Mr. Deji Adeyanju is a Nigerian civil society activist, internet personality and leader of Concerned Nigerians– an organisation that advocates for democracy and effective governance.
He spoke to THE WHISTLER on the current realities of Nigerian politics.
Excerpts:
What Is Your View Regarding Reports Of Insecurity In Parts Of Nigeria And The Response Of The Presidency?
These guys are not here for governance. They are there to have fun, they are just chilling. They are not interested in governance, they just came to chill and enjoy themselves.
Nigerians that have expectation are just going to be disappointed. I have zero expectation. I know that former president Muhammadu Buhari
destroyed the country and I said, I will not criticize this President Bola Tinubu’s government until after one year.
Because it will be senseless to be criticizing the present government, it makes no sense that after Buhari destroyed the country and left it
bankrupt for eight years, then we get a new president and start criticizing immediately.
It looks like we are being immature about criticism.
But look at the outrageous thing this present government did, they took many people on that foreign trip to UAE.
That singular act shows that this government is living in a vacuum, in another world of their
own and are not conversant with the reality of the Nigerian nation; they don’t understand that Nigeria is a bankrupt country.
Nigerians should have zero expectations of the government, I am not expecting any seriousness from this government If they eventually
surprise me, I will be dazed and shocked.
And when you have zero expectations, you cannot be disappointed.
And from the thing that has happened of recent( killings in Kaduna and Plateau states), I feel that the federal government are not proactive, they are reacting.
For me, Tinubu has been someone that had been
agitating for restructuring for years, it is not enough to criticize, now after all his criticisms of how many decades, the bucks now stops at his table, let him restructure the country.
He should give room for state police; state police will be able to solve some of the insecurity challenges and not all.
But the most effective way to address insecurity problem is to end corruption.
All the security agencies from the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and the Armed Forces have corrupt people including the
Nigeria Correctional Service. It is doable to end corruption in the country. That is my take.
What Is Your Take On The Opposition Parties In Nigeria?
Tinubu will win second term, not only will he finish first term. If the opposition continues in this pattern, Tinubu will win a second
term and after he wins, in 2035, the All Progressives Congress will win again and continue to be in power.
What Is Your Advise To Opposition Political Parties In Nigeria?
First things first, former president Atiku Abubakar should resign from partisan politics. Abubakar is the reason why Tinubu emerged as president.
His inability to manage men and resources in the
opposition, coordinate, reach compromise with governors, his boy Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, his stubbornness, are the reasons why Tinubu
emerged.
The first step of the opposition getting their acts together is that Abubakar must resign from partisan politics because he has an ambition
to contest again in 2027.
The former president must resign from partisan politics first because we talk about any unity of the opposition.
Abubakar should have supported a younger person like Obi or Kwankwaso in the last presidential election.
To challenge a Tinubu, the opposition must be united. In 2015, we saw how the opposition was
united. Forget whether APC rigged or not, you cannot rig a united opposition.
You have seen a tip of the iceberg in the recent Imo
election, more is to come in 2027.
The opposition will insult each other more. The earlier the opposition puts their acts together, the better for the country and every democracy needs a viable opposition to thrive.
The opposition needs to get its acts together by impressing it upon Alhaji Abubakar to first make
a commitment to resign from partisan politics.
Then, they should rally round a younger figure that is acceptable to the generality of the country, present a common front and challenge the ruling party and its government.
If the Tinubu government causes a lot of frustration in the country in its first term, the opposition can have a form of consensus, and the
2027 election may be a referendum of some sort.
You Criticized Obi And Atiku Prior To The 2023 Election? Is Your Activism Based On Patriotism Or You Are Funded?
How can I be pro-Tinubu when I was calling him and his political actors thieves?
There are some so-called activists that are funded by persons of vested interest, but you can see a genuine activist from the passion.
Again, any activist that is unemployed or does not have a second address, people like Charly Boy, will always compromise.
People know us, the federal government sees my transactions, they know that I am a big boy.
If you see what I do and the things I do, then you will understand why I am into activism.
So, any activist that does not have a business or any form of employment, will compromise.
A poor man cannot rescue the poor or do activism.
The reason I am doing activism is because I am not poor.
Activism is like a hobby to me because I benefit nothing from it. Everyday I am losing money from activism. So real activism is a sacrifice, it comes
at great cost, it is not fake like Nyesom Wike will say ‘all fake.”
It is not the Nyesom-Wike kind of activism, activism that is geared towards self-aggrandizement.
Activism is about real passion for societal change.
And there is nothing wrong in an activist going into politics.
Afterall Mandela the great went into politics. But it is when one is engaging in policy somersault, that is when their activism becomes questionable.
That is my take.
INTERVIEW: What Atiku Can Do To Stop Tinubu – Adeyanju is first published on The Whistler Newspaper