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Archbishop Funso Awe is a retired Church Father, a human rights activist, a social commentator, and a one-time governorship candidate in Lagos State. Dr. Awe, a patron and Board of Trustees member of the oldest Ecumenical Forum in Nigeria, Fellowship of Christian Ministers Nigeria, speaks to EJIKEME OMENAZU on the current jostling of politicians for elective positions, even as he touches the chances of the major presidential aspirants so far and the politics of Lagos. Excerpt.
Could you tell us your view on the state of the polity presently?
We are in a season of politics now. No doubt about it. As it is, by the end of next week, we will have a clear view of who and in what party are running for political positions. The new Electoral Act is very clear on deadlines. By now, the political parties should have compiled their party membership lists. If a name is not on the party membership list, that particular person cannot contest the party primary. That is why people are jostling, moving from one party to the other to ensure that all these have been taken care of by the deadline. By now, we have seen those who have collected the nomination forms of the various political parties for the various elective offices. Therefore, the state is set for party primaries. Interestingly, a party member complained that the consensus agreements by the ruling APC had shortchanged the members of the party from making money. So, those who would have taken part in the primaries are not spending money on the members. So, money is not circulating to the public. Even posters are not being printed by the contesters. Advertising agencies are also lamenting.
Do you think that INEC under Professor Joash Amupitan, by its conduct so far, could be said to be independent and can conduct a generally accepted general election?
INEC, by its conduct so far, has not done anything wrong. Therefore, parties have their individual leadership and structural problems. INEC is an establishment of law and it has to obey court judgments. The problem is not with INEC. The problem as I see it is with the Judiciary. First, different courts keep making different pronouncements on the same issues and dissatisfied party members are exploiting these judgments. I strongly believe that the Judiciary should check itself. It is good that the Supreme Court makes a judgment. But, when the Supreme Court makes judgments, it is still throwing such matters to the lower courts. So, we are not seeing the dead end of these issues. So, INEN can make a pronouncement based on a judgment, but when the judgment changes, INEC will still make another pronouncement based on the latest judgment. So, I don’t see any wrong on the part of INEC. The onus is on the parties to resolve leadership crises. But, because some people are moles in the parties to destroy the parties, the crises seem difficult to resolve.
The Supreme Court judgment on the ADC case seems to have led to the defection of the party’s stalwarts to the NDC. Do you think the ADC with Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi as flag presidential bearers can go far in the election?
It is not the court judgment that made Obi and Kwankwaso to defect to the NDC. It is actually the stand of the ADC on Abubakar Atiku that made them defect to the NDC. It was obvious to them that when the die is cast, in the primary of the ADC, they cannot defeat Atiku. They thought that ADC would take a stand by ceding ADC presidential ticket to the South. But, since they made it an open issue, they left the party before it was too late for them to do so. Definitely, Atiku and Amaechi have taken presidential forms. Atiku may decide to pick another person as running mate as he did by appointing Okowa in 2023 instead of picking Wike, a decision that led to crisis in PDP which the party is yet to recover till date. Until the end of the INEC deadline, we will not know who is contesting and who will be running mate.
What is your take on the possible Obi/Kwankwaso ticket of the NDC?
Obi/Kwankwaso ticket of the NDC, I don’t see it as a challenge to the ruling party. I don’t see Obi maintaining the die-hard Obidients that he had in 2023. Obi’s hold on the South East in 2023 cannot repeat itself in 2027. The interest of the ruling governors in the South East and South South will water down the number of votes Obi had in South East and South South in 2023. Kwankwaso already has his own problems with his people in Kano. He will still carry along the Talakawas in Kano. Kwankwaso having lost his governor to the APC who is still running, and with the influence of Ganduje, Kwankwaso’s influence in Kano will not be as strong as before. In Lagos, the power of incumbency will come to play and Peter Obi will not get what he had the other time. Nigerians have a way of predicting the results of elections. As the election goes on, they lose interest in the opposition. So, if Obi loses supporters in the South East, South South and South West, his influence in the Middle Belt and his Northern support will not be so strong. However, the state of the economy may be a deciding factor in the elections. The economy is not smiling at all and people are really suffering.
Do you still believe that with what is happening in both the NDC and ADC the ruling party will still win the election with President Bola Tinubu as its flag bearer?
Tinubu will still win the election. With all the analysis above, I think the ruling party will still sail through in the election come 2027. All the opposition parties may as well be working for the victory of the ruling party. AS the saying goes, the more, the merrier. The opposition will split their own votes while Tinubu will retain his block votes.
As one who has special interest in Lagos politics, how do you see the endorsement of Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Kadiri Hamzat by the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) of Lagos APC?
Right now, every other candidate within the APC has withdrawn from the race. Ambode, Jide Adeniran, Gbajabiamila and Speaker Obasa too have endorsed Hamzat and withdrawn from the race. Obasa is going to the House of Representatives. In the opposition, we have not seen any candidate. The opposition parties are still looking for good Christians to square up with Hamzat. It is after the primaries that we will know who will contest against Hamzat. For now, no other party, except APC has a visible governorship candidate in Lagos. There is no other party in Lagos.
Religion is one of the determining factors in the politics of Lagos. Is the Christian block in Lagos not being shortchanged by the endorsement of Deputy Governor Hamzat?
Some people will say that the arrangement we have is eight years of Tinubu and eight years of Fashola make 16 years of Muslim governorship of Lagos. At the same time, we have had four years of Ambode and eight years of Sanwo-Olu, making 12 years of Christian governorship of Lagos, the Christian block may want another four years to make the number of years to become eight apiece. Other groups may say we have had two governors for both Muslims and Christians. So, let them revert to a Muslim governor. Personally, I do not think the candidacy of Hamzat amounts to shortchanging the Christian block. First, we have had a situation of good religious interaction between the Christians and Muslims in Lagos. Hamzat himself, having been in government for a very long number of years, understands the rules. I cannot see him shortchanging the Christian block in Lagos. So, we should be prepared to work with him.
Could you give an assessment of the performance of the incumbent Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu?
Actually, Sanwo-Olu has not performed badly. In the area of infrastructural development, he has done his bit. New roads have been opened up. Old projects under Ambode have all been completed. In the area of Agriculture, Lagos, not having much land, Sanwo-Olu has been able to bring about food processing of agricultural products from other states, especially rice. He has set up food hubs, spread all over Lagos. For the civil service, Lagos continues to maintain its lead in having the most effective civil service in the federation. In the area of security, Lagos remains the safest state in Nigeria, Generally, in his eight years in government, we give Sanwo-Olu a very good rating. He has done well.
What are your closing remarks?
We cannot but continue to pray for Nigeria. God is the one that puts government in place. As much as we as citizens have the voting power, we should leave things in the hands of God. Let Him be our guide. Once we have prayed for good governance, we should then accept whoever God made to win the election.
