Even though the dust of the general elections are beginning to settle, another issue that may generate heated discussion is the position of the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly. While Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has indicated interest, saying the position should be zoned to the South-East, a staunch Supporter of the Tinubu Presidency in the just concluded presidential election, and former Commissioner for Information in Edo State, Prince Kassim Afegbua thinks otherwise. He is of the view that the South-South geopolitical zone deserves the number three position as the treasure zone of the country and the contribution of the geopolitical zone in the last election for the ruling APC. Excerpts:
Congratulations on the just concluded presidential election. How do you feel especially when the candidate you supported Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was declared the winner?
Thank you for the felicitation. It was a well deserved victory of a candidate who showed a pan-Nigeria approach in the electioneering campaigns. He was not detained by religion, ethnicity and other parochial considerations during the campaigns. He was preaching about Nigeria and what he thought Nigerians should do to sustain the dreams of the founding fathers. While others were preaching religion, accusing him of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, he was busy telling Nigerians what he would do to deepen democracy, and take the country to its Olympian Height. While others were preaching ethnicity, telling their kiths and kins to vote them on account of their ethnicity, Asiwaju Tinubu, the President-elect was busy carrying his message of renewed hope across the nooks and crannies of the country, with promises that would relaunch the country into global reckoning. For me, it was a victory well deserved.
Are you not worried about the ongoing Tribunal cases in the aftermath of the election, especially the calls for annulment by the opposition parties?
Thank you for this question. They are also bad students of history, I mean the opposition parties, especially those asking for annulment of the election on the one hand and declaring them winners of the same election they have condemned as falling short of the conditionality of credible election. When the 1993 election was annulled, some of them were the same characters who condemned the exercise and protested so vehemently as if they were Democrats. For failing to win this 2023 election, they have suddenly started asking for military interregnum just to convey the impression that the elections were marred by irregularities. Let me tell you something; since I have been participating in election starting from 1993, this election of 2023 remains the best in terms of credibility and the number of upsets it threw up.
It was the first time I was seeing sitting Governor losing election to the Senate. Seven serving Governors who wanted to become Senators lost elections woefully. That couldn’t have been possible without credible election; where a Personal Assistant was elected Senator in Edo State, an Okada rider defeating a popular musician in Lagos, where Asiwaju Tinubu was defeated in Lagos by the Labour Party candidate, how much of credibility do you want to see? I think the two major candidates, Atiku and Obi are bad losers. They need to wake up and take a patriotic position by congratulating the winner in the spirit of sportsmanship. We need to stabilise the polity for the new President-elect to be able to deliver his promises. As per the tribunal, there is nothing that will come out of it, because the President-elect got votes across the country, to enjoy enough spread. It will help enrich our legal jurisprudence, but it won’t be the responsibility of the Judiciary to generate fresh votes when the people have spoken on the 25th February. We should never speak of another annulment after the unfortunate incident of 1993. The election has been won and lost.
Yes, talking about the Senate, some geo-political zones are already asking for the position of Senate President, what is your take?
Well, I have stated my position in my earlier Press Release, where I made a strong case for the South-South geopolitical zone as a treasure base of the country for proper political balancing. As a country with several multiplicities of interest, you need to consciously and deliberately factor in the interest of the treasure base of the nation, the zone that lays the golden egg, so that you can enjoy the stability required to allow you deliver governance. The South-South zone is very important and significant in the algorithms of power in trying to ensure that they are included at the centre for peace to reign. We also have other zones in the South but since the South-West has gotten the Presidency, and following the support that the ruling APC got from the zone, it was only natural for the south-south to be accorded that position. This is what is called, inclusive participation. Do you intend to cede the number three position that gave the ruling party barely 80,000 votes? I mean the South-East? That will be injustice. On ground of merit, the south-south merits it, on ground of economic relevance, the south-south merits it; on ground of strategic political importance, the south-south merits it.
In terms of fairness, equity and justice, the south-south merits and deserves it. The south-east for example has had opportunity to be Senate President on five different occasions in the last twenty-four years. That is massive contribution to the law-making process of the country. It is only natural for the south-east to allow the south-south have a shot at it, to balance the equation in the spirit of fairness. On a larger scale, following the initial brouhaha that the Muslim-Muslim ticket generated, it will make sense to have a Southern Christian balance ethno-religious factors in the next dispensation. So, please tell others to allow south-south the opportunity to be Senate President to balance the algorithms of geopolitics of power. My take is for south-south to be supported for the number three position.
There are those who will say the South-East deserve the number three position for peace to reign in the country. How do you react to that?
If you speak to an average Nigerian from the south-east extraction, what they truly want is not Senate President, but to become president of the country. That was why you saw the kind of bogus figures that came out of the south-east at the presidential election. There were also some kind of conspiracies in the outcome of the elections in the south-east. How come that a candidate of the APC for example, who ran for Senate, had more votes than his party’s presidential candidate, in an election that was conducted same day, same hour, same time, following the same process? It could only be conspiracy. It was quite unfortunate that Senators from the south-east fought to win their election, but left the APC presidential candidate to suffer defeat in their domain. How then do you now turn around to ask for number three position when you know in your heart of hearts that you never supported the candidate ab initio? What brings peace to any country is the number of honest men who are ready to work patriotically for a cause they claim they believe in, and not pretenders. I would love the south-south to taste the Senate Presidency in the spirit of equity and fairness, since the South-East has had the opportunity five solid times. Isn’t that true?
How do you intend to pacify the South-East in the upcoming dispensation?
Are they aggrieved because of Senate Presidency? The answer is No! They want to be President of the country and this is the closest they’ve gone to achieving that, but someone must win. So, they need to start preparing for another time. I spoke to some of my friends from the south-east and they didn’t hesitate to tell me that what they want is President, and not Senate President. They even accused those who have occupied the position in the past as selfish and self-serving. So, they are not interested in that position. They can only be pacified, when the opportunity is ripe for them to be president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That time will surely come some day. As per the Senate, it is our turn as south-south to be given that slot and opportunity.
Do you have anyone in mind from the South-South who is interested or who you are pushing for your former boss, Adams Oshiomhole?
Well, I would have been the happiest person to have Comrade Oshiomhole assume such position but you know as a first timer, there is a lacuna. And because the position is the first to be filled, that automatically prevents first timers to aspire to the position. The rule cannot be suspended except by the senate president, having been elected. So, in electing, the rule will apply. The only person qualified for the position based on Senate rules is Senator Godswill Akpabio, the man from Akwa Ibom. I really don’t know much about him, but he’s from my zone, so eminently qualified for that position. Politics is all about constructive engagement and collective bargaining. It is all about lobbying people to see sense in what you are trying to do. I remembered that Senator Akpabio stepped down for Asiwaju Tinubu during the primaries to give way for his emergence as the flag bearer of the APC. One good turn for me, deserves another. Even though I am not close to Senator Akpabio, I will support his aspiration to occupy that position, after all, he appears to be the only ranking Senator from the south-south zone presently and eminently qualified. Almost every other person is a first timer.
What are we to expect in the
Tinubu-led Presidency in the face of challenges confronting us as a nation?
There will always be challenges in the country, and it is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. But what makes the difference is what you bring to the table to address those challenges and steer the ship of state in the right direction. Asiwaju Tinubu, the president-elect, has the experience to govern this country. He has the reach and network. The team is a very strong one that will respond to the challenges in the best of tradition. I know he will set up a very formidable team that will handle different aspects of governance. He’s widely known as a team player and knows how to groom leaders at various points. So, give him that credit, that he will choose square pegs in square holes to make the difference. Nigerians are going to be seeing an engaging president who will interrogate the issues and create an opportunity for a robust appreciation of the challenges. He will follow through the beauty of his campaign manifesto and implement the renewed hope agenda. I can’t wait for his tenure to start because I know that given his strong political will, he will take decisions that will have far reaching impact on the wellbeing of the people.
If Senator Akpabio eventually becomes Senate President, what are we to expect from him?
For any democracy to flourish, you need a vibrant legislature. Under our own bicameral legislature, you need the robust engagement of both houses to constructively engage with the Executive in lawmaking, implementation and other ancillary responsibilities. I know Senator Akpabio to be very vocal and can stand his own any time any day. They referred to him as uncommon transformational Governor who lifted his state from the ashes of poor governance to a level that has elevated the rating of the state till date. Such result-driven mindset is what the system deserves to make laws that would help to improve rule of law and good governance in the country. I am told Akpabio does not like failure. That means he would put his all to ensure that the 10th Senate becomes essentially productive and utility-driven to complement the efforts of the other arms of government to deliver democracy dividends to the people. He may end up becoming another uncommon Senate President if we are to go by his previous achievements. But what is of importance to me, is for the APC to zone the position to the South-South, every other thing shall follow. The zone deserves it, the zone merits it and the zone desires it. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.