Pastor Bassey James, a cleric and political activist, is the founder, Southern Coalition for President Bola Tinubu 2027. In this interview with PATRICK OKOHUE, he speaks on why the President’s second term bid should be supported

You have been a youth activist, a political organizer, among others. What is your impression of the present government and its performance so far?

President Bola Tinubu has done his best. He has done a lot of remarkable things and he has done so much in the area of infrastructure development, capacity building and education. He has also shown a great ability in the area of transformation in governance, and I think he should be allowed to complete his eight-year tenure like the other presidents. If you look at his style of governance, you will see the light and it is work in progress.

I call him a transformational leader, a futuristic leader, and I think he’s one man who understands the dynamics of Nigerian political movement. Like I said to some people the other day, for somebody to be out of government for almost 16 years and build political structure and successfully won the presidential primary against all odds and became the president, we should celebrate him.

The political terrain in Nigeria is always very tough, but for this President to weather the storm, succeed and become the president is something that is very remarkable. And we have always said that what is good for the geese is also good for the gander. The immediate past president; Muhamnadu Buhari of blessed memory, spent eight years in office, so the natural thing is that whosoever took over from him should also spend eight years.

As remarkable as that is; will you say this government is really touching the people at the grassroots?

Well, there is no one president who can solve all our problems. The grassroots does not even need millions to survive. The most important thing at the grassroots is development. The grassroots should not be the major issue; better governance is what the grassroots needs.

If you talk about the local governments, this president for the first time in the history of Nigeria over a long period of time, has worked so hard to make sure that there is direct allocation to local government. Also, the states are having so much money. So, I think that the grassroots should hold the local government chairmen and the state governments responsible for development.

You’re speaking so well about the President and his performance; would that be the reason you formed a support group for him?

Yes, the Southern Coalition for President Bola Tinubu 2027 is one of the biggest NGOs right now and we are working in collaboration with the Akpabiosm Centre, which I also established.

We want to see how we can use this structure to talk to the market women, youths, religious and political leaders across Southern Nigeria and to work with other organisations that believe in President Tinubu. This is because he is our own and one tree cannot make a forest, we need to collaborate, we need to reach out to people, we need to make our own contribution and the support is massive.

We are already having meetings across the southern region and also building a strong relationship with our northern counterparts, especially youths and this is the only way we can build a united nation where there is equity, fairness and justice.

I have been a very strong supporter of good governance and this one has shown capacity. If you look at how the dynamics of political movement is going on, you will see that there is something about President Tinubu, I won’t call it a mystery, but the influx of governors to the APC is something that is unprecedented.

Do you see these defections as a good sign in Nigeria political development?

It depends on how people look at it, I am totally against one-party state and I am also against imposition of candidates, but in this context, nobody is imposing anything on anybody, people are willingly joining the APC. There is nowhere I have heard that there was use of instrument of cohesion.

People just want to be part of what is happening. Nigeria has gotten to the point where people are interested in the development of the country. I am not a governor, I have never worked in government, but the way everybody is driving towards President Tinubu is beyond APC. It is something we have to commend and you can see that this is unthinkable in the history of this country.

You are pro-Tinubu and pro-APC, but… No, I am pro-Tinubu, not pro-APC.

Though I believe that political parties are vehicles that move people into office, but I believe in individuals. I was a member of the Presidential Campaign team of President Goodluck Jonathan, I was a member of the campaign team, as a leader of a civil society group, but I believe that the movement of everybody to Tinubu’s camp is encouraging because that will give him the grace to complete his eight years.

This support group will also work out a mechanism for sustainable governance in Nigeria, so that after Tinubu, power will go to the North for eight years. That will give an opportunity for smooth running of government because in Nigeria, no matter how you look at it, you have to consider ethnicity, religion and other political considerations.

Under this government, your university was approved. Does that have any influence in supporting the President?

Well, the university has gone through the process and met the requirements, but if the President didn’t sign it, there will be no Southern Atlantic University. So, for President Tinubu to sign Southern Atlantic University into existence; what better way can I pay him?

What better way can I pay a president that has given my people the first university in the whole of Ibibio. There hat is no other way I can pay him than to support him. In fact, my people are so happy because our people has been looking for this institution that will have the name that will connect to the culture, tradition and custom of our people.

And for me, the son of a nobody to own a university and to break that record under the Tinubu government, it is greater than anything. An Ibibio person will also show appreciation that under President Tinubu, an Akwa Ibom son is the number three citizen President of the Senate President in the person of Godswill Akpabio, for whom I created an ideological institution in his name.

Since after Senator Joseph Wayas, the people of Cross River and Akwa Ibom have never produced a Senate President. This again is unprecedented. So, the Southern Coalition is our way of saying thank you Mr. President for giving us a private university and giving us the Senate presidency. The average person in Akwa Ibom State will tell you that Tinubu has done more than we expected.

Does it mean that your governor had to jump ship to Tinubu;s camp in appreciation?

Well, the governor has to follow the cue. But before he joined the APC, many other governors had joined. So, I won’t say he is a late comer, I am a product of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but when you see change, you join the queue. That is because there is nothing you can do, that is the reality on ground.

Many people who are concerned that the level of insecurity in the country is getting out of hand. As a security expert, do you think that with this, the people should be clapping for the President?

Indeed, I am a security expert, but I want to say that Tinubu inherited 99 per cent of this problem. People were crying, people were talking, but today the story is changing. I can assure you that there is no president in the world that will like to see his people being killed.

I remember seven years ago, we developed something with one of the police officers along the Ogoni, Porth Harcourt, Akwa Ibom area, but that plan was not implemented till now. That is why I am totally against state police.

Why are you not in support of state police, but in support of community policing?

I will never support state police because it will be abused and will create more problems.

So, how do we deal with this situation?

You deal with this situation by developing a strong community policing mechanism and make the people take charge of their security. I have developed that formula over and over again, but you know that in Nigeria, if you are not in government, nobody listens to you.

This problem of insecurity can be solved in less than one year. When Akpabio was governor in Akwa Ibom State in 2012, he set up a joint task force, I was in charge of the communication, I installed all the equipment, Akpabio was able to build police stations, barracks and he also built security villages,

it’s unprecedented. I am into security communication systems. You can build security villages in the 774 local governments and equip them and say local government chairmen, state directors of DSS, commissioners of Police, youths, market women and traditional rulers should have security meetings among themselves regularly. With this, you would have solved 80 per cent of security problems without even the Federal Government.

So, you are in support of this system where the hunters, local vigilantes and the likes are part of the security system?

Beautiful, but you need to go beyond the hunters because the hunters are not professionals. You should have a community policing mechanism. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) will be the chairman of the committee and the people should take responsibility for what happens in their communities, while reporting on weekly basis to the committee headed by the DPO.

Can the people really trust some of these officials of the government?

Well, things happen, so let us even say the DPO will not head such committee, the local government chairman can head the committee because the DPO can be removed at any time.

But he has to be part of that committee because he is the one who will report to the Commissioner of Police, and who will in turn report to the Inspector General of Police. If you have 30 boys in a village to watch over their community, with the youth leader and village head, you have solved the security problem of that village, and when you replicate that in all the villages, that way, you have solved the problem of insecurity in the country.