• For Presidential election, Bayelsa is safe For Jonathan •
members. And I expect that he should see me to let us know what the issues are, so that we can address them. But I don’t believe the reports credited to him. Those reports are not true, they are not correct. That is all I can say about that.
For the first time in the present democratic dispensation, we are going into an election where the incumbent is not too sure of victory despite that he had massive goodwill when he came on board. What do you think is responsible for this?
Well, I don’t agree with you that the president is not sure of victory. The president is very confident that he will win. We in the PDP are very confident that we will win. And the reason is simple. We have been in the trenches for sometime. For a politician contesting an election, there are three elements that are critical: the party, which is the platform, you talk of the candidate and the policies and programmes out there. Of all of these, the candidate is important and the party is also important. The candidate’s party is the warhorse. If the horse is strong, anybody can ride it to victory. But if the platform is weak, no matter how good a candidate is, it would collapse. Just like a good warrior can ride on a sick horse and lose the battle, that is the way it is. Our platform is strong; our platform is tested. Are we as strong as we were in the last general election? Probably slightly weakened. But there is no argument that our platform is strongest, our platform is more national, our platform is tested. The other platform hasn’t got our resilience, hasn’t got our real battle experience. I am talking of APC. It is an amalgamation of several tendencies. That’s commendable anyway, I give them credit for coming together. Without positive legislation, we now have two strong parties. We should give them credit. They have done a lot of good work, which is good for our democracy.
But then, we must also accept that it is largely an untested warhorse on the national stage. We can point at 1999 where even a candidate didn’t even have support from his ward, his local government, his state and even his entire zone. His entire zone voted against him in 1999 but PDP still got the president elected. I believe that the PDP was weakest at that moment, not now. So, we are very confident that our platform still remains the platform of choice and the platform to beat. So we cannot be despondent, we cannot be afraid as some people may expect. Look at the second factor -the candidate. If you put our incumbent president, with the resilience he has shown, the democratic temperance that he has exhibited because that is critical, we are running a democracy. A president under a democracy, there is a whole lot of difference between him and some guy who runs a military junta and whose word is law. Here, you have got to navigate your way, negotiate with stakeholders, interact with National Assembly and other institutions. Your views, opinions and actions would be challenged and tested. That is the democratic furnace through which every politician must pass. So, in the face of unprecedented terror in our country and the distractions arising from that, our president has kept focused. Are things ideal? We will also admit they are not. But none of us imagined in 2011 that we were going to deal with an unprecedented terror situation in our country. But it is a reality we must live with and deal with also. So, our president, the candidate, is also several times better far more reassuring, far more suitable in a democracy. And you cannot compare. It is like analogue and a digital product.
Talking of youthfulness, talking of educational background, talking of democratic temper and capacity to meander and then interact with the democratic stakeholders to achieve results. And then talk of the policies and programmes. We believe that the message of transformation, in all sectors, has delivered. Again, we also admit that in the last five years, he has not been able to solve all the problems. We also accept that. We realise we must deal with corruption. We realise that we must intensify the war against terror. We also admit that we are all Nigerians. We must improve the economy. Yes, but is the answer with the opposing party and its candidate? Do they have a magic wand to stop terrorism, to turn around the economy?
No. So, that’s why we are not afraid. The president is not afraid. We in the PDP are rather very confident that we will deliver because we exist in every polling unit. We exist in every ward. We have candidates fielded in all these elections. And if we could elect a president who lost his ward, his local government, his state and his zone, you should know that that kind of party, even with the loss of some governors, that kind of party will always have the capacity to win a free and fair general election. After all, we are a party of free elections.
What is the roadmap? The scenarios you are painting in 2011 are radically different from those of 2015. You referred to Buhari’s military past. Obasanjo was also a military ruler.The same issues could be raised about him. In 2011, states where PDP had massive support are in the opposition camp.
(....Cuts in) Where are those states? Rivers, Kano, even Lagos Can I analyse further for you?
You will do it, sir. That’s the first question. Secondly, what happened at that meeting in Government House where you were present with Asari Dokubo, Government Ekpomupolo and a couple of others. Out of that meeting, the message that resonated was that if Jonathan doesn’t win, we are going to war. What actually happened at that meeting because people wondered why that kind of message would be coming from the Government House, where you also sat in at that meeting. What actually happened?
First, you need to know certain things about Bayelsa State and the Ijaw people, the Ijaw nation, whose elected leader I am. Bayelsa is the Jerusalem of Ijaw nation, that is what we say. Governor of Bayelsa has a duty to our country, a duty to Nigeria, a duty to Ijaw nation and a duty to Bayelsa people. Remember two things informed that interaction. First, it is my duty to interact with all my citizens, whether you call them former militant leaders or not. In fact, for those kinds of people we call freedom fighters, you need to interact with them as often as you can as part of the peace building initiative. But something happened. There was a report about Buhari’s endorsement by MEND and opposition media propaganda system played it up. That created a major problem for us in the Niger Delta. And when you talk of the Niger Delta, Bayelsa is the epicenter, it is the centre of gravity around which these issues revolve in the Niger Delta. Once Bayelsa is safe, secured and stable, it permeates around others. Insecurity or instability in Bayelsa will inexorably affect the security situation in the Niger Delta states because a number of these issues, even the militants, Bayelsa was the epicenter, is mainly an Ijaw crisis of development. I have always been conscious of that, particularly with my background as a product of Ijaw Movement myself.
So, when the issue of MEND’s endorsement of Buhari, or let us say a section of the militant group endorsing Buhari, it created division. It raised tension and there was almost a crisis in my hand. Secondly, when the president went around campaigning, and some people were hostile and attacked him, particularly in the Northern states, not the leadership but people on the streets, when the reports came, not in all the states but in one, two or three places, and it was continuing, it again inflamed passion in the Niger Delta. As a governor, when you have the reports and you read the security barometer, then there was need for me to step in to perform my duty to our country, which was to interact with the stakeholders, get their views and assure them, if there are messages, pass on and if there are steps to be taken in security, do so. But at all times, you must engage. Lack of engagement is not an option at all. So, part of the duty the governor of Bayelsa owes our country is to use his leverage, his good office from time to time to ensure that the security situation in the Niger Delta does not get out of control.
When Alamieyesiegha was in the office, he did that. President Obasanjo was always calling him to address and solve most of these problems. When Dr Jonathan became governor, the same Obasanjo, if there were crisis situations, kidnapping, hostage taking and others, would always call him midnight and so on. And they will sometimes move into the creeks to ensure that people were released, platforms were opened and so on. Sylva was also actively involved in amnesty activities. Yar’ Adua knew that. And now, especially with my background as a product of the Ijaw Movement, it is incumbent on me, as part of my duty to my people, the Niger Delta region and my duty to our country, to ensure that I maintain that effective channel of communication, such that we will be at every time available to moderate, to guide and then to take steps that are necessary to ensure the safety and security of our region and the strategic assets that are there. All these assets, most of them, are there in Bayelsa. If Bayelsa boils, the whole region, the whole Niger Delta region and therefore our country will be in crisis. That is what I did. They came and we interacted. It was unfortunate that the media, particularly the opposition propaganda, took up, instead of taking the conclusions of the meeting, which were an affirmation of the peace process and the need to maintain law and order.
I am very strong on law and order, on crime, criminality and violence. Everybody knows that, which I reinforced and told them I would not allow anybody to disturb the peace of the state, the region of our country. Instead of the opposition media to focus on those conclusions, they now took individual contributions of the people in attendance. And when you call them, all the names that you know, with what was going on, what they needed was assurances that people in right places will know what to do. Those assurances we gave needed to be given, but opposition media focused on their individual contributions and the comments they made, instead of the rationale or the outcome of the meeting.
Moving forward, let me assure you all that we, our people, believe in a strong, democratic, united Nigeria. But the Nigeria we believe in is also the Nigeria of equal citizenship, a Nigeria that will be democratic, a Nigeria that will the peaceful, secure and prosperous. All of us have a duty to bring that about. We have to create and rediscover that Nigeria. It is my duty to continue to work with agencies, stakeholders and players, whatever their descriptions are, whatever their past may be, to interact and network to ensure that the fundamental objectives of law and order and preservation of security are maintained.
Then the second aspect to your question, that the PDP is not as strong as in 2011. That was why I said I wanted to do that analysis with you. A lot of people are carried away by huge rallies in the opposition stronghold and so on. We sometimes, don’t remember that PDP has never won, for example, in Kano, from 1999 till date. We have never won presidential polls, not even when Yar’Adua from a neighbouring state was flag bearer in 2007. So, this is the situation. Therefore, would we have wanted a situation where a sitting governor, liked and respected, my elder brother, Kwakwanso, that’s not an ideal situation but it has happened. But don’t forget that in most of these states, all our supporters are many, stakeholders, Shekarau for example, all of them. Twenty five percent, that is what the constitution says we should have or more.
So, we are not in these states struggling to win 90 per cent for you to use that to determine the outcome of presidential polls. No. I am telling you that Yar’Adua who got elected as our president in 2007, from the neighbouring state of Katsina, did not win Kano. And yet he became president. The PDP is safe and secure in our strongholds. We are safe and secure in the South-south. We are safe and secure in the South-east. We are safe and secure largely in the Northcentral. We are safe and secure also in a number of states in the North-east and also in a number of states in the Northwest. Yes, are we as strong as we were in 2011? Clearly, we are the first to concede that it is not so. But don’t forget, as I said that we elected a president from the South-west, who didn’t have the South-west. Now, our candidate will even win more in the South-west. Yes, or already we have two governors in the South-west and we have a good candidate in Lagos and the leadership, the voters in Lagos, we have our ways of also monitoring how they are receiving our message.
Between President Jonathan and General Buhari in Lagos, our expectation is that majority of Lagos voters will vote Jonathan. They will vote for continuity; they won’t vote for uncertainty.
They won’t vote for a continuation of the system they know in Lagos that has not served their best interest. So, we are very confident that all said and done, we will win. After all, the constitutional formula is to win majority of votes, one quarter of votes in two thirds of states.
Still on PDP, the very simple question is, didn’t you see this coming? You were in charge of the reconciliation committee. People were wondering how governors walked out and the body language suggested, let them go.The leadership of your party and the president, as the leader of the party, has not shown sufficient leadership to put the party together. Should Rivers be a problem to Mr President at this time?
I have earlier said that Rivers is not a problem, as far as the election of the president is concerned. We expect an overwhelming victory in Rivers State, just as we do in most states ultimately.
The question is not about Rivers but winning party. You did not sustain your party.You know if PDP goes down now, for you to get up will be difficult.
Let me assure you that PDP will not go down. We are the party that is for all Nigerians. We are the party for the small, as well as for the big. We are the party for the rich, as well as for the poor. We are the party of the minority, as well as of the majority. We are the only party since politics started in Nigeria till date that has given some thoughts, apart from the actuality of doing it, that has given some thoughts to the idea for someone from my place, our side of the country,
being a presidential candidate. And not just that, producing the person as a winning candidate, which the party did in 2011.
We didn’t do it alone. All Nigerians did it and we are eternally grateful to them. But that tells you about the nature and character of our party. What we did in 2011 is akin, as I always say, to what the Democratic Party in the US did with the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. That’s exactly the same thing the PDP did with the election of Dr Jonathan as the first South-south minority president of our country, democratically elected, not emerging through a military dictatorship or a coup. Now, that gave this country the opportunity to renew and reinvent itself and for us, it is only the PDP that can continue with that vision of an inclusive Nigeria, that vision of a Nigeria where as we move forward as a leading nation, it doesn’t matter which state you come from. It doesn’t matter what ethnic group you belong to. It doesn’t even matter the God you chose to worship and how you chose to worship that God. That is the future of our country. The other parties are parties, whose calculations for winning an election are okay. So, so, so zone, bulk votes of so, so, so zone plus bulk votes of so, so, so zone equals Presidency. Now, that doesn’t equate with our umbrella party for all Nigerians. In our party, the winning formula is one vote from a good Nigerian of a state plus another vote from a good Nigerian from another state, plus another, plus another, plus another.
What we need, what we are talking to people, votes of good Nigerians, Nigerians, not states with big voting population, zones with big voting populations and then you do an arithmetic, equals Presidency. No, that is not the Nigeria of our dream. That is not a sustainable Nigeria.
PDP is still strong. It wasn’t an ideal situation that some of our governors, respected leaders of our party, left but this is politics. Even when you had done with all the idealism of keeping the party together, in the end, it is about interest and that is the only permanent thing they say. And don’t be surprised that today’s foes may be tomorrow’s friends. So, if certain things happen the way they did, that’s too bad. It is unfortunate but are we still confident, even in spite of that? Yes. Take for instance Rivers. The governor moving is not tantamount to the people moving away from supporting the presidential ticket. In as much as that is not an ideal situation in Rivers, for example, politically speaking, our party is still strong enough to win and maintain national power. Sir, let’s talk about development so that we don’t… That’s actually what I want to talk about
Three years in the saddle, what can you say are your greatest achievements?
As I said, going round Bayelsa and even at my quiet time thinking about some of the things we were able to put in place, I feel very fulfilled. Now, we are not where we want the state to be but there is no doubt, if you go to Bayelsa, there is no doubt at all that we have made a lot of achievements, achievements in the area of infrastructure, which you see. There are some investments in government that are intangible. Nobody sees what you do. But if you go to Bayelsa and you see the roads and bridges that have come up, it is not story. You just go there and see it. If you call people there, they will tell you. In fact, the story is that we are over working. This governor self, na roads and bridges we go chop? But that is good. That is complement for a politician, who is attacking frontally the issues of development because for you to move the state to where I want it to be, that is the Dubai of Africa, you have got to think of world class infrastructure. You have got to think of security. You have got to think of health care. You have got to think of education and investment in education as we are doing. Now, we have delivered on that. Roads and bridges connecting communities that nobody thought it would be possible or people to be connected. A lot of you who live in the urban area take a lot of things for granted. But when you go to the heart of the Niger Delta, particularly Bayelsa, which was the least developed part of old Rivers State that was carved out, with the most difficult terrain, the least developed. No educational facilities there, people are poor and the whole places are rural. They don’t feel government presence; there is no electricity. Now, I am addressing those basic problems of connecting roads to all these communities and the cost of construction is 20 times what you have here. It is like building Third Mainland Bridge. That’s what I am doing. What you call roads there are actually bridges. And yet, those are the things that we must do. Otherwise, we can’t have development. So, we have done a number of them, completed so many. A number are ongoing. With the shortfall in oil prices and so on, it is having a direct hit because we don’t have industries that are paying internally generated revenue. For example, in Lagos, you don’t care because of the investments here. The private sector is strong. The tax can run this state. But do you know that when I took over as governor, the IGR of my state was N50 million. We don’t have industries, so only the civil servants will pay tax. And even they were paying 10 per cent of it. In fact, they said it was part of my sin because I said no, pay as the law has provided. I am not introducing anything new. The PAYE that you all pay is uniform, isn’t it? So, if you go to health care, hospitals built, modern diagnostic centres built, so much is being done. What is your IGR now? The IGR now is between N700 and N800m. What was the magic you used? Discipline, focus and an insistence that the right thing must be done. We spend political capital but that is what leadership is all about. You don’t shy away from doing what is right because it may sound unpopular. So, when I told civil servants, sorry, no governor has the right to waive paying tax; that’s a federal legislation. There is this culture of free, free, free. The government must do everything free. People don’t pay electricity bill. Government pays. Now, that is primitive. It is not sustainable. You cannot allow civil servants to be corrupt to the extent because the bureaucracy is the instrument through which the government translates policy to action. When I tightened up all of that and insisted that you must go to work, because prior to when I came, the wage bill was inflated. One person will have three, four, five names collecting salaries and so on.
If anything, that is the sin I have committed. And to that I plead guilty. Talking of achievements, roads, bridges, physical infrastructure going on, massive, all over the whole state. You will see it yourself. Talk of health care, modern clinics and hospitals. In the next one or two years, Bayelsa will be the centre of medical tourism, with the way we are going. When you come, you will see it. It is not just talk. We have made the right investments and the plans are there and the legislation is there.
In the area of education, that is where we have made, next to infrastructure, our biggest commitment as a government. It has been schools, schools, schools! We have built over 400 primary schools, built the same number of teachers’ quarters in rural areas, built eight model secondary schools with boarding facilities. And as if these weren’t enough, we have built 25 constituency secondary schools with boarding facilities. As I told them when I declared a state of emergency during my inauguration, I said that is the single most important challenge of our time, that’s education. Because it is a backward place and we need to bring education to the people and take the light of education to them.
In Bayelsa, we have the highest number of scholars on scholarships. We have over 150 PhD scholars across the length and breadth of the world. It is deliberate. We are creating manpower, investing in human capital. Not only that, we have Master’s and others also there, over 400. We are even having challenges sometimes, meeting up with their allowances because of their number and the shortfall.
In London, I had to interact with them that I meant well but things slightly got out of control but we are trying our best. At the secondary school level, even pupils, nine to 10 years, bright ones, we take them and send them to the best secondary schools. If you go to Vivian Fowler, you will see Bayelsa students there. If you go Nigeria Turkish International Colleges, if you go to Bells, they are all there. It is deliberate. That was a programme the President started when he was there, but you know he wasn’t there for long. He was there for about a year. It was scrapped for as long as my predecessor was there, but we have brought it back. We now have about 400 pupils in that programme alone. In Bayelsa, we pay WAEC registration fee for all students; we pay for JAMB for all of them. I pay NECO for all of them.
In Bayelsa, we are building Teachers Training Academy that can take a thousand teachers at a time because we must also train and retrain all our teachers. If you build the best schools, but the teacher don’t tone up his or her skills, you will have a problem because the teacher remains the most critical element. We are working with the Canadian government and others to run that. Our thinking is that all teachers will pass through that to get a certificate before you teach in Bayelsa. There are so many life changing schools, schools, schools. School of International Tourism, driving school, School of Agriculture, School of Music, Language School, school, school, school!
That underscores the importance we attach to human capacity development. If you talk of the reform of the governance culture itself, which is another big challenge, this issue of work attitude, this issue of transparency. Well, before I came, people thought that once you get to Bayelsa, you will just pack money because of the sad history of some of my predecessors and so on. We have to deliberately put in place mechanism to avoid waste and corruption, not talking about it all the time but ensuring that steps are there. For example, by the transparency law, which I proposed, sent and signed into law, we are the only state where the governor comes before our people every month to announce what has come in to the state and how it is spent.
You need to do that, so that over time, the people themselves will have that recollection that government is not just for some people. It is about them and they have a right to know what happens. Even beyond that, in the actual disbursement of funds, I set up a finance committee. I don’t sit down alone and determine who gets what. It is a committee set up and finance commissioner comes every month and say after the payment of salary, this is what we got. Then we do the disbursement from department to department. About 15 to 20 people must know what is going on. And the secretary must have records of the disbursements. I want a situation where when I had left, I don’t want to hear the type of stories you used to hear about my state and its chief executives. And the best way to address these issues is to set up a mechanism to prevent certain ugly things from happening, instead of running after people. So, there are so much going on. And some of these investments, people don’t know much about. For example, the investment in security by which within this three-year period, Bayelsa has become the safest. That is why we host events after events. People have confidence now that if they come to Bayelsa, they will go back intact.
How do you sustain these legacies? Somebody else might come in and reverse them?
Some of these important steps are backed by law. Because of my background, remember that I was once the attorney general of the state, went to the House of Reps, twice elected, chaired the Justice Committee. There is no important bill passed that I didn’t work on. I know the importance of law in sustaining development. So, most of the revolutionary steps are backed by law so that the mechanism is created, transparency built. The electronic surveillance law, there is a law backing it. Now, the command and control room, when you go there, you will see. The same thing they have in these advanced countries. In London, do you know how many security cameras that are there looking at you? It is not magic. Their security people rely on technology. And that is what all of us must do, from the Federal Government to the state. We must all do, the governors, to secure our society.