Immediate past member of the Edo State House of Assembly, Festus Edughele, speaks on insecurity, restructuring and zoning in this interview with Idu Jude.

The Federal Government has mooted the idea of returning toll gates on the highways. What do you think of this?

The issue of toll gates coming back is a welcome, but not without reservations. I have this feeling about the way Nigeria does its things. It gives me a lot of concerns. We have had the likes before, but nobody accounted for the proceeds and the roads remained uncared for.

That is to say that our leaders should constantly maintain the roads and highways for everyone’s use. The issue that arises in-between the usage of this money is always the problem. That is if the money will be used for that purpose? Will it be adequately accounted for?

The idea of returning the toll gates, I think, is a right step in the right direction. Yes, Nigerians have always been known to come out with beautiful, laudable ideas. In short, we have been quoted by the World Bank as the best articulating people. The best writer of proposals, but the problems has been with implementation. This is the background of our problem.

That has always been the missing link – accountability in whatever thing we are doing. If the money generated is properly used, it would be of great benefit to the people. The roads should be maintained so that the road users are happy. The issue, however, is whether the government should continue to handle it or hand it over to a concessionaire. Unless we want to pretend, I discover that if we do a concessionaire arrangement, and with credible hands to handle them, I believe we can have a better deal.

But if it is in the control of the government, I will tell you that it will not work. It will crash like every other project in Nigeria. So, this time around, everything we are doing should be private sector-driven by getting the proper hands through proper proceeding and not through whom I know. Let those who are professionals handle the projects. Look, I have never seen in recent time where a Nigerian contractor was taken to court for a poor quality job.

Let’s look at the call by some governors to restrict the activities of herders to the north. Is it doable?

Let me on the surface applaud the vision of the Governor of Kano State. You see, I do not call them herders’ problem, I call them terrorists, and their operation are not limited to the south alone. It has become national in outlook. The north is even suffering greater mayhem as far as terrorism is concerned. And that is why I say that I applaud his comment on the surface. But taking it down, I think he is by narrowing it down by saying ‘my people come home’.

Meanwhile, the question remains, is open grazing still in vogue in this modern world? If you go Amsterdam, United Kingdom and in many other parts of Africa, do you sight cows being grazed like it is done on the street of Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Benin or any other state capital in Nigeria? Therefore, the person who made this call is on the right part.

I also commend the likes of Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State and Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State for speaking out and supporting what is laudable. If it is a national thing, then how do we address the matter? Our governors should know how to go about what they want to do. They were elected as governors to protect the lives of their people. It is a constitutional thing to protect life and property.

So, governors should know how to come up with a law. And it should be done in a proper way; not canvassing for open grazing. Open grazing, I tell you, will not fly. For instance, you want to sell beer in Kano and you are restricted from doing such in the state. So, why are you now telling me that I cannot restrict you from grazing openly in my own area?

Again, I have a feeling that many of these people causing these grazing problems in the country are not Nigerian Fulani. These are people who must have been chased out of places like the Central African Republic.

But in all, I think every governor should come up with a law to restrict these people.What we need need to do is to profile everyone who wants to do business. If anyone comes, you issue him with licences and he operates according to the state edict. So, if I want cattle from Kano, I will call for it, and we will discuss the terms of delivery. I think that is the best way to do it.

With the insecurity challenges across the country, do you support state police?

As it is now, it is crystal clear that the state police option is the way out of these challenges. Else, one day people may kidnap their neighbours. But let me remind you that state security outfits are already established and being used by some governors effectively. Some states in the north like Kano established security outfits like the Hisbah, which operates effectively in the state. In the west, all the western states have the Amotekun.

In the South-East, they have established Eastern Security Network (ESN). There are also as many governors who have their own security networks. It is like indirectly, the APC has started restructuring, and that will take care of all these things because things have really gone wrong in last few years.

What is your rating of the All Progressives Congress-led administration in the country?

The truth is that Nigerian politics is still undergoing transformation. And there is no doubt that we are still learning from the developed world. If you look at the situation, the ruling party has also introduced some reformation, more especially now that it is trying to bring new membership into its fold.

APC has seen its failure and challenges and that is what prompted the reforms you are seeing now. The reform is devoid of ethnicity, religion or any other issues capable of bringing division among Nigerians.

In recent years, the country under APC has experienced ethnic and religious biases. People call for division because of what is going on. There has been this spate of herders/farmers clashes that has made the price of food to sky-rocket. Families were wiped out at various towns and communities across the country. Kidnapping and raping of women and young ladies make the headlines every day.

So, the APC has taken all these into consideration when it moved to reform itself. Part of the reformation is ensuring that people are brought in with the mind of uniting the entire country because many things have gone wrong. I think with this and the efforts of the Mallam el-Rufai-led committee, the country will be restructured under the APC because that is what is going to kill the animosity bedevilling the nation.

Having spoken about the insecurity problems and the role of the governors, what is your take on state police?

You see, there is this committee that was set up by the APC and is headed by the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam el-Rufai. The committee recommended restructuring and regional government and this is what many people are canvassing.

If zoning presidential ticket to North will make PDP win 2023 election, I will back it-Gov Wike

There is no region in this country that is not sufficiently endowed, and the APC recognised this fact. All what we need to do is to put in more pressure and sensitise the people,as well as call for a regional government and Nigeria will start to experience progress.

From what is currently going on under APC’s leadership, do you think that the party has the capability to continue leading the country?

The answer is yes whether you like it or not, but the fact remains that no one pours away the bath water with a child. Like I told you, there were things that the party has seen structurally that led to some of these innovations introduced in the polity.

You see, no country began on a clean sheet without trials and errors. It is upon these errors committed that we now go down the memory lane and make amends. I can also put it to you that even other parties never gave Nigerians exactly what they wanted during the number of years they were in power. So, the question is, has the APC been given enough chance to prove that they are the best political party in Nigeria?

The PDP took almost 17 years to under-develop Nigeria and the APC is actually cleaning the mess. So, what we are saying is that the APC should look for the capable hand that will ensure that the errors of the past are not repeated.But as for your question, I bet you that from what the party is doing now, the entire nation will thank the APC later.

Let’s talk about presidential zoning system; does it really exist in APC?

Of course, it does, irrespective of the way different party members and Nigerians react to it. You can as well see that the responses are coming in according to how each region feels about it. It is all about political intrigues and dynamism. Even in your house, among your children, the one you have sent pocket-money would like to have another next week without asking first whether the brother or sister had at all in the first place.

The issue about zoning system has been there. No matter how anybody feels about it. You do not because you have taken your turn, then destabilise other zones’ chances of producing the next president. As we speak, there is no party in Nigeria which has its constitution written with the idea of zoning system in it.

But a party has this moral agreement as the only way to enshrine equitable sharing of political positions. Such has saved many states, local governments and wards from the perils of internal political party wrangling. This is to be understood and adopted because Africa is not yet mature enough for this selfless electoral representation by the politicians.

In our world, records have shown that presidents spend a few years in office acquiring wealth for children and great grandchildren, while citizens groan in pain owing to poverty and starvation.

So, rotational presidency should remain and would continue to exist among party divides as a panacea for equitable sharing of power, development and economic growth because what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander.

I would recommend without equivocation that the party should zone the presidency to the South for the sake of equity.