Globaltimes Former General Secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Frank Kokori has called on Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu at least six months to see what he can do. Fixing the economy and things. According to him, Tinubu inherited an empty coffers and mounting debt from the previous administrations of Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.
The labor activist slammed labor unions and civil society organizations for remaining silent for more than 20 years while the country’s refineries remained idle. In this interview with Daily Post, he talks about some vexing national issues. Quote!
Nigerians are groaning under the current fuel price regime which has affected the price of virtually everything; Considering the ground reality, is there any hope of saving Nigerians?
How can Nigeria fall? Nigeria is a big country; It’s just that we’ve been mismanaged for a while. The problem with Nigeria is that there have been 24 years of democracy, and in all those years, we haven’t had a refinery, and nobody is saying anything. Trade unions and civil society organizations (CSOs) were complacent. They weren’t saying anything; No one was saying anything. And Tinubu has now come to power and most of his opponents and adversaries have come to the conspiracies, so everything he does should be criticized.
During the election, Nigerians as a whole said that we cannot use about 90 percent of our income to service external debt. So, we were already dying; The suffering has been going on for years, and now, you want Tinubu to change everything in just two and a half months because you don’t want him to be there. Things are tough in Nigeria and everyone knows it.
Even during the campaign, the three main candidates said they would withdraw the subsidy. Atiku was saying he would stop the subsidy and sell the refinery. Obi says he cannot continue with the subsidy. Tinubu said he could not continue with the subsidy. So, we all agreed in the country that subsidy must go and if not now there is no time to do it. Some people say we should have prepared but you want to ask: Prepare for what? Will Nigerians ever accept the removal of subsidies? Some are benefiting from subsidies. From over 64 million liters of petrol per day, it has come down to around 52 million liters per day; Is this not the right profit for Nigeria?
If you say that other candidates like Obi and Atiku also said they will remove subsidy, you should remember that they never told us how they will do it. However, the argument is that since those involved in subsidy fraud are known, why would the government not go after them instead of punishing Nigerians…
Of course, we know it. You can’t sell fuel here in Nigeria for three cents and every country in West Africa, and in fact, the whole of sub-Saharan Africa sells fuel for $1.1. You can’t sell fuel here for three cents, take it across the border and sell it for $1.1 and come back with a 300 percent profit. But, this is what has been happening in Nigeria for the past 20 years. Is it rocket science? We all know that.
So, we know people who say there was no subsidy. The whole country is now divided. The last election was so exciting that no one wants to change ground. I am an APC chieftain and elder statesman, and I am an educated man, so I understand everything. Most of the youth do not understand the country. All they know is that during the last election, the people divided themselves into three blocs – Ashiwazu bloc, Atiku bloc and Obi bloc, and nobody wants to change ground.
Whatever Tinubu does, he must be criticized. Even seven days after he assumed power, organized labor and civil society groups wanted to go on strike, until I came out and started making strong statements to advise my comrades that they should not do so. He has only been in power for seven days and you are giving him a three-day ultimatum. I told them that this does not happen anywhere in the world. So, that’s that. We know what’s going on and no sane person would say we have to go on like this. And there is no day that Nigerians will accept the removal of fuel subsidy until now when they know that it is not even possible because they don’t even have the foreign currency to buy more fuel. The government has nothing; It is even heavily indebted. So, we just have to accept it and wait for about six months or a year. If by then, the Tinubu administration cannot change something, we tell them we are tired of them, but not in a month or two, you will start attacking a new government that inherits empty coffers and debt; Mount debt and everything. The country was devastated by Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari. But, the situation is such that people are suffering; We all agree. Everyone is suffering but indifference is over. People don’t drive their cars any more. Humans don’t burn fuel any more and that’s what’s happening all over the world.
Are you saying that there is no possibility of going back to a subsidy system with the level of hardship that would result from removing it with no alternative?
Civil society is supposed to be critical of removing subsidies. Removal of subsidy is here to stay. It was removed, and no one is bringing it back. I’m an oil man and I know what we were going through. I regret that the current comrades did not fight for the refinery. I am saying that our problem is that for 20 years, we have not bothered about our refineries and that is because the government and the people have not cared either. My comrades in the labor movement did not even care about civil society; They spent so much money on maintenance just to go around.
Some people are indicating that your party, APC, is too comfortable with corruption. For example, the former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, has just become the National Chairman of the APC and over 90 percent of Tinubu’s ministers have one or the other corruption case. Is APC really out to destroy Nigeria?
Generally, I have zero tolerance for corruption. So, those who have cases against them, not rumours, should file those cases. Social media and traditional media are all there; So let them make those cases, not just speculations and rumours. Let them present those cases, after all, civil society and those well-meaning investigative journalists are there to bring out those hard cases, let’s see what the government does about them. Personally, I have zero tolerance for corruption, and that is why I was angry with Buhari because instead of fighting corruption, he encouraged corruption. Tinubu says he just arrived, his family is well-off according to his wife and it is only about his ambition, ‘Emilokane’. So, he already has enough money. So Nigerians should give him some time. Not now, let’s see the government for at least six months to a year before we start criticizing him. He is coming from a really bad situation.
What do you think about the list of ministers?
It’s too big for me. Why should Nigeria have more than 18 ministers if there is no constitution? Constitution mentions at least one from each state but apart from that why would he add more. To me, it’s a bloated cabinet; I am not in support but the constitution makes it almost possible for him to do so. And in the senate we have some of the best brains in Nigeria because they represent their people, so what can an old man like me who is retired do if both the opposition and ruling party members of the senate don’t see anything against the list? See the mistake in this?
FG is clinging to billboards everywhere, ‘All eyes on Judiciary’, what does this indicate for us as a country? What’s wrong with the billboard; What is the government afraid of?
How people can put up billboards everywhere, asks judiciary to be careful; All eyes on the judiciary? Has this ever happened since 1959 when we started elections in this country? How can you just carry billboards and blackmail the judiciary?
Are you saying that putting up billboards with such messages is tantamount to blackmailing the judiciary?
Yes now, how can you do that in a country? Do you not know that the judiciary is sacred? Blackmailing judges just because they won’t respond? Why would anyone blackmail the judiciary? The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) did nothing wrong during the general elections. At the ward level, election results have been properly collated by BVAS. Why would someone blackmail the judiciary like this? In a country where you have hardline leaders, they will all be locked up, tried and sentenced to long prison terms. You cannot abuse or blackmail the Judiciary in this way.
How would you describe the recent coup in Niger Republic?
People who do not understand what a coup is will support a coup. They even want Nigeria to coup again. Do you know the suffering associated with a coup? The military will pick you up and lock you up and if you go to court, no one listens to the court. They will suspend the constitution.
As Secretary General of NUPENG and Secretary General of the African Oil Workers, I was removed after only 10 weeks of resistance. They abducted me in the middle of the night and the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi went to court for orders. But, they still kept me in solitary confinement; In prison in the desert, for four years. Former central bank governor Godwin Mfiele has only been there for a few days and the world is buzzing. This Mfiele killed almost all Nigerians, but everyone is crying now because Tinubu is in government. So, no one wants war in Niger Republic. The problem is that you can’t organize a coup anyway. Military regimes are rubbish. The military has destroyed the Nigerian economy; Babangida and Abacha destroyed the Nigerian economy.
Do you think there are any lessons for Nigeria from the Niger coup?
There are no lessons to be learned; Every coup should be condemned. No coup should be supported by anyone. The fact that the people of Niger Republic are now rejoicing over the coup is nothing new; This is what happens initially when military forces occupy any place. Nigerians cheered and supported Buhari when he came to power. Nigerians cheered and supported Babaginda when he came to power, but after a while, they started crying. You don’t challenge them because if you do, they will kill you, and they don’t obey court orders. Did Mfiele obey the Supreme Court ruling when Nigerians were dying for lack of cash? When a person with so much money in the bank cannot withdraw more than N5000 from his account and the Supreme Court said ‘leave the money’, did Mfiele and Buhari obey the court order? And everyone was dying.
But it was Buhari who defied the Supreme Court order, not Mfiele. Was it possible for Mfiele to release the money when his principal said he would not release the money?
Who is telling you? The Central Bank of Nigeria is an independent institution. So, if Mfiele did not agree, he should have resigned and become a hero. But, he was an evil man. We have no sympathy for him. He is from Delta, my state, but we have no love for him. He killed almost everyone in Nigeria. The Supreme Court will make a ruling and Mfiele will say no, and now people sympathize with him. He should be punished.
What would it mean for Nigeria to lead a war with Nigeria, especially when it has become clear that foreign powers are urging Tinubu to do so against the reality of Nigeria’s relationship with Nigeria?
Nigeria is not leading a war; We are not going to war. They are just threatening those military guys in Niger. No one wants a coup too close to Nigeria.