Adejoro Adeogun is member representing Akoko South East/West federal constituency of Ondo State and Vice Chairman, House Committee on National Security at the lower chamber of the National Assembly. He told OLAWUNMI OJO that the ongoing debate across the country with regards to which region provides President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in 2023 is a needless distraction. Rather, he opined that good governance and national integration should have been the focal point of national discourse with a view to providing enduring solutions to the current challenges confronting the nation.

What is your view about the ongoing debate between the North and South as to where the next President should come from in 2023?
The hullabaloo over where the next President comes from is the outcome of the distrust between the different ethnic groups in Nigeria. The fear that some groups dominate political leadership, whilst others are perceived as being marginalised is at the root of the clamour for zoning of political offices. Sadly, the focus on these things that divide us takes us very far away from what should be our main focus.

As an individual, I am more concerned about good governance and national integration than where a President comes from. However, given the prevailing distrust in the nation, I think the most appropriate thing to do is to reach out to the zones that feel most marginalised. For the sake of restoring broader confidence in the entity called Nigeria, the political class must deliberately take actions that foster national integration and communal bonding.

Is the Federal Government handling the agitations for self-determination across the country the right way?
Most of the agitations masquerading as separatist agitations are merely ways of expressing the displeasure with some aspects of governance. Most of these agitations arise from two issues: one, perceived political marginalisation, and two, economic inadequacies. If we manage to address these two challenges, we will be moving towards eliminating the issues you described as self-determination. However, I think the Federal Government is handling the security aspect of these challenges, but a lot more is desired to regain the confidence and trust of all the component parts of Nigeria.

As a security expert, what steps need to be taken to tackle the security situation of the country, which is becoming worse on a daily basis?
The steps to be taken are multi-dimensional. We first need to address the root causes of our security challenges, which include poverty, unemployment, and slow judicial administration. We must take urgent steps to build our law enforcement capability to address insecurity.

What is your assessment of Nigeria on the occasion of its 61st independence anniversary?
Nigeria is like an elephant that has chosen to keep the company of antelopes; it will never achieve its potential until it occupies its proper place in the jungle. To do that, it must first understand that it is an elephant, and not an antelope. Then, it must rise up to take its proper place among mammoths, rather than malingering among animals of lesser potential.

Proffer solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the country?
The panacea to the myriad of challenges are good governance, a shared vision, a collective desire to live together in harmony, and a shift in economic focus from being consumer-based to being production-based.

Dearth of leadership and poor followership have been fingered by many as hindrances to national development. What is your take? 
Our leadership deficiency can be viewed from the perspective of cause and effect: bad followers beget bad leadership and bad leadership attracts bad followers. It is like two different sides of the same coin.

There has been a growing clamour for generational shift in the leadership of the country? Do you support the call?
Should age really be a yardstick for leadership attainment? Should a potentially good leader be excluded on the basis of age? I think what we need at this stage is a President with a contemporary worldview, who can unite all segments of the nation, and bring all the citizens, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, economic class, age or sex, to share in one common vision of unity and prosperity. Age, like ethnicity, should not be the overwhelming prerequisite. Rather, we should be seeking a President with a pan-Nigeria vision, who is imbued with the capability to bring out the best of our citizens, have an excellent understanding of macro-economic principles and understands the aspirations of the younger generation.

Do you have any fear about 2023?
I absolutely have no fear at all. 2023 will come, and contrary to the expectation of doomsday prophets, Nigerians will once more show the world that it has ingenious ways of solving its own problems.

You have been visible in the lower chamber of the National Assembly. What prepared you for your performance given your background before foray into politics?
I have the benefit of a robust educational background, diverse work experience and involvement in community activities, which served as part of my political learning curve. Perhaps the greatest preparation was the fact that I got involved in partisan politics to fulfill a divine purpose. However, I’ll leave the assessment of my performance to my constituents from Akoko South East/West federal constituency who gave me their mandate. But, if what majority of my constituents say is to be believed, I must have done excellently.