With Anambra State governorship election some months away, a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Mike Okoye, has explained why he’s in the race.

In this interview, Okoye, while accessing democracy in the last 14 years, said the country is on course. He also spoke on other things, while addressing a group of journalists.

In Anambra, PDP controls other positions, except the governor’s seat. Why is this so?

PDP is a national party and PDP is in power. The national influences the state. If PDP is at the national, it tells you that Anambra State is preparing to be a PDP state. In 2014, Anambra will be one of PDP states. What you are seeing is the sign of things to come. APGA is a dynamic political party. The Governor, Peter Obi, is somebody I have great respect for. At the same time, he understands the politics of Nigeria. He also understands what the Yoruba did, when Obasanjo was in power. They all moved to PDP to strengthen Obasanjo. They left AD and moved to PDP. And, now, our brother is in power and we will move from APGA to strengthen PDP; there is no other issue. We will move from APGA to strengthen PDP. I was once in APGA. I was instrumental to most of the things they did in APGA, but we must move to strengthen PDP because the President of Nigeria is our brother. All the pillars in Anambra State must be PDP to strengthen him.

If you were Governor of Anambra, what new things would you bring into the state polity?

I will bring change in governance. The governed and the governor do not understand what democracy is all about. The belief is that it is the governor that gives and decides what he does. Governance, as of today, is what I call ad-hoc. The governor wakes up and says this is a good project, I will build roads for you. Tomorrow, perhaps, I will demolish the secretariat that has historical whatever and I will build my own secretariat. There is no structural plan and there is no plan. Therefore, governance is ad-hoc. We would start in Anambra State to practice true democracy, whereby there will be a structure created by the ideas we have and the ideas the people have, as to what they want. These things will be prepared by those who are intellectually equipped. It is like building a plan for a house, the structural plan. The architect does his job; the builder just looks at the plan; that is, the chief executive. The job of the chief executive is not generating ideas but implementing ideas generated. That is what democracy is all about; that is what governance is all about.

In so doing, Anambra will know this road map, even after Mr. Okoye has finished as the governor; the roadmap has been defined. The road to your house, you know the way; everybody knows where they are going. And, it has to be adhered to, in terms of local governments, in terms of the commissioners, in terms of all the structures. The main thrust of our policy is that Anambra State will be the highest producer of refined crude oil products. Now, the issue is from the evaluation: At what stage would we attain that? But, it is one of the cardinal principles of where we are going. And, now, the journey starts from 2014.

Everybody knows that Anambra State will be the largest exporter, manufacturer of refined crude oil products. So, by the time we would have left office, you would be able to see this is where we stopped. And, by the time the next government comes, he would continue from there. Let me tell you, it is not by accident that the sun rises from the east to bring daylight. It is not also by accident that the biblical wise men came from the East; neither is it an accident that the star of Jesus was sighted in the East. What it tells you is that the people from the east have gift of wisdom. They first saw the light. But, the question is that this gift of wisdom has been thrown away.

Intra-party crisis has been common issue in Anambra State. Are you sure such will not come into play again in 2014?

For PDP, which is my party, I believe the party is conscious of the situation. PDP is very conscious of it. And, I know that they are doing something to make sure that PDP goes for the election as one family. One thing I can tell you is that in PDP, especially for Anambra State, whoever among us emerges, others will join him, so that he will win.

What do you think gives you the edge over likely opposition, such as Senator Ngige, who is reported to be interested in the governorship poll?

Looking at my stature as a constitutional lawyer; as a human rights activist and all I have contributed legally, politically and otherwise to the federation, Nigeria, Anambra State and the fact that I come from Anambra North that has a bloc vote, I believe that victory is mine. I think, looking at my pedigree and looking at the force of my party, the PDP has and looking at the vote we already got from the North, I can assure you that I am the man to beat. I can also say, without fear or equivocation, that Anambra State is yearning for a change; a new wine in an old sack. Ngige was nobody before he became governor. It was opportunity given to him that made him excel. If the same opportunity is given to somebody else, that person can equally excel beyond him. But that person must be given opportunity and the person must be a new brand. In the election, Anambra North is going to vote in block. And, I can also assure you that APGA, under the leadership of the present government, will be sympathetic to our cause; they will decide whether to follow Ngige’s party or PDP. They will support PDP because it’s a national party. Don’t forget that the party Ngige belongs is a tribalistic party, a party that has its root in the west. If APGA can win governorship in Lagos or Oyo State, then, Ngige, with the Yoruba party, can win governorship in Anambra State.

The third issue is a moral question. The moral question is that if somebody has been adjudged to have stolen the mandate of the people of Anambra State and he, despite that, has the effrontery to come out and vie for that mandate he stole, he is setting a precedent that bothers on morality. What it means is that every Anambrarian is free to steal, engage in armed robbery and kidnap. After all, if you use the money wisely in the state by constructing good roads and others, you are free. Ngige has a moral burden; that is what I am saying. The Supreme Court declared that he did not get the mandate of the people in the three years he was governor. It is only in Nigeria that you have such issue. He cannot be here and there.

Anambra State has people with talents and knowledge. We don’t lack human beings, that one man was governor and later declared not to be. The same man is now senator and aspiring to be governor, when we have people, like Mike Okoye and the rest in Anambra State. It is not done. I believe that his coming out is an advantage for PDP. If he comes out, he will just come out to disgrace himself. I am assuring you that no party from the west, that has a link to the west, can win governorship in the heart of the east, let alone Anambra. It is not done and it will never happen.

How would you appraise Nigerian democracy for the past 14 years?

Let me, first of all, say that most of us were in the vanguard of the struggle for the democracy we are enjoying today. I can remember what myself, the late Gani Fawehinmi and the late NLC President, Paschal Bafyau, did. These are people who played one role or the other and who were with me at the forefront of NADECO. We played roles that endangered our lives and we thought we would not be alive today. We decided to take that risk because we knew that there was no other option than democracy. When we were in the vanguard of the struggle, most of the current beneficiaries now were not there. When we were in the streets against the armoured tanks, when we were pursuing Abiola’s case, a lot of them were not there. When we stood up to General Abacha, many of them were not there. When we forced Babangida to leave, when Akinsanya had to declare Shonekan’s interim government illegal, a lot of people contributed, so that we could have democracy. The beauty of democracy is that it is a government for the people by the people and for the people.

Today, we are saying Democracy Day. I think we should look at heroes; we have lots of heroes, some who are not known and others who may never be known. We have lots of people who died in the streets of Lagos and their names are not recorded. They are my real heroes and I think the time has come for us to look at them and leverage on them. Now, let’s go to the real issues. The real issue is looking at all these years. The way I will describe it is that Nigeria will be going through these ups and downs, but, ultimately, we will emerge triumphant. No nation started and got it right the same day. To me, I believe that Nigeria is on the right track; our democracy is on course. Politics of Nigeria has gone beyond tribal; we have gone beyond regional politics. Nigeria has come to a stage where we have national politics. What do I mean by national politics? Today, we can boast of a political party that does not belong to the east, west, north or south; and that is PDP. In terms of governance, I will say a lot of mistakes have been made and also, a lot of achievements have been recorded, but, all in all, the errors are errors of judgments of the heads and of the hearts. I can say that Nigerian democracy is on course.

Could you highlight tangible democratic dividends enjoyed by citizens in the past few years?

In a democracy, the greatest thing you achieve is freedom. You see, some of us who had been under chains and locked up because of draconian laws, when freedom of movement and freedom of expression were restricted, are now free to do or say certain things. I recollect my friend of blessed memory, the publisher of Newsbreed. I was coming to Abuja then, when the city was new, to bring him out from custody. What we battled was freedom. Nigeria was not free; and the greatest concept now is that element of freedom. Today, every Nigerian can boast that we operate a free state. No draconian laws, where people can be locked up without due process. Today, the constitution is such that nobody can be detained beyond 24 hours unless he had been brought before a court of law. And, I know that the police are conscious of this law. We have a Nigeria, where the Rule of Law is in place. Nobody is above the law; and that is the greatest benefit of a democracy.

Apart from the rule of law, the government has also provided an enabling environment. Before this democracy came, there was instability in supply of petrol. People could not get the product and other utilities. Today, you can drive into any petrol station and buy petrol. What I am trying to say is that today, there is stability. With the ups and downs we are going through, the government has been able to have a stable economy, compared to the past. In spite of all these security challenges, government has also provided a level-playing field for foreign investments. You can see our democracy, since it started, focusing on progressive change. The change started with Obasanjo. When he came in, Nigeria was on analogue. Most Nigerians believed we could not have phones. Today, everybody in Nigeria can call anybody from anywhere.

When you now move from those ones, that is, Obasanjo’s era into the short space of the late President Umar Yar’Ardua, even within that short space, you would see a continued movement. That continued movement was inherited by the current administration. You can see that the focal point of the current administration is transportation. You see what the government is doing in making it possible for you to walk into a train from east, west, north and south, as obtainable anywhere in the world. So, if the present government can achieve transportation, in terms of rail transportation, as it is with telecommunication, we can now see Nigeria progessing.

President Jonathan’s government has also impacted in the areas of agriculture, energy and trade liberalisation. You can see that foreign investments are on the increase. You can see the progressive change. One thing I can say is that government is all about structure. What people would say is that they don’t know the structure and they don’t know the roadmap. I think that is what the government should come out openly and tell the public, that this is the roadmap, this is where this administration is going. Let it be clear that this is the focal point.

As a lawyer to former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, do you think the pardon was necessary?

I will say that the pardon was the best thing the President has done in Nigeria. You look at it in two ways. Alamieyeseigha is one of the finest Nigerians you can ever meet. In fact, to me, he is a patriotic Nigerian. Why did I say a patriotic Nigeria? Governance is about touching the lives of your people. Alamieyeseigha, as governor of Bayelsa State, so much touched the lives of the people of Bayelsa that he was called the Governor-General of Ijaw nation. The whole of Ijaw nation believed in him and he is instrumental to the peace we have in the oil sector. The fact that you buy fuel, the fact that people trade freely, the fact that the economy of this country is going smoothly, the fact that the international community buys our crude oil rest solely on his ability to package what he had done to hold the restive people. That is one.

Two, he is honourable. How many people in Nigeria would accept that they have done wrong? He had the right to have contested the case. And, we were ready and able to fight the case, as all other governors have done up to the Supreme Court. But, he said to us: “Look, sometimes, it is honourable to feel where you have done wrong to accept you have done wrong and ask God for pardon.” Alamieyeseigha made peace with God. Let us not also forget the politics of Nigeria. Those who were in the vanguard knew the political arrangement; the reason they were after Alamieyeseigha. It was not because of finance; it was not because of corruption. They knew there were people who were gunning for power to take over from Obasanjo. And, they reasoned that those people must be brought down at all costs. And then, there was reason to go after him.

For whatever it is, he had made atonement to the court. He has made atonement to his God. And, to me, his peace is like the biblical case where Jesus said: ‘Let the person without sin be the first to cast stone.’ I dare say, let anybody who believes his governor is not worse than Alamieyeseigha be the first to cast stone at Alamieyeseigha.


http://sunnewsonline.com/new/politics/no-party-linked-to-the-west-will-win-guber-election-in-the-east-let-alone-anambra-okoye/

Which makes it a pipe dream for an easterner to rule this country.

Eko Atlantic: Which makes it a pipe dream for an easterner to rule this country.

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