What is your take on the recent call for restructuring from some notable Nigerians?
It’s been on the front burner. I can bet you and I am sure you know that a good number of people who are talking about restructuring are not even able to differentiate between restructuring and secession. A lot of people think that secession is restructuring. Restructuring can be in the way of governance. You can decide to restructure this country based on economic parameters. We can restructure politically, we can restructure in very many ways. But a lot of people see restructuring as secession. We want a united Nigeria being governed on the basis of equity, fairness and justice. And that is what a lot of people are shouting about. A lot of people are shouting restructuring on the basis of their frustrations because a lot of people want things done in a way that is fair to them and if it doesn’t work that way, they say restructure and if you ask them why they want restructuring, they say divide this country. So, it’s a question of lack of education. A lot of people don’t understand what the demands are. I believe and I want to re-emphasize this that we have a nation. The most important thing is everyone should come to the table for us to discuss. If you think that things are not done well, you raise those issues so that it can be addressed. I have said it time and time again that there are several platforms that can be used. The National Assembly is there. We have the Federal Executive Council (FEC), where every state is represented. We have the political parties where every interest is represented and several other platforms that can be used to address the issues that bother us.
You will contest the APC primary election with like of Senator Andy Uba. Do you the wherewithal and the war chest to compete with other aspirants?
The election is not about me and you. It is about the people of Anambra State. When you talk about the wherewithal, what is wherewithal in an election? It is about the individual, it is about his capacity, his credibility and about his character and about his ability to serve. These are things that should concern us. But if you talk about war chest, I don’t know which war we are fighting? But one thing I know of a truth is that if I am not ready for this election, I would not come to run. That is the truth. I don’t start what I cannot complete. I value my name and integrity so much I don’t gamble with it. The truth is that it is the Anambra people who would decide who would lead them at the appropriate time. They would speak at the primaries, they would speak in the main election and every comment they make would be respected.
What is wrong in Anambra State?
I try to use the anology to explain the situation in Anambra State. When you come into a dark room, if you come in with a candle, there is light and there is illumination. If you bring in a bulb, there is an improvement on the candle. If you bring in floodlight, he has greater illumination. So, that is exactly the situation in Anambra State. What some people see is a candle light situation because I believe that the potentials of Anambra State to be the number one state in this country is there. But first of all, we need to create the enabling environment for the private sector to grow and we need to build on our potential and we need to expand the place to change the narratives. For me, there is quite a lot to be done in Anambra State in terms of governance, in terms of infrastructural development, in terms of expanding our agricultural base to address both the unemployment problem and security challenges. So, there is quite a lot to be done and that is why I have taken time in drawing up my manifesto and the message I am going to sell to the people. There are issues with the power sector, industrial base, development of our infrastructure, agriculture, education and even our health sector. There is quite a lot to be done to change the narratives.
Are there any new things you can bring to governance in Anambra State?
As a government, we must look at the youth because that is our tomorrow. We must look at the graduate unemployed youth and then we look at how do we engage them, how do we get them involved. Apart from the fact that the federal government has put some polices in place, we must look at expanding our operational base. Government alone cannot address the issues of unemployment. Therefore, government must target to empower the private sector to make it strong enough and fund it so that they can be able to accommodate the population of graduates. Our agricultural sector, if properly designed and expanded has the capacity to employ a great number of unemployed graduates. I talked about changing our education curriculum. We must look at the scenario where we can make our youths employable. Some of these youths who are forced to remain in school to acquire certificates are youths when properly guided would now be trained to employ themselves when they leave schools. We can also as a government create an avenue for youths who want to start something for themselves by providing them with access to capital. So, these are opening we must create. We must create the enabling environment for the private sector to grow because if we address the issue of power, road infrastructure, when you put those things in place you see that the private sector would expand and as it is expanding, it is people they are going to employ. So, there is a need to re-orientate the people, change the narratives even right from the home….
Do you think you have the capacity to defeat an incumbent governor?
I don’t think we should be talking about incumbency anymore because it has been sufficiently been demystified. In Ekiti, an incumbent governor lost the election. In Ondo, an incumbent governor lost the election. In Nigeria, an incumbent President lost the election. So, I think the issue of incumbency has been demystified. So, why wouldn’t Anambra incumbent loss the election? It is about the candidate and it is about the message. I keep telling any incumbent governor or even incumbent President that your campaign is no more I will. It is about I have. Any incumbent governor or president who tells you I will do that and that when you re-elect me, please ignore the person. He has nothing to offer. Every incumbent should be saying I said that three years ago and I delivered; I did this, I did that, and judge based on what I said. That is the only way you can consider such a person not like my state where the campaign is about my late Ikemba Nnewi, my late Ojukwu. We are going to the field, come to the field and present your report card. If Anambra people think that you have done well, they promote you brand. If you have not done well, they stop you there.
The APC lost a senatorial by-election in Osun State. Judging from the previous performance of the APC in Anambra State, do you expect a different result during the
Source: Dailytrust
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