Buhari has failed on everything he promised – Adebanjo

Chief Ayo Adebanjo is an Afenifere chieftain and elder statesman. In this interview with TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE of New Telegraph Newspaper, he speaks on the Muhammadu Buhari administration, restructuring, herdsmen attacks and the 2019 general elections among other issues

 In a recent interview published in the New Telegraph Newspaper, you said President Muhammadu Buhari must restructure the country in 2018…

That is the only thing he can do to redeem his name. No other thing, any other thing is a bad luck. He has failed on everything he promised. He can only redeem himself by going back to what the people want; by restructuring the country. And by restructuring the country, all the problems we are talking about would be resolved. The question of insecurity, corruption, marginalisation and other issues would be addressed through restructuring. So, if he cares about keeping the country together in peace, he should restructure the country immediately.

But the President during his New Year national broadcast rejected restructuring…
The more he says that, the more he constitutes himself to be the problem of Nigeria. If the man in position does not know what the problem of his people is, he is not fit to be there. Even a deaf person in the last two years knows that the country has been shouting for restructuring. If he is a listening president, he should listen to what people are saying.

He is not wiser than all those talking about restructuring. What we are asking him to do is what the forefathers – Sarduana of Sokoto, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikwe – gave to the country. Is he wiser than them? Why does he want to continue imposing a military constitution that is not favourable to the country on us?

The more he talks like that the more he makes people to feel that he has an agenda. Look at all the problems of Fulani herdsmen. They are all over the country causing havoc. Ordinarily, to ban them, he couldn’t do it because he belongs to their society. If he said he doesn’t want to restructure, he should leave the seat. But if he said he doesn’t want to go because he has all the instruments of power in his hands, we will leave him to God. We have God and the God who saved us from Sani Abacha will finally save us from Buhari.

With President Buhari’s position, don’t you think the issue of restructuring has been laid to rest?
He still believes in the military dictatorship that whatever he says must be done. He is only confirming what I said before he was elected that he is not qualified to be the president of this country because he is not a democrat. We will not get peace in the country without restructuring. He will be ruling us by force if he does not restructure. He can never keep this country together in peace until he restructured.

What is your take on Rev. Fr Ejike Mbaka’s message to President Buhari that he should not seek for re-election in 2019?
I am not talking about 2019; I am talking of right now. I believe that there must be restructuring before 2019.

Do you really agreed with the position of Rev. Fr. Mbaka…
Even the members of his party know the truth but are pretending. What has he done to qualify him for re-election? Is it on the basis of his electoral manifesto? Everything that he promised to do, he has failed to perform; even on security and corruption. Many of the ministers he appointed into his government have been found to be corrupt.

The Fulani herdsmen are causing confusion in some parts of the country; Southern Kaduna, Benue, Adamawa, etc. What has he done? Is it not a shame that the president of a country who was a military man before is in a situation where there is a breakdown of law and order in some parts of the country? Buhari should be ashamed of himself as president of this country. He should be ashamed of himself.

So you believe that President Buhari should not seek re-election in 2019?
If he restructures the country, he could go and seek for re-election and people will decide. I don’t believe in 2019 elections if there is no restructuring.
So you believe 2019 elections should not hold without restructuring?
That is my view. I am of the view that election should not be held until the country is restructured. If not, there would be no peace. I know he will do it by force but God is in the control.

Why it difficult for the president to address ethnic clashes in some parts of the country, especially the Fulani herdsmen attacks on some villagers?
The herdsmen have been causing confusion, they have been rapping, kidnapping and causing destruction in Agatu, Enugu, Southern Kaduna, Benue and all parts of the country and the president of the country keep mute and nobody has been arrested. Even when notice is given and the people shout that they have told them that they are coming to attack them, they still attack them. After the attack, they said they are going to get them and they never get them. For the past two years that the Fulani herdsmen have been causing confusion in the country, how many people have been arrested?

Ordinarily, to ban them from carrying arms, Buhari refused to do because they are his private army to suppress the country under his military dictatorship. Fulani herdsmen to me is a deliberate arm of Buhari to suppress the country and no matter what you say, he will turn a blind eye. When a person like Chief Olu Falae, a former Secretary to the Federal Government and prominent Yoruba man, was kidnapped by Fulani herdsmen, Buhari didn’t say a word.

Don’t you know that we are under a siege? He only pretends that he is the president of Nigeria; he is the president of Kastina. And anything that concerned anybody who is not a Muslim or Northerner, he doesn’t care. Look at the composition of his security people. We have been talking about it and he doesn’t give a dam. He took him six months to appoint his officers and some of the people he appointed have been found to have dipped their hands into corruption and he could deal with it.

Are you saying members of Buhari’s government are corrupt?
What about the elements in his government that have found to be corrupt but he has not done anything? What about Maina case? Abdulrasheed Maina, the embattled former chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Team, was sacked for pension scam and yet the security people aided Maina to go and meet a minister in a strange land under President Buhari, who has zero tolerance for corruption. A lot of people know the truth about the man but they are just pretending but I will not be one of the pretenders.

What I have said about him that I have been proved wrong. What is happening now that I have not said before he was elected? And when I said many things about him before he was elected, people said I was conducting hate speech. They said all he did then as head of state was under the military; he will not do it under civilian. Is he obeying the rule of law?

With the attacks in some states, don’t you think it is high time for people to embrace state policing system?
When we are talking about restructuring, do you want to tell me that if there is restructuring and there is state police, the state police will not catch those who were attacking people in Benue State? State police is part of the restructuring and that is why he won’t do it. If a state has its police, will they open their eyes and allow people to come into their state and attack them? Buhari is not a sincere person to rule this country. Don’t let anybody deceive you and anything that is doing shows that he wants to oppress the country and have his own way.
He is ruling like a military man. When last have he called the convention of his party to review their government policy? This is the third year of their government and yet there have been no convention of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC). How did they now review whether their policy is just or not? Of course, they have no policy to review because they have denied all the programmes they promised.
The man should get out. What has he promised that he is doing? He has sidelined all those who help him to be in power like Bola Tinubu and others. He is not a Democrat, he is a dictator. And no matter what he does, if he feels that he has all the instruments of power to oppress, we have God on our side. And God who saved us from Sani Abacha will save us from Buhari.

New Telegraph Newspaper