Tinubu is re-engineering Nigeria for tomorrow’s prosperity — Sen Obanikoro

2026-02-23 - 05:46

...Insists intelligence gathering is key to overcoming insecurity By Jide Ajani General Editor A two-time Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, known as the fearless Koro-Ibo (Koro-Vote) during his bid to become the governor of Lagos State in 2007, speaks from the heart. In this interview, he dissects Lagos politics, President Bola Tinubu’s style of governance and why Nigerians should be happy that Tinubu is at the helm of affairs today. Obanikoro, who had served as Minister of State for Defence and Foreign, took a long look at the security situation in Nigeria and concluded that it is surmountable if fifth columnists can be quashed, while citizens provide the much needed intelligence. Asked about the negativity of defection, he simply said: “You see, everybody is trying to align themselves with our party because there is something positive which President Tinubu is doing and which the people are seeing.” Excerpts: Apart from your outburst in the wake of the illegal removal of the Speaker of the Lagos Assembly as pronounced by the court, you’ve been too quiet. What has been happening? I don’t know what you are talking about. I am not a member of the House of Assembly, neither was I privy to the crisis. However, that is now water under the bridge. The context of the question is the stasis or incapacity of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, to nip it in the bud. All we were trying to do was to midwife a resolution at that point but some people misread the situation. As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that the state does not unduly get into an unnecessary crisis. When that situation occurred, the responsibility to douse it fell on us. Now we know the outcome, because as we have said, the rest, as they say, is history. When you say it was difficult to douse the issue, some would find that a bit curious. The almighty GAC? Sometimes, when emotion flares, it can affect our judgement. The issues surrounding that removal and what have you, the actors were emotionally enraged. It was almost impossible for the leadership to penetrate them. As I have said, it’s behind us now, and there’s a lesson, it’s a learning curve, even for them too. I am glad that there’s a resolution, and I am glad the House is now functioning properly. Crisis management is part of democracy, and doesn’t hurt the system, it makes it stronger. This your GAC, some people have mixed ideas of its real relevance. Some say it’s supposed to be a feedback loop between the elected people and the grassroots. But then, some also accuse the membership of needless subservience to Asiwaju who introduced it. How does that come across? When you have a situation like this, what you realize is that if you say yes, you lose. If you say no, you lose. So what you end up doing is to allow people to ventilate whatever opinion that they have. What I can tell you for free is that the opinion does not represent what that structure or that body stands for. You see, let me take one of our leaders as an example for you to appreciate what we have there. Baba Olusi, who is now presiding in the absence of Asiwaju, was a councilor in Lagos. From there, he rose to become a supervisor at the council, Lagos Island Local Government. Later, during the 1979-83 political dispensation, he represented Lagos Island at the House of Reps. These are elders who are full of wisdom, who have been this, been that. He was also a commissioner in Lagos State. They have seen it all. Let me tell you, no matter how brilliant you are, no matter the school you attended, it cannot compensate for experience. All that cannot. It can help, but it cannot compensate for experience. Don’t forget they have been through so many crises that they overcame. In any serious society, they are needed to guide us against so many needless occurrences that hitherto would have set the state back, either in terms of development or in terms of peace and tranquility. So, you need such a sitting. That is what experience does to people who are wise enough, and who are clever enough, and who are deep enough to understand that experience is the best teacher in anything we do. So, Asiwaju, that put that body together, is a very wise person. He is a very strategic person. If you ask him, with the benefit of hindsight, what he will say about GAC, he will tell you that it has served Lagos well. I can tell you that even all other states now in Nigeria, I know Oyo at some point was trying to do the same thing. And I know Ogun State also is trying to do the same thing. In essence, when we combine the experiences of every member of that council and considering the fact that we are all leaders within our communities and areas, we brainstorm to assist the government in terms of wise counsel, results of which have been very positive. But the perception of a rubber stamp... (Cuts in) Perception is the problem. Let me tell you, there is a saying in Yorubaland that those who seek to inherit an inheritance that does not belong to them, will tell a bad story to inherit it. That is what is happening. Those who are unduly ambitious, let me say, those who are recklessly and unduly ambitious, are the ones saying there is no relevance when it comes to GAC. It is because they too forget that at some point, they are going to become senior citizens too. In any case, some of them have been beneficiaries of the intervention of GAC. The GAC guides and ensures that we all learn from the past, so that the same mistakes are not repeated. Would I be correct to say that in 2023 when Asiwaju lost the presidential election in Lagos, a mistake was made in terms of improper mobilisation? Shall we call it a loosening of guard of the political leaders in Lagos? I totally disagree! But Asiwaju lost Lagos? Asiwaju lost Lagos for so many reasons, not because some of us did not try our best. One, don’t forget that it was a Muslim/Muslim ticket. That was the first time that we had such in Nigeria. Two, Lagos, whether you like it or not, is the capital of the Christian religious groups in Nigeria. All these religious associations or religious groups are all headquartered in Lagos or outskirts of Lagos, and they have a huge population. The decision was taken because they felt threatened that a Muslim/Muslim ticket would reduce the Christians to second class citizens in Nigeria because that had never happened before. What we were accustomed to before then was a faith-balanced ticket. If a Muslim heads, a Christian is second. Where a Christian is the head of the ticket, a Muslim would be the second. So that is what we were accustomed to, and it became the norm, like a tradition. So anytime you want to create a shock in a system like that, you are going to have the kind of reaction that we saw at that time. So, like I said, there were many factors, including the one I just mentioned. But you will agree that their fears were not unfounded? Of course. Was their fear genuine? Yes, it was genuine. If you are confronting something that has never happened before, it is game to have such fear. It is game because you cannot predict the outcome, you want to protect yourself against it. But what they forgot was to look into the background of the individual who was heading the ticket, which is Asiwaju. If they had studied his background, they would have known that Asiwaju is not a religious bigot, and he’s not the type of person that will put one religion over another. His household is a good example of that. The First Lady of Nigeria today is a pastor. Seyi, his son, is a Christian. The president is not the type of person that will impose – and that speaks to how the GAC also operates, as I was trying to say before . But they didn’t know that. Some of the people knew. But the fear of this not happening before in the history of Nigeria, you cannot blame them for that. Now, today, with the benefit of hindsight, everybody is happy because everybody can see, can feel, that Asiwaju has led a very balanced government. I have a problem with the use of the word, ‘everybody’. Say some people? Well, I’m saying the majority of Nigerians and that’s important. You can’t be right to say the majority... (Cuts in) No, Jide! Even those who may hate Asiwaju cannot deny the fact that he has been able to balance governance between the religious groupings that we have in Nigeria. It’s not just two religions that we have in Nigeria, we have multiple religions. And none can claim that they have been discriminated against based on religion as far as the management of Nigeria is concerned. You’ve been an actor in jumping from one party to the other and jumping back. Now, with what is going on, how well does that bode for our democracy? Some reports by the World Bank, the IMF, sometimes suggest that things are not going really well and sometimes they suggest that things are balancing out – poverty level and all that. Yet, the party overseeing the poverty space is the one elected officials are rushing to. How would you want to explain that to Nigerians? Well, there is something going on around the world today that nobody can explain. One of them is the fact that we have a president in America who nobody can say for sure what his frame of mind is. But for some people looking from a distance, they would think that there is something wrong with him in terms of his mindset. But to others, they totally agree with him and believe in him. Now, you come to our own part of the world, too. You see, everybody is trying to align himself or herself with our party because there is something positive which President Tinubu is doing and which people are seeing. Not everybody, distinguished? Like I said earlier, majority of Nigerians. But let me say this, we have had this before. Don’t forget when Obasanjo, Jonathan, at some point, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, had about 31 governors. After some years, they’ve lost almost everything. Our party, APC is the beneficiary of all this jumping-ship, as you described it. But let me tell you, we are getting it right in the APC and that’s why you’re seeing many people joining our fold. Unlike what happened to the PDP, we are working towards continuous relevance and when I say relevance, that means we must continue to reinvent ourselves and continue to bring good governance to our people. Though history has taught us that there is no champion forever, as a party, we must continue on the path of successfully delivering the dividends of democracy to our people for us to remain relevant for a long time. Meanwhile, with the way President Tinubu is re-engineering Nigeria for the better, APC deserves all the benefits of ‘harvesting’. But I see a situation where you have a lot of young men who are into all these things, who have ambitions too, and who, with time, in the pursuit of that ambition, they may have to leave where they are now to pursue those ambitions. Look at all the governors who are coming in. Asiwaju is not going to be president forever. The maximum allowed by our constitution is two terms of eight years. So some of these governors will also want to be president. If they can’t achieve that ambition in APC, they may want to look elsewhere at some point. For now, our party is the best, and we are providing the best. When you say best, in which context? In terms of the management of our party, I said our party is the best. In terms of the management of the party, yeah, we are the best. And in terms of achievements of Mr. President. The president is accused of muscling his way through and there are allegations of intimidation. I am happy you said some people are afraid of losing elections. In proper democracies, that should not be so if elections are credible? We are beginning to see it in America. Americans are also afraid. The Republicans are afraid of losing elections. That’s why all of them are kowtowing to whatever Trump says. People always run to America as an example. But now, we have seen that they are as vulnerable as we are. That doesn’t make it right? I’m giving you an example and can emphatically say that those allegations of intimidation by Mr. President are unfounded. Ibrahim Gambari says something about elite consensus. He believes that the major problem of our democracy is that the elites have not really come to a consensus that we need to move this nation forward and until we do that, we would keep moving in circles? You are coming into a different issue. It is the management for the good of the people, That, to me, is the essence of my personal participation in politics. I believe it should be for everybody. What we have now, it is said by people that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. How did we get here? We got here from mismanagement, corruption, indiscipline, lack of focus, over the decades. Today, we have a new government that is trying to change course to ensure that we have a country that is stable, that we also have a middle class that can propel the development of the country to an unseen level in the annals of our history. So, if you look at all that, you will know that this administration is really trying. But because of the neglect of the past, the task is so huge that for us to begin to feel the impact of what is being done today, it will take some time. Sometimes, when someone’s heart stops working, they give you a shock to revive the heart but not to kill you. That’s what we’re doing now – that shock is being applied. But you know that you have to give the shock for the patient to survive. I think that is what the president is doing now. He’s giving the shock to ensure that we survive. To onlookers, they might think that this shock might kill Nigeria, but there is no doubt in my mind that it will not kill us. It will rather make us a better country. And you can begin to see that in our foreign reserve. Our foreign reserve has gone up, considering where we were coming from under the previous administration. But the debts have ballooned... (Cuts in) I don’t worry too much about debts. I worry about what we do with the debts. You see, people talk about debts. No, there’s nothing wrong with debts. There is no great country in the world today that is not indebted. What we do with the debt is what should concern all of us. If what we do with the debt are things that will take us out of where we are, I think it’s all well and good. And then the prosperity that will come will pay for the debts. Don’t forget that we are chasing prosperity. If that prosperity comes, paying for the debts will not be an issue. The history of mankind has been about this. Taking risks. How would you describe Asiwaju’s style in the context of being faithful and meaning well? There is a difference between meaning well and doing well? Asiwaju, the man I know, I can tell you for free that he is determined to ensure the success of his government. And he is a man with an eye on history. You see, if you elect someone who has an eye on history, he will be more concerned on how to be successful. He is concerned about how he will be judged. If you carry that kind of burden, then success will come. Nigeria is a difficult country to run. Don’t let us deceive ourselves. It’s very difficult. It’s complex. Our differences are too many. And our differences are not subdued. We live with our differences every day, which is bad. It’s like we wear it. A Yoruba man wears his Yorubaness. A Muslim wears his faith. We must play down on some of these things for the good of our country and we suspect each other sometimes for no reason. Just because somebody is a Muslim, the thinking is that they can’t do right. And because somebody is a Christian, he can’t serve my interests. Those things don’t help us. And then, when things are done, some people begin to draw a religious picture. Or an ethnic picture. Or a geopolitical picture. There are too many things wrong with our society. But I believe that the approach that Asiwaju is taking will take us to the Promised Land. It’s not going to be easy. Don’t get me wrong. Our history has taught us that there is nothing that human beings have set their mind to conquer that they have not conquered. So, I see Nigeria leaving the true meaning of its creed by our country becoming, in the next 10 or 15 years, the 20 biggest economies in the world. It is achievable and I think we are on the path. Rather, we should embrace the project and all of us should support it. The nature of insecurity in Nigeria is very complex? Thank you. The issue of insecurity is part of our problems in Nigeria, and we are not sincere with whatever we do. As much as the government is trying, there are people within the system who do not want success based on the fact that they see it from a religious or ethnic standpoint. Under the last administration, I didn’t understand how people compared cows to human life. I could not fathom the idea. How did we get there? You could see that there were people condemning insecurity outside and were fanning it inside. I know this based on my background within the Nigerian security system. You see some Nigerians who come out and say this must be condemned, this is intolerable, this is unacceptable. But between you and me, these are the people fanning the same thing within the four corners of their bedroom. The Northerners used to be the most peaceful you can ever imagine anywhere in the world when we were growing up. They go about their businesses peacefully; they don’t disturb anybody. But to now have some people in the same ethnic group being at the forefront of the destabilisation of Nigeria is incomprehensible for me. I see more of also foreign hands in this. We need to get to the root of these things – it’s not local. I do believe that if our brothers and sisters in the Northern part will rise up and confront this challenge head on without paying lip service to it, I believe we can overcome it. We talk about intelligence gathering. How do you gather intelligence when those who are to give intelligence are culpable? Maybe in some cases they are culpable or in some cases they are sympathisers. They fall into different categories. In some cases, they are sponsors. We thought Buhari could overcome it, but he couldn’t. They overwhelmed him and I also believe that they were not sincere in the fight. If we can be sincere with ourselves in the fight against terrorists and kidnappers, there is no excuse for it. You know why? We all know there is sufficient technology to fight these crimes and crush them. So why are we not embracing that technology? I still don’t understand. But I must give kudos to Asiwaju because the kind of courage that he has shown is unbelievable and the investment he has made is unbelievable. I believe if we continue on this path, I am sure we should be able to surmount it.