HONOURABLE Nasir Dantiye is a member of the House of Representatives from Jigawa state. He told Ben Agande in this interview that the 19 northern state governments should seek political solution to the onshore/offshore controversy rather than go to court. He also spoke on his fears on 2007 and other national issues.
Excerpts:
What has your experience been like since you came into the House of Representatives?
The experience has been quite challenging. You meet so many things some expected others completely unexpected especially when you come with the mind that you want to contribute to the development of the country and you see a situation whereby politics and sentiments play a great role in some important decisions that could affect the country. But it has been an experience that is very worthwhile and rewarding.
Will you say that the National Assembly as presently constituted with an overwhelming majority by the Peoples Democratic Party is capable of taking the country to the Promised Land?
I cannot quite comfortably say that because the Peoples Democratic Party has been here for the past five years and if they had anything to deliver, we would have seen that either in the increase in the employment of Nigerians, the provision of infrastructure or the reduction in the poverty level. Unfortunately we have not seen anything to that effect. However we in the National Assembly sometimes we set aside our political differences and look at issues objectively. But the PDP as a party is the main problem of Nigeria because they sometimes force even members of the National Assembly to tow party lines to the detriment of the country.
There are fears in certain quarters that the Labour Bill is a prelude by the PDP to extend the tenure of the president since there would be no major opposition without labour. Do you nurse this fear sometimes?
I do not only have that fear but I am confused and surprised how the PDP led government would always like to do what is against the interest of the Nigerian people. Why would the government want to decentralize labour? Why would government want to make an issue out of payment of check off dues? Why would the government want to give so much power to the Minister of Labour? Why would the government want to ban strike in the aviation sector? There are so many things that I do not understand. There are so many questions left unanswered.
All the people that are in favour of the trade Union Act amendment have not proffered convincing reasons why we should decentralize labour. The only reason they give is that the Nigeria Labour Congress was not registered during the civilian era. They have forgotten that even the constitution we are using was done during the military. I think the reason why the Federal Government is doing all these is because opposition at the political level has been weakened. Even the ANPP does not have the numerical strength to fight the PDP in the National Assembly. We cannot stop the PDP from passing any law because they have the required two third majority. Even if we decide to boycott any matter, it will not be effective and that is the only reason why the labour law would be passed. As to whether the PDP might want to extend the tenure of the president, nothing is impossible in Nigeria. The stories that we are hearing from some of our colleagues on how they emerged victorious in the elections show that nothing is impossible. If you take into consideration the fact that in some states all the registered voters voted in the last election shows that nothing is impossible in this country.
I do not however think that it is possible for the president to be thinking of that. Democracy is all about good governance. It is all about freedom. If you look at what happened between 1999 and 2004, Nigeria is worse off. With all the insults heaped on the late General Sani Abacha, he was able to stabilize our Naira at N80 to a Dollar. The Naira now is exchanging for one hundred and forty three to a dollar. This is because the government is not performing and they have an outdated macroeconomics theory from the International monetary Funds and the World Bank. Many people including members of the PDP have accepted that the Abacha times was better than this time in terms of the country’s economy. What have we achieved in the last five years. Practically nothing. We are even having selective punishment. Nigerians would not allow the president to serve for the third term even if he wants to.
Your party has not been able to provide the required opposition as expected especially in the last one and half years. What do you think is responsible for this? Is it the leadership or what?
If you look at the formation of the political parties, you will agree that parties were not based on principles. They are not made up of people of like minds. They are just marriages of convenience. You can’t even identify the ideologies of the political parties.
I agree with you that the ANPP has not been a credible opposition to the ruling party. In the House of Representatives for instance, I cannot remember when the ANPP as a political party called its members and say this is our position on the policy of the present party. They have failed us in that aspect. I blame the leadership and the followership. The leadership has not lived up to its responsibility and the followership has not lived up to its responsibility. If somebody is leading you astray, you should reject it. We in the National Assembly feel that we are not getting the required leadership. The problem is from the leadership of the ANPP.
The nineteen northern states have dragged the Federal Government to court over the onshore/offshore dichotomy Act. Do you think this suit is necessary considering the sacrifices that the oil producing communities have made for the country?
It is all about politics. I feel we should be asking ourselves why the nineteen northern governors did not use their members in the National Assembly to block the passage of the Act in the first place. Is it now that they would wake up and find out that they don’t like the Act? Sometimes problems like this may need political solution, negotiations and dialogue. I learnt that the northern governors who are PDP agreed to the Bill. Why are they opposed to it now? They were party to it in the first place.
Your governor is one of the most traveled in the country. Have you seen the benefit of his several journeys abroad?
My state, Jigawa is one of the most backward states in the country courtesy of the past administrations, both civilian and military. I also agreed that my governor is one of the busiest governors in terms of trying to salvage the state. I was on one of the trips to China and I will comment within the confines of the experience on that trip. We went to a part of china where it rains only once a year and they do not only farm but they have a robust irrigation system. What they do is to conserve the water when it rains and to use it for irrigation and farming. We had several meetings and the outcome of which is a research institute in Jigawa state and there is a soil analysis of all the soil in the state to educate farmers on the nature of fertilizer to use. I think by doing that there is an improvement in the lives of the people of the states eighty per cent of whom are farmers.
What are your fears for 2007 election?
The election is not transparent. The rules are there but they are not followed. In a normal country, there are people that should not be dreaming of contesting elections. If this is a country that every thing is normal, I do not think that the vice president should be thinking of contesting in 2007 because you cannot isolate the performance of this government by only blaming Obasanjo. If the government fails as it has failed, the vice president should also share in the responsibility. If the vice president had a different idea of governance, he should have brought it to bear on this regime. When you come to General Ibrahim Babangida, he had eight years to make an impact. He went behind the door to take an IMF loan, the naira was devalued and we are still suffering the consequence up till now. Where is the hope for this country? I know that if it is going to be a proper election, Nigerians will not forget the evils of the present government and they have not forgotten the evil of the Babangida regime. They will not elect them. But because the election process is not transparent, nothing is impossible. That is why I am not very optimistic. If the electoral process is not transparent, 2007 is going to be chaotic or unrealisable.
