Professor Remi. Sonaiya was the only female presidential candidate during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria; she contested for the post under the umbrella of KOWA party. Despite the results of the elections in which KOWA (and other parties) lost to APC, Prof Remi has however, remained relevant in the political sphere through assiduous politicking and is still undaunted in her quest for the Aso Rock Seat! Prof Remi, a retired Linguist Lecturer at OAU and versatile Social Commentator on Politics in Nigeria, is particular about Development, Justice and Equity in all aspects of the nation. In a chat with BOLU DANIELS of theinterview.info, she revealed a lot about her ambition, aspiration and desire for the Nigerian state!
Excerpts:
TI: What was the motivation behind your decision to contest under KOWA Party in 2015?
Prof Sonaiya: The motivation for me was the state of the nation. The question of was everybody happy with what was going on the nation. Were we living the kind of life that we should be living? Even the resources that was available to us as a nation. Surely one has to be concerned. So that was the reason for my decision to contest for the post.
TI: This means that you are still going to contest under KOWA come 2019?
Prof Sonaiya: Yeah, I am not giving up. I will surely contest.
TI: Justice, Equity and Development were three fundamentals tenets of your campaign in 2015. Using this current administration as a study, how would you rate the nation to have fared with respect to these basic tenets?
Prof Sonaiya: I think everybody us concerned with the situation of the country. Let’s look at corruption as case; we have been trying to deal with corruption, some persons have been charged to court based on this issue but a good question is what has come out of it? Have these people been brought to justice (in the sense of getting sentenced for corruption charges)? We have a slow system in the nation, where cases would go on for a long period of time (years) and at the end, nothing substantial to show for it. I don’t think this is a way of concluding whether this administration has actually done well in terms of combating corruption, injustice in the nation to the fullest.
Check social media, people are expressing growing concern over the sorry state of the nation. You would find out that people who have been suspected and charged with corruption crimes are still walking about freely in the country and it is a sad thing that the average man cannot do anything about it.
TI: You were a former lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University and you must have had firsthand experience in the plethora of varying incidences in the university. That was decades ago! Looking at the present age that we are in, do you subscribe to the belief that the quality of education viz-a-viz development in the Nigerian educational system has nosedived?
Prof Sonaiya: It isn’t a question of subscribing, it is a question of what we see and experience! You see, the undercutting of a merit system in the educational sector especially, can also be a contributing factor to the problem of incompetence that we see in the running of our general affairs in this nation. I wouldn’t know about you though, but in my own time., when we were applying to go to the university then, what we were required top do is to sit for the entrance exams and wait patiently for the admission list which would be based on merit ONLY. The successful candidates would be contacted and subsequently admitted by the university. But these days, you and I both know it is very different. People now get admitted into the university not based on MERIT alone, but through unscrupulous means as well.
An example is this; University A might stipulate 280 as the cut off mark for students wishing to study medicine in the university. But you will find out that some students who score far less below that would still get admitted! Why? Through the vice chancellors list, the Dean’s list and all sorts of dishonest means of getting admitted! This is not only seen in the Universities but also in the secondary level as well.

The former Governor of the CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi raised this salient issue once. He talked about his own people. In many of our federal secondary school, the admission was not even, somebody from Imo would score like80% and he would be admitted. Someone from a northern state who scores 5% also would be admitted into the same place. This is all in the name of this federal character that is being practiced. Is that a way for a nation to be organized and run?

We have I really think that this whole issue of education and federal character and our not running a merit system is a very serious issue which has compromised our governance system as a whole! Imagine this: we say there must be a federal character in everything. Guess what, there are states that do not invest heavily in educating their people. They don’t make man power development as their priority at all. There was a particular governor who once said that he is all about organizing mass weddings for his people because it was his concern. This same governor, who is not investing in the human capital of his state nonetheless, would respond in no time to the call for his office to nominate people for political positions based on the federal character. This negates fairness! It isn’t fair at all.

This is why I am staunchly for restructuring of the nation. I believe that the federal system that Nigeria is running is a far cry from the real meaning a=of federalism. We have got an extremely centralized government in our federal system! It is time to return to true federalism where huge power is taken from the centre and is shared with the components expediently. The power of the centre should be reduced drastically and states should be allowed to run their affairs autonomously (with a considerable amount of control exerted by the central government)!

The way we are going in this country is not cool at all. We are being pushed down into mediocrity and poverty. I think that any state that realizes the importance of education would pursue it with vigour. UNESCO posited that we should spend 26% on education. Nigeria hasn’t spent up to 10%! If we so mush aspire to get to the top rank of educated countries in the world, then we should do the right thing which is a total restructuring of our educational system like I have mentioned earlier.

TI: You are very in-depth in the clamor for restructuring in the educational system! Is this a peek into your campaign motto and/or pillar, come 2019?

Prof Sonaiya: It isn’t solely! There are so many issues that are important for the nation. However, the major issue is a total restructuring if education. Without education, there is no competition with the rest of the world. So we have to put in the necessary resources for education. The state on education in our school is a n eyesore. I feel ashamed of any foreigner who cones to visit our tertiary institutions. If we wish our children to compete, then we should be serious. Everything is important in the state, health, infrastructure, education sector etc. Albeit for me, total restructuring of the educational sector is paramount.
However, I believe in proper remuneration in accordance with productivity and we must make Nigerians, more productive. A feasible way for this is to ensure that those who are being productive are being remunerated generously! We must find a way to recognize those who are working and those who are working hard! Let us ensure that people are doing the work that they are employed to do!

TI: You left OAU in 2010, as a lecturer and in your time, there were student unions. However, there are recurring challenges between Nigerian tertiary institutions and their respective managements! Looking at this, would you suggest that students unions be removed from Nigerian institutions?

Prof Sonaiya: See, that is an entirely different story for another day. There are a lot of things to be discussed when it coined to management and administration matters in Nigerian tertiary institutions. There are student unions and there are staff unions as well. Right now, OAU is locked up because the non academic staff has been active negatively again. The claim they are entitled to money because the academic staff was given money. You see a lot of the problem that we are facing in this country is because we are not careful to ensure that the right people are pout in position. The appointment of VCs, Leaders in general is supposed to be based on merit and worthiness! It is solely an internal process (supposedly). For example, the appointments of VCs in Nigerian ivory towers became political ten years ago! Where on earth did that idea originate from? As a result, people now almost kill themselves just to be appointed by political leaders into these offices.
In the public sector, when there are vacancies for integral posts, the most qualified persons are selected and appointed. But because the government is now being involved, it has become a man-know-man thing! These things have tickle effects! It would affect students and staff unions. Things would degrade when you do not put the best people in the jobs.
I honestly believe the issue is that we have a dysfunctional society and system because we are not running things as they are supposed to be done. So I do not think the problem or issue should be centered on the removal of students unions in the tertiary institutions!

TI: You are a Seasoned Writer and Columnist, with quite a number of publications to your credit! Should we be expectant of more publications from you?

Prof Sonaiya: Yes, I am currently engrossed in the writing of a book. It is about my experience in the 2015 general elections! I would love to finish it quickly and publish it before the next elections.

TI: Do you still write for The Niche Newspaper?

Prof Sonaiya: Not of recent, but there is a high possibility of me returning next year. The reason why I stopped temporarily was because the newspaper stopped producing hard copies. Even after that, they went online for some time before they went totally off grid! This was the same situation for 234NEXT- a newspaper just like The Niche. I was a columnist for the paper before I started with The Niche! However, I have recently received news from them that they (The Niche) are back online so I most likely, would take up my post with them. A major catalyst for this would be the prompt completion of my current book and its publication. By then, I would have enough time for column writing.

TI: You speak four languages fluently! Are you also fluent in Portuguese?

Prof Sonaiya: I speak German, French, English and Yoruba fluently. However my Portuguese is very shaky, I am not fluent in it at all! I only try with simple greetings and basic questions in it!

TI: Prof! Come 2019, You would be giving politics anther try with yet another shot at the Presidency under KOWA party!

Prof Sonaiya: *Cuts in*
No there is nothing that says that I am the presidential candidate for KOWA Party. We are not that kind of party. There are other candidates who might/are going to contest for the presidency slot; so we are going to have our Primaries! See we are not like APC or PDP where for example, in APC if they all have agreed that it is Buhari that would be fielded so nobody else would surface to contest alongside him. As a matter of fact, we are not like that; we are a truly democratic Party. I know at least two people who are interested in the presidential posts. I am also contesting for it, so we are going to have our primaries, where by the person who emerges tops would represent the Party at the general elections. So make no mistake, it is not a foregone conclusion that I am representing the party as its presidential candidate. I would like to say that this is why I am in KOWA party. I believe that Nigeria deserved to have a good political party which follows the best global democratic practices. The political parties that we have mostly reeks of democratically corruption which ranges from money being the deciding factor, cabals, godfatherism nepotism and violence. KOWA party is not like that. We are a true democratic political party which follows the best democratic practices as regards political parties.
TI: Thank You for your time Prof! We wish you the best!


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