Mr. Tope Kolade Fasua is the presidential candidate of the Abundant Renewal Nigeria Party. In this interview with AYO ESAN in Abuja, he speaks on his aspiration to govern Nigeria in 2019, among other issues. Excerpts:
Why are you in the 2019 presidential race?
It is essentially, as I tell people, that is the only worthwhile position to go for. That is the position that can afford me to make the most impact for now, giving the resources I have and giving the passion that I have for my country and the knowledge I intend to deploy. I am not going for any other position, especially because I have done my systemic analysis. At the lower level of the spectrum, there are lots of complaints. At the local government, there are complaints that the governors are sitting on everything. The governors actually picked those who go in to the local government, state assemblies, not to talk of councilors. I don’t think I have the luxury of time to first of all go and become a governor’s boy simply because I want to go into politics. I am not also looking for a political career, that will have mean you now go and try to start from the low and climb up and become a typical politician loyal to my pocket and my godfather’s pocket and very disloyal to Nigeria. I don’t have a godfather. The same issue with the governors at the state level. The governors are complaining about the 68 exclusive list and saying they don’t have enough leeway to do what they want to do. They are complaining about the allocation formula. It is all about complaints. And most of the governors when they first got there will complain about this and complain about the debt that their predecessors left for them. Right now, we are hearing Fayemi speaking about N170bn debt left by Fayose . We don’t know where N170bn disappeared into in Ekiti State. Rotimi Akeredolu , the governor of Ondo State where I am from is saying that Mimiko left a debt of N222bn, people should not seek political office and go there and start to complain. You want to seek political office not only to make impact when you get there but you need to make impact even when you are running as a candidate. And that is what I am doing. As I am talking with you right now, I am taking up some challenges already from my platform as a political candidate. I am taking up the government and I am writing to them because I found out that they are trying to reduce the budget for 2019. They are trying to reducing the budget without consideration for the inflation. Without consideration for the fact that the value of money has reduced and will continue to reduce. So, it is highly, highly unfortunate, what is going on in this country right now. And I am throwing myself forward, let me go and pursue that one and this Thursday by the God’s grace, we are going to lead a protest to the Ministry of Budget to let them know that what they wanted to do is unacceptable . And that the budget of Nigeria must actually work for Nigerians. We must budget for agriculture; we want to see how this will dovetail into cheap and better food for our people. We want budget for security, not for people to pocket the money, we must budget for the textile sector to create jobs for our people. We must device that sector so that we can produce the clothes that we wear. For housing for our people, even down to the rural areas Even in the rural areas this country has not for once done anything for the rural people in the area of housing . Since independence we leave them to be living in mud houses . We only say that the witches live in the villages but most of us came from the village. We abandoned them and what we have done is that we have shrank the economy into the cities and the cities are chaotic And nothing is happening in the villages, nobody want to stay in small town , everybody come to the cities, Abuja and the state capitals and we are fighting on the cramp and that is why this economy is where it is today . And that is why I am hoping on the opportunity that the presidency can offer me . And because of the urgency now, and at 47, I don’t think I am too young. And with a kind of revolution going around the world now in term of younger leadership that can actually compete with leaders of other country. And I think Nigeria should not embrace gerontocracy, the way we are trying to do now.
Why then did you choose to use the platform of a new party, Abundant Renewal Nigeria Party?
We actually created that party from the scratch, that is the truth. But immediately I made up my mind to run for the presidency, the second issue was okay; how and under what platform. And we look at the whole scenario and say if you don’t have a godfather you cannot survive in other parties. And that godfather , it is money he will take from you. Imagine if I have to go and look for N500m to bribe people before I even get a ticket , that you are not sure you will win. Even if you win, is it not that you will damage the economy, you will damage the economy because you will like to recoup your money with interest? I am not a political investor. I am not investing just to look for money by corruption . No. So to that extent we tried to create a party that will be our own, that we can say we did this from scratch, that we can say it has all our beliefs, throw our ideology into that party. And see the issue of winning election is secondary, what matters most is that our ideas must begin to win . And our ideas are beginning to win already. I am pursuing three things; I have mentioned this year’s budget. We are committed in our party that we will add at least three trillions to the 2019 budget, They must increase from that N8.6 trillion to about N11 or N12 trillions at least but our target is N15Tr. In the world, Nigeria has the lowest budget GDP ratio. We have the lowest budget per capital in the world. So, I am pursuing that one . I am also pursuing the issue of fund conduit. Only last week, the list of recalcitrant debtors was published by AMCON .The one that was more shocking to me was that the Staff Cooperative of Shell staff, Mobil and Chevron are owing the Nigeria people N40bn. Money that they used to buy luxury estates for themselves so we are taking
them up.
Recently, INEC said 79 of you are going into the presidential race next year. Some people are looking at that number as unwieldy. What will be your reaction to that?
It is true but when I look at that list, I saw 40 people who don’t have any intention of running and you will hear some of them very soon and they will tell you who they are supporting . We are on a forum on Whatsapp, one of them said that he would announce the person he is supporting very soon. They are not contesting, they are just using that as a stakeholders, so that they can negotiate . Only very few people are thinking of making that impact. And for the few making impact, only few of us, very few of us are into this because we are tired of what is happening. That if we have trusted people like Buhari and the other people and they messed up the economy up the way it is now, then we should do something . Nigeria is owing 76 billion dollars today , we could not get out of this when we were owing 36 billion dollars and we have good currency , we could not get out of that debt. Is it now that we are owing 76bn dollars and before the end of this year, we will be owing 85bn dollars. And they will be telling you that debt to GDP is small , no . Already we are using 67 per cent of our revenue to service e the debt. There is also the likelihood that another deflation may come up. So I don’t see how we will get out of 60bn or 80bn dollars debt in this country. Nigeria has been sold, the only thing remaining is the scenario of let everybody go their different way, we have no country any more . And when this kind of scenario is happening, are we going to sit here and be waiting for a baba to salvage it ?. No!He can’t, because he has shown total incompetence and so he must be helped and pushed out. And that is why people like us are
contesting.
How do we go out of these problems, especially the huge debt?
This debt is an albatross on the neck of Nigerians like it happened in the 80s .We just have to continue to service the debt. You are the first person to ask me that question and it is really an important question. Like we did in the past, we have to negotiate the debt, that debt cannot be exited.
