File photo: Professor Chidi Odinkalu delivers keynote at GOCOP second anniversary conference
A human rights activist, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has challenged Kaduna governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, to show as much passion in curbing the killings and abductions in his state as he has shown in naira swap policy.
The former Chairman of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission alleged that only politicians who have perfected plans to execute vote-buying with the old naira notes are those overtly worrying about the new policy.
He spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict programme on Thursday, adding that Nigerians are ready to endure the sufferings that come with the cash scarcity caused by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria as long as it ensures the upcoming general elections will be credible.
Odinkalu berated governors led by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who filed suit against the Federal Government at the Supreme Court over the CBN policy, accusing them of fighting for cash to buy votes rather than their claim that it is about the public interest.
He wondered: “How many children have been abducted in Kaduna State? When last did you hear Nasir El-Rufai complain about all the killings and abductions happening in Southern Kaduna from Kajuru to Jema? When last did you hear him complain about all of the atrocities that have happened? Now he is jumping all about what? Cash, currency reform, right?
“This matter is about the cash to buy elections and the President said this much; he linked this matter to free and fair elections. Why would the President be linking this matter to free and fair elections if we are not talking about cash-to-buy elections?
“The fact of the matter is these politicians jumping up on this don’t have the public interest in view and Nigerians are suffering. Also, Nigerians, we are willing to endure this if it is the price we are going to pay to ensure that whoever wins fairly on the 25th of this month becomes president.
“Whether it is Tinubu, Atiku, or Peter Obi, let it be fair and credible. Not at the price of whether it is El-Rufai or Masari or which other governor has collected public money and wants to launder in elections, it must not be allowed. Nigerians know that. If this suffering is the price we will pay to make sure this does not happen, that is fine,” Odinkalu said.
The professor of law said even when he doesn’t have a lot of good things to say about President Muhammadu Buhari, the President is fighting for the last thing a government must fight for and that he is well within his right to do so.
He added that it is not right for state governors to go around issuing orders countering the President on the naira redesign policy.
He, however, said that opposing a Supreme court ruling, assuming the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the matter, is a dangerous precedent in law.
