Secretary-General of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu, speaks on the state of the nation, 2023 presidency, and other sundry national issues, in this interview with Idu Jude

Looking at the activities of CNPP so far, can Nigerians trust the judgment of the body as a unifying force of all political parties?
Well, even though it will amount to blowing your own trumpet, the only voice that has refused to be compromised is that of the CNPP. The CNPP was built on the ideals of its founding fathers, including our late National Chairman, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, and the late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, as well as party leaders like Chief Dan Nwanyanwu and others.

Being a body whose foundation is on deepening democracy and upholding democratic values, CNPP has remained committed to the cause of the masses and the downtrodden in Nigeria. And that is despite the challenges we face daily. So, Nigerians trust the CNPP and will continue to trust CNPP as a unifying body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria.

What can you say has been the most challenging thing in maintaining democracy in Nigeria?
The most challenging and the worst threat to democracy in Nigeria is the lack of rule of law. Injustice occasioned by lack of rule of law is a big threat to democracy everywhere. Nigerian democracy is under constant threat due to the lack of internal democracy in our political parties. That is why you see political parties being dragged to court by their members for the enforcement of their political rights and on issues bothering on due process and exercise of executive power in running party affairs.

Looking at the political parties and their manifestoes, as well as the disposition of the ruling party, can you say that democracy is surviving?
Democracy is barely surviving on the strength of citizens who have refused to give up on the country. Under the ruling party, the APC, most fundamental elements of democracy are fast disappearing. What is democracy without a free and fair election, political space for active participation in politics devoid of money politics, and voter inducement, rule of law which means that the laws and procedures apply equally to all Nigerians? Such elements of democracy like fair hearing, freedom of expression, protection of human rights, and so on, are almost gone.

The judiciary has been intimidated and made an appendage of the state. Where some judges find the courage to make fundamental pronouncements, the judgments of the court will not be obeyed. Is that a surviving democracy in the real sense of it? The answer is capital NO!

What do you think has gone wrong?
Leadership! A leadership deficit is a problem. We do not have leaders with a heart that longs for true democracy.

Southern governors still stand against open grazing by cattle herders. Do you think this is a threat to Nigeria’s unity?
Law and order are the only promoters of unity in any society. The ban on open grazing is a way of dealing with threats to national unity. Some individuals and groups are agitating for an independent country because of perceived injustice and obvious favouritism in Nigeria today.

We are in a country where if cows destroy crops, it is not an offence, and if a farmer whose farms have been destroyed asks the herder to leave his farm, the farmer is killed, and the government carries on as if nothing has happened. How can you foster unity in such an environment? So, the ban on open grazing will not only end herders-farmers clashes in the south and elsewhere but also advance national unity in the country.

Looking at the present administration, in comparison to the main opposition party, the PDP, how do you score Buhari’s administration?
In the first instance, the PDP was voted out because Nigerians believe that the 16 years the party was in power did not produce the expected dividends of democracy. In the last six years of the APC, Nigerians are still in search of the same dividend of democracy.

That was part of the reason the #ENDSARS protesters gave for storming the streets. So, in 2023, it will be left for Nigerians to decide and score the APC government through their votes. But as a person, I believe that the APC must do more to convince Nigerians to vote for the party in the coming general elections if there is a free and fair election where the people will be the decision-makers on who wins and who did not win in the elections.

Tell Nigerians what you feel about the war of election result control between INEC and the NCC with regards to electronic voting and results transmission.

The so-called war is unnecessary. INEC has powers to use any means it chooses, whether electronically or otherwise, to conduct an election. Primarily, the constitution created INEC to conduct elections, and at no place in the law did the constitution forbids INEC from transmitting election result electronically. So, if the law did not forbid INEC to conduct elections electronically, if the Commission believes that electronic transmission of results is what will give us transparent elections, then the constitution empowers them as election regulators to produce the guideline for the conduct of the elections.

So, the National Assembly was just shaking the table unnecessarily by making the law to remove the independence of INEC, which is guaranteed by the constitution. The only challenge we have is that the APC government has turned the judiciary into an appendage of the executive. But, if INEC is ready to go by popular opinion, we shall stand with them. The electoral act amendment subjecting INEC to NCC and National Assembly is dead on arrival, as far as CNPP is concerned.

Do you believe in the option of secession in the absence of rotational leadership in 2023?

Whether I believe in secession or not, people have the right to self-determination. What I believe about it is not going to limit them. However, why should the spirit of rotation be a subject of debate? It is only just to allow the South-East to produce the president of Nigeria in 2023. Since the return of democracy in 1999, the South has produced a president from the South-West and South-South.

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It is not in doubt that the North produced President Buhari for eight years tenure. It is the turn of the South. And when it comes to the South, the South-West and South-South have each produced a president of Nigeria. If Nigeria is interested in justice, all political parties should zone their presidential ticket to the South-East. There are capable patriotic Nigerians everywhere in the country that can lead the country. The South-East must not be excluded in the spirit of justice, which is the reason for the ongoing agitation in the country.

In case things fail to work out for the South-East, what solutions do you recommend for the zone in the future?

Why should the country not allow the South-East to have a sense of belonging? I don’t think Nigerians are unwise not to zone the 2023 presidency to the South-East. You can recall that President Buhari described the people of South-East as the economic hub of Nigeria. So, why will the zone not produce the next president? However, it is politics. It is left for the South Easterners to play the political game to take what rightly belongs to the zone.

The political baton in Enugu State, come 2023, may go against the moral principles of rotational leadership. What is your take?

Well, today we have a state with a capable leader who has so far distinguished himself as a governor, who has chosen to be on the side of the people, and the right side of history. The truth is that though the current political leadership in the state, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is a human being, so far, there is nothing on the table that supports the insinuation that the moral principles of rotation in Enugu State will be altered. Currently, Governor Ugwuanyi has been appointed as the chairman of the PDP committee on rotation.

That is a testimony that he is a man of principle to be entrusted with such responsibility. As the people’s governor, he has exhibited so far, I strongly believe that whatever is the wish of the majority will be reflected in the 2023 politics in Enugu State.

With the sit-at-home over the incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu recording success, what in your mind does this portend for the South-East?

It will affect the economy of the South-East. That is why South-East leaders should, as a matter of urgency, negotiate with young people. If some parts of the country are negotiating with bandits and Boko Haram members and granting them amnesty, what is wrong if the South-East leaders meet the youths of the zone on a roundtable? No matter how much a war rages, it will always end on a roundtable. Why not mitigate the brewing crisis and end the killings and incarceration of youths in the zone? Injustice begets conflicts and the genuine demands of the youths should be addressed to ensure that the crisis does not escalate.

On a scale of 10, what do you score the performance of the Nigerian economy under the Buhari and APC leadership?

Nigerians know and have stated clearly that the Buhari administration needs to do more in the area of managing the economy. External borrowing is the worst damage to the economy. We now spend almost the entire federal government’s monthly revenue on debt servicing, and the National Assembly did not help the president. The federal lawmakers maintained a rubber stamp attitude to all the president’s requests to borrow and borrow, despite the obvious dangers to the nation’s economic well-being. To answer your question specifically, four out of 10 on the scale is fair enough.