Former military governor of old Rivers State, Major General Zamani Lekwot (rtd) has said that the fulfilment of the campaign promises made to Nigerians by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 is the only way out of the nation’s current security and economic crisis.
Lekwot, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to the Republic of Senegal, with concurrent accreditation to Mauritania, Cape Verde and the Gambia, who spoke with Sunday Sun in Abuja after the unveiling of the book, ‘Judicial Terrorism (on the 1992 Zangon Kataf Mock Trial)’ written by Richard Akinnola, also said that the sufferings by Nigerians have historical dimension as a result of the political decision made by Nigeria’s political forefathers on the minorities’ problems during the pre-independence era and the 1966 coup which abolished the idea of regional governments.
Lekwot, a former General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, and former Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, concluded that to turn Nigeria around, political office holders need to put the interest of the nation first above self interest, coupled with the need to reorganise the judiciary and the security set up, particularly the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Police.
Excerpts:
You turned 84 in July. That means you saw Nigeria as a youth at independence. If Nigeria is a human being, it means Nigeria has turned to a full blown adult. How do you see Nigeria at this stage, an old country at 64 that cannot take care of its citizens? Was it the dream of the founding fathers of Nigeria of today where people are crying of hunger?
Well, the dream of our first political godfathers was to work for the unity of the country. None of them believed in accumulating wealth, people like the late Awolowo, Zik, Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and others. They served us selflessly. Of course, they were groomed up by the British. I know the legacy the British left us with in 1960, October, when we got independence, was based on their model at home because we had the English, the Scottish, the Welsh and the Northern Irish. So, that was what they left here. One mistake our political forefathers made was in 1958. The British set up the Willink Commission to solve the minorities’ problems and they asked the political fathers for two years, to delay independence by two years in order to sort out the minorities’ problems. But those political godfathers said no, grant us independence, we shall solve the problems.
The British conceded, but after independence, they didn’t do anything. Of course, the only thing they did was to create the Midwest State. The Middle Belt Region, the Calabar, Ogoja and Rivers Regions were not created. That explains why we have the problem. Now, when the January 1966 Coup took place, the regions were dissolved and everything was centralised. That contributed to why we are suffering today. However, in 1967, General Gowon established the first set of 12 states in order to stabilise the situation. But the real problem is the unfortunate reluctance of the political class now in charge to respect the constitution and their party constitutions. Yes, we shouldn’t be going through what we are going through. The military tried to restore democracy. For example, the local governments were created in order to bring government nearer to the grassroots. So, instead of two tiers of government, the federal and state, we now have local governments. But what do we see? Some governors don’t allow the local government to run by sitting on their rights and the funds.
Having been a former governor, GOC and ambassador, one can rightly say that you have seen it all. What do you think can be done to turn Nigeria around?
We have to firstly, put the interest of the nation first. Some of the things killing us are tribal and religious sentiments. Some politicians seeking for political office either use tribalism or religion. Happily enough, religion should not be a problem because the constitution allows for freedom of worship. Number two, once elected and they get there, instead of serving the system, they are serving themselves. You see, they are serving themselves, which should not be so. Budget made for projects, in some cases are shared and nothing happens. That should not be the case. The judiciary has been interfered with, so what we need to do is to reorganise the judiciary, reorganise the security set up – the DSS, the Police. If they do their jobs and the judiciary applies the law, we will be out of it. So, happily enough, in the system – the executive, the judiciary and the legislature, we have graduates, educated people who know what to do. But lack of political will and selfishness, these are some of the attributes that are making our system not to work. We have to find a way of holding the political class to account. That is not there at the moment.
As a former GOC of 82 Division, Enugu State and other parts of the Southeast that have been overtaken by hoodlums, what do you think can be done to check criminality in that region?
Many people have made their comments on this issue. Clearly, yes I agree unemployment has rendered many youths as materially available for that unfortunate situation. Secondly, law enforcement should be brought in place and, of course, dialogue is part of the solution. And of course, the security people should do their job. They should do more than what they are doing in order to address the leadership of those organizations that are causing the trouble. At the moment, people break the law and nothing happens. So, deterrence is not there. The problem can be solved if properly handled.
Kaduna is one lovely state people loved to visit in the past, but not anymore because the state has been taken over by bandits. Do you still visit home as a result of banditry?
Happily enough, with the departure of El-Rufai, who once confessed that he knew where these bandits are and what they were doing, we now have relative peace because the present governor is more matured and more objective. He has decided to embrace every nook and cranny of the state which El-Rufai, his predecessor, didn’t do. So, people are happy now that in line with the oath of office he took, he now sees everybody in the state, including those who didn’t vote for his party, as his subjects. So, consequently, we have relative peace in Kaduna now. The kidnappings and banditry have waned.
But do you still visit home?
Yes, I visit home. I can’t abandon my home. That is my cultural heritage. Once in a while, I visit.
