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President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Discussion board, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, speaks to JUWE OLUWAFEMI and GODWIN ISENYO, about expectations from the President Bola Tinubu administration and the necessity for presidency officers to cease making extra calls for to the detriment of the lots, amongst different points
Nigerians have been going through robust occasions because the elimination of gasoline subsidy. What do you assume the Federal Authorities ought to have achieved earlier than taking such an motion?
The Federal Authorities ought to have seemed on the challenge of the refineries. The refineries ought to have been purposeful first. The final administration got here up with this agenda of declaring a state of emergency to place up the refineries however that by no means got here to fruition. That’s the 1st step. Step two; they need to look into the problem of minimal wage of the employees. Critically, I don’t assume an inexpensive particular person would have imagined that N50,000 could be sufficient to cater to the wants of any employee on this nation as we speak. They need to have achieved higher than that. The federal government ought to have begun to consider methods to place up a coverage that may be of profit to Nigerian employees.
Thirdly, whether or not you prefer it or not, it’s understood that it is a international downside that everyone ought to must make sacrifices. However the issue I’ve just lately is that in case you are speaking about sacrifice, why ought to Nigerians alone make the sacrifice with out these in authorities? From all indications, you may see that even the Nationwide Meeting members are demanding an increasing number of each day. None of them are making any effort inside the ranges of the legislature and govt arms of presidency. There isn’t a signal of them making sacrifices about something. Why ought to the lots be the one ones to make sacrifices? So, let the legislative and govt arms start to guide by instance.
Allow us to start to see that the convoy of fifty to 60 vehicles by governors is diminished to perhaps between 5 and 6. I don’t perceive this convoy they carry alongside on the expense of the taxpayers’ monies. They need to scale back it. Allow us to start to see the large convoy on the President’s fleet additionally diminished. Then, allow us to start the see or hear the Nationwide Meeting, decreasing the bogus allowances they gather and reduce it all the way down to 1 / 4. These are folks taking house greater than N12m per 30 days. Allow them to scale back it to N1m or N2m. That’s sacrifice, and never once they take a look at the faces of Nigerians simply because they wish to abuse their sensibility, they’ll provide you with the thought of the widespread language of blackmailing Nigerians that it’s time to make sacrifice. Why ought to the widespread man make sacrifices when the legislators will not be prepared to additionally make sacrifices? Whose curiosity are they defending on the Nationwide Meeting? So, these are among the issues that I anticipate them to start to do to encourage Nigerians to say ‘Sure, it is a important interval that each one fingers should be on deck as a result of it takes two to tango.’
With the state of affairs in Niger Republic, aren’t you frightened concerning the probably penalties of this strike motion and the menace to our democracy?
Properly, a few of us who’re merchandise of struggles within the nation right here have seen how the navy intervened and we noticed the implications of navy interventions. A few of us are within the pro-democracy motion and to some extent, someone like me who has a background of wrestle all the way in which from the South-West; I used to be a foot soldier underneath NADECO, participated in PRONACO conferences with the likes of the late Pa Anthony Enahoro, Prof. Wole Soyinka, whilst a pacesetter on the degree of the youth director on that platform at the moment, advocating for democracy. A few of us really feel that something that may hinder a democratically elected authorities is a menace to those that are merchandise of the wrestle as a result of we all know what we went via.
We all know how many individuals we misplaced within the days of the struggles. A few of our lives haven’t been the identical since then. We all know a few of our colleagues as we speak which might be nonetheless traumatised. They haven’t recovered ever since. So, a rustic within the twenty first century inside the African continent that may organise a coup in opposition to a reputable authorities should be seen as a menace by each power. We should stand in opposition to it to sentence it in totality as a result of if that’s allowed to go, we’re not positive that Nigeria could probably not undergo that very same factor. Should you assume that your neighbour’s home is on hearth and also you assume yours is secure, you may relaxation assured that you just even have the identical parts within the nation which will probably make the most of your neighbouring nation and do the identical. So, I feel it’s not proper for a few of us who’re democrats. I feel regardless of the grievances are ought to be introduced ahead for negotiation. Solely just lately, we started to see Mali and different locations toppling a authorities as different locations.
I do know that of Chad and some different international locations. So, this should not be allowed to go unchecked, particularly Niger, as a result of the Niger Republic challenge could be very near us. What impacts Niger immediately impacts us not directly. We should, as a matter of urgency, act. I commend President Bola Tinubu because the Chairman of the Financial Group of West African States, who took the choice along with his counterparts to not settle for the coup within the Niger Republic. They’ve insisted that they’d discover their methods to make sure that they create again the reputable authorities of Niger. I feel it’s a superb improvement as a result of it is a menace to democracy, not solely to Nigeria however to the complete Africa as an entire.
However President Tinubu and ECOWAS management menace to the Niger coupists has been challenged by the coupists who questioned the legitimacy of the sitting Nigerian authorities. How do you relate that to our democratic course of?
The difficulty of legitimacy is one factor. This authorities of Niger which was simply overthrown was legitimately elected. So, whether or not it’s widespread or unpopular, it’s the choice of the residents to resolve. There may be at all times due course of, both to recall him based mostly on their structure or give him the grace of the following 4 years or no matter, after which vote him out. I don’t know the way they run their tenure. However they will at all times come again to an election and elect whoever they need if they’re critical. Nevertheless, a case the place someone will simply get up and really feel that the residents will not be completely happy, after which take up arms and forcefully take away a sitting democratically elected president shouldn’t be a good suggestion and shouldn’t be inspired.
A authorities that’s elected is a reputable authorities. If elected via the poll course of; it’s reputable. So, I don’t know at what level they arrived at saying that the federal government shouldn’t be reputable. Earlier than Nigerians as we speak, whether or not you prefer it or not, there’s no vacuum. Someone occupied that workplace, and he was pronounced by the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee as president. A few of us who witnessed the election knew that the election had been performed and someone received the election. So, in the event you stated it’s not reputable, go to court docket and problem that legitimacy however for us, it’s reputable.
Our downside on this nation is that we’ve got unhealthy losers who by no means believed they may lose. It’s both they visited their native docs or one faux prophet, who advised them that they have to win an election they usually simply got here out with that mindset and felt that they’d not be defeated and for that, they stated Nigeria would by no means have peace as a result of they misplaced an election. We’ll resist any try from any quarter to run us into any disaster.
What would you like President Tinubu to do for the North?
He has to take a look at the problem of the unemployment price within the area and in addition take a look at how we are able to scale back the variety of Almajiri on the streets of the North. I see them as a menace and a time bomb ready to blow up sooner or later as a result of you don’t anticipate our political leaders, a few of whom are simply there to seek out a possibility to earn a living and construct mansions to do a lot. Now, you carry your kids in your luxurious vehicles and assume you might be doing a superb factor to your self. A time will come once you can not transfer freely with that automotive; a time will come when that mansion you constructed shall be destroyed. That’s why I inform them typically that in the event that they don’t make the society a simply society the place their neighbour’s kids will survive and go to high school and do one thing higher for themselves, then these identical deserted kids will change into the time bomb that won’t can help you take pleasure in with your loved ones sooner or later. That’s what we’re prone to face.
Tinubu ought to maintain someone accountable for any appointment, and mustn’t act like Buhari who would appoint a minister and by no means trouble to do not forget that the minister was appointed for the previous seven or eight years; no one requested questions. In his case, he (Tinubu) has to observe ministers and different appointees saddled with duties in order that in the event that they don’t carry out as much as expectation, he ought to drop them and choose different folks to work, in order that on the finish of the day, you take a look at the unemployment price on the different a part of the nation.
Out-of-school kids should even be catered for. Let him provide you with insurance policies, collaborate with state governments, and talk about with them in order that they provides you with their assist. These kids who’re roaming the streets will also be enrolled in colleges. This authorities should come out with abilities acquisition programmes that can even be of profit to the folks in order that those that can not go to high school can profit as effectively. That is vital to make sure that they are often productive and contribute to the well-being of the area and we may have fewer issues. In any other case, if it continues to go like this, extra Boko Haram teams are prone to emerge within the close to future.
What specifics would you like the federal government to place in place for the youths to lift their hope in nation-building?
To keep away from a nationwide catastrophe, the federal government should deliver them to the fore, herald recent folks, and provides them accountability in order that they will also be given sure roles to play within the authorities. These are a few of my views as a result of if he continues to parade the identical previous folks as a result of they’re his mates; a few of them are alleged to be retired by now and you might be giving them appointments, believing that a few of them have one thing to supply, you aren’t doing any good to the nation. We have now a number of gifted and clever youthful those who he can work with, and they’re going to do higher. A few of us noticed hope round him not solely as a result of he’s a product of the wrestle however a few of us knew that from time, he had been the important thing to the success of many individuals of the youthful era.
I don’t assume there’s any chief within the nation as we speak that may come up overtly to say that is what he has achieved than what Tinubu had achieved in making certain that he gave a number of youthful folks the chance to develop and change into what they’re as we speak. No one can match that feat within the nation. We are able to keep in mind vividly that he made a few of them governors, senators and even a vp. He has constructed lots of people and that was what saved him, even through the election. So, we look ahead to seeing him do extra of that once more in order that he might be remembered for such.
Past activism and pro-democracy struggles, what precisely is your discussion board doing to scale back the scourge of banditry, drug abuse, and so forth. amongst youths within the North?
We launched into sensitisation programmes to conscientise most of those youthful parts. Nonetheless, in as a lot as you do what you may, in the event you don’t have the cooperation and assist from the federal government, both on the state degree or the native authorities degree, the particular person’s effort could probably not be felt. On the problem of medicine, we’re making efforts to scale back this scourge by collaborating with the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company to make sure that we’ve got a discussion board. We simply did one in Kano State solely just lately and we’re nonetheless working around the clock in different areas to allow them to know of the risks of drug abuse earlier than it turns into a big menace to our youthful era, particularly within the northern a part of the nation.
Should you see what younger persons are consuming within the northern a part of the nation, you may’t discover it within the southern a part of the nation. You start to ask your self how and when it began. At what level did we get to this degree, such that just about in each family, you could have that downside as a menace? However we’re doing our greatest and with the assist of the NDLEA underneath the management of Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd.) who has been doing splendidly effectively as a result of he has been a person of motion. We all know his antecedents. We’re getting some assist, and we’re getting the specified consequence. We’re doing our greatest however not sufficient as a result of we nonetheless need the federal government to look inward and do higher than what we’re getting from them now.
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