THE QUESTION AND ANSWERS

Q 1: It’s been ten years since you joined your ancestors. But one can safely assume you have kept abreast with developments in Nigeria. Really, what’s going on?



Tai Solarin: There has been a total meltdown. It’s Milton’s dream come through and true- absolute Pandemonium. Nigeria is a Paradise Lost! I’m bemused by the disingenuous abilities of our present leaders. They don’t cast you into the Kirikiri or Yola Prison like they did in my days. Rather, they disingenuously demonize you to the lowest inhumane level and then subject you into living in Dante’s Hell.



Q2: Your dear wife Sheila, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of your passing, said that Nigeria was not ready for Tai Solarin's ideas. What says you?

TS: I appreciate where Sheila is coming from. The better Nigeria, for which many other compatriots and I fought and died for, has remained elusive. Many Nigerians yearn for the good old colonial days. Only pride stops us from saying so. But in actuality, we live for it. Just look at the number of Nigerian leaders and people that junket to Britain every year to find a moment of respite. They even plan to import London Black Cabs into Abuja. For them, Britain, not Nigeria, is the actualization of their dreams and testimony of their wellbeing. This is rather sad, but it speaks volumes.



Q3: Would you return to Nigeria if reincarnated?

TS: Why not? Reincarnation has its privileges. Nigerian may be hell for the common man, labyrinthine for the political pundits, but for a social critic like Tai Solarin, it is heaven.



Q4: Speak to Nigeria’s infantilism. Is this a reality or a bogus claim by Nigeria’s detractors?

TS: We have not shifted or segued from where we were in 1960 to where we ought to be. It was fashionable to compare Nigeria with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Not any more. Our leaders used to covet greatness and spoke frequently about it. Now, doing so publicly only unmask their total insincerely. Indeed, to do so would be out rightly duplicitous. Nigeria is development challenged and we are yet to have a purposeful leader. Really when was the last time we had a National Development Plan? If we wallow in infantilism it is because its serve the cause of the corrupt. Our limitations are self-inflicted.



Q5: Is corruption in Nigeria ineradicable?

TS: Every problem has a solution so long as the political will exists. Corruption has become endemic in Nigeria because we tolerate it. Most people in Nigerian politics get rewarded either for pandering or for the extremity of their viewpoints. Either way they get “settled”. The settlement culture makes corruption acceptable. The givers and the takers are equally culpable. The question is who will bell the cat.



Q6: There is an allegation that Nigeria is tending toward a one-party state under the ruling PDP government. Do you agree?

TS: Khaki and linen are both fabrics. If it was not PDP it would have been AD, APGA, or ANPP. There is a nexus between the conduct of the ruling party and the doggedness and vision of the political opposition. When the political opposition becomes compliant and is more interested in acquiring power than in articulating alternative policies and principle a quagmire ensues. In the UK, the political opposition always has a shadow government and spokesmen on critical national issues. I see no cohesive opposition in the present day Nigeria. Everyone is interested in wresting away power from the incumbents as if that was an end by itself. Unfortunately, in a country where government remains omnipotent, such endeavors are rooted in foolishness and wishful thinking. The ruling PDP government has managed to find ways to nullify the acerbic criticisms of the opposition and others. Everything is deemed “a family affair” including handing out largesse from national coffers. There is quite evidently something incestuous about this trait and trend. It is dangerous and ought to give us all pause.



Q7: Do you think that present day politicians are living up to the ideals of the founding fathers of Nigeria?

TS: I lay no claim to being a political pundit, nor do I consider myself a compelling raconteur of our pre-independence politics. I know this, however; the Azikiwes, Awolowos, Macaulays, Fadahunsis. Ojikes, Balewas and Osadebays, Aminu Kanos, and Eyo Itas of this world had the utmost of best intentions for Nigeria. Same could not be said of our present crop of leaders and aspirants try as hard as they may, to suggest otherwise. Political self-indulgence is neither altruism nor idealism. Certainly, it is not a personal trait well suited for those committed to serving common causes. Politicians who crave to gain a dollop of hometown or international celebrity have no compulsion about mortgaging national interest and treasures to attain such end. Some of our most recent leaders are poignant testimonial to this fact. There is a great dichotomy between the ideas of our founding fathers and the values of our present leaders.



Q8: How about a philosophical question? One wonder why government operatives, rabble-rousers and plebeians alike, often heckle and challenge visionaries and activists like yourself, when the ultimate goal you pursue is in the common interest?

TS: The answer is short and unfussy. A sage once said, “common good for the present and the future is neither obvious nor self-evident.” This point underscores the futility of such challenges. We the Yoruba have a saying – better still you Igbo have a saying -- which clearly elucidates this point; “A na-azo nwaokuku ndu, o si na onwu ka ya mma” - when you try to save a chicken’s life, the chicken professes a death wish. Its all predicated on crass ignorance, I might add, and it is defeatist.



Q9: There is a great clamor by some who aspire to will rule Nigeria in 2007. Succession issues abound and include zoning, an Igbo president, and the return of generals. Interestingly, three of prospective candidates, Babangida, Buhari, and Marwa are retired generals; then, there is the obvious heir apparent, Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Which of these would you rather see rule Nigeria after Obasanjo?

TS: That’s an utterly unfair question to ask me since it stokes controversy. But since we are in a democratic dispensation, I will assert my freedom of expression. Babangida is by a generous measure duplicitous. Buhari is also by a generous measure disciplined and forthright, but there are genuine concerns about his commitment to Nigeria’s secularity. Marwa and Abubakar are somewhere in between. But all of them -- who are by Nigerian and international standards rich men – cannot under strict scrutiny and inquiry prove to Nigerians that they made their wealth legitimately. If they all saved every kobo that was paid to them in the working lives, it would not amount to ten percent of what they are respectively worth now. And we know that none of them can claim hereditary wealth. So, where from and how did they become so rich. Anyone who must lead Nigeria must be beyond reproach. Unfortunately Nigerians no longer ask hardheaded questions of their leaders, and certainly not of themselves. That is why we wallow in moral turpitude. Nigeria is not bereft of prospective upright leaders, however, we need to find the resolve to find and support them. If it is an Igbo, so be it.



Q10: Should there be a Sovereign National Conference and why is President Obasanjo resisting convening one?

TS: There is a great and inherent danger in presenting as a consensus anything that was not so agreed to. Indeed, it is asinine to do so. And there is even a greater danger when a person or some persons arrogate to themselves the arbitrary rights to present their views as a product of negotiations and consensus. The 1996 Nigerian Constitution, by which the present Government rules, was a product of the Abacha regime, designed as part of the Abacha self-succession plot. It assigns unprecedented powers to the President. And my "egbo," President Obasanjo is enjoying those powers. To him, convening an SNC would be antithetical to the powers that he now has under the Constitution. His perceived self-preservation instructs against convoking an SNC.



In principle, there is nothing wrong with an SNC. The North, the West, the SouthEast and South-South are all for it. Those who are not, are those who fear the erosion of their present clout and power and they cut across every ethnic group. There is nothing sacrosanct about the present Constitution or Federal arrangement. If power truly belongs to Nigerians in this democracy, then they ought to be allowed to decide their collective fate and basis of partnership in Nigeria. The SNC if it ever happens would be a momentous event. And as history has shown, the conclusion of every momentous event invariably becomes the hallmark by which that event is assessed. It also becomes the basis, on which history would evaluate the seriousness, creativity and care to faithfully reflect, what was agreed to – the consensus – of lack thereof, and dissents, where it exists. Not doing so opens one up to justifiable criticisms. Not holding an SNC would be an injustice of unparalleled proportion to all Nigerians.



Q11: Your egbo and aburo Chief Gani Fawehinmi recently said of the Igbo, “The Igbo after 30 years are still being treated as the scum of Nigerian political life. They use them when they want, Whenever the Igbo aspire to rule Nigeria, they are cut down; by the same system that uses their brains, ingenuity and expertise. So, if they are good for the purpose of advancing the economy why are they not good in leadership of our country?” Is this a view that you share?

TS: Gani has always been as straight as an arrow. He is equally fearless. He called it as he saw it. It might not be something popular for some to say or acknowledge publicly about the Igbo. But then, the truth is constant. Only people like Gani can make such unvarnished and depoliticized remarks.



Q12: What are your views about late Pa Awo?

TS: He has been immortalized. He will always be revered. As Odumegwu-Ojukwu once said, “Awo was the best president Nigeria never had.” Wherever he is, I’m sure he prays for the gift of reincarnation into Nigeria. He loves Nigeria and I suspect that he has some unfinished business here. His dreams for Nigeria, if realized, would be in the best interest of the nation.



Q: Doc, I thank you for being ever so candid. Continue to rest in peace. Meanwhile the struggle in our dear native land continues. Thank you, Sir.

Odeku a lot of thought and creativity went into this "interview", and many truths can still be found in what some might see as a work of fiction.   You may live in the Windy City a few time zones away from home, but your love for Nigeria is evident in much of your writing.   My guess is even as your car cruises Lakeshore Drive, Chicago, that CD changer will continue to play Commander Ebeneezer Obey's sounds of Nigeria.   

Now then, about that loan I was asking for earlier _ _

Can the dead speak? NO

Tai Solarin, a great man.

May his soul rest in peace.

Yes oh abeg my brother the dead can speak through their children, out children are picture of us. Jakumo I be dey wait that loan too now, the bank deny me. maybe i go ask BigB1 Ibb son