Chief Kenneth Gbagi, former Minister of State for Education, is a renowned industrialist, entrepreneur and criminologist. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant spoke on a few of his plans in the area of development, empowerment, and security if he is voted into power come 2023. EBENEZER ADUROKIYA brings excerpts:
You have an array of business concerns across the state and you want to become the governor of Delta State come 2023. Do you think you have the multi-tasking capacity to deliver on your promises as well as manage your businesses well without one suffering neglect?
Capacity, as you would have known as a scholar, is something that comes in two forms, either inborn or acquired along the line. But in my particular case, you will say mine is inborn. Do not forget that at various times that I had left, I was chairman of the legal aid council of Nigeria, which is the largest country in Africa with legal issues in the world. So, as the chairman, it was very challenging, extremely so very challenging but undauntedly, I performed these duties and my business empire did not collapse. I then left to be a Minister. I will confess to you that when I left to become a Minister, my business empire shook a little bit because it was strictly no private business at that time. You can’t participate in your private business while in the public. You are supposed to be completely out of your private business. And for those of us who are very law-abiding, that was what we did.
The same thing will happen in 2023 by the Grace of God as I take over, my businesses have settled well and are quite on the ground. As you can see now, I don’t participate for six, seven, eight months at any of my business locations. I do not have any office contrary to what one man would have had. I have never had an office in my business locations. Rather, I build my houses and build my offices within my houses, and I leave from my houses to my offices without traveling or driving to anywhere. So, it is all put together. And I can tell you, you just had to have the abilities because if I don’t have the abilities that God has endowed me with now, I would not have been able to do all am doing right now.
So, with regard to my business empires, they have all been handed over with engaged professionals, and they are all doing their jobs very well, and I am watching them. A good time to take a peep as to what they will look like eight years in government house, without doing anything, but believe me, I believe we are good to go, we are ready and the empire will not suffer.
Since 1999, Delta State has been governed by mainly politicians, which means if your dream/aspiration of becoming Delta State governor in 2023 comes true, you will be the first businessman to attain that height. How would you use your business prowess and skills to impact Delta State?
Yes, in the true sense of the world, to be very honest and candid to ourselves, I am not a true-blooded politician judging the way politicians have come to represent in themselves. I am an acidly honest, detribalised, straightforward Nigerian with principles, and people often complain about the fact that I am too principled.
Yes! I am principled. But I wasn’t sleeping when I moved loads of my businesses to Delta State for instance. I have the biggest two privately-owned malls in the state today that give food and hope to hundreds and thousands of people. So, I mean it is not because I am a politician when I built those first malls thirty (30) years ago. There was no politics then, it was just a duty of service. We have brought a number of stuffs; we own the biggest hotel today in the state, we also own today the biggest beverage factory in the country, and we are still bringing things and bringing stuff to the state because we have no other state except this one.
There are certainly going to be a very brilliant sharp difference. And I must confess, the governor in the office today has made issues very direct and straight. He has set parameters on a number of issues that have agitated my mind since 1999. The state today is a state that you can say a system has been put in place. And don’t forget, it is not easy at all for a government to be on its feet if you compare Lagos. Whether governor goes or comes, the system is running. It is not torn apart because this particular Delta State governor is there or not. Rather, there are certain things that cannot just happen.
Governance itself is a very serious issue. So, I believe with all that one has acquired in life, irrespective of the discipline that one has been brought up with by Pastor Gbagi as it were, or Evangelist Gbagi as it were, it is not easy. But let me give you one simple analysis: within one year of my being a Minister, I brought my business acumen to governance. And if you are transparently honest, it is difficult for people to deny you the speed you want to achieve, irrespective of the government.
Like never before, I have created thirteen (13) Universities in Nigeria, and today, all those universities, when I created them, I gave them N2 billion each. I pushed my way to achieve this. And I challenge anybody, either the Vice-chancellor or the students, or Minister of Education, anybody for that matter; not a bottle of coca-cola did I want from them. I did not benefit from a bottle of coca-cola from the government because the intention was not to benefit anything. I created eight secondary schools for the girl child, just like all the Kings College schools, and I released funds for all of them to be built. Apart from the fact that one went to my community, I did not benefit from a kobo and I challenge anybody to make it public if I did.
You don’t go into governance for what you will benefit or get; that is Kenneth, I made the scene to be like that, and people think that is not true. Look, we cannot drive two cars at the same time, or sit on the car seat of the owner twice, replicating ourselves. We cannot be at the two venues at the same time. Death is inevitable, it will come, and we cannot have anything to do with that when we die.
So, I just believe and know that as a businessman, I know what it takes. I know what to do and if I can do it in a more rough situation, as in Federal Government then, going to Delta State as a governor will be a tsunami. I don’t sleep day and night. I am putting my plans together, putting my papers together and making contacts, bringing people to the country to look at what I want to do. And I know by the grace of God, it will be a win-win situation for everybody.
In one of your public statements, you are reported to have said you will build on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s legacy. How are you going to make this possible within your first term in office?
On the issue of building, some people are irresponsible. They said Okowa did not initiate new projects, that he was building another person’s projects. In fact, that makes me further respect the man. Whatever money has been sunk into any project for that matter, does not belong to any governor, present or past. It is people’s money. It therefore will be irresponsible of one to jettison the projects on the ground. On my assumption of office, we will come up with a policy of twenty (20) years plan, which will be difficult for anybody to change.
And the fact remains that as a state, we must do what we need to do for the benefit, good, and progress of the state, for our youths, including children yet unborn. We must have a plan. The plan I have is as good as what Governor Okowa has started structuring. I am undergoing tutelage as to what Okowa is doing. I am looking at it, I am re-amending my thinking; plus, or minus, the man has done very well. He has brought peace to Delta State.
First and foremost, you said development. Even if I want to build all the factories in all the local government areas, you will need to move all your goods and services from one point A to point B, and to Point C and to Point D because, unless you are able to move your goods and businesses, it is as good as doing nothing. So, if this man has done the roads as nobody has ever done then, he has taken the industry to a level where we must all appreciate him and take it up from there.
Delta State, in terms of infrastructural development, is not where it should be. What plans do you have among the major cities in terms of infrastructural development to transform these cities and the entire state?
Delta infrastructural development is not where it is supposed to be. Yes! You can say with the whole enormity of what comes to the state. Delta in general has no capital injections from private businesses. People are not manufacturing or doing businesses compared to the number they ought to do. We even have more business then than we have today, all because of the threat of insecurity. The governor has opened up all those channels and as a businessman, I will take it to a different level.
The people will see a huge difference in infrastructure. It just makes no sense for any man to think that you want to rule Delta State today and you are an Urhobo man, and you want to do Urhobo things. As an Ijaw man, you want to do an Ijaw deal, you want to come and develop Ijaw and rule Ijaw. As an Ibo, you say no! you need an entire scope of the state, and where possible, even take more for developmental purposes.
For those of us who stayed all our lives in Lagos, we participated because I was close to [Chief Obafemi] Awolowo, I saw what was going on in Western Nigeria, and between you and me, today what is the issue; lack of infrastructural development. I want to make sure that all the Senatorial districts can generate massive and sufficient electricity. No two people have the same plans. But I can tell you that he has set the stage in such a way that it is now enviable for us to do, such a great job to make Deltans and the youths, get them out of the street, which of course is my first call of business.
From all indications, it seems some top officials of Delta State who have served in one public office or another have this fear of you probing their activities. What is your take?
I will have nothing to do with what has happened with my predecessors in office. God willing, I take over, what I will do is to do mine, leave my name for posterity to judge, everyone according to their contribution to the development of the state.
Today, a lot of people still talk about [Samuel] Ogbemudia, that is because of his contribution. So, I have my plans, and if I am able to bring my private businesses to Delta State the way I am, it can only be best imagined what I will do when I take over the authority and running of governance. I have seen one Archbishop who has come to me saying I should promise him, mentioning one or two names, that everyone knows me when I say yes or no, I keep to it, and that I should promise him that I will not probe anybody. I will keep to it as a man of truth. And I told the Bishop, I will have nothing to do with any record that is not starting with May 2023. And I have no business with that at all. And the Archbishop did not stop there. He took me where I addressed the CAN of Delta State after I addressed them for two hours 15 minutes, the entire CAN unanimously endorsed me saying, “we don’t know any other person that can govern this state better with the kind of ideas you have other than you Gbagi.”
I am going to do all-inclusive governance. It is going to be a win-win situation. Our youths will be employed. My target is to turn the entire Delta State to a business hub and that hub will be manifested and seen by everybody with time.
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