of Nigerian children with treason. Tinubu’s jankara government now has that sole badge of infamy. Aside from the minors, the arrest and detention of thousands of citizens who joined the #Endbadgovernance protest was shameful and condemnable. It exposed the ugly underbelly of the Tinubu government as nothing more than a collection of small men and women adept at rigging elections, but totally useless in the serious business of governance. It also shows that small-minded characters should never be trusted with power, and cowards should never be entrusted with authority because they would wield it without compunction. The continued trial of peaceful protesters for treason despite the widespread call for their freedom speaks to the character of the elements in this government, from Tinubu to his last appointee. The hallmark of any bad government is its mortal fear of legitimate citizens’ protest. This is a terrible government; sooner or later, the people will consign it to the waste bin of history.
With the way the ruling party has been dominating elections in the country, would you say the fear for one party rule is real?
We have always maintained that what you have in Nigeria are not elections, but charades designed to hoodwink the people into thinking they have some say in the leadership selection process. The People Democratic Party (PDP) was notorious for rigging elections, but Tinubu’s APC has taken election fraud to a new level. Now, following the model they experimented with in Imo State, they simply write results in hotel rooms, bribe compromised election and security officials, announce the fraudulent results, and dare you to go to court. They claim victory across all local government areas, a bizarre fit totally incongruous with their unpopularity across the country. This is precisely the behaviour you get from characters who believe they have perfected the art of state capture. They see no opposition, they respect no one, they listen to no counsel, and they display the most unconscionable abuse of power until they are handed a rude awakening by popular intervention. The APC desires more than a one-party state. They want to govern a defeated and voiceless people so that no one will challenge their cluelessness in governance, and the serial looting of public resources.
What is your take on alleged plans by some state governments to use legislative and administrative instruments to tender useless the Supreme Court ruling on financial autonomy of local governments?
Under the current political and economic structure in Nigeria, no degree of judicial pronouncement or ruling can curtail the selfish machinations of unscrupulous politicians. The structural setup of the country supports the type of patronage politics that is fast becoming the norm here. A hitherto unaccomplished individual gets to power by hook or crook and proceeds to unlawfully accumulate and loot public resources in a way that enables him to buy the loyalty of practically anybody in the system. The level of looting and primitive accumulation you see from Nigerian politicians is driven by both their greed and the necessity of maintaining a well-oiled network of political hangers-on whose welfare must supersede that of the people. That is why the governors want unrestricted access to local government funds. We in the African Action Congress (AAC) have called for restructuring and a new people’s constitution. That is the only way to reset the structural skew of the country and eliminate the loopholes exploited by crooked politicians to the detriment of the Nigerian people.
What is your take on the recent conduct of local government elections in some states? What suggestions would you proffer for improvements to meet the yearnings of the people for proper grassroots democracy in the country?
Like the sham elections at the presidential and gubernatorial levels, the local government elections conducted by state electoral commissions are a rude joke on the sensibilities of the Nigerian people. Those are not elections, but performative rituals intended to deceive. Recently, a video emerged where an element purporting to be a former official of the River State government, boasted about how he wrote results in his office and asked electoral officials to announce them as the legitimate outcomes of the state elections. No aspect of Nigerian politics currently works for the people. We must dismantle the current structure and start on a clean slate. Deepening democracy and ensuring grassroots participation is impossible under the current template. And it will fall apart sooner or later under the weight of its contradictions.
What is your party doing to improve on its popularity and spread across the states in readiness for the 2027 general elections?
The AAC is less bothered about the 2027 elections the results of which have probably been written by the APC and the colluding Mahmood Yakubu of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). As far as we are concerned, these sham elections serve no useful purpose for the Nigerian people and amount to an egregious waste of resources that could otherwise be deployed to provide basic services. Until the country is structurally reset under a new constitution, the likes of Tinubu will continue to displace credible, competent and principled Nigerians who can truly develop the country. The brand of patronage politics enabled by the current system is incapable of moving the country forward, and the beneficiaries will not voluntarily relinquish their corrupt privileges by conducting credible elections that they will lose. Therefore, we are more focused on educating and mobilising our citizens to aggressively step into the political arena and take their destinies into their own hands. At the appropriate time, we will go public with our decision on the next elections, but our priority right now is to continue to mobilise our citizens for the task of redeeming their country.
How do you think the constant collapse of the national grid could be checked? Could the development be traced to sabotage?
The country’s electricity infrastructure is still primitive. Successive governments of both the PDP and the APC have failed to fix the problem. Instead, they have budgeted humungous sums that they subsequently embezzle while leaving a nation of 220 million people in darkness. The AAC has provided a blueprint out of the power crisis as contained in our detailed manifesto in the 2023 presidential election. The document is still available on our website, but I will give you snippets. We have proposed the development of a mix of energy sources including solar, wind, gas and even nuclear energy to solve the generation part of the problem so that we can move from less than 5000 megawatts to at least 25000 in four years. The transmission and distribution parts of the problem will be handled by direct government investment in and management of the relevant infrastructure. The reliance on so-called DISCOs who are constantly being subsidised or bailed out by the government is counterproductive. Given the magnitude of the problem and its strategic position in any serious plan for national development, it is not one of those issues that should be outsourced to the private sector. We have been trying that approach since the days of Obasanjo and Atiku and it hasn’t worked. Therefore, our approach will be different, and we’ll fix the problem once and for all.
Do you think that Nigerians will ever get petroleum products cheaper considering what is presently happening in the sector?
The petroleum sector is another swamp of corruption and fraud for which the Nigerian people are paying a steep price. Tinubu taunted the country as he claimed to have removed the petroleum subsidy. The purported removal plunged the country into a deeper economic mess and further impoverished our people. Today, he has returned the subsidy payments through the back door, yet Nigerians are paying more than twice for petroleum products. We have four refineries that have been deliberately sabotaged by those whose wealth must be sustained by our collective poverty. As a country, we cannot make the refineries work, but we can invest in a single individual’s refinery to come on stream within 24 months. This anomaly is enabled by the opaque shenanigans in the sector where it is clear that a few powerful individuals have placed themselves above the country and must retain their privileges by making our lives miserable. This is why the AAC will immediately dismantle the so-called oil cartel the moment we come to power. We will wage the war necessary to liberate the country from the stranglehold of those who stand in the way of our collective progress and prosperity. Nothing short of a complete overhaul will suffice, and until that overhaul happens, the cost of petroleum products will continue to rise.
