*Says Gbenga Daniel, Kasamu’s rapprochement good for PDP

High Chief (Dr) Okhue Iboi

High Chief (Dr) Okhue Iboi is a seer and a trado-medical practitioner. An executive member of the Association of Seers & Trado-Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (ASTMP) and a former member of Edo State Board of Traditional Medicine, Iboi is credited with many predictions on national and international affairs that came to pass. The widely travelled High Chief of Whepa –Wheno Kingdom in Edo State has, in the course of his practice of traditional medicine, been to many countries in Africa and beyond, including Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Togo, Republic of Benin, Ethiopia and South Africa as well as India on cross-cultural exchange programme. In this interview, Iboi, who just returned from a meeting of the Worldwide Association of Seers (WAS) held in Benin Republic, speaks on the state of the nation.

What is your reaction and that of your association to the current state of insecurity in the country?

We are sad that, in a country where we have elected leaders in power, these things are happening. The killings have become very worrisome, and something drastic must be done to stop them. It is unfortunate that innocent citizens are being daily murdered in cold blood.

Even Nigerians outside are not happy about what is going on in the country, especially the killings. We urge President Buhari to take drastic action against the perpetrators. The killers are not ghosts, they should be fished out and brought to book. In fact, the situation has reached a boiling point, and it is time President Muhammadu Buhari realises that the mindless killings can set Nigeria on fire, if they continue. The killings are putting Nigeria on the bad radar of the international community, and it’s not good for our image as a nation.

What is your assessment of the situation of things in the country generally?

Honestly speaking, our leaders need to buckle up. Things are not working the way they ought to. I have visited several countries and my take-away from those trips is that our leaders need to sit up and ensure that they make things work here like in other climes. It is unfortunate that the masses are being made to bear the brunt of the bad leadership of our political leaders. Why are majority of Nigerians still wallowing in poverty when we are a major oil- producing country? Nothing is working here, our infrastructure is dilapidated, power supply remains epileptic, why can’t we enjoy uninterrupted power supply?

Leadership is all about commitment to service, it is only when leaders are committed that they serve diligently and that is the difference between our leaders and those of the major countries of the world, our leaders here are self-serving, they are not people-oriented in their approach to governance, though we can’t completely say there are no exemptions here and there.

Nigerians have suffered enough, even our political founding fathers are not happy about the state of affairs in the country, the bloodletting, particularly in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Plateau among others.

The nation’s leading founding fathers, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, appeared at our meeting in Benin Republic very sad at the appalling state of affairs in our country.

They told us that they were not happy about the blood of the innocent that is being spilled almost on daily basis across the country and asked us to express their feelings to President Muhammadu Buhari and enjoin him to do something urgently to stop the ugly trend.

The 2019 general elections are getting closer and you know the tensions that always come with elections in the country. What do we expect, you think they will just pass and go as we used to have them?

Nigeria is a nation loved by God. 2019 will come and pass away like any other year. However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the two main parties in the country, should endeavour to put their houses in order.

We saw many APC members defecting to PDP. APC needs to settle its internal wrangling amicably, otherwise, the party would suffer implosion which may see many of its members defecting to the the PDP. Likewise, PDP should reconcile its warring factions, otherwise some of its bigwigs they cannot afford to lose will leave the party. The party needs to carefully handle its disagreement with members like Senator Buruji Kashamu. We saw Kashamu in our crystal ball as a big asset to the PDP and Nigeria. The man will play a prominent role if the PDP is to bounce back, he is a man destined to be a leader of men, and we saw a big crowd surging around and following him but his mother needs to pray for him relentlessly.

Is that all you have on the 2019 elections?

Certainly not; unless the APC moves quickly to tidy up its affairs, it stands to lose Ogun State to another party in 2019. Atiku Abubakar stands a good chance in the coming elections, he must not be underrated as former President Olusegun Obasanjo will finally reconcile with him. They will finally settle their rift this year, and their coming back together into the PDP will not only strengthen the party, we saw Obasanjo also campaigning for him.

On the claims by some prophets that Nigeria will break up before or in 2019, this cannot be, Nigeria will not break up; however, unless extreme care is taken, the 2019 elections might not hold as killings by herdsmen might worsen.

Other than that, Nigerians do not need to panic, the country will not break up. Though we saw crisis and confusion in our crystal ball, we never saw Nigeria breaking up, the country will always remain as one entity, it will not break up.

In your revelations about the PDP, you mentioned Kashamu specifically. What’s it about him because in many quarters, he is largely a controversial person. This a wrong impression of him?

Kashamu is a child of destiny, he is bound to play a big role in the affairs of Nigeria in the nearest future. Kashamu seems to be having issues with some people in the PDP at the moment; obviously, the man is being politically persecuted, knowing the way politics is played in this country but, in politics, there are no permanent friends and enemies as you can see that Kashamu and some of his estranged political associates are now reconciling, taking the now unfolding rapport between him and former Governor Gbenga Daniel as an instance.