Adewale Maja-Pearce is an Anglo-Nigerian writer, researcher, and literary critic.
The Editor-In-Chief, Tony Ademiluyi, had a no holds barred interview with him on his forthcoming latest book and the state of the Nigerian Nation.
Below are the excerpts:
LN: Please tell us about your latest book due for public release in October ‘This Fiction called Nigeria: The struggle for democracy?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: My latest book, This Fiction Called Nigeria, is basically a political history of the country from before-before, i.e. the prelude to colonisation in the 19th century to yesterday. It is divided into 5 chapters, plus a preface. The first chapter tries to set the scene by examining the 2020 #EndSARS movement to give an idea of where we are now. The second chapter covers the period up until the outbreak of the civil war. The third chapter covers the years of military rule and the fourth chapter the return of ‘demonstration of craze’ in 1999. The final chapter looks at the last election which brought us the current dispensation that looks to bring about the end this fictional creation of the British for the sole purpose of plunder.
LN: Vice-President Kashim Shettima portrayed President Bola Tinubu as an austere man; however critics dismissed his boss for his alleged profligacy. Tell us your view.
Adewale Maja-Pearce: Tinubu is anything but austere; he also happens to be an alleged criminal. Let the facts – or their absence – speak for themselves. Nobody knows his age, name, state of origin or schooling, up to and including university. He claimed to have attended the University of Chicago, which the university denied. He then claimed it was an error and that he had meant Chicago State University except that the Tinubu who was enrolled at the time was a female. The only thing we do know about him as a fact that he was indicted in the US in 1993 on charges of money laundering and drug smuggling, for which he forfeited US$460k. But this is as it should be, the country itself being a criminal conspiracy now facing its end time.
LN: Do you share the view that the Nigerian Senate should be scrapped to cut costs?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: I think the country should be restructured into 6 geopolitical zones, each governing itself and a single federal body with elected representatives on a salary equivalent to that of a university professor which will only concern itself with foreign policy and other such matters. I do not wish to see the break-up of the country for the simple reason that we don’t need yet more fiefdoms ruled over by old men looking to rape 14-year-old girls when the imperative is for the continent – or at least sub-Saharan Africa – to come together as one and take its rightful place as a world power to be reckoned with.
LN: What is the best way to fight the hydra-headed monster called corruption in the public sector?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: Unfortunately, I don’t believe in the death penalty even for the degenerates in our body-politic, but they should certainly serve appropriate time in prison and be stripped of their assets. The question is: who will do it? I have no wish to see the military return in any guise, however tempting another Traoré might seem. It is we, the people, who must do it. We have the numbers, after all. What is certain is that the current apartheid between rich and poor, and the contempt which drives it, must end as soon as possible – preferably tomorrow.
LN: The EFCC Boss, Ola Olukoyede recently said that jailing corrupt leaders wouldn’t solve the problem of corruption; do you share his view?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: Not sure why he said it. Prison is not a pleasant place to be.
LN: How can we instill the spirit of service in our political class?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: Hold them to account, pay them a living wage and prosecute any found to be corruptly enriching themselves. It’s not complicated.
LN: What is the best way to make our refineries work?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: Allow anyone who wants to establish a modular refinery and sell them crude in naira at a reduced rate. It is our resource, after all, and should be used as such. Meanwhile, privatise the state refineries or let them close down if nobody wants them. Finally, set a timeline to cease importing the dirty fuel from the Nigerian-owned refineries in places like Belgium, The Netherlands and Malta.
LN: Nigeria’s debt profile is currently $91.46 billion; how can we avoid piling up more humongous debt?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: Firstly, we need to examine the debt itself. Is it a true figure and what did we do with the money? Then we have to check the amounts being held by individual Nigerians and start making them repatriate back home.
LN: Coming down to your profession – The reading culture in Nigeria is very low; how can it improve?
Adewale Maja-Pearce: The reading culture is low because Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world and books are expensive, relatively speaking.
LN: Thank you for your time.
Adewale Maja-Pearce: You are welcome.
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