Buhari’s govt was a calamity, Tinubu ought to expose it —Oyo ex-Attorney-General, Adebayo (2024)

A former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Oyo State, Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo (SAN), speaks with SAHEED SALAWU on the state of the nation and other salient issues.

What are your views on the state of the nation?

Things are very bad. These are hard times for Nigerians. The hardship in this country presently is alarming. It is more than anything anybody could have ever imagined. And it is getting worse. One does not need any statistical data to know the extent of the hardship. All you need to do is to go to the market and know the prices of the basic food items. Even drugs are not affordable. There is a diabetes drug I get for an elderly man. It sold for N11,400 when I started buying it. Within one year, today, it is N62,500. How many people can afford that? Things are hard. The standard of living of the people is poor. The cost of living is so high. The Naira is almost worthless. Things are bad. These are hard times for Nigerians.

With these sufferings of Nigerians, would you say the policies of the Federal Government are substantially helping the people?

This is what happens when you have a rotten system. This thing did not start today. You see, that government that Senator Bola Tinubu’s government succeeded, Muhammadu Buhari’s government, was a calamity. May we never witness such a government again in this country. In fact, the present government ought to have exposed them. That government destroyed all the fabrics of this country’s life. When you have such a system, it takes time before the policies of this government can manifest. It will even get worse before it can get better, and that is what we are facing. The government that left was a government that didn’t know their left hand from the right, and yet they were just stealing. The eight years of that government were wasted years. If this government is serious with the anti-corruption war, they should move against some other key functionaries of that government and recover some of the loot from them. It is sad that it is the same APC government. That is the reason why it is not easy for them to pass the buck or put the blame at the doorstep of that government. They messed the country up. The eight years of Buhari were years of the locusts, wasted years.

As a supporter of the president…

Which president?

President Bola Tinubu…

I am not a card-carrying member of the APC, but I have a soft spot for President Tinubu. I like the man. I campaigned for him. I supported him because I believe he could turn the fortunes of this country around. But it is unfortunate that when he got there, he met a mess. I don’t think he himself imagined that things were this bad. The country has been run aground, so it will take time before the present policies bear manifest fruits. But then again, he himself was too much in a hurry. He removed fuel subsidy. Good policy, but without proper planning, without anything in place to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal. At the same time, he floated the Naira, another good policy. But there are things that ought to have been in place so that the hardship on the people could, at least, be alleviated or reduced to a large extent. However, I believe that with the way they are going, if they are sincere, things will get better. But I don’t see that happening this year, maybe second quarter of next year.

So, if you had the opportunity to meet the president, what would you tell him?

I would tell him that he should be sincere with the people of this country. He should be honest with us. And he should be a great statesman, a person in the mould of [Nelson] Mandela. Mandela was not after the material wealth; he served his people and left a legacy. President Tinubu should also do that. He should fight corruption and reduce the cost of governance. He should be sincere and have genuine love for the citizens of this country and for this country. He should do away with frivolous spending and block all the leakages in governance.

The labour has suspended what has been considered to be a successful strike. What do you think was responsible for the success?

The strike was impactful because, and like I told you, there is nobody that is spared from the ongoing hardship in this country. In fact, Nigerians are very tolerant. They have been pushed to the wall. Even before now, I had expected that this country would be in crisis; that the people would have revolted. Look at the hike in electricity tariff. So, all those factors combined together to make the industrial action of the labour very impactful. It was felt by all; the entire country was crippled for that one day. Imagine if it had gone beyond a day. But I will say that the people should cooperate with this government. Let us trust them. But at the same time, they should be sincere with us, because you can’t be asking the people to tighten their belts while you are living lavish and extravagant life and wasting the resources of the country and throwing them around unnecessarily. That won’t be fair at all.

What will be your advice for Nigerians as they weather the storm?

I will advise them to let us give this government the benefit of the doubt. Let us believe in them. Let us give them some time and see how far they can go. By that time, their policies will have matured and we will start to see the effects. We will see whether this government mean well for us or they don’t. And if things don’t improve and there is no sincerity on their part, then let us wait for the next election and vote them out, and bring another party into power. That will be the best course of action.

Nigerians were shocked recently when a Federal High Court judge issued an order from the United States of America in regard to the emirate crisis in Kano. But the National Judicial Council has come out to defend the action of the judge as part of their moves to encourage what they call e-proceedings. What is your take on that?

There has been introduction of virtual proceedings since the outbreak of Covid-19. I have taken judgment here (in his office) from a Federal High Court in Lagos. I didn’t attend the court, I was here. And I have done address right from this office, without being in court. So, there is nothing abnormal about virtual proceedings.

Would you say there is enough awareness among Nigerians as regards the introduction of this idea of e-proceedings?

Some litigants are aware. There was a matrimonial case, a divorce matter, we handled in this office. The petitioner gave evidence from the United Kingdom. The platform was set up and he gave evidence on Zoom, and it was recorded. People were just trying to be mischievous when that judge gave the order from the United States of America.

What do you think of the conflicting orders emanating from judges concerning the emirate crisis in Kano State?

It is sad but I believe it will be sorted out by the judiciary itself. It is sad and embarrassing. I think you know that even the NBA president condemned the conflicting orders issued by courts of coordinate jurisdictions in Kano. Even the CJN invited the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and the Chief Judge of Kano State to Abuja over the matter. It is unfortunate. It is not good. It is embarrassing.

What is your view on the performance of the judiciary in the country?

The judiciary in this country is doing well within the hard and harsh environment it is operating. The environment is not conducive at all; it is inclement, it is bad. But they (members of the judiciary) are trying their best. The Attorney-General of the Federation told us that the last time they (the government) had a review of their salary was 2005. Can you imagine that? We have had minimum wage reviewed several times, yet we neglected the judges. But that notwithstanding, the judiciary is doing well, although one must concede and admit that there are bad eggs among our judges, like they (bad eggs) exist in all other professions, too.

There has been an advocacy for a freshly elected president not to be sworn in until after all legal issues surrounding his election have been resolved. What is your take on that?

That is not possible under our present electoral law and constitution. If that will be the case, it means we have to conduct our election a year before the swearing in. We have to conduct and conclude the election a year ahead so that we have enough time to do all the litigations and clear them. With the present arrangement, it is not possible. Then it means you have to have amendments. If the people want it that way, so be it, but it means we have to conduct our election a year ahead so that the president-elect, the governors-elect and what have you would have been known while we have a year to pursue the electoral litigations in court and clear them before they are sworn in. So, if we want to do that, it is possible, but the law and the Electoral Act must be amended.

What is the Nigeria of your dreams like?

In fact, this is not the country we hoped and prayed for, because where we are now, life is unbearable. The majority of Nigerians are poor. The majority of Nigerians are living below the poverty line. This is not the Nigeria of my dreams. Our educational facilities are nowhere to be found. The hospitals are nothing to write home about. All our sectors… Look at the infrastructures… This is not the Nigeria of my dreams. So, I want Nigeria to be in the comity of advanced nations of the world where all the basic necessities of life are available for everybody. I want Nigeria to be a country that works. Nigerians are just existing to work; they are not living. It is rather too bad. It is unfortunate. This is not the Nigeria of my dreams.

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