BY Karen James




A Governorship aspirant in Anambra State for 2021 poll, Valentine Ozigbo, met stakeholders of his state origin in Enugu where he addressed them on his reasons to succeed Governor Willie Obiano. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant was cornered by a group of journalists before the event where he spoke on national burning issues, his ambition to rule Anambra State, among others.
Excerpts:
Q: May we know exactly why you decided to join in the struggle to become Anambra State governor this year?

A: I will like to start by saying that I don’t promise eldorado, I don’t promise perfection, I don’t promise that once I get in there Anambra would be another New York or Dubai. But my government would be totally different and unique. I want to lay a solid foundation, a rebuilding process of changing a story of a blackman, South Eastern Nigeria in particular. I am in this race because I am totally uncomfortable with what is going on in Anambra State.

Q: We know you are not a magician. Therefore, how are you going to achieve these your set objectives?

A: We are blessed by God, we have virtually everything to be great, but why are we so naive, so backward and unreasonable? What is the difference between a black and white man? How come others have moved on and left us behind? In all these questions and puzzles, what have been your answers? Honestly, the response have been one blame or the other, some have even accepted that there is something wrong with us, some say nothing is wrong rather we are politicizing everything in this state. Some even blamed our fate on colonialism, but that is a stupid excuse because we are not the only people colonized. We have India, China, Japan, Korea and rest of them. So it is useless to talk about that. Or, can we say that Nigeria would have been better if not for military encroachment into politics, tribal rivalries, ethnic cleavages – all these are stupid excuses from the neophytes. When you look at the countries with similar experience – Japan, Singapore, Korea, Rwanda, etc, you will discover that we are the architect of our woes. We shall start seeing positive changes in economy when democracy triumphs without nepotism, when leadership is decided via free and fair elections. So, based on the existing madness in the entire sector, one may be forced to ask; Is something actually wrong with us?
Q: Which way out of the woods? We are already stuck.
A: Two definite conclusions hold sway here. One, there is nothing wrong with us because there are quite number of things which our people have done and excelled, though single man’s effort is not usually enough. We need to build a sustainable system, a platform that will serve and last for long. How are we going to do that? Firstly, we need to own-up, we need to take responsibility for all the errors, stop blaming anybody and forge ahead with beautiful solutions. Don’t blame the politicians, ministers, governors, commissioners, civil servants and so on. In fact do you realize that even the journalists have important role to play than these aforementioned leaders? They are at vantage position to use their pen to correct the ills going on in the society, but have they been doing that? If they are really working, why should that political rot take place in Imo State would be happening without the press reporting the truth? Well, the point here is that the system is already enmeshed in corruption, and what then shall we do to save our people? Basically, we need to have good people in leadership; we must insist on competence, we have that person who can inspire greatness in people’s mind across board – from federal down to local government level. Our current ugly situation requires competent person, someone with merit ideas, and not nepotism or indolence. We need to change our reasoning culture, elect people with mobile ideas, sound innovation, modern creativity to move the society forward. We need to bring in thinkers who are eager to impact positively on people’s lives, a prudent – modeled governor of a state who will change the status – quo for overall betterment of the citizenry. We need a good builder that will transform our educational system, business life and social integration – all geared towards enthroning an egalitarian society.

Nigeria is the hope of black race in the entire world, she is the country looked upon to drive the course of black people, the linchpin of any meaningful economic development in Africa, but sadly the country is still slumbering. Why haven’t the country woken up? God created us for a purpose but we are yet to discover that, there is no way Nigeria will make progress without the inspiration of an Igbo man. Trace the history of socio-economic development so far, starting from the era of Dr. Michael Okpara and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, how South Eastern state economy was transformed, go back to the civil war era and Igbo man ingenuity, even the recent turnover of Anambra State by the former governor, Mr. Peter Obi. These are pointers that the Igbos are builders of economy, and Anambra State leads the vanguard. We need to re-strategize and reintegrate, that is the only time this life will be useful to us, that is the only time we should no longer be branded criminals by the outsiders, that is the only time our mindset would be shifted and white men will be thinking of how to come to Anambra state and stay. As it is now, it is shameful for a responsible person to call himself citizen of Anambra State. Personally, I am disappointed but certainly not discouraged. I have travelled quite a lot around the world, God has blessed me with good things of life, nothing would have stopped me from staying abroad and enjoy good things of life and people oriented leadership. But alas, I have decided to be here to serve my people, to build a befitting legacy, because if things remain like this, shame is the right word to qualify me. We need to catch up with the rest of the world, and there are areas which we can capitalize and overtake them. Technology is one area we need to focus on, our people are genius, what they require is right atmosphere, good support system and surely they will deliver; they are ready to do extra-ordinary things in extra-ordinary manner. Already, my campaign team has developed the manifesto that would be in tandem with the moving trend; all sectors were captured in our written agenda. We are ready to make Anambra a dream land, where the Indians, Chinese would come and do business. Why is it that we are noted and respected for high intellectual business skill, yet most of our youths are in Abuja and Lagos streets hawking clothes and food items? Why do they say that our youths lack the competitive edge among their peers in Nigeria? Why is it that all governors, past and present, have refused to come together, work in unison for the betterment of the state? Why have they not devoted their energy and resources to solve the problems of Anambra state? If I don’t love the state, I would not have thought coming out to vie for the gubernatorial seat. I was privileged to come from a good background, son of a headmaster in those days, grew up in Umuomaku – Orumba South, last child of seven siblings, with right Christian values, made the best results in primary and secondary schools, taught physics and mathematics immediately afterwards, moved to University of Nigeria Nsukka and made excellent result in Accounting. Had my MBA and later qualified as chattered Accountant. I had scholarship that took me to England for more advanced courses in Lancersta University, returned and joined banking industry. I spent 12 years as a banker with high financial discipline, moved to Transcorp and made an enviable landmark there. As Chief Executive Officer, I was the best among the subsidiaries all over the world, became the president of Transcorp Group, shook hands with the presidents and best CEO’s in the world economy. All these achievements were God-given, I am not in Anambra State guber race to make money, or to service personal debts. I am very much comfortable with the blessings of the Lord. My people are suffering and languishing that is why I have decided to come out to salvage their plight.
Q: Godfatherism is a nagging issue in Nigeria politics, how are you going to tackle the problem which is very common in Anambra State?
A: Today in Anambra State, I am the man to beat amongst other aspirants, the evidence is there in public domain. And how do I become the toast of electorate? How come that someone who was not well known in Anambra politics suddenly emerged the talking point in today’s discourse? How come that I am now a top man in PDP gubernatorial race? How did it happen? Honestly I don’t have any political godfather, I don’t even know any around, my only strong supporter is God, the decider of mankind. Guess what, I still have respect for these prominent PDP members, but not to prostrate before them. I did not go to Peter Obi, Nicholas Ukachukwu and the rest asking them to be my pillar or godfather. All I want is for the party to have good consensus candidate so that we can enthrone solid democratic government in Anambra state.

Q: In Anambra state, a lot of people are talking of competence and zoning. Where do you stand based on your analysis?
A: They are twin words with almost the same meaning and relevance in scheme of things, one cannot operate without the other, there is competency in zoning. What is competence in the first place? Simply put, it is all about character, merit, intelligence; it is not about going to school and you hate humanity, become arrogant and demigod. Whatever we assume to be in this world, we must learn to be humble, respectful and original. We must always be guided by good reasoning faculty, know what to do or say at critical point of need. Competence is ability to inspire and create enabling environment for people to thrive. When you have all these qualities, political mathematics would be easy to solve. This race is not just about party but how qualified is the man coming on board. The recent PDP stakeholders meeting in Enugu hosted by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was a pointer that the next governor of Anambra State will surely come from the south, because all the people there openly said that it is the turn of the south to mount the throne of leadership. I am from the south, I am equally competent to revive the state, I have done the survey, and very much convinced to win this race.
Q: What about money politics in Anambra State? How prepared are you to spend on the electorate who are obviously hungry and eager to sell their political franchise?
A: What I am doing is to connect to bigger vision without sounding utopia. My mission is to take the change mantra down to the kindred, villagers, communities and towns. My agenda is to make Anambra state a fashionable business place devoid of stress, insecurity and banditry, where touts and hang-ons would not thrive, and the state becomes a healthy competitive business zone. We want to be a role model in entire Southeast, where the citizens would be happy seeing their efforts yielding result. I have established the structure in entire 21 local government areas, I have travelled more than five times in each of them, preaching and spreading the gospel of good governance. Anambra state is not all about building roads, we need to take issue of agriculture serious, establish steady power supply for industries to operate at full capacity, support system for entrepreneurship to boom. And my campaign team has taken cognizance of all these before arriving at the slogan – Ka Anambra Chawapu! We are prepared to take the state to higher standard, to catch up with the rest of the world, not using neighboring states as benchmarks. No, we are not prepared for such government.
Q: Do you think the Federal Government has a way of drawing the State Economy Backward?
Beautiful question that deserves beautiful answer; what can we do in the face of this imbalance? We should not wait for the federal government to get it right before we act, else we will fail. If the rest of Nigerians are not ready for positive change, definitely we will abandon them and move on. We have the creative minds, ingenuity and skill to achieve that purpose. The 2023 presidency is beckoning, PDP is not joking with it, and Anambra State election come November is test case. If we win the election, the chances of winning the presidency are bright because Anambra remains a focal point. If we fix the state, the chance of fixing the South East and Nigeria as a whole is high.

Q: Anambra State is presently owing heavily from the donor agencies across the world, how are you going to repay this as a governor of the state?

A: Good! That is why I earlier said that you will not sacrifice competence at the altar of nepotism. An ability to manage human and material resources is very important and necessary drive home your vision. Economic competence is the key, creativity counts a lot, I am just an aspirant but already I have been called upon to commission some roads rehabilitated in Anambra state. What does that tells you? Government is all about credibility and trust, once the people have confidence in your leadership, your work load is half-solved. Play on the greed of private sector, inspire their need to do well, because government does know how to run business more than them. So, we are ready to inspire their greatness, give them the enabling environment to work so that their business and industries would perform and our youths would be employed. The reason why I am elected as governor is not to start throwing blames on my predecessor, but to correct the ills already discovered.
Q: In all the leading political parties jostling for the eviable seat, do you see PDP emerging the winners?
A: Yes, I see our great party, PDP emerging victorious. The APC will fail irrespective of its federal might and connections, Young Progressive Party (YPP) is not our class, I cannot descend so low to assess their chances, the only little threat we have is All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) simply because they are still in power in Anambra State. Basically, we all know that the party has continued to diminish numerically and administratively. I was approached to be given automatic ticket by the party owners, but I know that “Nkaa bu Nke Anyi” is no longer working. The party cannot even take us beyond Anambra state if at all it remains in existence after the November polls. PDP is national party with strong base in the South East and South South, even in the North. The party can open doors in Aso-Rock Villa Abuja, I don’t believe in minority group, we have passed that political stage.