In this interview, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, speaks on the essential rights of individuals in a democratic setting and other issues. SUBAIR MOHAMMED brings excerpts.
Recently, operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) arrested the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and invaded some private residences. What does this say about basic human rights in a democracy?
Well, it’s not unusual because democracy is a concept. It’s a flexible concept but the texture of it is under pressure from different directions. Those who are in government have some powers given to them by the people. And sometimes they don’t know the limits of these powers hence they go beyond it. It is never a concluded argument. As different characters attain power, they bring different manifestations to it. But we need to ask this pertinent question: what are the concerns of Nigerians? An average Nigerian wants an improved condition of living. This is one debate that we should put an end to. Meanwhile, during the last election, Nigerians decided to vote for those who promised to remove fuel subsidy, a policy that is the architect of the current economic hardship many people are battling with. This found expression in the feedback we’re getting from the market and from the people who bear the brunt of the harsh economic reality. But all hopes are not lost, the electorate know better and would consider these before they choose their leaders. On the invasion of the office of SERAP and the arrest of the labour leader, Joe Ajaero, by law enforcement agents, there are things we need to know. We are in a democracy, law enforcement agents are expected to uphold the rule of law in the discharge of their duties. Regardless of the personalities involved, they are to interact with you with a view to investigating alleged wrongdoings. There is the need for them to uphold the rule of law and professionalism. They should be above board. Having listened to the explanation given by the DSS, there’s no good reason for stalking the labour leader and invading SERAP office. One of the things I had in mind, if I was elected president, was to stop the attachment of police officers to politicians and to stop them from interacting with the government. That’s why the Secret Service in the United States does not investigate crimes. Their job is to protect the government. Similarly, the FBI doesn’t give protection to VIPs. They only enforce the law. Again, the police should not be used as tools for harassment and settling political scores. This is essentially what the police and the DSS have become over time. We are in a democracy and not a military government.
Amidst the controversy between the NNPCL and Dangote refinery over the pump price of petrol, you predicted an increase in price of petrol and now the product sells for between N1,100 and N1,300 in Lagos and elsewhere. Do you see an upward trend in price of petrol?
Definitely. When we ran for presidency, I knew that one of the greatest mistakes you could ever make was to adopt a policy of removing subsidy. This is because the gravitational force of the market will drive the price towards equilibrium. And equilibrium, not to sound too technical, is where supply and demand reliably and sustainably meet. If you have this price, you can continue to supply that product without failure. So, I knew that, but you can’t do that because there are so many externalities and imperfections in the system that will not allow that to be the wisest decision you can make. Besides all the noise being made about subsidy, there was an exaggeration of the fiscal burden of subsidy and the burden of palliative, the burden of price dislocation, the burden of lower productivity, social and civil unrest. But when you put all those other costs together, they outweigh the cost of maintaining subsidy by a factor of 5 to 1. So, it will not be a good decision for anyone to say ‘I’m going to remove subsidy as president’.
Would you have done the same thing if you were elected president?
I would not. I’ve said it many times, even though the people who scored the highest votes, President Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Governor Peter Obi, who incidentally was advised by Professor Pat Utomi, all said they would remove subsidy. In fact, the Labour Party candidate said he would remove subsidy on day one. So, the issue is that of a bad decision but unfortunately, this has been debated time and time again. And there are a lot of people who said removal of subsidy was the way to kill the evil that had afflicted the country’s oil and gas sector.
Away from fuel subsidy matter, do you agree with the assertion that the judicial arm of government is one of the problems of Nigeria?
We have our peculiar problems as a country, one of which is the judiciary. Over the years, the judiciary has had some black eyes, and one of the areas where I hope to make an adjustment if I ever become the president is to see that the judiciary doesn’t deal with election matters. I will ensure that we have a constitutional court where judges won’t do any other things other than treat issues relating to elections and politics. And when politics is over, they go and rest, just like the way we have the industrial court. These days, you don’t find the Nigeria Labour Congress having a problem with the regular courts, because they know their matters go to the industrial court. So, if the constitutional court handles election matters and similar issues, the judiciary will have a better chance of self-redemption. The idea is to protect institutions.
How hopeful are you about things changing for the better?
Do you see this happening in the third year of this administration? Things will always change whether you are intentional about it or not. But the price of petrol will always go up. Remember that petrol price has a twin sister called foreign exchange. Foreign exchange is even more influential than subsidy. It determines a lot of things because even Dangote refinery or any other refinery, their cost is in dollars. So, the long and short of it is that Nigerians should understand that we have made a choice that subsidy should go by voting those who don’t like it. For that reason, the only thing that can be done is for the government to lessen the effects by introducing an alternative to petrol.
