I was once stranded in Abuja, says ex-Reps Speaker

Weekly Trust: As a one-time Speaker of the House of Representatives little is being heard from you. How would you assess politics in your days compared to what obtains today?Rt. Hon. Benjamin Chaha: I may not be able to give you a precise answer but what I know is that in our time, we were […]

Weekly Trust: As a one-time Speaker of the House of Representatives little is being heard from you. How would you assess politics in your days compared to what obtains today?
Rt. Hon. Benjamin Chaha: I may not be able to give you a precise answer but what I know is that in our time, we were frank with anybody who wanted to confront us or give us tough time. We did not allow anything to happen to any of us holding political office – then the president was Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Joseph Wayas was the Senate President, and I was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. I can tell you that the politics we practised in those years was quite different from what is on today. We were not wealth-minded.  For example, Shagari was receiving N50, 000 as salary; he had started with N25, 000. As a speaker, I was collecting N12,000 as salary before it was adjusted to N15,000. I was satisfied with that money without asking for additions from either Mr. President or anybody. We were alright. We didn’t ask people for favours but we got gifts from our friends who were rich. We were more or less living on charity because people thought they needed to help us financially.
Can you recall memorable moments of your times in the House?
I stayed for three months only. There was no much time for achievements but those coming to me were satisfied with my representation. In fact, our people did not enjoy my short stay as Speaker. They were just looking forward to seeing that something was done in their favour or for other people through my stay in that office before the military interrupted. Alhaji Shagari was just trying to set up his administration feet for the second tenure when the military took over. He had embarked upon an enabling bill to get us moving but then, it was too late to make impact on that. The bill was to enable him move forward his administration.
What happened the day the military took over?
It started with Dr. Alex Ekwueme, then vice president and myself. Ekwueme had told me about his suspicion but that he didn’t have an idea of what was going to happen.  When he knew I didn’t know anything about it and that I didn’t have anything in the way of logistics, he told me that he had something for me but how to get that something he had for me was a problem because he could not go back to the house to search for anything further. However, Shagari was in the total knowledge of what was actually going on, so he decided to go to Abuja instead of remaining in Lagos to avoid being arrested. But, I was not aware and Ekwueme who had a slight knowledge of the matter decided to remain in Lagos for the coup to happen. On the day, that the military finally took over, I was in my house when they brought Ekwueme from his house, one Major Jackoro was the person who arrested us. When I opened my door, I saw Ekwueme in his company and from there we were taken to Bonny camp. I remained there for one week after which they asked me to go back home and handover the National Assembly to the army. They told me that my friend Ekwueme would not go home yet because they had planned not to release him. At this time, Ekwueme went to have his shower when they confided in me that he would not go home. But when he came back, I couldn’t say anything to him. It was too much for me to open up that page, so I left it at that since they were not going to kill him. And of course, he was not released when I came back to handover the National Assembly. Gidado [Idris] was clerk of the National Assembly that time and together we handed over to the Army. Late General Sani Abacha had asked me to do so with the help of Gidado. That was exactly what happened.
What happened after the handover, did you return home immediately?
Those who were appointed as ministers and given other portfolios were not happy to cooperate with each other. They came asking that I should release my official residence to them and that was the first thing that I discovered was not very good. I thought they could give me time to strengthen things but they didn’t do that. They took it from me without giving me adequate time to move out. So, I decided to leave and come back home.
After that experience, did you continue as a politician?
I remained a politician. Up till, now, I am in politics but I’m trying to leave. I don’t want to be a politician again. I will like to be a traditional ruler now, I’m tired of politics.
So, what traditional stool are you aiming for?
I want to be chief of Sankera. That is one of the six first class traditional stools created newly in the Tiv nation.
Talking about today’s politics in Nigeria, how is it different from how it was perceived in the Shagari’s era?
(Laughs) The difference starts right from behavior. In our days, we were considering people’s right. We would always try to behave in a gentleman’s manner and that is not happening now. I tell you the truth, I find it difficult to compare because we were not living the lives of today’s politician. We were quite different because we had no love for money. Now, they want money at all cost. These days, politicians consider people based on relationship and tribal sentiments, they want people from their families which were hard to find during our days. Today, if you are from a ‘big man’ family then, you enjoy your freedom and everything that goes with it, but if you are not from that family, there would be nothing for you. So, I can say that this country is totally broken; there is nothing you can use to compare it with our own time.
For example, I’m a Tiv man but when I was in Lagos, nobody knew I was from a Tiv speaking area because I knew I was to care for everybody regardless of their tribe, culture or norms. Even in Tiv land, when I returned initially, nobody knew I was Tiv because back in Lagos I was dealing with Yoruba, Igbo and other tribes.  These people love me too. As a matter of fact, Shagari was a very humble leader. He would often reason with us to understand what he was doing and we knew him as such but I don’t know what is happening today. That is the reason why I want to go away from politics. Nigerians love money and wealth right into their enzymes; there is no way you can pull this out from them. Corruption has become a law in Nigeria; you need to have money to have the attention of people. No matter how you try, you cannot get them to stop corruption.
What is your present relationship with Shagari and Ekwueme?
Alex Ekwueme and I have not come together for a long time now but they often let me know whatever he is doing. If I want to see him now, it means that I would travel to his house which is difficult for me to do. As for Shagari, I traveled all the way to his house in Sokoto a certain time only to discover that he was not in. That was a journey that took many hours and I came back without seeing him.
People of your caliber would want to remain relevant in national politics. Why are you maintaining a low profile?
I lie low because I’m tired. Politics does not help me at all. Personally, I don’t belong to that class. I know that I’m not cut out for that class. If I were to come from that class, I know that they would consider me.
What class do you mean?
I know within myself that I don’t belong to that class. And that is why I said that I want to come over to the traditional line instead of playing politics. I mean I do not belong to any political class. I’m alone. If I want to play my card the way I please nobody would like to hear from me. So, knowing full well that nobody would like my kind of politics, why should I waste my time? It is better for me to go to the traditional line. I want to be a chief in my locality. I don’t want to do politics again.
Is there anything you regret doing during your service to the country which you will want to correct if you were given another chance?
(Laughs) I don’t regret. At that time, people knew why we lived in this country as a nation. If I say that I’m regretting now, it would be because things are happening anyhow. If I have time right now, I would behave the same way, people would wonder but it is too late.  I can’t go back to come forward again.
How do you feel about the plans to celebrate Nigeria’s centenary in 2014?
I wouldn’t blame anybody for doing what he or she is doing. The talk of celebration in Nigeria makes me ask why they want to do that. I sit back to ask myself, why should they want to do it? Are they convinced that people of this country understand why they want to do so? If you ask anybody, they would tell you that they don’t know why the country wants to celebrate. Are we really happy as a people to celebrate the centenary?  I don’t think so. Why should they celebrate? It is a mockery. 
But you would likely get the invitation to attend the celebration. Would you be there?
Let’s wait until I’m invited. The last time I was invited to Abuja I didn’t have a reserved accommodation so I decided to return home. When I got to Keffi at night on my way coming home, my wife had to stop me. It was after midnight and she felt worried for me to be on the road at that hour, I was coming home because I had no place to sleep that night due to improper arrangement.
Does that mean you were not properly recognized?
Proper arrangements are not often made.  There has not been effective recognition.
Do you think the present leadership in the country is fair to past political office holders?
Honestly, I don’t know what our relationship is with present leaders. We are always fighting in Nigeria. There is no relationship at all. The government is trying to do that right now, but I’m yet to see something happening. I know their intention is good but we can’t draw anything out from intentions.
What is your take on President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposed National dialogue?
First of all, I would ask myself, what does Jonathan have in my mind? This is because if you talk of a national conference, it means nothing unless you are drawing the attention of the nation to a particular goal. What does Jonathan want to achieve out of it? What is the conference for? I think we are not happy yet, we would like to achieve something and many Nigerians are really opposing the conference vehemently. I think Jonathan wants the conference to achieve one thing or the other before he hands over but I’m still pondering whether he can achieve anything out of this. If Jonathan goes on to have the conference, it might be a bag out of the pit, I think so. If I’m to really say something, I would hesitate a bit. The conference is not timely, it is immature and may end in chaos or many people may not turn up.
What solution would you then proffer to the country’s problems?
Nigeria is lacking sense of direction. This is the major thing. Some people want nothing but military leadership in Nigeria. Civilian leadership means nothing to them.
Are you saying the military should come back?
Can you think of me saying that the military should come back? The military did not allow the civilians a little chance to practice what they know. In fact, Shagari tried but they did not allow him.
Is Nigeria currently under a democratic reign?
No democracy. Jonathan is being fought from left and right. I would like Jonathan to return for a second time but they won’t let him. The military won’t let him.
Do you mean the military is still ruling Nigeria indirectly?
That is right. The Army has no administration, what they know is order.