Adams Oshiomhole is the senator representing Edo North Senatorial District and a former governor of Edo State. In this interview, monitored on Arise Television, he speaks on the performance of President Bola Tinubu administration and the resurgence of terrorists’ attacks across the country, among other issues, ANAYO EZUGWU writes

Would it be fair to describe you as a staunch ally of President Tinubu, and in that regard, what can you say that is of considerably beneficial significance to the Nigerian people since Tinubu came to office two years ago?

Well, there are a couple of things. First, for those of us who believe that when the economists talk about man being a rational economic animal, it presupposes that there’s a level playing field that people work hard to earn.

Before President Tinubu assumed office, it was easy for some, very few people, but it took a huge sum, by just manipulating the financial system, and turn a huge number to themselves, and impoverish the rest of the people.

This leads to distortion in consumption, leads to distortion in values, and misleads younger people who think that what matters in Nigeria is not what you know, but who you know. I think that that policy has effectively been eliminated by the President. That is to say, the regime of dual exchange rate.

People may underestimate the importance of it, but I think it is huge. That was the time before young boys were bringing Lamborghini in an aircraft because they didn’t have to earn it.

And from what we know now, the amount of abuse was huge. Number two, if you have to try to understand the correct exchange rate regime, you have to look at the reckless use of ways and means by the central bank, and the fact that there was no communication between the monetary and the economic sector. I mean, it was in an open debate that the Minister of Finance said ‘I am not aware of CBN decision on this.’

So, people were micromanaging their little bits, and of course, Nigeria was the worst for it. The second, I think, is even what I hate to say now about security. It’s not all or nothing, whether in academics, in our daily experiences. It is not either that you win all or you lose all.

To measure progress is to look at where you were compared to where you are. I have been present in many places where, for example, people from the North-East admitted to the fact that under Tinubu, the coordination of security is more effective, and places that they couldn’t go before, they could go there now. That does not mean that occasionally the terrorists will not go for a soft-target and attack.

Do you mean the same North-East, where 20,000 people were recently made homeless and the governor is complaining about Marte in Borno State?

You have to trace the history. There was a point in time in this country, when you can’t go to some parts of Maiduguri or even go to mosque. So, that’s why I say it is not about whether you have totally solved the problem, or the problem has gotten worse. What I can say with confidence is that there is improvement.

On how much improvement there is and how much more we need to do, I will say there’s quite much more to do. Just recently, I watched some people from North-West, the governor of Kaduna, give a template of what they have accomplished securitywise, such that a place like Brinin Gwari, which people couldn’t go to.

Instead, but with heavy armoured vehicles, people can now go there without escort. He also referred to the fact that Southern Kaduna is not as unsafe as it used to be.

That is not to suggest that either the President or any Nigerian for that matter, is happy about the current level. It can be better, and it has to be better. But the point to make is that let nobody suggest that it is now worse. It is not.

The army has just named a new commander, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, to take charge and lead the fight against groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North-East. Do you think that’s helpful for leadership and proper coordination on the ground?

It depends on how you choose to interpret it. Even if the President chooses to change the commander every other day, it shows that his eyes are on the job.

You’re not going to take nonsense for an answer. And if I give you an assignment and I’m not satisfied with what you are doing, I keep changing. What do you want me to do? Is it a Nigerian permanent representation?

No one is much more concerned about finding a lasting and sustainable solution to the problem of insecurity than the President himself

You can’t use the number of commanders or the frequency or the rate at which commanders are changed as a basis to measure progress or lack of progress.

But military analysts have argued that you need to have a commander who can strategize, who can plan, and who can implement that plan for at least two years consistently. before you start to see success.

Don’t you think that when you are changing them every year, it becomes difficult to plan and implement plans? I will ask you a question.

How many commanders has President Tinubu changed in Maiduguri? When you say from where the war began; can you remember when the war began? It was during Goodluck Jonathan’s time, but the problem started during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

The crisis of Boko Haram had been there from the time of President Obasanjo. So, if you are going to measure the number of commanders, I don’t really think it should be narrowed to the present government. Once upon a time, President Buhari was accused of allowing the service chiefs to overstay.

Then, I was the national chairman of APC. President Buhari keeps saying to us that you don’t change a commander in the middle of a war. That’s his opinion as a commander. Another commander-in-chief could decide otherwise. That’s why I ask you, the number that has been changed, how many occurred under President Tinubu.

It would not be fair for you to imply because you are not evaluating Nigeria since 1960. You are evaluating Nigeria since President Tinubu took over two years ago. If you have issues about numbers, you must limit the issues to the number of commanders that have been changed over the past two years, compared to what it used to be before Tinubu came in.

But if you ask me, honestly speaking, I do not think Nigerians broader. Now, those who are advising that it is better to keep them for a certain period, maybe, they are retired ones. Just a few days back, the President reassured Nigeria that he is going to reinforce funding and that he will do everything he can to empower the armed forces to do what they have to do to terminate all these insurgencies.

That suggests to me that no one is much more concerned about finding a lasting and sustainable solution to the problem of insecurity than the President himself.

If you look at open-source data, it indicates that attacks are rising. In the first three months of this year alone, there have been some 300 Boko Haram attacks in Borno State in which more than 500 people have been killed, and almost the same number have been abducted. Doesn’t that suggest that insecurity in the North-East is getting worse?

With all due respect to you, I think you are recycling this same question in different forms. There is no suggestion to that everywhere is peaceful now. I haven’t said so, and I’ve not heard anyone who had said so. And if you’re talking about frequency, you may have to find out from those whose business it is to collate because that is not my beat.

My beat as a senator is to listen to people. I heard a senator narrating on the floor of the Senate that people from his own constituency in the North-East, who have not been able to go to farm, are now able to go to farm. That letter was read on the floor of the Senate. I will listen to him because a senator is elected by his people.

There is no issue about whether or not we have security challenges. It has been there since President Obasanjo. It got worse during President Jonathan to a point that the national election was postponed by two months. I was governor at that time. It got to a point that Boko Haram hoisted foreign flags on Nigerian soil and 28 local government areas was no longer under Nigerian control.

So, the problem has been there. In Abuja here, Boko Haram bombed the police headquarters. Don’t forget that the United Nations building was attacked in the heart of Abuja. Is it not reasonable to say that whereas there is this serious problem of security, the audacity with which they used to move have been appears to have been effectively curtailed by the armed forces.

But that is not to say the problem is over. What citizens do in other countries is to salute the effort of the armed forces. You don’t dismiss them as if it’s a Christmas party. I’m not going to say more on this because I am not here as a retired military officer. We have spoken enough on security.

But all I want to tell you is that I have been in this Abuja, when even the policemen felt unsafe at the police headquarters. That speaks volumes because the headquarters was bombed. United Nations, with all the security around it, it was bombed by Boko Haram.

So, we must go through the full gamut to try to understand where we’re coming from and how we got to the peak, where we are now. But do not try to imply that anyone is suggesting that there’s conflict between what the governor is saying and what the senator is saying. There is no contradiction in anything.

They both admit that there are problems but nobody is sleeping on it. The governor is working very hard. He’s doing everything to deal with the aftermath of all those attacks, which is very commendable. He’s taking risks, going to everywhere. And sometimes, you wonder whether he has special armour. He’s doing everything.

I don’t think he’s sleeping. I look at his eye bag. I say, this man is not sleeping. One of the things people have talked about is the President’s policies and how those policies are being implemented. In terms of the buying power, for example, of many Nigerians, you talked about the Naira and the exchange rates and all the rest of it.

If you look at where they were before Tinubu came to office and where they are now, it’s pretty clear that things have got considerably worse, haven’t they?

Most people are poorer now in terms of their purchasing power than they were when he came into office. Isn’t that true? The point is this.

I think it is just a repetition for me now because once nobody disputes the fact that inflation is in double digits and economies are at double digit inflation consistently, and wages and income are stagnating, or even when they increase, they have no increase proportionally to the rate of inflation. The story is clear. People are hurting. So, it’s not something that needs to be over-flogged.

What kind of pain do you think that has inflicted on Nigerians in a country where the average person and the economy depend almost entirely on fuel for everything?

When we were fighting subsidy, you lectured us but I said if you withdraw subsidy, this will happen. But you guys said, no, you need to withdraw it.

All the candidates, whether it’s Tinubu, whether it’s Peter Obi, whether it’s Atiku Abubakar, they all said they will withdraw the subsidy. Atiku even said he will sell Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

That’s why I said don’t go there because that one, there was unanimity. And people like us who have been fighting over the years, we will see that.

So, now the elite, when I say elite, I mean it. Go and review the editorials. Labour, you know, we should allow. This is wasteful. Who are the people having cars? Workers have no car.

You are just subsidizing the rich. Atiku said he will sell NNPCL. Peter Obi said he will withdraw subsidy. Tinubu said he will withdraw subsidy. Therefore, it was conscious among the ruling class that the subsidy will be withdrawn.

They ought to know that when you withdraw what is being subsidised, it means you pay the market price. And so, when that market price begins to prevail, it cannot be an argument for you.