(NEF) and a former Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Prof Ango Abdullahi, says the country’s unity is negotiable as its forbearers were not consulted before Nigeria was cobbled together. In this interview with IGHO AKEREGHA, the octogenarian retired professor of agriculture and respected elder statesman, gives reasons why he supports the clamour for Biafra and other self-determination groups

Election season in Nigerian comes with its unusual tension, why do we have to go through this every time?

Why should we have pressure if we have good processes? First, we have the law of the country called the Constitution, we have political parties and these political parties have constitutions, they have manifestoes, they have everything and they have their procedures for doing everything. There is INEC that is constituted by law to supervise free, fair, and transparent elections. There are security agencies that are supposed to keep the peace and tranquillity of society wherever there is an apparent breach of such. So, why should there be tension? Tension is arising because we have refused to be governed by the rules and regulations of the country starting with the constitution. When you have a good system, then why should there be tension. If you want to change the system, there are peaceful ways of doing that. So, why should there be tension? It’s a great pleasure to say that at intervals of four years, Nigerians will troop out to say that all these people who have represented us in the last four years, you have done well and we are going to re-elect you. Those who have failed us will be replaced by other people and so on. This is what should be a peaceful democratic system that is the basis upon which a country is ruled. Unfortunately, the only reason why Nigeria has not grown is that it has failed to uphold the basic tenets of law and order even from the constitution itself. How much is the constitution respected even by those who have sworn to protect it? They are the ones who are violating it because they are in a position of power. You can see it. They change the Electoral law backward and forward. This group will say this, another one will say that I don’t want to feel sorry but I am sorry for us.

As an elder statesman, how did we manage to get it so wrong that we place so much premium on our faulty lines? How did the country get to this level?

Because there is no good leadership. If you see a family that is broken down, it is because there is no good head of the family. If you see the crisis in a country, it is because it has no good parents to look after it and this is what is happening in Nigeria. For me, the challenge is for Nigerians to honestly look at themselves and say are being truthful about themselves. And if each tribal group can do the same or each regional group can do the same and so on and if the answer is yes, then it’s ok. But if the answer is no as in the case of Nigeria, the answer is no. All the tension, all the crisis that has to do with either tribalism, sectionalism, religious and ethnic differences, and so on, is what is driving Nigeria, not politics. Not the kind of politics that you see in other parts of the world. We are just pretending that we borrowed the presidential system from the United States, why not practice it? We are not practicing it. I am not saying we should follow what the United States is doing but if you say you have borrowed the presidential system of government, we are not following it. If we are following it, we will not be where we are with all the ‘katakata’ all over the place. I also need to say that journalists are guilty, they are part of the problem Nigeria is having today. If you are doing the job of a journalist that works in America or Europe of telling the truth when you see the truth and exposing a lie when you see a lie, Nigeria will not be in the difficulty it is today.

Why do you think so? Journalists report only the facts…

Interrupts. I am not thinking so, I know so if you see an editorial or news content, it is not based on investigative journalism but a predetermined bias or interest of somebody or the owner of the newspaper. You are doing your master’s bidding and as you know, your master’s bidding may not be in the best interest of the country. So, journalism in Nigeria is part of the problem.

What you are saying could be the subject of another conversation. The elections in 2023 are almost here and the North and South have renewed their struggle for which region gets the presidency. Many believe this is unhealthy, do you think we can make progress in this kind of environment?

Why not, why not. What we have in the constitution of the country today is that Ango Abdullahi from one village called Yankawada can come and contest election when and where you want him to contest. And that is what it has to be and this is what the constitution says, that Nigerians are free to vote and be voted for in any part of the country. The call for South or North doesn’t make any difference to me. Nigerians should offer themselves and if they are good, Nigerians should vote for them and those who are good, hopefully, they should get the votes and when the votes are counted, they win an election. Finish.

Is this responsible for the growing agitation of separatists who want to break away because people have a feeling of dissatisfaction?

Well, you can call it anything. If the Constitution says you cannot contest an election or if you fail in an election, you can separate from the country, then you are free to separate from the country. There is a United Nations protocol on self-determination. For example, I support people who want Biafra.

Do you mean you are in support of Biafra amid calls for unity and indissolubility of Nigeria as a country?

…because that is self-determination. They want self-determination, so why not. This is what they want and it should be given to them under the protocols that have been set up for this to happen. This is what happened recently in Sudan when Southern Sudan voted for separation and they were allowed to separate. So why shouldn’t any part of Nigeria that it wants to separate from Nigeria be allowed to do so?

But this is not in the constitution. The constitution emphasises the unity of the country

…no, no, no. The constitution is not magic. It was made by human beings and it can be changed. I participated in the constitutional conference four times after independence and for me, it is lousy talk to say the country is indivisible, indissoluble, it is rubbish. There are so many countries that started as one country and they have now become many countries. India started as one and became Pakistan after a year or two after, Pakistan split into Pakistan and Bangladesh. The superpower Soviet Union was one country but it has split into 11 countries. Many countries started as one but for reasons known to the people who decided that they no longer want to be one that they should separate, why not. So I don’t accept that the Nigerian Constitution cannot be changed and that Nigeria as a country is indissoluble. Those who created Nigeria did not consult my grandfather and I’m sure they did not consult your own. Therefore, we should be able to change what we don’t want.

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The 1993 presidential election presumed to be won by MKO Abiola is accepted by many as very popular. After that, the 2015 presidential election that brought in Muhammadu Buhari was also very popular. What, in your opinion is responsible for Buhari’s rapid drop in popularity rating among Nigerians in under eight years?

No, no, no. Let’s go back to Abiola. I don’t want to give you some high-level details behind Abiola’s election and if we were to be regional as we are trying to be now, Abiola is a Yoruba man, I’m sure you remember that. How come we in the North decided that we should defeat our son who was contesting the election with Abiola? It was our decision, nobody forced it on us, nobody terrorised us, and nobody abused us. Abiola offered himself and had contacts across the country, perhaps, that was why it was easy to reach out to people, and perhaps, that was why it was easy for him to defeat Bashir Tofa in his home state of Kano. So, what should drive an election is acceptance by the voters of those who want to lead the country but what appears to be, that is driving the bus now is that there are people who think that some force, intimidation, some insults, and so on are the basis on which power should be shared in this country. This cannot be.

In considering the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari, do you think he has done well?

President Buhari got 81 percent of votes in Nigeria from Northern Nigeria. If you don’t know that, you should remember. Obasanjo got zero in front of his house. The votes from the Yoruba in the front of his house were zero, but we voted for Obasanjo in the North. He is not Hausa, he is not Fulani but we voted for him. So, what are all these noises accompanied by uncomplimentary commentaries by people that I respect under the number of years they spent in a position of authority in Nigeria? They should be very responsible in their utterances but what we see is just threats and threats that if this doesn’t happen, so what? The last thing that can happen is for people who are not happy with Nigeria and they want to part ways to be allowed to do so, that’s it. After all, Bature who came and put us together in 1940 didn’t consult our grandparents, so, why should you insist that you want to stay together if you are tired.

But there have been arguments of unity in diversity

You have to work for it. There are many countries more diverse than we are. India is more diverse than we are but they are living together. Even China is more diverse than we are. But the diversity here is that of hostility. And people are telling me that we should come together under a hostile environment or condition. It cannot happen.

Are you optimistic that the country will survive in 2023 peacefully?

I’m sure if we choose to do so, why not. It should not be a case of some saying one man scored zero and another 80. The only thing I’m happy about is this ongoing constitutional amendment that has just been passed by the National Assembly, particularly the introduction of independent candidates. In the First Republic, I was a Returning Officer in the 1959 general elections and there were independent candidates. Why do you have to belong to a political party before you are elected by your people, why? If I don’t like the party and I don’t like their programmes and there is somebody who comes near to my thinking, why shouldn’t I vote for him if he offers himself for election? So, I am happy that an independent candidate should be a vehicle from the president down to councillor. This will give Nigerians a better choice and nobody is forced to belong to a party and so on.

Don’t you think that if an independent candidate stands for election and gets elected as governor, the state House of Assembly with members from a political party can impeach him?

If the constitution provides for how the governor should work with the State House of Assembly, why not. This is part of the crisis we have. There is a Separation of Power that we don’t even observe now. The most powerful organ in the presidential system is the National Assembly. It is more powerful than the office of the president. But because they don’t win elections fairly and squarely, they rig elections that is why they are doing all these ‘wuruwuru’ in the National Assembly instead of protecting the interest of the electorate.