The president’s seven–point agenda is still on paper, and many people think he has nothing to show for his almost three years in power. Do you agree with that?

Most Nigerians are not patient. They don't have norms, they don't  believe in routine. So they now have a man who believes in routine  and they are judging him negatively.

Let me tell you, the president has been doing well. He has an intervention of about N200 billion which is already on ground. And two major banks in Nigeria have been told to improve on small scale loans. Fertiliser has been made accessible, while the food security programme has started. Building of silos has also been moved from a capacity of 3,000 to about 1 billion. Nigerians need to sit down and watch some of these things that are being done.

The 2009 budget has not been fully implemented. Going by this, do you think the 6,000 megawatts is  achievable?

It is directly tied to harnessing the resources in order to have adequate power supply. As a person, the president has very good policies. We are aware of the gas plants which will be channeled towards other part of the country. But even if you are the master planner, and you have  good programmes on ground but one person continues to puncture it, what do you do? It might be difficult. He has laudable programmers and all he needs is our support and understanding.

The success of a particular programme depends on the strength of  everyone involved, including the weakest. It also depends on how cooperative our Niger Delta brothers are. This is because, even if you harness enough gas to get to the turbans, the cooperation of the people not to destroyed the pipe lines counts. I think government needs to invest in a sector that will generate income.

Again, the banking sector is being cleansed of systemic and random errors. And you know that random errors are not correctable, but systemic errors can be corrected.

Are the new civil service policies going to affect a particular section of the country more than others?

Is the civil service set up for the Yorubas, Igbos or Hausas? I do not agree with that. I was a civil servant for 18 years before I voluntary retired, because the circular says if you have been a director for eight years, you should quit. What is wrong with that? We need to inject new blood and ideas into the system, so that others will come in and see how best they can contribute.

Have you noticed that the opposition is losing steam in Nigeria?

I don't agree with that. As at today, over 50 political parties are facing the PDP. Mention another country in Africa where you have 10 parties facing  one party, I congratulate the PDP for having the wherewithal to stand against over 50 other parties. The opposition is strong and are still active.

The present governor of Ondo State is being accused of non–performance since the inception of his administration, what’s your take on that?

I don't believe in crash programmes. There is no room for that because you are dealing with the lives of people. And political parties have agendas, they have manifestos which show what they want to do. The PDP came to power in the state with laudable programmes which became a road map for Ondo State. But now, what we hear is that there is budget deficit. There are no think tanks telling us where we are going, and there is no supplementary budget to be presented to the state House of Assembly to show the next line of action. When such things are on ground, then the people should not expect any dividend of democracy.

Most Nigerans have lost faith in the present House of Representatives. What went wrong?

Nigerians don't understand the workings of the legislature. Every institution has its modus operandi. The National Assembly works through committees, and when there are crises, the necessary committee will be saddled with the responsibility  of unraveling it. So the integrity of the National Assembly is intact.

Other oil–producing countries  have been diversifying, don't you think it is time we started toeing  that line?

The agricultural sector should be encouraged. We should be able to feed ourselves before talking about exporting  We can live on agriculture apart from oil and gas. Alternatives like the gas sector should be boosted and other means should be explored.

People like Iweala, Ezekwesili and Ribadu tried to  change the status quo, but were sacrificed at the end of the day. Don't you think Sanusi might end up like that?

If  somebody is doing something without bias, I don't think there is a problem. Some are being persecuted because theirs was a selective effort. But if Sanusi will be fair and firm in what he is doing, he will not have any problem.