Coordinator, South-West (Zone D), National Association of Nigerian Students, Okikiola Ogunsola, tells TOBI AWORINDE his reservations against Senate President Bukola Saraki’s moves to obtain an injunction against his Code of Conduct Tribunal case
Contrary to your position, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Tijani Usman, has defended his view that the Code of Conduct Tribunal case against the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for alleged graft is a vendetta by political godfathers. What is your response to this?
Whether or not he tries to justify his position, what we, the South-West zone, stand for is justice. We do not compromise our stand or change our position on a particular issue.
What we learnt initially was that the national president of our association clearly said he was going to lead a protest to all the embassies that the CCT should not prosecute Saraki for whatsoever. Inasmuch as the body called National Association of Nigerian Students covers our zone as well, whether he is trying to defend himself or not, we have done what we have to do by making it clear to the whole world that we are not part of that decision. Though we may have a respect for the national leadership of the association, nevertheless, our opinions can differ in that regard and that is what we have just done. We don’t have anything to do with whether anything is as a result of godfatherhood or not.
Even the national leadership of NANS, led by this same National President, on September 2 and 3, was part of the people that went on the streets of Abuja in partnership with the Nigeria Labour Congress, in support of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign against corruption. If that has been done, and somebody is being prosecuted because of a particular issue related to corruption, on what grounds can anybody stand up to defend that person? But if he has said his position is against godfatherhood, I will also say whoever is concerned (in handling the case) should ensure that the issue is treated as a corruption case and nothing more. It should not be politicised. As far as we are concerned, we don’t see any sign of godfatherhood in this issue.
The NANS president expressed his reservation that Saraki’s case is being singled out from numerous corruption cases, most of which he says have been swept under the rug. Do you see any political undertone in this case?
As I said earlier, I as a person, as well as the South-West zone of NANS, do not want to have any input in terms of whether something is politically motivated or not. Our view is this: If someone is treating somebody else’s issue, which pertains to corruption, irrespective of who that person is, the political party to which that person belongs, or where it happened, we want whoever is trying to fight corruption to fight it to the finish. I don’t want to know who is involved; even if it is my own father, we have taken a position and that is the position we are going to maintain.
Sometime ago, even during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, some people were tried. If I’m not mistaken, (the national leader of the All Progressives Congress) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was one of them but at the end of the day, he was exonerated. Thus, I don’t see any reason why someone should be attaching what is going on now to politics. Even during that time when Tinubu was invited, it was not attached to any political party. If it is happening now, I don’t think it should be attached to any political party.
Besides, this time, it is Saraki; we don’t know who will be the next victim. It can even be Buhari. We should just wait and follow in good faith that this present administration will fight corruption. Whatever we are doing now is not because of the regime of the moment; we are doing it because of our future. It is because of the Nigeria we want for ourselves; that is the reason why we are supporting the anti-corruption crusade and nothing more.
The NANS president has asked you to withdraw your statement, saying you have no right to speak for the association as a newly elected official that has yet to be inaugurated. What is your response?
He said I have just been elected. If I have been elected, I automatically become the coordinator of the zone. All the power has been vested in me by the student union presidents of all federal tertiary institutions in the South-West. By so doing, I remain the coordinator of all students in the South-West, which means as the leader of the zone, I have the right to say and express the position of the entire South-West zone. This, in turn, means that on no account am I going to change the position of NANS South-West because the national president never deemed it fit to consult any of the zones before making such a statement. With that, we want to stand our ground. If truly the national president said he is staging a protest in favour of Saraki in this case, we in the South-West distance ourselves from that statement; unless he withdraws his statement that he is not staging a protest in favour of him (Saraki) because of this trial.
Usman also stated that NANS has a mandate to uphold democracy and stand against injustice and politically motivated victimisation. Do you agree with him that Saraki should be defended against the purported political cabal?
I will agree with him; as the national president of NANS, we also join the bandwagon of progressives who will uphold our democracy in this country. On no account are we going to join anybody in any form of victimisation of any personality. But in the light of this case, which is related to corruption, I will say again that any similar case must be treated accordingly and without fear or favour. In this case involving Saraki, we, the students in the South-West, are not part of the people that will agitate for him not to be tried. What we are saying is if he doesn’t have any skeleton in the cupboard, he should face the CCT and clarify himself. It is as simple as that.
Saraki’s efforts to obtain an injunction against his trial have sparked an ongoing debate. What is your opinion on this?
In the first instance, what I discover about his (Saraki’s) moves is that it is a sign of disrespect to the rule of law in this country. As the number one citizen of the National Assembly, I believe he should respect that law; he should be the one to defend the law of this nation. If he has taken it upon himself to boycott or dribble the CCT, it is as if he has skeletons in the cupboard. What we believe is that if he doesn’t have anything to hide, nothing should stop him from appearing before the tribunal to defend himself. After that, the whole world will know that Saraki is free of this crime. I don’t see any reason why he should be boycotting or using a systematic way of avoiding the CCT. He is portraying himself as if he is guilty of that charge, that is my belief.
Some have asked Saraki to step down honourably, the same way public officials in foreign countries resign when linked to negative events. Do you think the call for Saraki’s resignation is justified?
We have a constitution and I want to believe that the only way we can know if he should resign or not is if there is any provision in the constitution for someone in his position who is facing a trial to resign or not. If eventually he is discharged, I see no reason why he shouldn’t continue being the Senate President if he is able to convince the tribunal beyond a reasonable doubt. The only consideration is if the trial process will affect his administration as the Senate President.
Even then, the Deputy Senate President is there to take charge until the Senate President returns from his trial; otherwise, I see no reason why he should resign. But if the need arises and there is any stipulation in the constitution that he should resign, I see no reason why he should not. Otherwise, he should continue his trial and maintain his position as the Senate President.
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