Jega Can’t Guarantee Credible Poll   

Mene Joi Nunieh Okunnu is a lawyer, activist and long term associate of General Muhammadu  Buhari (retd). In this interview with OLUOKUN AYORINDE, she spoke about her association with  the former head of state, the 2011 elections and her ambition to contest for the Federal  Capital Territory, FCT senatorial seat for which she has adopted the slogan “One Nation, One  People”

•Mene Joi Nunieh Okunnu.

Why did you dump All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, for the relatively new Congress of  Progressive Change, CPC?
I have been in politics since 1994. Remember the PPP time when we tried to register our  party then, but that didn’t take off. With the return of democracy, I joined All Peoples  Party, APP, which later became ANPP. On why I declared for CPC, well, everybody in Nigeria  seems to know what happened in ANPP––people not being straightforward, and all the things we  criticised in Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, we found them doing it in ANPP. And as they  say, the fish gets rotten from the head and since the head wasn’t good enough, I thought I  was in a wrong place. But still, I didn’t want to join PDP.

But CPC seems to be coming so late in the day with just a few months to the general  elections. Do you sincerely believe the party can make an impact in the 2011 polls?
I believe so. I believe that Nigerians are just waiting for the clarion call for change.  They are sick and tired of PDP. They just want somebody to bring solution to the problems of  Nigeria. So, if they see that CPC can present a good candidate that is trustworthy and  reliable, they will support the party. And right now, the CPC is associated with General  Muhammad Buhari (retd) who is a person Nigerians can trust. For me, I believe that wise men  who refuse to do anything suffer the rule of idiots, like Edmund Burke said. So, I think  it’s time for us to get our acts together. It’s never too late. A day in politics is a long  time.

Do you share the optimism of many Nigerians that with the recent appointment of Professor  Jega as Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, the 2011 elections will be  more credible?
Well, I prefer to put my hope in God right now because we always believed that the next  elections would be better and it usually turned out to be worse than the previous ones. What  I will like to say is that Nigerians are fed up and this time, we shall ensure that every  vote counts. I think Nigerians are ready to fight and defend their votes, to ensure that  their votes count. I have witnessed it in Kano, I witnessed it in Bauchi and I know they did  it in Lagos. And I know that Nigerians are determined that every one of their votes must  count. So, I don’t want to put my hope on Jega. I put my hope on God and Nigerians who must  now be ready to say that enough is enough and are even more prepared than before to defend  their votes.

But opposition political parties which should have been in the vanguard of mobilising  Nigerians are not doing it. Indeed, many parties have gone off the radar of most Nigerians  since the end of 2007 elections…
The truth is that when we were in ANPP we were trying to do that. But those at the head of  the party at that time were ready to compromise. Of course, you can’t be talking when you  are not a member of the executive and you are not in position to take decision; you really  can’t do much. But we have been on campaign, mobilising people that every vote must count.  Recently I was with General Buhari at the Airport Hotel in Lagos where we spoke to Nigerians  that every vote must count. So, it’s not true that we have not been telling Nigerians to  protect their votes. General Buhari gave a clarion call in Kano, they protected their votes,  he gave the call in Bauchi, they did. So, Nigerians are sick and tired, they want their  votes to count.

You are an aspirant on the platform of CPC for the FCT Senatorial seat. What’s your  assessment of the performance of the present National Assembly?
Well, I think they’ve done their best. I am hoping that in the new dispensation, more  credible people will be elected into the National Assembly and that Nigerians will be in a  position to decide those they truly want to represent them. But right now, I cannot judge  them because they have not finished their term. Just as I said before, a day is a long time  in politics.

Why do you want to contest for the FCT Senatorial seat?
I have been a resident of FCT since 2001. I not only live in the Federal Capital Territory,  I have also operated an office in the city since 2001. I know the problems the people living  in the territory, especially the millions living in the various satellite towns, are going  through. The highest form of representation for the people of the FCT really is the  Senatorial level, apart from the Minister who is an appointee of the President. And I am  sure that most of the problems of the grassroots can be taken care of with effective  representation at the Senatorial level, which appears to be somewhat lacking now. That’s  where I draw my inspiration from. The situation of Abuja city and the satellite towns can  actually be likened to that between the oil producing communities and the settlements  operated by the multinational oil companies in the same communities. You will discover that  while the settlements of the oil companies are like oases of affluence with all the modern  amenities that man can think of, the local communities are mere squalors with the  inhabitants living in a sort of subhuman existence. So, it’s actually for the common man  that I might decide to contest the FCT senatorial election. I love to work with the common  man. By my records, even in Ogoni land, I have always worked with the common man. My records  are there. I have actually carried out adult education outside there and that is one thing  that I think we ought to have in the neighbouring communities of Abuja Municipal Area  Council, AMAC. I think that the people need to be empowered, the place needs to be  developed. If you take development to them, let’s say for instance, you are making them  participate in the building of their schools instead of getting people from outside to come  and build it for them, there will be economic growth. The carpenter there will be making  money, the women coming to sell food to those that are building the houses will make money  and it will bring development to them also. That’s what I am determined to do. The  senatorial seat is the highest seat in Abuja. So, their hope really is hinged on the  Senator.

As a close associate of General Buhari, how would you react to the charge that one of his  problems is that he is an Islamic fundamentalist?
Well, for me, if General Buhari was a fundamentalist, I, a Christian Methodist with my low  cut and a lawyer, would not be one of the closest associates of General Buhari. I was the  coordinator of his legal team from 2003 until we had another election petition again in  2007. I have worked with him and I know and can tell Nigerians proudly that he is a true  democrat. He loves this country. And what I have learnt from General Buhari is to love this  country and never to talk down on my country. If he is a fundamentalist, he would have no  business moving around with Christians like me. He has not one day asked me to cover my head  with a shawl or become a Muslim. I believe religion is a personal thing between you and God  and people should learn to respect the belief of others. I still challenge anyone to say  anything bad about a man who owns only two houses in the whole world, yet has served as  minister of petroleum, governor, head of state for years. All he has is a house each in  Kaduna and Daura. What does that tell you about that kind of man? He is a man who loves his  God. As General Buhari always says, nobody can be a military officer by training and be a  fundamentalist. What I know is that General Buhari loves Nigeria. I have never seen him talk  down on Nigeria.

Tags:  General Muhammadu Buhari, Mene Joi Nunieh Okunnu