Dr. Odafe Wilson Omene is the former chairman of Ethiope West Local Government Council of Delta state and has been in the forefront of the vanguard of the quest for an Urhobo governor come 2015. In this interview with SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,
John Dugbe, he gives detailed reasons for his position and he lucidly defines democracy to support his action in a way that will make even a political scientist grow green with envy. Excerpts.
As a frontline politician and considering the fact that Delta State besides the Urhobo, comprises of other ethnic nationalities, justify your quest for an Urhobo governor come 2015?
As an Urhobo man and of course a politician, any language that is understandable by me in politics is true democracy. True democracy is basically the government of the people, by the people and for the people. And when you say by the people, it means the majority of the people must determine what should be happening in and around them. Of course that does not mean that the minority interest will not be protected. The minority interest is as a result of what they still have as a voice; their voice must be heard. That is the meaning. And when you hear their voice, you being the majority must consider the interest being express by the minority voice. But that does not mean that they have to have their way. It is the majority that will always have its way in true democracy. Then if we must consider issue of saying all inclusive and not anything of majority, then we must also look at it from the second angle of true democracy. That is the dividend that comes from the government by the people and for the people. Government for the people, that is general, everybody knows, what government is doing, it is for everybody irrespective of your political, ethnic or religious inclination. Then government by the people means the majority of the people must decide and government for the people, meaning that the benefit must be for all.
That is why I now come to the second phase, which is the dividends, which is for the dividends of true democracy. That is the third leg.
We should now be considering true democracy in terms of governance and in terms of dividends. In terms of dividends, you must put everything that has to do with the dividends of democracy in totality together in the process and ensue that is it shared equitably from infrastructural, economic, social and human capital development. They intertwine; they are not independent of each other but they can look be at with separate eyes but they are always together.
Let us talk about infrastructure?
It means physical things that can be built which again helps to build the second one, the economic and the social. Those physical things will help these two immensely, economic enhancement of the State and of course social development of the state. Then you now go to the human capital development. That again is intertwined with the economic value. Let us take them one by one. Infrastructure,
> where do we have most benefits of the infrastructure today in Delta State? It is the state capital that is benefiting immensely in terms of infrastructure more than the other two senatorial districts in the state. Do not talk about DESOPADEC because that is by law which the oil producing areas are naturally entitled to. Even at that, what they are getting is small. In the spirit of give and take, the oil producing areas have equally carried the people from Delta North. Delta North is benefiting over 80 per cent of infrastructure facilities. Let me mention them to you; we have Central Bank of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Delta North, we have the Federal Secretariat in Delta North, we have the Federal Medical Centre in Delta North, we have the state Secretariat in Delta North, we have Government House in Delta North, we have the best roads in Delta North, we have headquarters of other agencies both in public and private sectors in Delta North to mention but a few. Lest I forget, we have an airport built by the state government in Delta North. Now in terms of economic values; Delta North again is benefiting economically from over 80 per cent of the economic benefits of Delta State. Let me explain this to you with the benefits accruing on the land at the state capital for instance on Nnebisi Road in Asaba you have a 100 by 100 feet of land with probably a mud house inherited from your grandfather. It will be attracting more than N120 million. This is a property that is not valued more than N10,000 17 years ago.
Let me tell you the economic value of that money. I will go to the stock exchange and unleash N50 million to buy shares. I will still have N70 million. I will go to the suburb of Asaba to buy a larger space of land for N10 million. I still have N60 million left out of which I will use N30 million to build houses on that land. I still have N30 million left out of which I will buy two cars of about N10 million. I still have N20 million left out of which I deposit N10 million in a fixed deposit account or I use the N10 million to start up a small scale enterprise. I can now use the remaining money to train three or four of my relations’ children up to the university level if my own children are already university graduates. I will be doing all these with just one piece of land that I sold. Even with the remaining money I can go to PDP and say I drop two million naira to support my ward. So that is the economic benefit of having the state capital. The economic value of having a state capital is over and above any other thing you can think of in democracy. Talk aboutthe social life of Asaba today, you cannot compare it to that of 1990 when the state was created.
Are other areas not getting these benefits?
All these benefits I am talking about are supposed to be for every Deltan. Democracy is of the people by the
> people and for the
> people. But these benefits are not for every Deltan.
> But with this
> analysis, you can see that these benefits are for the people
> of Delta North,
> who happen to be in minority. I now go to human
> development. Today,
> I have being singing this loud and clear. Delta North
> occupies more than
> fourteen federal government positions. Mark you, I am
> not being jealous.
> I am proud of them. But we are talking of democratic
> equity or equity
> defines under democracy. They must be their brother’s
> keeper. Human capital
> development, you can imagine the benefits from having these
> federal
> positions. You can imagine the economic benefits that
> these people will
> bring back home to their people and region alone. I don’t
> have land in Asaba
> for sale unless I buy from an Asaba person. Even at that I
> am not going to buy
> as an indigene of Asaba but I will buy as a
> non-indigene. I will pay the
> market value of that land and not as an indigene. So you can
> see the benefit
> they have.
Can you expand on what you are saying?
If you must consider democracy, then you must
> talk about these two
> angles – the benefits and who should govern. I have
> clearly define
> democracy as government of the people, that is all of us
> getting involve in it,
> by the people, that is the majority and for the people, that
> is equitable
> distribution of benefits accruable to the people and for
> the people, and not
> for a minority of the people. You must put all these
> into consideration
> when you are talking of equity. These are all the
> benefits of democracy.
> They should tell us what they want from these
> benefits. They
> already have the state capital. All these benefits we
> have being taking
> about are accruable to those from the state capital, they
> are not accruable
> to those of us from Delta Central and South. Either by
> default or mistake
> the state capital was sited at Asaba for that region was not
> part of the Delta
> Province in the defunct Bendel State. What is the other
> aspect of the benefits
> of democracy which should be determined by the
> majority? I am talking
> about the governorship. The minority is now basking on
> the euphoria of
> benefits of democracy through the capital being sited there,
> no problem.
> Now majority who is suppose to be the governor is being
> denied of these benefits.
> Having the governorship does not mean that the capital will
> not be
> developed. After all they have never had any governor
> but look at the
> capital is being developed beyond any imagination by two
> governors that do not
> come from that region. So they have no reason to
> agitate for governorship
> of Delta State. So long that they are getting the
> benefits of
> democracy, they only have the constitutional right to
> agitate for the
> governorship of the state but they do not have the moral right to agitate for the governorship of Delta State under the principles of equity.
Are you saying they have no right to be governor?
They should not even think of wanting to become the governor of Delta State not to talk of pronouncing it. They have the constitutional right to vie for the position of the governor. If the majority says yes, so be it. It means their candidate is wonderful. But they from Delta North don’t have the moral justification for agitation for the governorship of Delta State based on the definition of equity if we must be our brother’s keeper. Now having come now to say majority must be the governor, what about minorities from Delta South. We have the Ijaw, the Isoko, the Itsekiri and mind you, we also have Urhobo from Warri South and Patani all in Delta South. If these population of people who should determine who should be govern you say the governorship should go to Delta North, No.
What is your advice on the governorship position?
The only thing I would advised if we are considering equity on who to be governor of Delta State it is to give it to Delta South because they are still suffering as minorities. Let us be our brother’s keeper on this end and our brother’ keeper at the other end by developing the state capital at is being developed. In doing this, political positions should be distributed equitably. But for the governorship it should be rotated between Delta Central and South senatorial districts only. I did mention something the other time. Let me repeat myself here. The Delta North persons should not feel bad that we speak in this manner because if they do, then do not have conscience.
Why do you say so?
Imagine somebody from Forcados or Escravos and down Warri North and Warri South West who is coming to collect a scholarship form from Asaba. He will travel six hours to get to Warri first. Then another one hour to get to Warri where he pick transport to Asaba spending about nine hours in the process of getting to Asaba. If he had left home by 7am because he has to watch the tide before embarking on the journey. If the tide favours him, he will probably leave about 7am. 7am -12 noon he is still not in Warri yet. May be he will arrive in Effurun at 2pm where he now leave for Asaba. At 4pm he arrives Asaba when government offices have close, where the civil servant responsible for the scholarship form has closed and gone home. May be he has no relation in Asaba who he goes to his house and pass the night till the next day. He will be now compelled to book a hotel accommodation. The next day he collects the form, if he is lucky. Maybe the officer in charge of the scholarship form has traveled to Abuja or elsewhere outside the state for official engagement. He has to wait for another day, another hotel bill. The third day he now leaves for home if he is lucky that the officer in charge of the scholarship form is back the next day. He leaves, spending another nine hours where he fill the forms and repeat the same process in returning the form. Are those from Delta North morally justified to say that we are just being partial to make these statements, when you consider such an instance? So we must define equity as it is and not as it suits us.
Equity is the totality of the values of democracy.
What is there?
Governorship is for everybody, then the other benefits should be considered.
What is you reaction to the man that called me from Delta North asking why you were making these statements, sayng all the infrastructure in Asaba are also in Warri.
I made it clear to him that Warri used to be the hub of the defunct Midwest State and not even smaller Delta State with Warri Port. So he should not compare Asaba with Warri ordinarily. For private investors to build airport in Warri realizing the economic potential of Warri. The Federal Government built a seaport in Warri knowing the economic potential of Warri. So he should not have the guts of comparing facilities in Asaba with that of Warri. I said he should apologise to the people of Warri for making such a comparison because Warri has been heavily neglected and marginalised. These are the issues I am talking about on whom to govern Delta State.
Is it fair to rule out Delta North?
It should be between Delta Central and Delta South Senatorial districts. The Delta central took it first, they handed it to the South, the South is leaving it and the South should give it back to the Delta central. I am pleading and begging the governor to think deep morally and not to think otherwise of his personal interest. He should think of the interest of the majority. So that he can leave his name in diamond plate because it will be morally justifiable and people will look at him as a just man. Anything otherwise will be unfair to the majority.
As at now there are more than half a dozen of Urhobo aspirants under the PDP alone jostling for the governorship seat. Don’t you think this will affect the chances of Delta Central producing the governor of Delta State in 2015?
I think after answering this question, I still want to talk about our politicians from Delta Central over the governorship thing. First of all, let us talk about those who are coming out now, it is beautiful. I am so elated that we have Urhobo aspirants coming out that they want to be the Governor of Delta State. Prior to now, the question from those of them from Deltas North is that, “where is the Urhobo man that wants to become the governor of Delta State?’’ This is the question they have been asking because they came out in quantum and they have been saying “show us one Urhobo man that wants to contest for the governor sect”. Of course I just say to them “it is not who comes out first. The biggest masquerade comes out last”. So we now happy that the time has come. And we are coming out to say that we are prepared. Now we have the lives of Ovie Omo-Agege, an astute politician. A former SSG, so there is no way one person will boast of being an SSG before Omo-Agege has equally aspired to be governor of Delta North twice. He is somebody that never wavered. He stayed in the party and said “look if you do not habour me here I will get this thing somewhere”. He is a determine personality. But some people say that he is moving from one party to the other. All of us knew what transpired in the PDP in the past. Now this governor is the only person that has changed this by giving power to the grassroots people. He said leaders should go to their various wards and build up the party and not just jumping from one ward to another if this was the case then, I don’t think Omo-Agege would have left PDP to be candidate of another party. But today Governor Uduaghan, I must give him that credit he has given us the opportunity of the people having a stake of what is happening in their parties in their ward levels. A lot of us were aggrieved, as our members under the platform of DPP became house of assembly and national assembly members. But having realized that the governor meant well for people to come back to the party, they are all back including Ovie Omo-Agege.
Let us talk about David Edevbie?
He is a very strong technocrat. In technocracy you cannot beat him. He has been a commissioner and personnel secretary to the late President Yar’Adua. He was almost a defector president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So what are we saying? Which qualification do you need to become a governor? Then talk of Paulinus Akpeki who is currently a commissioner. He has been in politics from time immemorial. So he is very experience in politics. He knows is onion. And has always been around every government. He was a political adviser to the Chief Felix Ibru the first Executive Governor of Delta State. So he has the pee-degree or is it Olorogun Gbagi?
Chief Gbagi is a big time businessman. And he has been in politics for a very long time. He was a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Of course there are others who have not shown up for now. So we now have formidable team to put the records right. To say yes, we have the men. And the men they are out. But the question is, how do we now manage them so that we can have only one person to come out. If must tell you. This is where the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) must come into play. Their action must speak for the Urhobo people this time. I have told them and I will keep telling them that it is now time….. Somebody was telling me that the president has not declared. The president declaration has nothing to do with an Urhobo man coming to say I want to be governor. When the guidelines are out we should check and see how we can correct certain things. So UPU should start talking to these people now and start picking one person by coming with a committee to screen them; not screening them secretly; screening with the aspirant setting together, asking them questions about their interest in Urhobo. Some of them must have good qualities than the others although they are good aspirants with credible credentials .Then we can limit the numbers to one, and plead with the others because it is their rights to be in the race. We should plead with those that they are being screened out, they should know that it is for the interest of the Urhobos and let them know why they should not go out there and mess things up like was in the case in 2007 where all the votes of Urhobo aspirants in the PDP Delta State governorship primaries put together would have given one of them the ticket. But there is no regret because the man who got it Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan is supposed to be looked upon as an Urhobo-Urhobo ticket. Besides, a person from Delta South is not regrettable because they are equally suffering marginalization. For the oil that is surviving Delta State comes from Delta State, Delta Central and from Ukuani people who are wrongly placed in Delta North. They our brothers, they speak Urhobo just as we speak Ukani. On the basis of that I will plead with UPU to expedite action and plead with the governor not just visiting once. He is not a small boy. He is somebody that has his mind of his own, you visit him constantly and let him know the importance of equity on this issue. And if we must have equity, and that means all the dividends of democracy. That is what I advice the UPU to do.
And I beg the governor to listen to the voice of reasoning on this matter. I equally beg the president… like I said in my recent interaction with the media. I said why do you want to encourage violence, why do you want to encourage rigging to get the govern ship candidate of Delta State? Why cann’t you put into practice this Little theory of mine. Urhobo constitute 58% of the population of Delta State and of course the voting right. I am not talking of delegates which is keyed by the number of local government areas which is bad. I am taking of the true population of the Delta State. The minimum of 58 percent is Urhobo. Now if you can have 58 percent votes from the Urhobo. Of course all the Ijaw of Delta State which I will proudly put at ten percent. This makes it sixty-eight percent. Then by the time we talk to our Isoko, Itsekiri and Ukuani brothers you would have gotten 70 something per cent if not 80 percent. Do you then need any rigging? No. would you be encouraging violence to win an election in Delta State? No. would you be accursed of being partial? No. would the voting right be equitable? Yes. would you have democratic values? Yes. So by the time you have this, the president would be looked upon with a very high regard in Delta State. But if you do not do this and you allow somebody to be rigged in from another region now to be the PDP governorship candidate of Delta State. There will be problem because people will be giving the marching order to vote for the opposition. And we do not want that because the Urhobos do not want to be an opposition. The Urhobos should not be pushed to be in the opposition. We are now talking of a vibrant and formidable UPU. This is a UPU with action today where every president-general of every Urhobo Kingdom has the responsibility to deliver for any Urhobo candidate. And in the process of doing that may be APC is now felding an Urhobo candidate and knowing that we do not want to lose as Urhobo people.
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