CHUKWU DAVID 
Hon Kama Nkemkanma, represents Ohaozara/Onicha/ Ivo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State in the House of Representatives on the platform of Labour Party (LP) is the chairman, House Committee on Climate Change and Security, in this interview with CHUKWU DAVID, speaks on some national issues, including the country’s seeming drift to a one-party state due to the defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and economic downturn
Nigerians are worried that the country is drifting towards a one-party state given the gale defections from the opposition parties to the ruling APC, which might lead to dictatorship. What is your take on that? What we are practicing is democracy, and democracy, as defined, is a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. And if the people choose to go all in one party, you can’t stop anybody. But is it good for democracy?
No, it’s not good. But like one of my bosses will always say: This same APC; they were in no opposition for donkey years but they stood their ground and fought, and today, they’re in government. Now, is it the fault of APC that these parties suddenly can’t stand as opposition?
The present president was an Alliance for Democracy (AD) governor, if you remember, and later Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governor. He stood his ground, intimidation and everything, and then they metamorphosed into APC. They later got to power in 2015, and then suddenly, they’re collapsing every structure. So, what you will ask yourself is:
What’s APC doing today to collapse every structure that the former parties like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that ruled this country between 1999 and 2015, didn’t do that APC is doing well today, which is making this influx of everyone collapsing into them?
That’s the question we should be asking. That’s what we should be looking at. Yes, there should be checks and balances but what is happening is actually the fault of the opposition.
Don’t you think that it is as a result of most Nigerian politicians not having ideological political principles that made them to be jumping from party to party, just to be in power at all costs?
I want to ask: As a representative of my people, what is required of me by my people is service delivery. Now, if joining a party will enhance that, what do you think I should do?
So, let me tell you this, my people voted me on the platform of Labour Party. Will I go back home and tell them probably the reason I am not performing is because I am in Labour Party? No!
So, am I supposed to be in tandem with the government of the day to be able to get the things that belong to my people back home or I should come here and play opposition and then not take anything back home?
That is why we have to look at the foundation of our democracy…
Remember that there is a saying that who holds the knife and the yam determines the sharing. The government in power will always have an advantage over opposition, whether we like it or not.
Don’t forget that your people didn’t send you here to come and tell them you are fighting the President or that you are trying to prove that you know it all. They sent you here to come and represent them. What they’re after is the dividends of democracy.
So, whatever you do to take it back home, that is the most important thing for them. Any other person can come and say whatever he or she likes, but the most important thing for your constituents is what you are bringing back home for them. So, if you come to the national, you play the national politics and try as much as possible to take things back home for your people.
That’s what counts during elections; it’s your scorecard. You can go back home and say, okay, I’m still contesting as an opposition, but your scorecard will help to bring you back or take you out.
So, the foundation is not strong enough yet for what I would call robust opposition, where you can stand your ground and then your people will still give you their unflinching support. The electorate are part of the problem.
We must wake up, become politically conscious and realise that political party is not the only thing that matters. What matters is the individual, his capabilities and track record
As a legislature, what’s the number one thing that you are sent to do as a legislator to do? It’s lawmaking. But they are more interested in how many jobs you are able to secure for your people and everything put together. How do you affect lives in your constituency?
You and I know, it’s not so in other places. So, for you as a person to probably get this, you need to play the national politics. You need to play inclusive politics. You don’t need to antagonise any person.
Yes, you can speak about the government but not in a confrontational manner. Always make your stand known but at the same time, like I’ve already said, confrontation has never solved any problem, it’s sitting down at a round table to discuss issues that solves problems.
I’ve never seen people who fought and suddenly there is peace. It’s when we sit down at a round table to discuss that we now have peace. So, I buy that idea of playing national politics and making sure that you take dividends of democracy to your people who sent you here.
You tend to blame the electorate for being more interested in what they will get than the real work of their lawmakers. Don’t you think that the elite in politics are the ones manipulating the electorate through inducement to get their votes?
For me, I believe in an inclusive government and everybody will tell you that. We don’t insult anybody. We don’t coerce. Whatever I will tell you are the things we believe are possible.
That’s why we try to make sure that the health infrastructure, poverty alleviation and education have been touched on in every budget cycle, so that tomorrow if I go back home, I’ll be able to look at my people in the face and say, I told you this, and I’ve been able to do that. Don’t forget that we have youths who are out of school and have no jobs.
Now, if I tell them I’m going to give them jobs, and they believe me and voted for me, if I come here, do you think that if I don’t work, if I go shouting, abusing and insulting everybody, I’ll get the jobs I’m looking for my people? I won’t get anything.
Don’t you think less emphasis on merit is responsible for the situation?
It’s not about merit. You see, what I’ve always learnt is that nobody empowers his or her enemy. That’s life for you. We don’t even do as much damage as the people out there do.
Even in advanced democracies, they do a lot of things, they spend a lot of money on campaigns, doing a lot of damage, they come up with a lot of stuff and everything.
Despite having democracies for donkey years, you still see a lot of things going on in these advanced. We are not matured enough for certain things but like I said, and I repeat, it’s a cycle, everybody is to be blamed. Nobody is left out in this. You don’t blame the elite alone; the followers equally share in the blame.
I think everybody should be part of the process, so we must wake up and become politically conscious and realise that political party is not the only thing that matters but what matters is the individual you’re sending, his capabilities, capacity and his track record.
We are still trying to get things right in this country. Even in advanced countries like America, they still haven’t gotten it right election-wise.
You see election fraud in all these places up till tomorrow. So, it’s a process. We are gradually getting there. We started this republic in 1999 but you can see that the country is trying to do a whole lot to catch up. I know that it’s not easy, but I’m sure that Nigeria will get better.
Are you not worried that the country’s economy has been on downward trend over the years though many insist that the situation got worse when the President Bola Tinubu came on board and devalued the Naira as well as removed fuel subsidy?
I’m one of those who supported the removal of fuel subsidy. I actually expected President Muhammadu Buhari to have done that earlier. Maybe, by now, the effect would have worn off.
The only issue I have with the government is that it should have put measures in place to cushion effects of the policy before removing the subsidy.
You don’t wait for the effects before you start looking for measures to curtail them. The President just arrived on the day of his inauguration at the Eagle Square and then he goes on like, boom, and we’re taking out fuel subsidy.
Maybe, if he had gone back to look the state of the nation’s economy and say, you know what, let’s do this gradually, which is the best way to have done it, people would have prepared for the whole stuff because we can’t continue with this fuel subsidy which is not sustainable.
As for the economy, Nigeria is not an island, it’s not an isolated case. Almost all nations are actually in difficult times. The only thing, like I said, is that the government came hard on the people at the same time. Your policies, your reforms came back-to-back, no breathing space. So, it became hard on the people.
Is there anything that should have been done to redress that error, because it was a mistake?
Yes, I just told you that, it should have been done in phases.
Is there any way to correct the damage?
You can’t correct that now; Nigerians have to wear out the suffering. We have to go through it; everybody is feeling it. I don’t know who is not feeling it. I’m feeling it because as long as my people back home are not feeling well, I will continue to feel it except one is not a good representative.
You will feel the heat every minute, calls keep coming, one problem or the other, a whole lot of stuff. Another concern is the devaluation of the Naira, which happened as a result of government giving attention to the directives of international monetary institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Why can’t we say no to some of their negative directives? Like I said before, you ask yourself: What sort of economy was inherited by this government? This government inherited a broken economy.
If that is the situation, then you ask yourself: What’s the way out? I’m not an economist, I’m a lawmaker, so I’m saying, what are the ways out? To me, we are suffering; probably if we have done it in phases, like I said, the suffering won’t be this severe for the people. But I also believe that since we’re already in it, what can we do? We have to find a way.
Thank God, Nigerians are resilient people. As you can see, we are two years in it already. It’s up to them to see how they are able to wear this out because everybody is suffering. Everybody, of course, nobody can hide under anything and tell you that we’re in a good place right now. Everybody’s feeling the heat. Even if I have money, what about those around me?
As long as those around you are suffering, and you think you have money, you’re a poor man. So, I believe the mistakes have been made, and when the government makes a policy mistake like this, how does it reverse it? Do you want them to go back and reverse the devaluation of the Naira? Is that what you want them to do? If you do it, then you’re back to square one.
So, the suffering we’ve experienced in the last two years will now be vain. Is that what you want because tomorrow, someone else will come? Yes, I’m in your opposition, but at the same time, I’m not that stupid not to know what is a fact and what is fiction.
So, I don’t know what will happen if we are to continue on the path we are in by now. You never can tell but here we are. I believe the President keeps saying that the economy is improving but until it reflects in the markets, people will not believe him.
You know, price of food is actually not falling. I don’t know if you noticed that. My major concern is security aspect of the country. Actually, the rise of the terrorism in the North-East, the killings in the South-East, every part of the country is actually in trouble. Kidnapping is now a booming business, and that is very worrisome to me and other Nigerians.
Don’t you think that government is already overwhelmed by the security situation in the country?
Completely overwhelmed! I totally agree with you though the army is doing so much. Now, a lot of people are not even joining the army anymore.
It used to be the pride of the people. But at the same time, I know that time has changed. Our economy came to this state of quagmire because of continuous dependence on oil as a major revenue source.
Successive governments have made promises about diversifying the economy, but that has never happened. What is the way out of this mess?
Industrialization is the way to go. You can’t strengthen your currency if you are importing virtually everything.
Yes, industrialization but the most important thing that God has given us for free is agriculture.
Unfortunately, Nigeria as a country is full of wicked people. I am not talking about leaders; I am talking about individuals.
What do you mean by saying that you are not talking about leaders, are leaders not products of the society?
Let’s talk about the people. I am sure you remember the Anchor Borrowers Programme introduced by the Buhari administration. Let them come and give account of what they did with the money. Imagine if the farmers who collected that money actually utilised it.
There is terrorism in the North East, killings in the South East. Every part of the country is actually in trouble; kidnapping is now a booming business, and that is very worrisome to me and other Nigerians
What they keep complaining about after taking the money was how their farms were washed away; how terrorists did not allow them to go to farm. So, it was a total mess.
Are you calling for probe of the programme?
Of course, and not only that, we need reorientation as a people. As a nation, we need comprehensive reorientation, our attitude to everything, it’s all about what we can grab now, and in whatever way, let me grab it and walk away.
How long can we continue as a nation like that? So, everybody is waiting in line, hoping to see an opportunity, to grab and walk away not to develop.
Who will lay the foundation of this reorientation you are recommending?
The government of today and religious leaders should start talking. A new Nigeria is possible with all these people because they are opinion moulders.
If a boy of 18 years or 16 years comes today and gives you N10 million with no veritable source of income, and you collect it, or you hail him, then the society is the problem. I don’t know how we got here. So, when everybody blames politicians, if you know what politicians are going through in this country, you will pity them everyday.
You see, unless you don’t want to serve your people or you don’t have intention of coming back, or you just want to sit here and be docile, it’s a difficult situation for politicians in Nigeria.
As you said, politicians are products of the society and cannot be completely different from the character of the people. So, here we are. It’s a cycle.
Is there any hope of change in the present narrative of the condition of Nigeria?
Of course, there is hope. I wish the President can tighten up more. I mean tighten up should be more. You remember when Buhari won the election in 2015, even before he was sworn in, the nation started resetting itself. Now, what happened? I was a full-fledged APC person, so I know what happened.
Immediately he won the election, he wasn’t inaugurated yet and Nigeria started resetting herself, thinking we have the Buhari of 1983. The man has undergone a lot, but that momentum wasn’t sustained. It even became worse.
So, this shows that Nigerians know what they’re doing. Let me give you an example, when Nigerians get into London, they know their left and their right. They know what to do. But when they land in Lagos or Abuja, they go back to being Nigerians. When they arrive in America, they have these resets.
So, we know what we’re doing. Nigerians can go to London and they won’t beat the traffic light and when they’re in America driving, they won’t do that. They won’t throw things out of the car. There are thousands of things they don’t do but when they get back to Nigeria, we beat the traffic lights, we do whatever we want.
Let’s look at the young man in Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, he’s revolutionizing the economy of his country. Can Nigeria do something similar to what he’s doing there even though he’s a military man?
Is he revolutionizing the country or is it just media hype? I don’t know, I am not from Burkina Faso, so I don’t know. Let me tell you something; we have the solid mineral sector. I think almost every state in this country has something. That’s an area government needs to pay a lot of attention to.
That will also help. We also have fertile land for agriculture. Let’s even be food sufficient first before talking about export and other things.
If we are self-sufficient, we won’t be importing everything. If you see a farm that grows chicken, eggs and everything, it’s not enough because we have the numbers.
The output cannot even survive the people. So, Nigerians can trade among themselves and survive apart from the oil sector and the mineral sector. But there is too much attention to the oil sector. If we pay that type of attention to the solid minerals sector, Nigeria will do better.
Nigerians are crying that they are overtaxed by this administration. With the way Nigerians are managing to survive, is it a right step to take now?
You saw how long it took to work on the tax reform bills. We are still on it, waiting for the final phase. I am sure the people who crafted it had no intention of taxing life out of our people. I am also sure they are reasonable about it. I can also tell you one thing I know; that Nigerians are very understanding people.
If you collect their taxes and use it positively, everything will die down. But if they pay all these taxes and cannot see anything, that’s where the trouble will start. I am in the solid minerals committee.
I know they have about a trillion naira this year for the ministry. When I saw it, I called it budget of sabotage because this is one area that requires a lot of funding, and until you put money in there, you won’t be able to get things out from there.
So, I think they went back and by the time they came back, they came back with something manageable, which is the starting point. So, we are waiting to see implementation.
