Fidel Odiase : Nigeria is bleeding and everything seems to have failed.The president and his cartel sit in absolute detachment from the realities in the country. oknewsonline interview with LOVETH MOHMOH update 12 June 2021

Today we are discussing the state of the Nation as we celebrate June 12 today! with the National Coordinator,

 The New Nigerian youths. 

Let's meet  Mr. Fidel Odiase

 A business man, Youths, Leader, A Crusader of The Esan Agenda, 

and A political astute.

 

 Oknewsonline:  

how do you see Nigeria today?

 Fidel Odiase : 

Nigeria is bleeding and everything seems to have failed.

The president and his cartel sit in absolute detachment from the  realities in the country.

 Oknewsonline: 

how do you rate  Buhari as the president of Nigeria? 

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

Governance, as far as I am concerned, does not begin and end with the narrow perceptions of the reach and stretch of the country. General Ibrahim Babangida once told us that when President Muhammadu Buhari was the military head of state they tried to let him know that Nigeria was a lot beyond his concept of what Nigeria is, that Nigeria doesn’t begin and end with Katsina and a few other states in the North; that Nigeria has Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Cross River, Uyo, and other states, but as they did that they were classified as enemies. To me he is not doing well as the president of this great Nation.

Oknewsonline:

 how do we resolve this?

 

 Mr. Fidel Odiase: 

We want a return to true federalism in which rather than the states going to Abuja (the centre) to collect money with handbags in a beggarly picture they will be contributing to the maintenance of the centre because they are raising money on their own.

Oknewsonline: 

why the insecurities in the country is taking time to eradicate totally? 

Mr. Fidel Odiase: 

thanks for this question ...the system have been compromised some persons in this Government are working with the bandits and Boko Haram.

Why do you think there is banditry in Zamfara and some other places? Because they see the federal government interfering with their mineral resources, and exploited the resources illegally. And where do these bandits get their weapons from? There are now a lot of armed gangs essentially serving certain economic interests. Those interests are the ones funding them and that is why they have sophisticated weapons.

And you hear that Boko Haram members have better weapons than the Nigerian Army. They have chosen to call it banditry but the fact remains that they are sponsored by various interests in the mining sector, yet they still come to Abuja to collect from our own contributions which I learned has continued to yield for the Republic of Nigeria.

Oknewsonline:

Why are they not allowing the proceeds from exploitation of mineral resources like gold, limestone come into the national treasury? 

Mr. Fidel Odiase

We are saying that they have to formalise the exploitation of those mineral resources but they are trying to turn a blind eye to that. 

That is the truth and until we face the truth we can’t find any solution.

And as far as I am concerned, there are enough resources for every state in Nigeria to be able to look after itself and contribute to the maintenance of the centre. As a state you grow at your own pace; that is what federalism means. If you see that other states are growing, you find out from them what they are doing and establish collaboration with them to grow. It is a shame that in this country today we have 20 million pupils that are out of school. And it is not a question of talking, this has been confirmed by the United Nations and all world bodies.

Oknewsonline:

Some Northern Leaders see calls for true federalism and restructuring as separatists’ agenda. What do you think?

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

 Where did we grow from? We started as a federation until the military took overpower. So there is no compulsion to remain part of Nigeria under the present circumstance. And you see in the national dailies recently, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo warned that Nigeria cannot afford to be plunged into another civil war. Other Nigerians are also warning that the unity of the country is in tatters, and that if things continue this way, there is no way a civil war will be averted. If we declare that we are going, we are going,  because there is no law that compels us to be part of Nigeria under a repressive circumstance in which the laws of association are not respected or given any regard. We want to return to true federalism, that is why we have said that they cannot continue to fight against restructuring.

Oknewsonline: 

what do you think  Independent National Electoral Commission can do  better in conducting the 2023 Presidential Election?

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

They have to stop working for the presidency and conduct Free and fair election if they want Nigerians to take them serious.

Oknewsonline:

Nigerians have reasoned that bad leadership in the country is as a result of rigged elections. Do you agree?

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

A stolen mandate has a way of responding to challenges of governance.

And as far as I am concerned, some of them are just there, doing all they can to exploit the country. And for all the exploitation done out of narrow interest is now reflecting on the condition of their citizens. 

Oknewsonline:

What is your take on the decision of the National Assembly to review the constitution?

Mr Fidel Odiase:

If they want to review the constitution by making certain enactment, they are right, provided it is meant to satisfy the yearning of the people. But when you wake up and say you want to pass a bill or create an agency that promotes the education of terrorists and insurgents abroad, what rubbish is that? The bill is proposed to encourage terrorism. And where are they going to educate them? Is it Saudi Arabia or where? It doesn’t make sense. In any case I think that bill is as good as dead because I strongly believe that the leadership of the Senate have their heads properly screwed on their neck. They won’t attempt such.

Oknewsonline:

Some Nigerians are calling for another national conference. Do you think that is necessary when the recommendations of the 2014 confab were not implemented?

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

No, it is not necessary. Let them begin to implement the recommendations of the last national conference. The recommendations are enough and I strongly believe that if those recommendations are implemented they would save the country a lot of problems and challenges it is going through today.

Oknewsonline:

What is your take on the call for state police?

Mr. Fidel Odiase: 

State Police is the best option now because the federal government Police have failed us  

Oknewsonline:

Some Nigerians have argued that adopting a regional security outfit will gradually shift administration to the regions?

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

And what is wrong with that? With the failure of the present federal system, everybody must look after himself. Within the laws of this country, the National Assembly can decide to create something like an ambience that could assure the people of each region when they adopt whatever they are going to adopt, of their independence up to a point, and their security. During my recent interaction with the media in the state, I made reference to people now resorting to self-help, which is a dangerous one. Of course, the federal police in Nigeria has failed. You see the outrage over the killing of that footballer, Kazeem, recently, and you can point to many cases like that. Now they said they are going after Yahoo boys.

Oknewsonline:

How  would you assess APC-led federal government,  anti-corruption fight so far?  

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

They are much more corrupt. How many people have they jailed so far? In the name of fighting corruption they have recovered so much money from looters, where are those recovered funds going into? Why is America now intervening in the repatriation of Abacha’s loot to Nigeria? They even had to attach conditions for them to return the over $300million loot, the money that was looted by late Sanni Abacha as a former head of state, and warned that it must not be stolen. That is lack of trust. Recently we read in the Newspapers that the US Department of Justice alleged that the Nigerian government is planning to hand over about $100million out of the money Abacha looted to Bagudu, Kebbi state governor and Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Party, Governors Forum. Did you not read the story?

Oknewsonline:

How would you react to the refusal of President Buhari to sack his service chiefs over expiration of their tenure and worsening security situation?

Mr. Fidel Odiase:

The president has always conducted the business of governance of this country in such a way that it is to his whims and caprices. How can a president continue to encourage illegality? You see the appointment of Magu, the extension of the tenure and appointment of the service chiefs beyond what was contemplated in Law. So a lot of his actions are illegal and I am not surprised. What did he not promise Nigerians. He promised to fight corruption but corruption index has increased under his leadership. He also promised to restructure the economy of the country, has he done that? It was good enough to make the promises in order to get votes. I hold people like Tinubu accountable for the disasters that we are having today because if he did not partner with him there is no way he could have beaten Jonathan in 2015.

Oknewsonline: thanks for your time

Mr. Fidel Odiase: you are welcome