Senator Adegbenga Kaka (Ogun East), a former deputy governor of Ogun State, in this interview with NIYI ODEBODE, bares his mind on revenue allocation formula, cost of governance and other sundry issues. Excerpts:<\/span><\/p>\n What is your assessment of the last general elections?<\/span><\/p>\n The election was the beginning of new things to happen in this country. International and local observers acknowledge the fact that it measures up to expected standards of free and fair elections. We thank God for making use of people in the Independent National Electoral Commission, who adopted the transparent methods of the election, most especially Prof. Attahiru Jega and all other commissioners in various states. We acknowledge the fact that it is not possible for an election to be 100 per cent free and fair. We hope untoward behavioiur during the polls will be looked into so that subsequent elections will be an improvement.<\/span><\/p>\n What are the contributions you intend to make in the National Assembly?<\/span><\/p>\n As an agriculturist and the fact that we have a sort of disconnect between the farmers and the policy implementers, there is a lot to be done in order to bridge the gap. I am aware that the agricultural policy for the country is obsolete. We do not have in place, a proper linkage of production through the necessary chains that lead to marketing. A lot of things that are supposed to be incentives to farmers are not in place. We have an exodus of young people from rural areas to urban areas leaving the elderly on the farm. Also, the traditional implements being used are no longer in vogue. Within the legislative arm, we can get a lot of things done. We have the farmers left to the vagaries of weather; to the dictates of the imperfect market that we are operating. If we really want to help the famers, we should be able to make necessary legislations that will empower all the tiers of government, to ensure that a lot of profit-pull initiatives are put in place whereby a would- be- farmer or an existing farmer, will be guided to know the costs of inputs, before embarking on the production of a particular item, be it crop or animal. By so doing, the government will guarantee a minimum price for that product. The farmer will be able to determine what the profit elements will be on a particular crop or animal at the pre-season before they embark on its production. Once they know that this thing is attractive and there is a minimum price guaranteed by government. Anything short of it, the government will have to subsidise. That is the protection farmers need. In addition, the meteorological stations are nothing to write home about. It is not only the aviation industry that needs their services, farmers too need them. We have to develop the stations and use them for the development of agriculture so that we will be able to guide the farmers as regards what the weather condition will be \u2014 when to plant, when to harvest and when to put the necessary processes in place.<\/span><\/p>\n Governors have called for a review of the revenue allocation formula. What is your view on this?<\/span><\/p>\n We are running a federal system of government, not a unitary system. Granted that we have a constitution that is skewed in favour of the unitary system and in favour of the Federal Government, the senior partner of the federating unit, the fact remains that there are certain duties, which the central government is performing and that it ought not to perform. The Federal Government needs to devolve some of those responsibilities to the states so that we have effectiveness of operations. When you are giving states more responsibilities, there must be authorities backing them. That authority should be in form of more revenue for them to be able to discharge these responsibilities. We are talking of Boko Haram now. The issue of security is a serious problem. All those people behind it are known by the local people. The best people that can police them are the people of their communities. People that are wining and dining with them. That is why we are saying that not only must we have state police, but also community police. We have to prune down the exclusive legislative list. Drastically, all the wastages we have at the national level must be reduced. A situation where about 72 per cent of our budget is for recurrent expenditure does not augur well for our government. In the remaining 28 per cent for capital expenditure, some people will say they are doing projects for Federal Government at the state level. How can someone effectively supervise what is going on in Akwa Ibom or Sokoto? In fact, where we copied our federalism from, you will have a federal road, being managed by different adjoining states.<\/span><\/p>\n What do you think of the move by President Goodluck Jonathan to create more ministries?<\/span><\/p>\n Before the advent of the seventh session of the Senate, the decision that the overhead costs of the executive and the legislative arms should be pruned down by 40 per cent had been taken. It is a laudable decision. I am reliably informed that the National Assembly has already done that. The executive also should do this. It is scandalous for the Federal Government to create more ministries. The bureaucracy is already too heavy and skewed against the interests of the common people we are supposed to be serving. We have bloated the Federal Government with ineffective supervision at the grassroots level and unnecessary duplication of responsibilities. You mentioned the issue of Information technology . What is IT? It is embedded in our school system. It is embedded in science and technology. Have we exploited those two ministries and found them to be incapable of doing what the IT ministry should do? Should we even think of streamlining some of the ministries?<\/span><\/p>\n Nigerians have criticised the jumbo pay being received by lawmakers. As a senator, do you support a reduction in the pay?<\/span><\/p>\n As far as I am concerned, the jumbo pay is not peculiar to legislators alone. I have been in the executive before. I know that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission determines what everybody earns. It must have weighed all the options. I keep wondering about the noise on legislators\u2019 pay, while we keep silent about that of the Executive. I have been reliably informed that what we call jumbo happens to be some of the overhead costs \u2014 the running costs \u2014 which ordinarily must be retired. If not retired, there is no reimbursement. I am from the private sector, we have what we call the imprest account. We do retire it. Thank God, we are yet to receive even one kobo. But we have been told that 40 per cent of the overhead is being slashed. That means the National Assembly is ready to lead by example. After doing that, it is still overbloated, there is nothing bad in pruning it down further in the interest of the masses.<\/span><\/p>\n How should the Federal Government address the problem of insecutiy, particularly the Boko Haram issue?<\/span><\/p>\n All what we are seeing are the symptoms. The real cause should be attacked. Our elders say an idle hand is the devil\u2019s workshop. A situation where many of our people are unemployed is dangerous. These people become tools in the hands of extremists. If the extremists cannot find idle hands to recruit, their aim will die within them. We need to provide employment. Also, there is a need to dialogue with them. There is a need to know why they must kill and maim a certain set of people. Once that is done, we know the solution to proffer. In doing that, we must redress areas of injustices. On top of it all, we must bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. When the rich get richer and the poor continue to get poorer and hopeless, there are bound to be reactions. Granted that all these have been done, if those people persist, we should have a law that will serve as a deterrent to will-be offenders. A situation where people will be arrested and released is bad. Who are the people bailing them out? Who are the people financing them? Why is that law enforcement agents look elsewhere when a crime is being committed?<\/span><\/p>\n