‘INEC SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY SCRAPPED AND RETOOLED’ – CHIEF OLABODE GEORGE
BY OKI SAMSON
Chief Bode George
Recently, Chief Olabode George, the reputable PDP chieftain held a media parley with gentlemen of the press including Trek Africa Newspaper’s OKI SAMSON. In the media parley which he tagged as ‘Nigeria: Sorting through the challenges’, he discussed exclusively on burning current issues on the national scene. He established clearly that the media parley was not to discuss partisan issues and he is not there as a party man but rather to focus on governance issues in the nation.
In the long chat, he was supported by his longtime friend, Ebenezer Babatope. The former Minister of Transport added his take stating that the media remains a hope of the common man and charged them to give vent to the words of Bode George shared in the parley. The 76 year old believes that Ojukwu is right about Nigeria not been one since the days of Biafra, thus the task of unity is one that Nigeria must take on of urgency.
Read on.
TAN: Can we meet you?
COG: I am Chief Olabode George.
TAN: What is the essence of this media parley?
COG: it is proper that we do honest appraisal of where we are and where we need to be as a nation. I have seen both sides of governance in the military era and the civilian administration. Nigeria need to sort through her challenges. The country is faced with multifarious challenges from the desert to the sea. From the scourge of banditry to kidnapping to Boko Haram the country is tossed to the brink. Our leaders should not be stampeded into panicky mode or reflexive action. Everyone – ruling party, opposition party, non-partisan – need to step back into a more reflective position.
TAN: What is your bill of health for our democracy?
COG: No doubt this democracy is been stressed and it is all about the triumph of the people’s will. None can guarantee that the votes cast is sacrosanct going by the way INEC is conducting its duties, virtually all the contestants are aggrieved and troop to the judiciary to seek redress after elections. Validly, the judiciary has a role to dispense justice in cases, but when the judiciary has practically become the one who decides the person who becomes governor, senator et al, there is problem. Look at India with over 800m people voting, they were able to dispense their elections in two weeks with no tribunals, what’s wrong with our system? If our banks are involved in data processing and information technology that can make you achieve bank transactions within minutes, why not our INEC? We have youths who can write super-programs that will help INEC? How do we restore order, we need to dismantle INEC as it is presently constituted. It is partisan, wrapped in self-consuming incompetence. It must be retooled and overhauled to the likes of others like it in the rest of the world.
TAN: What should happen to INEC?
COG: There can be no half measures. INEC should be entirely retooled. We go two steps forward, ten steps back. It is a disgrace that we have to do manual collation in the 21st century. It can be done in the next four years. Vision 202020 that Nigeria will be part of the top 20 countries in the world, but where are we. There is South Africa in the G-20, we fought tooth and nail for their independence. Our people are brilliant and experts in all field, why do we not deploy them. Our skin has nothing to do with this, we are humans, we have genes, we have brains not different from the whites. Let’s promote things that will unite us.
TAN: The country is faced with security challenges, what is your take?
COG: our democracy is also confronted with the challenge of herdsmen who invade farmlands, bandits and kidnappers are also threatening the peace of our nation. The RUGA settlement should be given more thoughtful appraisal. The government should be proactive to hurry the outlaws out of town.
TAN: What really is the problem with RUGA from your perspective?
COG: Naturally, if there is no distrust among the various tribes, there would be negotiation to allow people, but when you want to make it a deliberate policy, there is a problem. Nigerians are already on the edge, I don’t agree that the government be involved, let the negotiation be between the people and the settlers. As a militaryman, everyone is your comrade no one is Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, Hausa, we don’t see tribe. That is where I believe Nigeria should be driving towards, there is so much apprehension in the land. There are three things you can’t control as a human – your date of birth, the tribe you will be born into and the day of your exit – so if you can’t control such, why should that form our differences. The President may have good intention but it is heavily criticized. Let the will of the people prevail. Growing up the camaraderie that existed between the tribes was significant but it is no longer there, the gulf is getting wider. The President can call a town hall meeting, maybe there is an advantage to all of us in this policy. The people need to be convinced. They deserve to know.
TAN: What should the countrymen do now?
COG: Our nation is abundant with numerous mineral and human resources. We must apply our advantages to bring peace and lasting harmony to our land. We must be fair, equitable and respect each other’s differences. We must be honest and true to each other regardless of tribe or tongue.
TAN: Many will see you as a critic because you are not in government, what do you say?
COG: I believe in this country. I am not criticizing the government. I am encouraging my oga to take a step back to see what is happening. Even by ranks in the military, the President is my leader so I am trying to tell him to take things easy and see it from people’s perspective. If the President doesn’t act on my suggestion, there is no problem, it is not sacrosanct. My best friend is still a Fulani man, he takes care of my family, I take care of his till death. Yes I am an irredentist PDP leader but partisanship is over, it is time to focus on the national development.
