BY DAPO AKINREFON
MR Tony Uranta is a human rights activist and Niger Delta environmentalist. In this interview Uranta, who is also the General Secretary of the National Summit Group, gives reasons why the NSG, is organising a summit to proffer solutions to some of the problems of the country. Excerpts:

You advocated for dialogue during the recent pro-subsidy strike. With the strike over how do you feel with regards to the role you played?

That was the beginning of a win-win situation and many people accused me of being pro-government; of being a government agent. People thought because I am Ijaw, a Niger Deltan, so I had to support the policy of President Jonathan government. Quite the contrary!

*Tony Uranta

I am just to say, a free market economist; and I believe truly believe that government has the right, if not duty, to take their hands off every issue except direct welfare, concerning the people.

But Nigerians are not happy with the president for removing subsidy on fuel on New Year’s day. What is your position on this?

Yes, January 1st came, and it was announced, and this threatened to lead to something else, anarchy, and military coup, which I don’t want because I know how it would affect everyone. I was held underground for six months during the Abacha regime.

I have also been a pragmatist throughout my life. In like manner, though I had joined people to oppose deregulation in January, the moment the fuel subsidy removal came, my primary role changed from preventing a fait accompli to reducing the risks of anarchy.

As a rights activist, what further role did you play to ensure the crisis was resolved?

I played a very humble, but crucial, role. Besides granting print interviews, I was always on television programmes sensitising the Nigerian people  on the need for arriving at an understanding with government, and advised the President accordingly.

In fact, it is not impossible that my advocacy was part of what resulted in the President’s second speech, and in labour calling off the strike, after voices of reason, including those of our national legislators, had empowered them to meet with government; especially, it became obvious that NLC/TUC leaders were in a quandary, for each time Labour came back reported back to certain civil society leaders, these intractable personalities, some of whom were only using the protests for personal political leveraging, said they would not end the strike if the FGN did not revert to the old PMS price of N65.

The government said N120 but they said N65, the government said N100 they said no, only N65. I rationalised that if things continued that way, the labour leaders themselves would lose credibility and the confidence of the masses; but, thank God, at the end a compromise was reached.

Why did you not join in the protest as a civil society leader?

I had opposed street protests, advocating instead a stay-indoors strike, because I knew there was no way that there would not be some level of confrontations. I am so happy that our ill-trained, trigger-happy cops did not fire live bullets at Professors Pat Utomi and Nwabueze, as they sought to join the street protest against soldiers on Lagos streets, but only fired teargas.

The Boko Haram sect has unleashed unprecedented terror on Nigerians. What do you think should be done to tackle this insurgency?

A lot is being done now, I can assure you. However, results may be slow in coming, since past administrations, before Jonathan’s, had not deemed it necessary to draw up a National Security Strategy that would include post-9/11 anti-terrorism plans, technologies and human intelligence. But we are all affected, so let us stop pointing fingers at anyone else.

What is the NSG hoping to achieve with the forthcoming summit?

The Summit/Dialogue, which hold now on February 6th and 7th in Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, is convened to address national issues and to draw a blueprint of the nation’s future. We are all stakeholders and we have reached out to eminent Nigerians and representatives of every sector of the economy.

It will have no no-go areas, will be all inclusive, and everybody’s opinion shall be entertained. Various leaders have confirmed their attendance of this epochal meeting

All leaders present will have equal opportunities to air their views globally, since this dialogue will be covered from beginning to end live on national and global TV stations, in a unique relay format that will be pioneered by the National Summit Group.