‘Govt must win people’s trust through open policies, accountability’

Lagos State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2023 general election, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, in this interview with OBIRE ONAKEMU, spoke on how the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government at the state and national levels prioritises their personal comforts to the detriment of the welfare of the people. He advised President Bola Tinubu to learn from the recent protest against hardship and bad governance in Nigeria.  

Given the recent protest, what measures should be taken to alleviate suffering of the people?
In the last one year, more Nigerians have fallen into what has now been termed multidimensional poverty. The World Bank poverty clock, a tool used to track poverty progress worldwide, says 71 million Nigerians are extremely poor. Our National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has, however, classified 133 million Nigerians as multi-dimensionally poor. Many Nigerians wake up daily without knowing where their next meal will come from.

A huge chunk of money was allocated to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to lift Nigerians out of the poverty quagmire. Those at the helm of affairs in the Ministry, however, preferred to banish poverty in their own life and their generations yet unborn than do what is right by their mandate. The two heads of that Ministry are now enmeshed in corruption allegations. Sadiya Farouq, the pioneer Minister is currently having discussions with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), while Betta Edu, who took over from her, is currently under suspension.

In the midst of so much suffering, people don’t want to hear that the government is embezzling money or spending N21 billion on the Vice President’s house, as well as excessive spending of our common wealth on meaningless trips with an over bloated entourage or billions of naira on foreign cars, private jet or yachts.

Nigerians want to see a leadership that is responsive to their needs; they want an honest and transparent government that is focused on solving problems of the vulnerable in society. A government that is transparent and accountable; one that uses resources to creatively secure our farms, improving the value chain and subsidising food transportation; and a government that will invest and create a conducive environment for job creation.

The government must regain the trust of the people by stopping their propaganda and speaking the truth. The government must embrace a broad based cost cutting strategy, and focus on patronising made in Nigeria products. Their project focus must see that Nigeria gets the best value for her scarce resources by going through due process unlike the means by which the coastal road contract was awarded.

The government must also engage indigenous companies for maintenance works of our very dilapidated roads; projects such as this will boost local economies and create an enabling environment for businesses.

Will you advise the President to reconsider his policies given that some individuals have abused privileges? 
It seems like the criterion for the appointment was the ability to steal or be linked to huge financial crimes. It is terribly unfortunate that APC came into government under the ruse of ending corruption. Unfortunately, they have shown the Jonathan years to be a walk in the park compared to what is currently happening in Nigeria. During his speech, President Tinubu said that by blocking leakages through automation, the government had increased revenue by a double margin, yet the same government has borrowed more loans in one year than Buhari borrowed in eight years while still seeking more loans.

The president said that he had reduced the percentage of revenue used to service debt from 97 per cent to 68 per cent. He did not say that the new loans he borrowed in 14 months, over N20 trillion, meant if we do not significantly increase our revenue, we would have to use over 100 per cent of our revenue to service our debt when the interest on the new loans was due. What is worrisome for most Nigerians is how these monies are being used to pamper our political elite despite the fact that there is minimal growth in the economy.

The president stated that states and local governments are receiving historic amounts of money each month from the federal allocation, yet the real value of the billions announced each month is worth less than it was at any time in the last 20 years.

All policies at this point must be geared towards alleviating the suffering of the masses no matter whose ox is gored. We must see holistic policy frameworks that prioritise alleviating the effects of inflation and boost production in the economy.

Also, the government must be accessible and empathetic. It is unfortunate that recently, when leaders like the Vice President, Senate President and Governor of Ogun State speak, their statements show the wide disconnect between themselves and the people. Their statements are full of arrogance and thoroughly lacking in empathy. Their statements consistently say to Nigerians that “your government does not care about you.”

The Labor Union’s dialogue with Tinubu’s government resulted in a minimum wage change from N30,000 ($60) in May 2023 to Tinubu’s minimum wage of N70,000 ($44) in August 2024. Meanwhile, we have seen a 300 per cent increase in food, medicine, transportation and all goods and services costs.

Productive Nigerians from all works of life have been complaining about the state of the economy. It will be irresponsible to ignore all that and belittle the cry of the people to simply politics.

In Lagos, APC tried to use propaganda and bigotry to tie protest to the Igbos wanting to sabotage Lagos and destroy the state, despite all the cries from Yoruba speaking people all across the Southwest. Fortunately the protest showed the legitimacy of people’s anger and the bigotry plans of the Lagos APC failed.

What is the way forward?
The government must address the conditions given to them by the protest movement. They can take a cue from the president of Kenya and how the government responded to the frustrations of the people. It would be a mistake for the government to carry on with the status quo while hunger and unemployment remain unabated.

The government must prioritise winning the trust of the people by transparency and accountability while cutting down on its reckless spending. Activities such as constituency projects that serve as political empowerment rather than impact the majority should be stopped; lavish spending on cars and humongous allowances must be stopped and the government must justly fight against corruption without plea bargains that only serve to motivate politicians to steal even more. There must be consequences to the abuse of power and the looting of our common wealth. The government must be seen to fight justly against corruption in the interest of the people.

How has it been since the last governorship race and the tribunal in Lagos? 
Well, we have been focused on community engagements especially bringing our micro-health insurance to the most vulnerable Lagosians. Our aim is to help ease the burden people are facing under this economy. We have also been able to distribute rice and food items to the highly vulnerable while we continue carrying our message of empathy and love across the 20 local governments of the state.

Are you still considering contesting the next governorship election in Lagos under Labour Party?       
I’m definitely interested in contesting again, but my focus for now is three fold. The first and second, is to hold the government accountable while building relationships with stakeholders and individuals across Lagos State. The third is to help solve as many of our problems that we can through The RV-Foundation.

Why can’t LP think of a merger with other parties like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?     
Well, let’s see. Most politicians agreed that we cannot go into the next election divided.

At the moment, how would you assess the leadership of Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos and President Bola Tinubu at the national level? 
Lagosians are tired of the leadership of APC, Governor Jide Sanwolu and President Tinubu. The people showed this in the 2023 elections but were met with the violence of the Agberocracy and political oro.

The APC leadership is very retrogressive. In the midst of so much suffering, they spent billions of naira on travelling, on cars, private jets and on renovations of their own buildings.

What is the current status of LP in Lagos State?    
Labour Party is thriving in Lagos by reaching out to their support base, having programmes to make sure that they are fully engaged.

Don’t you see a problem with the quasi-federal system of government being operated in Nigeria?       
I think it is about efficiency and the people in the system. The United States of America runs a federal system; but a true federal system. In Nigeria, we copy half-way mainly to benefit the political class but we leave the good, such as fiscal and monetary protocols, and independent institutions to keep officials in check.

There is a state police in America. We should also have state police in Nigeria. Every state has to make its own laws. States should directly receive their revenues and remit to the centre not the other way round. Let us have a true federal system and not this quasi-federal system we are currently dealing with.