Highlights of his interview:
.
what would you say of the Transformation Agenda of Mr. President over the last six years?.
.
Well, there are some ideas that I like, especially from the Minister of Agriculture. What he is doing is not prominent because of the cacophony of noise in the polity. Nigeria is like a volcano and it is spewing ashes, you cannot see anything. I am not interested in the political surgeon of Nigeria in the resources; I am interested in the fact that you are bleeding because of the fracture and you are losing blood.
Nigeria is a sick patient in the accident and emergency ward in a terminally bad way. So, the first thing to do as a President is to stitch Nigeria up. After stitching it properly, feed it well and it will recover. So, that contextual restructure should not be overlooked because if we don’t get that right, we are going no where. We need a kind of structure that Awolówo and Ojukwu got right - a confederal or loose federalism.
.
Maybe that is why the so-much clamour for a change?
Structural change or what kind of change?
.
Well, some people believe that a change in the personality could bring about a structural change?
The problem I have in answering the question is that I have not heard a word from the APC on this issue. I know at the national conference, the stalwart of the party was not in support of it. But in any case, I am not interested in any party, what these two parties will do is the same old game from what I can see so far; unless they understand the fractured nature of Nigeria. But if they understand it, they are not saying it right now. My conclusion is that it is going to be yet another bad election.
But we have about a month to go, if I have a chance to ask both presidential candidates in a presidential debate, my first question will be ‘what is your concept of a reformed Nigeria’? The answer they give will make me cast my vote for A or B. A person who misses the contextual issue will miss the solution and will miss my vote.
.
The election is going to be keenly contested, in which way do you think Nigeria can benefit from this competitiveness of the parties?
One good thing the APC has done is that the essence of the multi-party state is the consciousness in the ruling party that another party is waiting to take over. That is brilliant. That, I give the APC 100 per cent commendation. Beyound that, there is nothing. What would have happened is that both parties would make their manifestos sharp and clear. If the APC feels that the PDP has no programme; they would have made their message sharp and clear.
But I am not satisfied by both parties because I don’t know what they are going to do. But I do know that the APC has given us a choice. You could have a national team playing football but they are not winning anything. That is what is happening to APC. The next step that APC needs to go to make our country very exciting is to design a programme that will force the PDP to respond. Right now, people are voting emotion, ethnicity and religion. The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu said,
“Nigerian has some of a new political lexicon that neutrality is a choice.” You vote for A or B and not to vote is also a choice. You can vote Buhari or Jonathan or nobody. That is very dangerous. So, the parties need to do more to give us an answer to this dilemma.
.
What do you think will become of Nigeria if the election does not hold as scheduled in March?
Ah! (Shout) That will be a very serious issue. That can cause crisis and mayhem. Already, the balloon has swollen; it has come to pressure point. The only way you can relieve the pressure is to have election. If you don’t have it, you are looking at a civil war. Please, don’t contemplate this. It should not be contemplated. Anything that will cause the election to be postponed again, Nigeria will go on strike. The Boko Haram issue is not as challenging as it was before, so, why will the election not hold?
Again, we also know that not everybody will vote. Constitutional or not, we are going to blame Jonathan if the election does not hold and there will be mayhem. It is not something you can explain, graphically. The election has to hold, in my view, under any condition. Even if it means excluding par of the North East, the election must hold. The Electoral act empowers INEC to do subsequent elections, but having postponed it once, it cannot be postponed again. Please don’t push it further.
Okay,
.
if you really look at the postponement, whose benefit did it serve?
It is difficult to know. But personally, I think INEC was not ready. If you look at the number of PVCs distributed as at that day, INEC would have disenfranchised so many people.
Then what about the ballot papers and boxes? What about the training and capacity building of personnel? The electoral body was not ready. In my view, the PDP mismanaged the matter. I cannot tell whether the military was used. If I were President Jonathan, I would have boxed INEC into a corner. INEC has cleverly used the Military alibi to escape liabilities. Like my wife said, if they were ready, why are they still distributing materials. INEC was absolutely not ready. nobody can claim not to know that INEC was not ready. Jega should not be dishonest by claiming he was ready.
Wole Soyinka recently talked about the blessings of the postponement. It has strengthened INEC to deliver good election.
I also wonder why they picked that February date in the first place because that was far from the hand-over date. A president who wants to wreak havoc will have the time to do that before the hand-over date. So, it makes sense that the transition is short. Right now, nobody is going to believe any further reason for a shift again.
.
How do you think whoever becomes the President achieves that structural change?
If I were the President, I will summon all the ethnic nationalities and leaders in all the geo-political zones for a meeting. I will state clearly that my diagnosis is that we are sick and ask what is your suggestion to redress this problem?
The national conference gives the answer which was – “crack up Nigeria, we can’t have one president, crack it up and create a regional government and let us see what will play out. Then we can decide whether the regional structure will have its own new constitution, or whether it should be presidential and not parliamentary. The Inspector General of Police cannot over see the entire nation and the commissioner of police cannot override the authority of the governor on the grounds that his boss is the IGP in Abuja.
As President of Nigeria, my key mission will be to discentralise power. With that, you can’t accuse me of not fixing the road in your local village. Look at the state of roads and traffic in Apapa which is bringing in 50 per cent of the revenue of the federation. In Abuja, they are too far to know what is happening here.
Some of the complexities of democracy are that this brilliant idea can be knocked off by the majority in both chambers, so, taking this into cognizance, what will be the alternative?
Then we will continue in that way. It is our choice. If we see a doctor and he says you have cancer and yet you don’t want a surgery, then it will be there and you will be dead. As a Nigerian President, after dissecting the problem and you say I cannot do that, then there is a problem. The only way is to have a new design whereby the 68 items of power in the exclusive list and the 30 items of power in the concurrent list will not be under the power of the federal government. What is the President’s role in knowing the condition of prisons in Lagos and other states, why does he have to oversee the education, why should he be in airport and media as the NTA? It is the governors of the states that should know all that. The President should rather be in energy, foreign policy, defence but not how the state grows. That is why the lust for power is increasing. When Obasanjo was there, he attempted the third term; Now Jonathan comes, he also wants to continue because it is too sweet. You can test a saint with Nigerian power and that type of power in one man will make him to go mad. It has to be discentralised.
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Was that part of recommendations in the national conference?
Absolutely.
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How would you feel if that recommendation is not implemented by the next government?
I will be very sad because that is the future of Nigeria, not a change in personnel. So, my take is that the underlying problem must be addressed. Power in one man is too much.
For details
www.vanguardngr.com

Typing........

Wow..this post is too short.,.

I read it twice!!

The guy is right what nigeria needs is massive restructuring.Nigeria needs to be pulled down then built again.She is structured is such a way that it favours northern parasites.We should revert to regionalism with each region controlling their tesources and growing at their own pace not getting oil from bayelsea and giving it free of charge to Benue while the same Benue sell their food to bayelsea.This regions can contribute a certain percentage of their resources to the central to carry out their exculsive function

Support the report of the national conference to be full implement, so that Nigeria will move grow and forward.

fake news!

The people to do the cracking up have no incentive to do so...they're feeding fat from the present arrangement. The last thing they want is Change.

Olisa Agbakoba, one of the few reasonable Nigerians.

No be all the yeye people that are SAN for nothing.

Logical, articulate and cerebral Agbakoba...

The manner with which some of our so-called intellectuals are allowing primordial considerations to taint their sense of rationality leaves much to be desired.

Thankfully, there is still a beacon of hope with the likes of Agbakoba who speak with clarity and objectivity on burning issues.

SAN you have really spoken well. Exactly what I have always clamoured for. Nigeria is too large been under one man's control especially with these our low mentality. Europe and America can survive bcz der people are more enlightened than us here #team implement the national confab

This is brilliant... I am in total approbation with this proposal.
This should be on FP.


Directlink to story - www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/if-i-were-jonathan-i-ll-crack-nigeria-agbakoba/

Maser:
fake news!

How?

freshdude99:
SAN you have really spoken well. Exactly what I have always clamoured for. Nigeria is too large been under one man's control especially with these our low mentality. Europe and America can survive bcz der people are more enlightened than us here #team implement the national confab

Bro even America isn't under one man, you can't compare the laws of Texas with that of California.

ozoigbondu:
The guy is right what nigeria needs is massive restructuring.Nigeria needs to be pulled down then built again.She is structured is such a way that it favours northern parasites.We should revert to regionalism with each region controlling their tesources and growing at their own pace not getting oil from bayelsea and giving it free of charge to Benue while the same Benue sell their food to bayelsea.This regions can contribute a certain percentage of their resources to the central to carry out their exculsive function

!

maestroferddi:
Olisa Agbakoba, one of the few reasonable Nigerians.

No be all the yeye people that SAN for nothing.

Logical, articulate and cerebral Agbakoba...

My brother this is the TRUTH, nothing else to add, but those benefiting from the status quo will not let it be so, and they are the real enemies of Nigeria.

This is the more reason I loath APC. They know the solution to Nigeria's problem yet bcuz they seem to have a shot at the presidency judging by their own analysis, they have discarded the very single thing that will put Nigeria back to d right track- Confab recommendation.

There is too much power in the center. I remeber during my youth service down North how these Northan politicains think. The only business that trives there now is politics. A toddler know more about politics than avarage southerner. LGA chairmen there don't reside in their local govt. They are all in Abuja and u only see them when alocation enters.

Am wondering why APC as a party hate true federalism. Weldone Agbakoba.

You said the truth but Thank God you are not jonathan

GEJ is already on that,he approved the confab and should another government comes the confab will be thrown into the trash bin cos we all knows that APC never wanted decentralising of power especially the northerners amongst them

A sound mind devoid of aggression. All you niger delta and biafran warlord take note.

Kingspin:
Support the report of the national conference to be full implement, so that Nigeria will move grow and forward.

Which report? Is it the fake national conference president goodluck put together and submitted to national assembly for further deliberation or what?

henryangelo:
[s]GEJ is already on that,he approved the confab and should another government comes the confab will be thrown into the trash bin cos we all knows that APC never wanted decentralising of power especially the northerners amongst them. [/s]

Goodluck just deceive nigerian, he never organise a true sovereignty national conference which olisa is referring to here, the one goodluck arrange is a scam. Notting will come out of the jamboree jonathan put 2geda last year, since our senators and house of rep. Members are the once, who will take final decision on the report.

fkaz:


Goodluck just deceive nigerian, he never organise a true sovereignty national conference which olisa is referring to here, the one goodluck arrange is a scam. Notting will come out of the jamboree jonathan put 2geda last year, since our senators and house of rep. Members are the once, who will take final decision on the report.

Do you really know what democracy is? This is not a military regime where the head of state wakes up and take a decision that might be drastic to the public. In democracy due process must be followed

You can't compare these balance opinion to the thrash been spewed by APC's Falana whose defence of a certificaless society continues to baffle me

Well said Olisa. People like you give me hope that we can still get it right.

choi, drama everyday

True Talk.

The only way forward for this country is to go back to regionalism that was truncated in 1966.

This monstrous federalism has only successfully bred continuous succession of corrupt govts and individuals underneath a cloak of different nomenclature.

fkaz:


Which report? Is it the fake national conference president goodluck put together and submitted to national assembly for further deliberation or what?

We must be very sick? Did u saw mr president name among the delegates you better go and find ur problem or u comunicate reasonable to us here.

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