Chief (Mrs) Kofowola Bucknor-Akerele, a former member of the Senate, was the deputy governor from 1999 to 2002 when Senator Bola Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State. She speaks in this interview on her relationship with President Tinubu and the state of the nation. She also bares her mind on the calibre of lawmakers in the National Assembly, the gale of defections in the People’s Democratic Party. She says she does not feel that the All Progressives Congress is a political party, but a mafia organisation. Excerpts:
The People’s Party’s rank is depleting. Recently, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State; his deputy, Monday Onyeme; predecessor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, moved all the structures of the PDP to the All Progressives Congress. What do you think is responsible for the gale of defections, given that we have also heard that more governors in the PDP are likely to defect?
First, I do not know whether more governors are likely to defect. But you have to look at what Adams Oshiomole once said that once you move into APC, your sins are forgiven. Obviously, they (defectors) have sins that they want to be forgiven. That is why I think they are all moving to APC. Really and truly, I do not feel that the APC is a political party. I believe APC is a mafia organisation.
Ahead of 2027, do these defections not worry you?
I do not think so. You see, what has happened is that there is a disconnect between the politicians and the people. If you go out in the streets, I am sure you have been out in the streets, you know what the people feel. So, the politicians have their own agenda and they are not listening to the people who elected them. That is the problem we have. By 2027, I am sure we will have a completely different scenario.
Recently, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, likened the PDP to a faulty plane. Do you agree with him?
Well, I would not say the PDP is a faulty plane. I believe that there are some saboteurs within the PDP and that it is up to those who are in charge of PDP to get rid of those saboteurs.
Ahead of the 2027 elections, the 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP is leading an anti-Tinubu coalition. Are you in support of this move?
I am not in support of any coalition as yet. I think it is too soon for us to be going into coalition. I think we have to look at what is happening before we start coalescing into any new political arrangement.
I believe that we should wait because I know people will come into the PDP. Because to me, PDP is still the only viable party. We are the only party that has structures on the ground in every single ward in Nigeria.
Are you saying you are not bothered about the crisis in your party?
Well, is there really a crisis in the party?
Talking about coalition or merger, there seems to be a big divide on that, especially given that some are opposed to the candidate’s calls for a merger…
Well, the presidential candidate is not the owner of the party. He is just a candidate.
There have been concerns raised over the defections to the APC. Some people are saying that Nigeria is heading towards a one-party state. Do you agree?
Well, on the surface it seems so. That obviously there are some elements within the political space who are trying to push us towards a one-party state. But I am sure it is going to be strongly resisted. Because look at all the other political parties.
There are still so many political parties. So how can they, just because some people, as I said, are defecting to one party; for people to say it is going to be a one-party state. There are still so many political parties on the ground.
There have been killings here and there, especially in the North Central, Benue and Plateau to be precise. What is your position on this? Do you support state police in tackling the worsening insecurity in Nigeria?
I have always supported state police because how can you bring people from, let us say, Maiduguri to Ife, to police? They cannot speak the language. They do not know the customs. And you are expecting effective policing. In most countries, police are members of the community. And, therefore, they know what to do. For instance, in Britain, you see people patrolling the streets.
Those policemen know everybody on that street. They know what is happening. In most countries, the police are part of the community. But you cannot have police that are not part of the community. They do not know anything. They cannot even speak the language. So what do you expect to happen?
The governor of Benue State, who is also a member of the ruling party, has come out to say that the killings in the state is not a herders-farmers clash, but is a genocide…
Well, I am trying to agree with him that I do not think it is a farmers-herders clash. I think it is a situation where some people are taking over the land of the indigenous people who are living there. You see, even, why are we having internally displaced persons, IDP, camps? It is because some people have been displaced. You say you have cleared the, I call them, terrorists. Why are you not taking these people back to their original land and settling them there? That is what I believe any government should be doing. But we are not doing that. We are still keeping them in camps. Why?
We have heard that most of these bandits and terrorists are fleeing these regions for the South West. Are you not scared about it? And what do you think the South West governors should do to tackle this influx?
What they should do is to, in fact, press for state police so that we are policing our own territory. That way we will be able to fish out those miscreants who are coming into our territory.
But we have Amotekun…
Yes, but Amotekun is not armed. Is it? We need to have a proper police force that is armed.
You were once a member of the upper chamber, the Senate. Would you say you are satisfied with the conduct of the present National Assembly?
I would say the calibre of people who are in the Senate now are not comparable to the calibre of people that were in the Senate when I was in the senate. You know, we really had dedicated people. A lot of professionals also. People who were self-made before going into the senate. Now a lot of them are career politicians. And that has made a difference because when I say career, these are people who make politics their career and have no other means of livelihood.
While you were in the Senate, was there any case of sexual harassment between your male counterparts and your female counterparts?
Not at all. I was the only woman in the Senate at that time. And, certainly, there was no question at all. I think all the people who were in the Senate at that time were all gentlemen.
“Well, personally, I believe the last two years have been a disaster. The eight years before were also a disaster. And I think Tinubu’s administration has just come to build on that disaster. I mean, people cannot eat”
President Bola Tinubu has been in the saddle for two years. What is your assessment of his administration?
Well, personally, I believe the last two years have been a disaster. The eight years before were also a disaster. And I think Tinubu’s administration has just come to build on that disaster. I mean, people cannot eat. Just before I came down to meet you, somebody was phoning me, saying: ‘Mama, please send me some money, I have no food to eat.’ I get calls like that every day. And it is not that they just want money. It is true. You can even see them.
They are emaciated. People have lost weight because they are not eating properly. So I do not believe that this is the kind of government that we actually need.
You were once his deputy. Have you reconciled?
Well, I was never fighting with anybody. I was just standing my ground because he wanted to take over the party that we formed. And we had even formed the party before he returned from his so-called exile.
So you have no grouse with him?
I have left him to God for what he did to me.
Coming to Afenifere where you are a member. Do you believe that there is a crack in Afenifere?
I do not believe there’s a crack in Afenifere. I believe there are some people who are trying to engineer a crack in Afenifere. Our leader, our past leader, Baba Fasonrati, resigned, wrote a letter of resignation and resigned his position and handed over Afenifere to Papa Ayo Adebanjo. And Papa Ayo Adebanjo steered the ship of Afenifere creditably since then. It is some people who are now trying to get Papa Fasonrati to rescind his resignation. I am not aware that he has rescinded his resignation yet. So it is just some political maneuvering. And they are being sponsored because some people see Afenifere, in fact, as the main opposition in this country. Because Afenifere is always ready to speak truth to power.
So there’s no division as far as you are concerned?
There is no division at all.
But is there going to be a day when the two factions of Afenifere will come together to work as one?
I do not think they can come together for the simple reason that they have different agendas.
What do you miss about Baba Ayo Adebanjo?
Baba Ayo Adebanjo, I really miss him. There was hardly a week that I would not go and sit with him and we would chat. And if he did not see me for more than a week, going on to two weeks, Baba would phone me. Kofo, Kofo, what is wrong? I have not seen you. I would say, Papa, I am coming. And I would go immediately. What I miss about him is his forthrightness. He was ready to tell you the truth no matter whose ox is gored. He was also a patriot, and that is what I admired the most, because he wanted the best for Nigeria. And he was pursuing that up till his last breath.
Do you think Nigeria will have another Ayo Adebanjo?
I doubt whether we will have another Ayo Adebanjo, but I am hoping that somebody else will emerge who will be as strong, dedicated and as patriotic as him.
What would you say is the Nigeria of your dreams?
The Nigeria of my dreams is a country that has been restructured so that each section of Nigeria will be able to develop at its own pace, and will be able to develop its people in the direction that those people want to go.
You are from Lagos State. Are you satisfied with the progress the state has made in terms of infrastructure, leadership, how people fare? Do you also think that indigenes are being carried along in the state of affairs?
Indigenes are not being carried along. In fact, it is a deliberate effort, I think, to marginalise our indigenous people. Not to allow the indigenes to run the affairs of the state. Also, if you say, am I satisfied with the state, what I see is that Lagos has been turned into one big slum. I do not see any real development. Most of the schools are in a deplorable state. They keep on saying that they have rehabilitated so many roads, but I do not know where those roads are.
People sleep in the streets because there is no affordable housing. These are basic things which I think any government should be able to, in fact, deliver to its people, but it is not being delivered. Also, most of the industries are closing down, or else they are running away to Ogun State because of all the different taxes that are being levied.
What would you say the government is doing for the people of Lagos?
I don’t think they are doing anything. They are only serving themselves.
What are indigenes doing to elect people who will protect their interests in 2027?
What we are doing is to come together and support the right party at that time.