Coordinator of Ijaw Monitoring Group, IMG, Joseph Evah has alleged that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was a wicked government that was worse than the Nigeria civil war. In this interview with DAILY POST, the Ijaw environmental activist spoke on a wide range of issues, including what President Bola Tinubu must do if he wants to win the war against corruption and kidnapping, among other issues. Excerpts!
What is your assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s government so far?
Well, Tinubu is saying that he has not clocked one year in office, and that before one year, he would perform magic. One year is around the corner; so let us give him one year. He has told us to give him one year, and I would like to wait for that one year before I can assess him and his performance.
But, before one year, I want to remind him that one soul is very important. The way insecurity is pervading the country, if nothing urgent is done to arrest the situation, we can only replicate the Haitian situation; the Caribbean nation that is lawless.
In less than 72 hours, more than 500 school children have been kidnapped. What is the National Security Adviser (NSA) telling us? What is the Department of State Service (DSS) doing? The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Military Intelligence, what is their work, for God’s sake? Why are they receiving salaries? That within 72 hours more than 500 of our children have been kidnapped and our senate president is dancing? Mothers, and fathers are crying, yet our senate president is dancing every day. What is our problem? Where did we go wrong? Kidnapping is going on unchallenged and because our children are not kidnapped, we keep quiet. And if you talk, one minister of information or presidential spokesman will come out to talk like a drunk.
Do you think this government is serious about fighting corruption?
It is simple to fight corruption if the government wants. It is just to surround yourself with men of Obafemi Awolowo’s integrity; men of Anthony Enahoro’s integrity and men of Aminu Kano’s integrity. That was why Yakubu Gowon succeeded. Before Tinubu assumed office, I had an interview, where I told him to go and study the archives in Ibadan about Awolowo to know why the western region was the light of Africa during the regional government. I also begged him to visit Gowon, and find out from him, how he managed to prosper Nigeria during the civil war era.
Despite the war, Nigeria never borrowed a kobo from anybody or anywhere. Go and ask Gowon how he did it. He did not visit Gowon; not until recently, when the ECOWAS issue was embarrassing him that he consulted Gowon. I told him that Gowon is still alive for a purpose; God is still keeping him alive for a purpose and that he should go and pay him a visit to learn how he was able to manage a civil war situation without borrowing. Buhari’s eight years were worse than the Nigerian civil war era.
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