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Alhaji Balarabe Musa was the first executive governor of old Kaduna State and the first governor in Nigeria to be impeached. Alhaji Balarebe Musa’s impeachment by the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN)-controlled House of Assembly in 1981 was based on his uncompromising principles that he espoused on the platform of Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). Today, Musa, one of the most consistent politicians in contemporary Nigeria, still stands on the PRP platform and is National Chairman of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP). In this interview with Reuben Buhari,
Musa, who has instituted a legal process to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, speaks on burning national issues and blames the country’s image crisis on corruption and fraudulent elections.
You are currently in court to seek Maurice Iwu’s investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). What are you hoping to achieve?
Balarabe Musa: In the first place, the matter is in court and so it’s not right to discuss it. But all the same, we took the action because there are sufficient and credible allegations justifying the investigation we are calling for by the EFCC, but the EFCC consistently refuses to investigate. There is a provision in the constitution under which the court can grant an order forcing EFCC to investigate and that is what we are doing. It is in the public interest and we are doing it because we are patriots and I can tell you that at the moment, we are preparing to do the same thing with regard to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and one other. We are also going to court regarding a number of public officers that EFCC has refused to investigate.
Some members of the National Assembly are ready to protect Iwu from being removed, as we have seen, and this has intensified controversy around his tenure. Why do you think there is such strong show of support for the man who is widely criticised for Nigeria’s poor electoral performance?
Balarabe Musa: You have to expect it. Some members of the National Assembly at both the state and National Assembly levels are there simply because of the malpractices in the election process in Nigeria. And Iwu was directly responsible for these malpractices. Since he helped them to be in either the state or federal legislature, it is to be expected that some of them will want him to remain in his current post. Some of them are grateful to him for their becoming lawmakers and that is why they are defending him, otherwise, there is no justification for their action.
The recent rebranding effort by the federal government has elicited a lot of comments from people. What is your view on it?
Balarabe Musa: The federal government has an unfavourable image both within and internationally. It is now the desire of Nigeria to bring about a positive image through the rebranding. But it is a waste of time. What brought about the negative image of Nigeria is the level of corruption, stealing, and waste by leaders in the country and the failure to have free, fair, and credible elections that would lead to a legitimate government. These are the things that are giving Nigeria a bad image, which this government wants to change. The rebranding can only happen after these issues have been taken care of. The level of corruption and stealing by political leaders, from the local government councillor up to the presidency, has to be stopped. Only when it is possible to have free fair and credible election and a legitimate government, will the image of Nigeria change favourably. But if they remain as they are, then no branding will change the situation. The current socio-economic system and the political leadership have to change for Nigeria to have a better image and a purpose.
Do you see the present federal government as an obstacle to Nigeria’s rebranding?
Balarabe Musa: No. No. Not this regime, but the socio-economic system we have in the country which is based on narrow self interest and this has produced the political leadership based. Unless we change this, nothing will change in Nigeria.
With Nigeria being a microcosm of the whole of Africa, do you think it is possible for the country to attempt rebranding alone? Some people are saying the whole of Africa has to rebrand at once for it to succeed.
No, as each individual government in Africa is control by a particular socio-economic system. Each country has it own peculiarity and just because Nigeria has a bad image doesn’t mean that all African countries have bad images.
The salary of some political office holders at the national and state level is about to be reduced. Do you see the country reaping any meaningful benefit from that move?
Balarabe Musa: It is a good move that will not improve much in the country. The position now is that political office holders are remunerated far above what is justifiable. They are paid quite out of proportion to their contribution to the country. I will give you the worst example in the case of a state where it is alleged that the wife of a local government councillor, being the first lady of the ward, is being paid N60, 000 per month as her allowance. In the same state, a permanent secretary earns just about that amount. An ordinary manger of a federal government parastatal can get as much as N1.3 million a month as his salary, while a permanent secretary of the controlling ministry gets about 300,000 a month. Now in the case of legislators at every level in the country, what they collect every month is unbelievable, just unbelievable. From a local government councillor to a senator, what they collect is simply unbelievable. This is unfair to others who produce and sustain this economy and the government, and it doesn’t encourage productivity in the country.
The move to reduce the money is good if it is reduced substantially to a certain level, but I am sure this government is not capable of doing it. They will do something that is just cosmetic to suit people and then allowed it to fade away.
If you have the opportunity of advising members of the National Assembly on their disagreement over seniority in the process of reviewing the Constitution, what would you tell them?
Balarabe Musa: The controversy is unnecessary because the Senate alone cannot make any law. It is the Senate and the House of Representatives that can make any law for Nigeria. So where does the seniority between the Senate and the House of Representatives come from? The two houses are equal according to the Constitution. If the Senate takes the chairmanship of any of the joint committees of the National Assembly, it stands to reason that the deputy chairmanship should be for the House of Representatives, because if the House refuses to agree, no law can be pass, so where is the seniority of the Senate. There can’t be seniority among equals.
Do you think it is a good move for the president to continue to handle the appointment of the INEC chairman?
Balarabe Musa: No. But it is a very fine Constitutional position since the concept of separation of power implies that the National Judicial Council (NJC) cannot do it. But that is another matter for another day. Remember that the committee was headed by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria who ought to know the extent of the separation of power. In any case, that is a matter to be contested in court. The federal government has to go to the Supreme Court and get its opinion on whether the NJC can do what the panel had asked it to do. The constitution, as it is today, empowers the president to recommend a person to the Senate and appoint the person. Those who are against it are saying the president should not even recommend or appoint but it should be done by a neutral body.
PRP, your party, appears to have very poor political visibility…
Balarabe Musa: Well, unless the environment is changed in this country, you cannot judge the presence of any one of the 50 political parties in the country- even the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party). Go to any of their (PDP) offices within the country and you will not find anybody of substance there. All activities are now, even in the legislature, conducted in the presidency because it is money politics. They go where they can get money. During elections, most of the parties’ offices are active, but immediately after election the activities fizzle out.
PRP is also suffering from the same inaction. In the case of the PRP it is even worse because we don’t control any government at any level. But the national leadership of the party is meeting to take decisions on fundamental issues concerning the state of the nation and the state of the party itself.
What are your plans ahead of 2011?
Balarabe Musa: We are trying to persuade other political parties to bring about a situation whereby the PDP is defeated in the 2011 general elections. Unless PDP is defeated there is no way anything in this country can be changed. Things will continue to go from bad to worse. All other political parties have to come together to support one candidate with the purpose of defeating the PDP and preparing the ground for a bright way forward for Nigeria.
THISDAYONLINE
