A former Presidential Candidate, and Secretary to the Federal Government, Oba Olu Falae, has described true federalism as the only solution to Nigeria’s problems.
The former Finance Minister and member of the 2014 National Conference, now the Olu Abo of Olu Abo in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, urged the President Bola Tinubu administration to revisit the report of that Conference, as regards its bold recommendations on rebuilding Nigeria into a balanced federation that caters for the interests of all composite groups indiscriminately.
He spoke on Tuesday in his palace in an interview with The Hope in commemoration of the June 12 anniversary, which itself is in honour of the annulled election of the philanthropist Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola on June 12, 1903.
June 12 of every year is set aside for the celebration of Democracy in commemoration of the outstanding June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, which was won by Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, MKO.
The election, Nigeria’s freest and fairest ever, was annulled by the military government headed by Gen Ibrahim Babangida, an action which spontaneously sparked off prolonged bloody nationwide pro-democracy protests, in which many activists including Abiola’s wife, Kudirat, were assassinated, believably by state agents.
Besides, properties belonging to the activists were bombed, while many others were wounded. Several others including President Bola Tinubu, Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Gen Alani Akinrinade, Dan Suleiman, and many other activists, fled into exile through the ‘NADECO route’.
Abiola, the symbol of June 12, was arrested and detained by the regime of the departed Gen Sani Abacha, who succeeded Babangida, for declaring himself President at the famous Epetedo, Lagos Declaration.
He later died in controversial circumstances, during a meeting with some foreign country’s representatives, while still in military custody, after years of detention, often in solitary confinement.
That fatal meeting was arranged by the regime of Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, who succeeded Abacha, and who eventually handed over power to a democratically elected civilian government headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.
Nigeria will on Thursday roll out the drums to celebrate its 26 years of uninterrupted democracy, the longest democratic experience so far, after over 29 years of military rules.
Falae allayed the fears in some quarters that restructuring would divide the country, saying that the step would enable each state develop its naturally endowed resources at its comparative advantages.
He stressed that restructuring Nigeria into a true, just and balanced federation ‘will end our economic woes’.
Falae noted however, that it is relatively impossible for the military to rule again in the country.
Recalling the sustained struggle by the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) which ushered in the current fourth Republic, Falae noted that the heroes of the struggle fought the military juntas to a stand still.
He said that the military cannott think of coming back because of the confrontation they will encounter from the civilian like they did during the June 12 struggle.
According to him, the relentless struggle of NADECO after the annulment of June 12, 1993 general election led to the actualisation of the present democratic dispensation.
He noted that NADECO was the first civilian organisation to have the effrontery to challenge the military juntas, adding that the confrontation really shocked the military.
“So, the NADECO struggle was a successful one, and of course it ushered in democratic election. Again, since independence, we have never had 25-26 years of unbroken democratic rule. The NADECO struggle was responsible for that.
“The soldiers saw how we fought to maintain democracy, and that’s one of the reasons they have not tried since then, because they know now there would be resistance. In the past, the military always showed that if they took over, nobody would kick, nobody would dare retaliate. We have dared.
“We have succeeded. That’s partly why we have had 26 years of unbroken civilian democratic rule.
“And then for the first time in our history, some of us said, no Sir, you cannot annul the collective decision of Nigerians.
“And we then gave an ultimatum to the military government to restore Abiola’s mandate within 30 days. Now, that’s very significant. It had never happened in our history that a bunch of civilians would give an ultimatum to a military government.
“Since 1963, not once had any group dared to challenge the military. We were the first to give them an ultimatum.
“That must have shocked them, that who are these civilians who dare to challenge us? So, issues were joined. They unleashed mayhem on us.
“Some of us were shot and killed. Some of us went into exile, some of us were detained. I was detained for almost three years. But we never wavered. That’s the message I want to send,” he stressed.
Falae said the aftermath of the struggle led Nigerians to settle for two presidential candidates including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and himself in the 1999, election which he said he won but not sworn in.
He commented the economic policies of President Tinubu, describing them as major policies that will help remove major obstacles to the economic growth of Nigeria.
The seasoned banker and economist who mentioned the two major policies of the Tinubu administration as exchange rate and fuel subsidy removal, said they are testimonial to the good performance of the government, which are necessary for turning around the economic fortunes of the country.
He said the multiplicity of exchange rates that previously existed in Nigeria had never helped the nation’s economy, but rather enabled a few people to get rich without contributing anything meaningful to the economy.
Falae said, ” No serious country in the world will have six different exchange rates, one for industry, purchase and others. You will buy from a favourable window and go and sell in another window, which we call arbitage.
“For doing nothing, you will see someone become a very rich man, because there were six windows to buy and sell. It was therefore mandatory to merge all the exchange rates.”
He stated that the merging of exchange rates is making investment decisions easier to take.
However, he noted that government should have emplaced measures to cushion the effect of its policies on the masses, saying that failure to do that made Nigerians suffer more than necessary, though the government took a necessary step.
His words: “When you merge those rates, beneficiaries will panic and demand for more foreign exchange, which will affect the value of the naira. You will have anticipated that by boosting your foreign exchange reserve with stabilisation facility from the World Bank.
“When you merge the rate and people start demanding for dollars, you will be able to give them, and over time the panic would reduce. Shortly afterwards, they will go back to normal demand, but the government didn’t do that.”
On the subsidy regime, the former presidential hopeful stated that the government had no business subsidising petroleum, saying that food is a more essential commodity and it was not subsidised.
He, therefore, praised the Tinubu government for taking the bold step to remove the fuel subsidy, stressing that the result can be seen in the recent decrease in fuel pump price, which he said would certainly continue to decrease as time goes on.
