•Says that there’s zoning even in the United Nations
BY CHARLES KUMOLU
A FORMER military administrator of Kwara State during the Buhari/Idiagbon administration, Group Captain Saludeen Latinwo ,retd, in this interview states that it is imperative for the President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari ,retd, to have his imprints on key issues affecting the party, particularly the zoning of political offices. Latinwo, also provided insight into how the Buhari administration was able to confront the socio-economic challenges that had held the country down between 1983 and 1985. He also spoke on other issues.
How true is it that you were disengaged from the military on account of your participation in the Buhari/Idiagbon administration?
What happened was that there was a random selection of some officers on the allegation that they wanted to forcefully change the government.
If you look at the officers that were picked up, you will find out that they were directly or indirectly connected to Buhari or Idiagbon. I believe that it was a predetermined action to create fear in the mind of the officers and subject them to ridicule. I am not sure if they really met the purpose for which the officers were picked up. It was alleged to be a coup.
Mamman Vatsa was picked up, myself, David Ikpeme and other officers were also picked up. The story was all over the newspapers and human begins being what they are were saying the officers should be killed. But the Nigerian Bar Association and other groups came out to say that the officers cannot be killed and that military law should be followed since it was alleged to be a military offence.
After a lot of pressure, the government agreed and started with an investigative panel which was led by the then Brigadier Sani Sami who is now the Emir of Zuru. After that, there was a court martial. The striking thing in it is that some of us were not even connected to the alleged coup. It was on that ground that we were exonerated at the early stage of the investigation. But they did not know what to do because they had already told the world that we were involved in coup plotting.
When they did not know what to do with us, they called us to inform us that we were dismissed. We did not talk to the press out of the fear of not being picked up. We all went back to square one and started life all over again. The dismissal lasted for about three or four years when some officers realised that we were not treated fairly. They started by writing letters and making presentations to the authorities on our behalf. It was at that point that the dismissal was turned to retirement.
Are you inferring that some of you who were exonerated were picked probably because of you were perceived to be loyal to the ousted government?
My assumption is that they felt our loyalty was in doubt. The issue was that they needed to calm the tension in the country, hence the move to remove those who they believe were not loyal to them.
My career was prematurely terminated because of my perceived relationship with the key leaders of that Buhari administration. And I was just 42 then with a family to take care of. As at then the only thing I knew how to do was soldiering because I joined the military early. The late Sarduana of Sokoto sent for us from Lagos and we met him in Kaduna where he encouraged us to join the military. To suddenly terminate my appointment at 42 for no reason was disorientating.
Do you think Gen. Buhari should be indifferent to who becomes Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives?
Buhari
Buhari having won, needs to ensure that Nigerians are not disappointed. In doing that he needs to be involved in everything his party does. Every issue that concerns his party should be of uttermost concern to Buhari. He should not seat back and say that he can work with anyone who emerges for certain offices. As a party member, his input is needed. There is need for sense of unity at the National Working Committee on every issue so that the public don’t get the impression that they are divided on issues.
The APC should know that some people are not happy that they recorded a landslide victory. It is for that reason that they should be careful not to play into the hands of its enemies through their inability to agree on the sharing of offices. Mr. President-elect, should get involved in some of the contentious issues in the party at the moment to save the party from playing into the hand of fifth columnists.
Will that not interfere with the independence of the legislature?
What I am saying is that he should ensure that his party comes up with an acceptable power sharing formula that will not give room for acrimony among members. I expected the party to collectively agree on one person out of the competent candidates in any zone. Such a person should be presented as the party’s choice in a manner that will not give room for the current intrigues regarding who becomes the Senate President and speaker of the House of Representatives. It is a party issue and it affects every member of the party.
He had said that he is ready to work for whoever that emerges, but Mr. President-Elect should know that the buck stops on his table. So, it becomes imperative for his party to have a consensus on sensitive issues in the interest on the nation and the party. APC has not got any antecedent of power sharing formula at the national level unlike the PDP that had something like that for 16 years despite its ruggedness. So, they need to agree on a formula that will not give room for the kind of intrigues going on because the party has a lot of work to do.
I am not saying that he should be interfering. All I am saying is that he has to be involved in key decisions and appointments for now until when things stabilise. It is only at that stage that he can seat back and expect people to do things normal but for now, his imprints are needed because Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for him because of his impeccable reputation.
To me, the appointment of the Senate President is a key issue that the President-elect should be involved in at the party level. He should be able to support a particular candidate for certain reasons rather than the free for all that the party has made it. When such a position is made a free for all, anything can happen and that will not be good for the party. We must accept that some APC members are still wearing the garment that was brought from the PDP. They may claim to be holding the broom but some are still holding the umbrella in other ways. If the party allows this free for all for sensitive positions, there might be a payback time which may not be good for the party.
APC should not forget that the PDP is waiting to reap from any mistake they will make. That is why the President-Elect should get involved now in every sensitive matter that affects the party. He can’t be neutral because everything is centred on him. It was his personality and the spread of the party that got the APC this victory.
So, you really believe in zoning given the strong contest between Senators Ahmad Lawan, Bukola Saraki and George Akume?
Zoning is an international practice. Even the United Nations practices zoning. The European Union also does it. You can’t say that zoning is undemocratic because participation is an essential requirement in a democracy. Zoning goes with merit. Anywhere any office is zoned to, competent people would be found there.
If a certain office is zoned to Ondo State for instance, you will find so many competent people in that state but you need to agree on who should be the first among equals. Zoning is basically done for everyone to have a sense of participation and belonging.
You never can say who is a frontrunner because anything can happen in politics within a short time. With due respect to the system, if I were in the National Working Committee, I will insist that the party should come out with a candidate. What they would have done is to constitute a committee that will work out the modalities that will ensure that an acceptable person emerges as the candidate.
These people you have mentioned are all qualified and that is why they indicated interest in the race. It is their right which is not debatable. But we should not let the contest for the position get to an acrimonious state because we are one. I understand that the previous arrangement was for the South-east to produce the Senate President, but since the zone did not produce any senator, the APC ought to have come up with a plan B.
It does not stop at the party saying they are zoning it to the North Central, they ought to have agreed on who to present from the zone. There should not have been any quarrel about that.
The three people you mentioned are well connected and if the issue is not properly handled the outcome might jeopardise the interest of the party and it might jeopardise the interest of the party by creating a sense of doubt about the unity of APC. Allowing for free for all does not show that the party has effective hold on its members. This is why I suggested that Mr. President-elect should be directly involved.
The President-elect has cautioned against excessive expectations. In view of the current challenges in the country can you in specific terms tell us the areas you would want him to focus on as he assumes office?
Latinwo
The problems are surmountable. However, I have not seen anywhere in the world where all national problems are solved by any new government immediately. There are some problems that require immediate attention. There is the issue of corruption, people not getting their salaries, disunity, dwindling economy among others. If I were him, I will start with disunity because if we are united, half of the problems would be solved. The people need to be given the assurance that they have a stake in this country.
They should be made to understand that they are part of the system. Once that is done, we can easily surmount other challenges with the support of everyone. When that is done, people will be surprised that those considered to be the difficult ones in the country, would be the ones who will come forward with solutions to some problems.
Since the inability to pay salaries particularly by the states is not unconnected to the non-viability of the states, how do you think state governors can become less dependent on federal allocations?
We all know that apart from three states, others are not viable but they needed to be in existence for political reasons. It does not matter what we may call them, they are administrative centres. If the states are asked to start generating money now, where will the money come from. States like Kogi, Kwara and others will have no money despite the huge deposit of mineral resources.
If they start the process of tapping their resources, the money will not come immediately. The genuine things going on in most states are just buying and selling of petty things. That is why many are calling for restructuring of the country. If we are serious about it, lets go back to regionalism so that there will be less payment of handouts to political appointees. But these issues have to come later.
Even if the states are permitted to start exploring solid minerals, they need a lot of money to open up the place in a format that will bring about commercial success. But they don’t have money. Some are even have too much debt. These are issues that have to be addressed but not now.
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