Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), is a human rights activist and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he shares his thoughts on President Bola Tinubu’s one year in office and other national issues. Excerpts:
President Bola Tinubu will mark one year in office on May 29. What is your assessment of his performance so far, as well as that of members of his cabinet?
Looking at what former United States president Franklin Delano Roosevelt did in America in the Depression years in the 1930s, when he had his own mantra, his economic and political philosophies were wrapped around something called ‘New Deal for America’. President Tinubu’s own is wrapped around renewed hope. I have looked at both of the systems, and I see a lot of similarities. President Roosevelt was able to pass 100 pieces of legislation in 100 days, which is where we get these 100-day appraisals. If you look at President Tinubu, you can see strong points and not-too-strong points. The first strong point was the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira. But what should have happened was a consequential economic and political action to support the removal of subsidy, which was just enriching a few people. People look at it from the point of view of Nigerians suffering, but there is also a larger story: the fuel subsidy scheme was making a few people billionaires. So, we are not really benefiting from the existence of the subsidy. I feel what should have happened is that there ought to have been strong, institutional, regulatory, and governance measures to see to it that the security issues I talked about are controlled. The power sector is functional, people have constant electricity, and the investor capacity of the private sector is boosted. That would have diminished or dampened the shock that the removal of fuel subsidy had.
Among the ministers and other appointees, there have been some outstanding ones, and I will identify at least, three or four people that show what can be done when there is a strong will. There is a Minister that is controversial, and that is Nyesom Wike. He has done extremely well as FCT Minister in Abuja, and I will regard him as one of the most important Ministers in President Tinubu’s cabinet and use him as an example of what other Ministers should do. Another one is Festus Keyamo. He is the first minister since the time of General Sani Abacha to confront the British Government and say, ‘If you don’t allow national planes to go to your country, we won’t allow your planes to come here’. That is why Air Peace is going to the UK now. That has really helped our economy in terms of job creation. Of course, another person is the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, whom I participated in his seminar conference. He is about to unleash massive justice and law reform programmes. Another person I want to commend is the DG of NAFDAC, Prof. Moji Adeyeye who has done tremendous work in turning around the pharmaceutical industry. Before she came in, we were importing about N16b worth of pharmaceuticals. It has now dropped to about a billion. She is creating employment and has created the Stella Okoli of Emzors, and there is a boom in the pharmaceutical sector. But we need to see more. That should be the challenge for President Tinubu on his first year in office. If we can have every ministry doing the same thing like these four people, every department of government understand the meaning of governance, then things will be far better compared to what we have now. If you advertise on Instagram that your restaurant is the best in Lagos for Amala, people will go there and see it. But if you advertise that Nigeria is a good country where people can invest money but people can’t see it, then there is a problem. So, we must align perception with reality, and that will be my advice to President Tinubu as he comes to his one year in office.
The CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso has attributed the instability in the foreign exchange market to “seasonal demands.” He also blamed the depreciation of the naira on the growing numbers of Nigerians going abroad for education and medical treatment. Many Nigerians are saying enough of the blame game and that he should do his job or quit. What is your take on that?
The problem is that we must not overburden the CBN with responsibilities that is not theirs. The CBN’s function is very narrow. CBN simply regulates the monetary policy rates, and it is not the responsible agency for stimulating economic growth. It can intervene with monetary policy like interest rate adjustments, curbing high inflation by raising the lending rate. There is only one thing that makes a country work and that is production. The only way you can survive economically is through production because if you don’t produce, you are dead. If you have a restaurant and you are all over the internet advertising that my restaurant is the best in the world, but you don’t have chefs, cooks, and stewards, and people come to your restaurant and find that it is fake, you are not going to be in business. So, Nigeria’s simple requirement is to produce. I have always said that it is not the numeric value of the naira that is important, it is the productive value. What can the naira buy? Many countries don’t bother about the exchange rate. China actually devalued their currency so that they can export cheap. So, we must be clear that there is a difference between fiscal and monetary policy. Fiscal authorities create the enabling environment for the economy to thrive. For me, there are three things that we must focus on. The first is insecurity. At a conference I attended recently, I asked the audience a question. I am going to Gaza where there is currently a war, to invest $2m and I need some partners to come with me. I looked at the audience and said, ‘Who wants to come with me?’ Nobody raised their hands, and the reason is obvious. Gaza is in turmoil and it is an insecure place. So, if a foreign investor says, ‘I am going to invest serious cash in Nigeria’, people will say, ‘Are you sure you want to do that with all the insecurity changes, lack of rule of law, and the situation in Rivers state? Do you really want to do that? I read an interview by the MD of Okomu Oil few days ago where he said it is absurd that the company pays over N12 billion in taxes to the government annually and is still left to fend for and seek security for equipment and personnel by ourselves. That is the point I am making, and that was why I used the example of Gaza while speaking with my audience. You need to be a very strong man like (Aliko) Dangote to say Nigeria is a country I will like to invest in. However, we can make the conditions for investing a lot simpler and it is that process and policy that I would like the government to review, articulate, and expand.
Don’t you think the manner the CBN addresses the naira fall will determine the economic shape of the country?
The CBN should not be seen as an economic builder. They are not building anything; they just print naira and do this against production. If they print more naira than production, then we will have inflation. I believe that it is the productive side of the economy that needs to grow. So, the federal government must tackle the issue of insecurity across Nigeria. They should make it a safe place. When the country is safe, people can invest in mechanised agriculture and so many other things. By so doing, we will have a chain of production that is massive. The truth is, it is not the Dangotes but it is the Nigeria’s cottage industry that drives the GDP. The 10 people making garri here; the five people selling tomatoes there, they are the ones that soak up the 200 million Nigerians, not the big factories. The insecurity in the country is affecting the opportunities of these cottage industries who we call the SMEs. The government should tackle insecurity so that the farmer can go to his farm without fear of being attacked by bandits. The second thing is power. Countries that cannot power up its systems will not be productive.
As I speak to you, I personally have 10 generators. If me, as person can have 10 generators, you can imagine what companies like Guinness will have and the impact of the cost of diesel on their businesses. When the first, which is insecurity is gotten right and power issue, which is the second is also gotten right, then you will focus on spreading prosperity. People are hungry. 133 million Nigerians are in abject poverty and it is the business of government to cater for these people. However, the government can’t do so if the economy is not functioning and the country is insecure. Those are three triangles that I believe, if the government focuses on them, nobody will begin to remember that the naira is falling. The reason people are worried about the naira to dollar exchange is because the productive value of Nigeria is very poor. Only few things are produced, so there is scarcity, and once there is scarcity in an economy, the result is high prices and it will impact the dollar exchange rate to the naira, and everybody will be worried about it. But, like I said, the naira will find its value. It can’t keep climbing. It will climb to a point that nobody will be interested in buying, and then, it will fall. The advantage the government now needs to take is to deal with insecurity, address power sector and worry about how to expand the productive sector so that manufacturers can produce.
President Tinubu has suspended the cybersecurity levy after public outcry, especially from prominent Nigerians like you who vowed to approach the court to challenge it. Do you think that levy should even come up in the first place in view of the hardship Nigerians are experiencing?
It is surprising that the very government that wishes to create an enabling environment does something that shoots itself in the foot. However, I think that we need to speak up. We have a situation where very few speak out. Where were the banks when the national assembly was passing this law, because part of the lawmaking process is that there is a public hearing. Nobody knew about this law. Even I myself was shocked that there was such a fund. So, we have to be awake because lawmaking is an important process that affects us. We must be vigilant in our various sectors to be sure that when a bill is being considered by the national assembly, if you are a journalist and you see that a law is being passed and it is likely to affect you, you will be there personally or through an advocacy group like the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). If the law will affect lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) will be there. In America, there is a major lobby process. Laws can’t pass in Congress without a thorough review by the affected sector. So, that is the consequence of our ignoring the national assembly to our peril. Nobody knew there was such a law buried inside the Act.
