National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Muiz Banire, speaks with journalists on the outcome of Osun State governorship election and the likely implications of how candidates are chosen by his party for the 2015 general elections. .
How would you assess the governorship election in Osun State?
I can say to a certain extent that it was free and fair. However, there were some problems which were not because of INEC’s inefficiency or incompetence but because of other factors beyond them.
You are a national officer of the APC, and there was a call for all the national leaders to storm Osun State. At what point did you get in there and how was the scenario on ground before and during the election?
The reality is that the threat was too much for our people on ground. I must confess that the influx of party members and supporters into Osun was not really impressive. A lot of people avoided the zone entirely for their dear lives. They didn’t show up. Normally, people come to that place. They did not come this time. Those who managed to come and attend one or two rallies ran away practically the same day. So, at the end of the day, we never really had sufficient patronage in terms of physical presence of most of our officials on ground. We only had the national executive council meeting, in conjunction with the state working committee. We never had the luxury of having them around permanently throughout the period we expected them to be on ground. But be that as it may, I was there for almost two weeks. I can tell you that the scenario during that period was nothing to write home about. It is condemnable. I described it to most people that were talking to me during that period that where we were could be described as the Gaza of Nigeria. Each time they show the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, one of the unique things they show is ambulance siren all over the place. That same deafening scenario is what we had there. Even in Lagos, each time I hear that, I react to it as if there is a threat to my person. It was so much that I believe strongly that certainly, we would have had an epidemic of ear impairment in that state by now. It was too much. Even at night, you cannot sleep. I don’t think the security people know its implication. They were killing themselves indirectly. Their siren kept on blaring. You need to see the league of these people. Their ammunition and the way they carried them everywhere were something else. Prior to the election, it was just mere threat, but on the eve of the election, it went beyond threat to actual execution. At least, I witnessed one when they invaded Senator Bayo Salami’s house. They banged on the door but it did not open. They shot at it. I witnessed that one, among others. It was at that point that they arrested Alhaji Lai Mohammed with the others too. That was why I told my friends that I narrowly escaped. That’s one of the so many instances that occurred there. Many people and their relatives were attacked. Unfortunately for my driver, he was the one that drove Alhaji Lai Mohammed around. I gave him my car to use instead of his that was so much known. By the time they arrested him eventually, they were so mean to him (my driver) to the extent that they took the N17, 000 in his pocket. They beat the hell out of him. They wanted to take my own Ipad. My driver insisted they won’t take it. That was the kind of situation we faced during that period. For me, honestly speaking, I give INEC pass mark. It was the security people that tainted the entire election. I will also let you know this: I will go to court because I was falsely imprisoned there. In fact, at the checkpoint, the soldiers said I should sit down. I am a Nigerian and the constitution guarantees me to move in and out of any part of the country. There was no curfew, so, how come I cannot move? There was no law that prohibits my movement. All they said was that they didn’t have time for me, and that was only blowing grammar. I sat down there for almost two and a half hours.
Did you see anything positive about the deployment of the troops?
No. The situation I witnessed as a lawyer is enough to dissuade me. I know it is not constitutional to deploy the troops. In fact, I filed a matter that was not assigned before the election to say that the president does not have the right to deploy soldiers for the purpose of election. They don’t have the power to deploy soldiers for the purpose of the election. The consequences dawned on me further in Osun. A lot of people could not come out to vote. They were afraid that bullets might fly from nowhere and hit them. They were afraid of the guns all over the place and so decided not to come out to vote. This was why the turnout was not very impressive. Somehow you disfranchised thousands of people. The Electoral Act does not even recognise that. The only people who are legitimately permitted to stay near the polling booth are the presiding officer, the polling clerk and the agents. It is only where there is a problem that the presiding officer can call in security officials.
But the PDP is taking credit for the success of the election. They argued that if not for the presence of the tight security, there would have been crisis; that it actually ensured a peaceful and conducive environment?
It’s not true. People that came out did so because they were determined to vote. They knew the risk. A week to the election, we campaigned vigorously and told our supporters that no one would harm them in their father’s land. The courageous ones came out and voted. Some people came out and said they could not go because of fear of attack. Civil duties are meant to be carried out by the police. Even the civil defence has arms too. Now, what is the job of the Department of State Security? They would have infiltrated all camps so that they would have capability to prevent or forestall anything. They are telling Nigerians that they are incompetent. Soldiers are not meant to be within the country, they are not trained for internal security. They are trained for external conflicts except where there are insurrections. Even where there are, have they been able to tame them?
Apart from party members that complained about harassment and all that, no voter seems to have complained. Is it not more of coming to check possible electoral malpractices by party officials?
Whose extension is INEC? Who controls them? Who puts all the people there? The ruling party. How do you expect me to go and manipulate your own child against you? That’s it. Some people were harassed in some areas. I am aware of Ife south. People brought complaints. I had to sneak out to witness it for myself. I saw it myself. So many people were harassed. Out of over 60 people arrested, let them point to only one man who was PDP. They did one other horrible thing. The law as I know it today is that if you like, you are allowed to carry money around as long as it is not more than N5 million. Why would you seize my money? Do you know what I want to use it for? Where agent money was given, they went there and arrested them and collected the money. They targeted where they were to distribute agents’ money and arrested them and collected their money.
So, funds for the agents were collected and not returned?
Yes. I can give you names of the affected agents. I asked my friend about his, he said they took N5 million from him and returned it after removing N1.5 million.
It was learnt that but for the security agents in Ife East, PDP chieftains wanted to cause problem when the voting wasn’t going their way. Will you not see that in the positive direction?
I wasn’t there but I heard people were harassed. For me as a person, I challenge all the results from the four local governments in Ife. Our agents were either beaten or compromised and taken off. I challenge all the votes in that zone.
But Governor Adams Oshiomhole praised the military for Edo State election?
Yes, it’s possible. We are all diverse on different issues. If he commended them because of the peculiarity of his own people, that is okay. Osun is a very peaceful place. The tendency to fuel violence is extremely low in that state. Most of the frontline general overseers and imams in the country are from that state. You see, the state is a religious state. It is not a place where there is political conflagration. If you want to deploy, there should be a limited number. It must be done to meet the need of the people. Election is supposed to be a free and fair thing. I got information from a commissioner in Osun. He said it was even the soldiers that were distributing rice and money. They give you the money and tell you to vote and go. It’s not a new thing. It has been happening.
Don’t you think the pre-election tension in the state was responsible?
There was no tension. They only created it. They hyped it. There was no need for any tension. There was no need for such. Assuming there was such, what is the work of the police and civil defence?
What would you identify as factors that worked in favour of your party and candidate?
People would tell you that when it comes to accomplishment, you can’t fault Aregbesola. If Lagos State government does move forward in developmental projects, by the time he finishes his second term, he will surpass Lagos. There are many things going on there that we are yet to achieve in Lagos. The student ID card project is unique. Each child, throughout his life in that place, has a unique student number on a card that has all their details on it. Look at their micro finance scheme, their meat production and agricultural intervention programme. They are beginning to look for centres in Lagos to help their farmers to come and sell their goods. Is it road or education? When he came in, he was the first person to talk about the school fees paid by students in their university. It would have been a human disaster if he didn’t win. What would have happened to his projects? Something that is feasible in terms of dividends. Everything about the governor is development. The governor of Lagos State said the same thing about the state.
The government in Ekiti was acknowledged for doing well but lost the election. How do you reconcile that?
That is where you know a thorough-bred politician and a technocrat in government. A good politician knows all the capabilities and all the levels and how to connect both. In Osun, you see Ogbeni always with the people. One day, he would do one cultural programme with them. The next day, you see him do another. You are, to a large extent, the party’s machinery. You make sure information is disseminated regularly. Anything they do, they pass it to you. When they go, they would talk about your progress and impact. He has even gone beyond the party. The election shows that he is more popular than the party. All of us that came for the party saw that and agreed that what he has is a movement. And it is difficult to defeat a movement.
If you put so much on the popularity of your candidate in Osun, how will that shape the choice of your governorship candidate in Lagos for 2015?
Well, my view is that once we are able to conduct our primary election in Lagos, somebody with such capability will be elected. It is not enough to be a technocrat; a politician has to look at things from different perspectives. If am going to take a decision, what impact will it have not only on my policies and programmes, but on the people directly? Take Osogbo for example. It had so many returns for the government. It was the same Osogbo that businesses were brought out for infrastructural development. But because he had a lot of meeting with them, asked them how to go about it. If this job is going to work out, what role will you play? Do you have brothers and sisters that will work with these people? If they have participated so much in such a project, will it backfire? It takes a politician to appreciate this. Candidate selection in Lagos will be affected by this.
The history of the party in Lagos will not justify that. Fashola was unknown in 2007 and 2011, he was not a man of the people; he was more like Fayemi and he won the election…
The political machinery in Lagos that time was solid. What we were able to do that period is that we have seasoned political machines within the government itself. My take home from Osun is that they lack this machinery; they need to improve on their political capability. So many people with the capacity were in the government that period, and that contributed to the developmental projects that you are seeing today in Lagos. If somebody shuts a market today and decides to open it, the technocrat may not see reason to go back and celebrate with the people. But a politician will do and by so doing he heals the wound.
After Ekiti, Osun became doubtful in spite of the performance of the governor. Is the Yoruba race no longer interested in developmental achievements?
We were extremely doubtful because of this rumour of photo-chromic ballot paper. We were scared truly. We got the impression it seems to exist. After researching, we came out with a solution that the governor should tell the people that when they finish voting, they must bend both sides of their ballot paper, take a photograph of it. They told us that there is a transmission thread at both sides of the ballot.
Back to Osun, nobody expected the hundred thousand-vote gap between the two top candidates, even in spite of some mistakes such as the education reform. What happened?
Today, without mincing words, Osun will be at the peak of all education achievements in the next two years. I endorse it fully. When he came he wanted to declare educational emergency for two years before the Wole Soyinka committee came with classification programme. I was at the Salvation school the other day. Their demonstration was outstanding in terms of output. Osun is number eight now in the recent statistics. Look at the meal the students receive. That alone is enough to motivate them.
What do you see in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos in 2015?
We have a lot of homework to do. We are not in our comfort zone yet. We have to work 10 times harder than we did in Osun. We must work on our internal credentials. It’s no longer about the party. People are after the candidate, not the platform anymore.
With the experience in Osun, does that also translate to the fact that voters may not actually be interested in the religion of the candidate as was the case in Osun?
It is individuals that the people are now evaluating, not the party or area or religion anymore. As long as you can deliver, you are the ideal candidate. If one side continuously provides a good leader, we won’t mind. Like I did say, the voters will decide. I believe religion is not a factor at all. We will continue to look for individuals with all the capabilities for the delivery of human democratic dividends.
How will this message go round your party members?
Firstly, our constitution provides for internal democracy. Secondly, we will engage people to say are we really ready for change? We will have to comply with the dictates of the party. I believe that some members of the party are beginning to appreciate the impact of this internal democracy. It is important to be democratic in our respective parties. That is the only way we can provide a competent leader.
Culled from Tribune
