In this interview with FRED ITUA, he accused the opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC) of creating the monster, Boko Haram in Borno State.
You were very active in politics for many years, but for some time now, you have operating from the background?
Yes, it is true that in 2009, I contested for the governorship of Anambara State on the platform of the greatest party in Africa, the PDP. Unfortunately, I did not get the ticket. Thereafter, I went back to my business, because for me politics is not a profession; it is an avenue to serve, an avenue to be able to give back to the society. That is why after the election and I was not successful, I went back to my business, because that’s the way it should be. As the 2015 approaches I have the intention of running for the Senate, precisely Anambara Central Senatorial Zone, if I get the nomination of the PDP.
We gathered that in 2009, you stepped down for Professor Charles Soludo. Why did you do that?
For me, politics is not about self, it is about service. I am from Anambra Central; Senator Chris Ngige was governor between 2003 and 2006. He is from Anambra Central. After him, Mr. Peter Obi came in from Anambra Central and there are three Senatorial zones. So for me, equity demands that other zones be allowed to take a shot at the governorship. Based on my own sense of principle, that was why I decided not to run, rather I supported people from the other zones.
Back to your senatorial ambition, you rightly mentioned that you are vying for Anambara Central and you have formidable forces like Chris Ngige of APC and Umeh of APGA. If you emerge as PDP candidate, do you think you stand a chance, any of them?
Politics is about service. It is important that each time someone says he wants to run for one office or the other, we should always find out what his motives are. I did not have the luxury to afford transport to the university. That is the kind of background I came from and I am not ashamed to admit it.
For me, you can measure success by the number of lives you are able to touch. And that is what I have been doing, using my personal resources. I set up a foundation in memory of my late mother, through which I give scholarship to poor and indigent students. The criteria are that you must be from a very poor home because I do not believe that any citizen of Nigeria should be denied the right to education, on account of poverty. There are a thousand and one people who need scholarship to go to school that is why I am running for the Senate. I need a government platform to be able to reach the greatest number of people. The society has appreciated what I am doing with my personal resources. As for Dr. Chris Ngige, yes he is popular, but I know that our people will choose me over and above him.
I am one who believes in the supremacy of God in the affairs of men. God elevates whomever He wants to. The Bible tells us that “It is not of him that willeth or of him that runneth but of God that showeth mercy”, and looking at the sincerity of my heart, He will not let me down.
If you see yourself at the eighth Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, what are you going to bring to the table both to the country and your constituency in Anambra?
I am going to the Senate to work for the unity and progress and oneness of Nigeria. To help to make such laws that will promote equal opportunity for every citizen of this country. To help make such laws that every citizen of this country will attain to his/her God given potentials where how far you can go will not be determined by where you come from, but solely by your talent and ability. For my constituents, I am going there for them, to engage in those activities that will attract the much amenities to my Senatorial zone, that will help to create jobs, to empower the teaming youths who are unemployed, to also help to give more scholarships to those who want to go to school, who I cannot accommodate through my foundation. Simply put, I am going there to create greater opportunities for the people of my constituencies, in all socio-economic areas.
Do you think that Nigeria’s legislature has come of age?
We need to situate them properly in the right historical perspective. Nigeria has been in existence for 54 years, and then out of this the legislature as an arm of government has been in existence for 24 years. Meanwhile, the other institutions, the executive, and the judiciary have always been there. Each time the military intervenes, the first thing they do is to suspend the legislature, while the judiciary is never suspended. So, they have developed over time, the executive has done the same leaving only the legislature behind. I have always argued that if the military did not intervene since 1960, we would have had a more mature democracy. We would have made our mistakes and learnt from them, and move on. America didn’t get to where they are today overnight
Are you not worried about 2015 with the level of violence?
Naturally, every patriotic Nigerian should be concerned with what is going on in the country at the moment. Everybody is concerned about that, and there is no doubt about that. The President is concerned, and the good thing there is that the president and his team are working tirelessly to address the security challenge. It’s a phase and it will pass. There is no doubt that what is happening now is unacceptable. It is not acceptable to the president and not acceptable to anybody who calls himself a genuine Nigerian. What we should do is cooperate with government at all levels to ensure that this present security challenge is nipped in the bud. It is also important to make this clarification, that what is happening now predates this present administration. It’s not the creation of the present government. It has been there and I believe that if we all work together as one country, we will overcome it.
Do you think if the crises continue at this rate, they will not truncate 2015 general elections?
I do not think so. I am an incurable optimist. No matter how bad the situation may seem to be, I always believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that things can only get better. Our security men are working round the clock. As they say, it gets worse before it gets better. I believe we will overcome and I do not see the situation now truncating the 2015 general elections. Evil can never triumph over good no matter how strong it appears. Terrorism is a global phenomenon. It is not only in Nigeria. Up till now, the American government is still battling with terrorism with all the sophisticated equipment at its disposal. They are still battling terrorism. UK, France, you name it. Just recently, there was a bomb blast in Kenya. That is to show you that it is not a Nigerian thing. I am glad that the whole world is coming together with a view to finding a common solution to terrorism; we will overcome by the grace of God.
You are a member of the PDP. Do you think as the government in power, you have handled the situation well?
Yes. Part of the challenges we have in this country is playing politics with everything. The Americans handled their situation well because both the Republicans and the Democrats placed the security of the nation above every other consideration, but in Nigeria, the reverse is the case. We play politics with everything. What we have in this country, I am sorry to say is destructive opposition. That is not what we need. What we need is a constructive opposition. An opposition that would know when certain issues are to be taken out of politics and security happens to be one of them. I can tell you that PDP from the inception of this present democratic dispensation from 1999 has done well. The question is that, what the opposition would have done if they were in power. The fact that Nigeria still exists today, as one nation is a laudable achievement and it is a PDP government. Mind you that the so called security situation we are dealing with, has its origin in Borno State and the Borno has been under the control of opposition from inception to date. In other words you can safely say that it is the monster that the opposition created that PDP has been battling to overcome. My advice to the opposition is that they should join hands with the ruling party so that together we can overcome. They can only rule at federal level if there is a country called Nigeria. But if they begin to play politics with security and at the end of the day there is no Nigeria, where will they govern? So it is in our collective interest that we work together to preserve the unity of this country so that they can have a Nigeria to govern whenever they win election.
With all these happenings and 2015 general elections around the corner, what are the chances of PDP retaining its majority and control of the central government?
Let me ask you. What is the alternative? Do you think APC as presently constituted is an alternative? The signs are there. What you have in APC is a marriage of convenience, a lot of incompatibles converging together for one sole purpose. That is their hatred for the current president of Nigeria. So such marriage cannot work because there is no foundation. Already it is crumbling. People who decamped before are decamping back to PDP. It is happening in Edo, Adamawa, and other states. People are moving back. Just recently they had a national convention they could not even subject themselves to free and fair national contest. People were forced against their wish to step down. Nigerians are very smart people. I know they will always choose democracy over autocracy, because to vote for APC is to vote for autocracy.
Ekiti election has come and gone. Do you think what happened in Ekiti is a fluke? Are we expecting a repeat in Osun State and in the South-West where you do not have a strong standing?
What happened in Ekiti is not a fluke. It is a result of painstaking effort on the part of PDP. It is also the realisation by the electorate that the APC is not what they claimed to be. It is a signpost of things to happen. You saw how our candidate won and defeated the incumbent including in his ward. The same thing by God’s grace will happen come 2015 in this country. You will be shocked that the so-called gladiators of APC will lose in their states in a free and fair election. You know Mr. President promised it in 2011 and he delivered it. He promised it in Ekiti he delivered it. He will also do the same. PDP is working hard to win in a free and fair election, because that is the only way you can show that you are really working for the people.
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