Human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, in this interview with ADELEKE ADESANYA says the ineptitude of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic teams is responsible for the current hardship in the country. He also speaks on sundry other national issues. Excerpts:
What is your view about the controversial FRCN code currently causing ripples and confusion in churches across the country?
Actually, I ought to have commented on the raging issue, but for now, I will cease to do so, because I am currently going through some researches on the code and the situation before I can comment on it. For now, maybe I am not in a good position to make comments on it, but because I don’t want to base my comments on what people have been saying since the issue occurred. But very soon I will make a complete write up on it and I will make my own stand known to the public.
Nigerian lawmakers have showed interest in mediating in the ongoing crisis in Gambia by granting asylum to President Jameh. How do you see this, as a legal expert?
Well, anything for now that will Buhari’s economic team has failed Nigerians – Festus Keyamo bring peace to Gambia as a co-West African nation is alright. But I want to say that let us not make it a habit, let us not make it what will be recurring in West Africa and Africa in general, that people should be granted a kind of immunity against prosecution, against institutions and people in power. Like I twittered sometimes, it was good news that some African leaders are conceding defeat and bad news that some of them are not doing so. I think people should be cautious of the fact that when they are in power, they will not be there forever, they will lose the power one day. In the case of Gambia, Jahmeh should be made to know that nobody is begging him to leave power. Fine, asylum is okay and may be fine, but nobody should beg him to leave the seat of power and come to have asylum in Nigeria. If he doesn’t leave power, he should be chopped out of power like Lawrence Gbagbo in Cote d’ Ivoire. African leaders should learn what is right. They should know that being in power will not be forever, so the greed of trying to remain in power forever should be rebuffed by them, because I wonder the kind of role model they want to be for the younger generation. I think he should be made to serve as a deterrent like Gbagbo, if he fails to leave power so that other leaders in Africa can learn from him, too.
But do you think that is what should be on our lawmakers’ priority list for now, looking at the fact that Nigeria is currently facing a lot of hardship?
No matter how sick an elephant may be, it does not mean an ant is greater than an elephant. We all know that we are facing a lot in terms of the recession we are currently facing, but no matter how weak our economy is, we are still bigger than all West Africa put together. That means we are a very big brother to Gambia. And that will tell us that we should play our own roles very well. Moreover, Gambia is an English-speaking country like we are, and if anything happens in Gambia, the citizens will be heading to only Ghana or Nigeria. They will not go to the French-speaking countries. They will prefer to go to a country where they can easily blend and nobody will understand they are foreigners. So we should understand that whatever happens to Gambia, if we don’t move to help them, they will surely come here because Nigeria is a big country. So, we should play our roles. And I think the lawmakers are trying to see whether they can play their own role, too. But if you ask me, I prefer asylum for Jameh to a civil war in that country.
The recent killings that occurred in Southern Kaduna have been generating reactions across the nation, especially among the Christians and political leaders, who feel somehow more affected by the killings. What is your take on this?
It is quite a pathetic case and it very disheartening that such an ugly incident will still be occurring in this country. And despite that, I will like to say that Christians and political leaders in this country should realise that it is high time they turned down ethnic connotation to this crisis. This is because the more they are doing this, the more the issue will be getting worse and more victims will be recorded. So, they should try as much as possible to be holistic. Issues in Southern Kaduna have been there over a long time. It could be traced to as far back as the Ibrahim Babangida era. And I believe that this time government should find a lasting solution to it. Be that as it may, I will say nobody should try to score cheap political point with the crisis. Instead, they should try as much as possible to be matured and contribute their quota towards ending the crisis. Nigeria needs to truly be united and this can be achieved with concerted efforts from all of us.
The Federal Government is currently disbursing N5000 to the poor in the country to cushion the effects of the hardship caused by the economic crisis. How do you see this gesture?
For me, that will not help the poor in this country. Instead, I would have preferred that jobs are created for these poor people; not that money is given to them. If you want to empower people, it is better to get them jobs through which they can make their money and earn themselves a good living; not that you give them money today and tomorrow. What if the money is no longer there to give them? But instead, if jobs are created for this people, it will give them hopes, life and even for their children because through it, some of them will sponsor their children to school and they will get something meaningful out of life. So, for me, I believe creating jobs for these people is far better than giving them N5000 stipend on monthly basis. Though I am not against it, it’s a good development, government should give priority to job creation than the money they are giving to the poor as a means of ending poverty in this country.
People have been requesting that the President reshuffle his cabinet, because some of his ministers have not been performing. What is you stand on this?
I agree entirely that President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet should be reshuffled. He needs to choose some new people to work with him in his cabinet, especially when it comes to the issue of the economy. Of course, I understand that he knows better the areas that he needs to introduce drastic changes, because he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and these people work with him directly, and as such he can determine their strength. I urge him to pay special attention to the economy, like he has done well in some other areas. For instance, in fighting terrorism, he has done very well and also in the war against corruption. Though we are not there yet, efforts have been made and we can all see that he is a man that has zero tolerance for corruption. But in terms of the economy, he needs a lot of hands on deck to improve the economy.
But on the fight against corruption that you just given him a pass mark, a lot of Nigerians have said that the fight is one-sided…
There are a lot of things people don’t understand. People in Buhari’s government started one and a half years ago; so will he start running after people who just resumed office for probe? The people in government now will definitely be probed about their work in their various offices, but now is the time they are exercising the duties of their various offices.
In fact, most of the ministers just spent a year and few months in their various offices. There is still an ample time to look into what they have done. But presently, we are talking about those who have been in power for five years and above, those who have held this country to ransom to the extent that we landed where we are today. And at the same time, those in power now should not be carried away and be deceived that they will not be probed, because soon, they will be called upon to give account of their stewardships.
How well has the judiciary, which is regarded as the last hope of the common man, fared since the advent of this administration?
I will say it is about mixed situation. There are very good stories about the judiciary and at the same time there are ones that were not good at all, looking at judgments passed and the rest. But there have been situations where the judiciary, despite challenges, has risen to help democracy and there are instances where people in the judiciary have had to face the reality of life. It has always been ups and downs like it used to be. But in evaluation, so far the Nigerian judiciary has helped our democracy a lot
