Obaseki has taken Edo backwards — Ize-Iyamu

The scenario is akin to two siblings at war. Four years ago, they locked horns in a titanic battle. One was humbled, the other vanquished. But having alternated batons, they have taken their political rivalry to the next level preparatory to the September 19 epic battle for Osadebe House in Benin City. In separate interactions captured by KUNLE ODEREMI and SEGUN KASALI, the standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, speaks on the renewed political rivalry.

How did your background, especially prepare you for life now that you in party politics?

I am a very local person and it is a deliberate choice. I was born in Benin; I went to primary school in Benin; I went to secondary school in Benin; I went to the university in Benin. Unfortunately, there was no Law school in Benin. If not I would have preferred done law school in Benin. That’s when I had to come to Lagos, for one year, which was one of the traumatic period in my life, being used to driving round without being caught in traffic. So, Lagos was a nightmare but I managed it. I still visit Lagos occasionally but I ensure that I do not say there more than necessary.  That is not to say that those of you in Lagos I’m showing direst; I appreciate you. People are different. So, I have been in Benin all my life and I love my state and I tell people that I have very fond memories growing up in my state. I went to public schools and I consider myself very well educated. I have travelled all over the world; but I still love to come back home.

What are the fond memories you have about the past in Edo terms of politics and governance?

In my formative years as a child, I drank water from the tap that was powered by the Public Water Board. We didn’t need to boil the water; we didn’t need to check the water; it was treated and nice; it came from Ikpoba  River Dam and we drank from it. My father was not poor; my family built the first story building in Benin; so we are not poor but we didn’t need to sink a borehole because the public water system was very effective and efficient. We were not worried about security; almost on all the streets, we had the Neigbhourhood Watch and those coming in and going out, they knew them. so when strangers were accosted at night, they had to explain what they were doing in the neighbourhood. So, it was very safe. The hospital was functional. I remember two of my elder brothers who came back to Nigeria, as they schooled abroad. One of them got employed into a company owned by the state government, Bendel Development Property Authority (BDPA) and six months later, he was confirmed and given a car loan to enable him buy a brand new car. Another of my brother was employed in Bendel Breweries six months later and again, he was given a car loan to enable him buy a brand new car. We had many government companies that were truly functional. My mother was fortunate to be a major distributor of Bendel Brewery and I know the volume of money that went through our hands on a weekly basis. I just say this to make people relaise where I’m coming from. in 1980 when i went to the University of Benin, i got bursary; a huge sum of money was given to a young man simply because as an indigene of Bendel State, the fulfilments of Professor Ali’s campaign agenda of the Unity Party of Nigeria, in pursuance of the free education policy, the bursaries were given to students.

Are you saying the entire scenario has changed?

Today, the story is totally different. And for many of us who have a sense of history, keep asking ourselves: why is it like this? Why is it that what we experienced in the past appears to be better than what we are experiencing now. So, for me, one of the reasons why I came into politics to simply ensure that we use it  to give our people the best. I have been fortunate to have worked in government; as Chief of Staff from 1999 to 2003; secretary to the state government (2003 to 2007). So, I understand the workings of government; I see the weak points; I see the weaknesses. So, when I now contemplate what the government was giving was clearly not the best, I told myself that the starting point was trying to serve as chief executive was to develop an agenda. There are many of those who try to rule us and in fact even succeed, in fact enter there with no clear-cut agenda on what they want to do. So, they spend their first term in office and trying to understand the system and trying to understand their priorities. The second term, all that they try to do is to see how they can make as much money before they leave office. So, I sat down and invited some experts to discuss if one was to have the opportunity to govern the state, what do we want to do?

Let me say here too that one of the reasons that I became fascinated with politics was when I listened to Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1978 introduce the manifesto of the UPN. Unlike the many manifestoes that are very difficult to read and comprehend, he compressed it to four cardinal programmes: free education; free health services, integrated rural development and education for all. And I said this is nice and this is something that anybody can remember and straight away, I moved to join the UPN even though I was very young simply because I loved their manifesto. Everywhere I went I recited the manifesto.  So, when I began to contemplate joining government, I said let us al;so do something that  is simple; something people will not rack their heads before relating with. But even in the simplicity, let be a pprogramme holistic enough globally. That’s how we came up with the SIMPLE agenda.

As far back as 2016, they were already selling the SIMPLE agenda, which they called the political manifesto of Ize-Iyamu. It is just one of the distractions they bring to bear because you can’t be running for office and you don’t have an agenda. Four years ago, I mentioned it when Obaseki was running.  I said, ‘look, you can nice for somebody of was part of the chairman of the economic team. Let Edo people know what you want to do, just as I have also brought out a document but he could not. Four years after, I have reviewed my own document, looking at present-day realities. So, he is contesting for office but there is no agenda. I want people to assess me on the basis of the agenda. That is why I have placed the document in the public domain for all to see, read and digest. It is not a perfect document. It does not address all issues, but this is a working document; a road map. For the purpose of emphasis, let me just mention what is SIMPLE. The S is security and social welfare; I is infrastructural development and urban renewal; M is manpower development; P is Public Private Partnership; L is leadership by example and E is economics and empowerment schemes. I have also told people that it is a SMART document with S standing for specific; there are specific areas we want to deal with. M means that it is measurable; A means that it is achievable; R means that it is realistic and T means that it is time-bound, which means there is a timeframe, as we are conscious of the fact if we are elected; it is for a period of four years. So, whatever we want to do, let us have it at the back of our mind that we have a four-year mandate and we must execute and compete it within that period. So, the Edo people already know whatever each word in the agenda stands for. So, we are creating a new level of political consciousness.

Godwin Godwin Obaseki is believed to be doing well in office and that he is a victim of the politics of godfather?

That is all propaganda. The narration in some quarters is that the governor is doing a fantastic job and that he was being haunted by people who wanted to share Edo money, and because he refused, they pushed him out. How far from the truth! Let’s even start from the wrong notion that we even have a technocrat as governor. How can you call somebody a technocrat who has issues with his academic records? It is the truth. That question remains a riddle. It will be interesting to know that in his final submission to the PDP or to INEC, what you see is an O Level result. Journalists are the custodians of history. So, the issue of being a technocrat is a joke. Many of you know the history of our governor when he was in the stock market and that his so-called label as a technocrat is a joke; we must not deceive ourselves.

When you talk about godfather, who is a godfather? What are the demands? Throughout the period when they had this issue even before I came back to the APC, I never heard one day that the governor said that this was what Adams Oshiomhole was demanding; just  allegations. What was the godfather demanding; what was the problem? As some people rightly said that the issue is that whereas you were imposed the first time, your refusal to do the same thing the second time is what has created the problem.

Again, many people have asked him to name those politicians who wanted him to share the government money. Again, he has not been able to come up with the names. He who asserts must prove. You made allegations; mention the names. But all us heard the governor of Rivers State when he said what is happening in Edo is tax collection; that PDP national officers had become debt collectors. And when you say tax collectors, what does that connote?

For the past few days in Benin, lecturers of the College of Education have been protesting for not being paid their salaries for over a year. So, that story of godfather is not true. Some have said he is doing well; why should he have to go? You and I know that even if the man is doing well, somebody else can do better. The fact that somebody is doing well does not even mean that there can be no contestation. So, when the governor says that his second term is not negotiable, it is a very dangerous statement because you are even saying the people of Edo State have no role. On the basis of what?

The level of insecurity in the state is alarming. A former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Zakawanu Garuba just died. The wife was rushing to Auchi from Abuja because she needed to be there in before they brought the corpse. They were able to pass through Kogi State successfully but the moment the woman, who is a magistrate, entered Edo State, she was kidnapped. So they had to do the burial in her absence because she was in captivity. Those who kidnapped her demanded for N20 million and eventually brought it down to N15 million. Some of us had to rally around quickly to rescue the woman from that terrible ordeal. There are so many similar tragic cases.

A commissioner, who served in the cabinet of Obaseki, Honourable Emmanuel Agbale, not only did they kidnap him, even when they collected the ransom, the kidnappers still killed him. Unfortunately, we could not find the corpse until after two weeks and by the time we found the body, it had decomposed terribly. The little that the governor ought to even give to the state police command, an institution charged with dealing with crime, he did not increase. How do you expect adequate security to be provided in the state? This is how bad the system is.

No wonder nobody cares. Kidnappers that have been driven away from Delta, Kogi and Ondo states have found a very fertile ground in Edo State. In terms of security, the state is not there. How can you talk about investors; how can you even encourage your people to come home when their lives are not save in the state?

The governor is believed to have made remarkable strides in other critical areas

They brag about education. Oh, Edo Best because some teachers are being trained but in his four years, has he employed a single teacher? I cried out about this about four years ago that if you go to the rural schools in Edo, it is one school; one teacher; that communities are forced to look for money and hire young graduates to complement the teaching. A teacher who into science, how is he going to teach arts subjects? When I cried out about this then, the outgoing governor had to quickly set up a committee to audit the schools and it confirmed what I complained about that most of the schools did not have regular teachers. So, the government was advised to employ 2000 new teachers based on due process.  Unfortunately, Oshiomhole could not approve the recommendation before the expiration of his tenure. He had hoped that his successor (Obaseki) was going to grant the approval. But almost four years down the road, not a single teacher has been employed, despite the glaring inadequacies. And this is a governor that promised to create so many jobs in every year; that at least 200,000 jobs will be created. When I reminded them on the promise, they said that they didn’t say every year; that they meant before the end of his four years in office. During the four years, the issue of 2000 teachers that would have just be one per cent of your employment promise was not addressed at all.

The National University Commission (NUC) declared the Ambrose Ali University as one of the least state universities in the country that was being properly funded. At a time when they were getting more than N100 million as monthly subvention, you came and said you could no longer pay them. How do you want that place to survive? So, when you talk about EDO Best, what exactly are you talking about?  You promised to bring healthcare to our doorstep, which means, in every ward out of the 132, you are going to refurbish, refurnish and rebuild the health centres and well equipped. Four years down the road, you have not been able to deliver on the promise. The Central Hospital that was dead, your predecessor decided to bring it to standard, you were part of the plan. When you got to office, you closed it down and reopened it after a series of public protests and demonstrations. Were you not part of the government? You came up with a report indicting your predecessor that he went beyond the procurement law that you cannot pay anything above 25 per cent. And when he did it, his former colleagues (commissioners) came up with a front page advert that he was trying to play politics; that it was not Oshiomhole that gave the approval but the state Executive council that comprised all of them, including Obaseki. What is the most shameful now is that he was the one in EXCO who moved that, to get that hospital completed on time, government should approve an amount above 25 per cent so that the work could be done quickly, as the chief economic adviser. That hospital today has been given to a private consultant who is charging fees that the Edo people cannot afford. You cannot see the kind of crowd you would normally see in other public hospitals because the fees are beyond the reach of our people.  This is a state that has not employed health personnel. It will interest people to know that they do not have a single aesthetician in the health sector. How do you do surgery without such experts? So, they outsourced when the need arises. Nothing is happening. You created so much tension on insecurity. Our state can be better governed and what do I offer? It is sincerity, commitment, accountability and transparency. I have an agenda about what I want to do. You are the custodian truth. Let’s investigate and interrogate the candidates so that people will be able to see the truth in the darkness. We have governor who has no regard for us. It is a tale of woes in the state. I mean well for Edo people. We should allow the way things are.

What should done to avoid violence as the countdown to the election begins?

We have said that we want this election to be issue-based. We don’t want to people resulting to name calling and all that. Let’s focus on our agenda. I can assure you that we as a party, will do everything to avoid violence. They have posters and billboards all around. We went through agents approved by government to mount our billboards. We paid the necessary fees and levies, only to find out that a top government official queried why the APC should be allowed to have billboards in strategic locations. So, he ordered that they should be removed and really, that night, they began to remove our billboards. Rather than resort to violence, we wrote a petition to the commissioner of police, the director of State Security Service (SSS) and Honourable Patrick Oboagbion addressed the press to advise the PDP to be accommodating, tolerant and avoid things that could trigger violence. But we could have taken the laws into our hands. From that time till now, they have not mentioned that one of their billboards was destroyed. By the grace of God, there will be no violence. We will do our best; we will cooperate with security agencies.

Do you think those factors that worked against you in 2016 poll no longer exist to guarantee your victory in September?

You mentioned the factors that militated against me last time. If you had followed that election, you would have known that in spite of the fact that I was running as an opposition, it was not easy. They had to postpone that election a day to it and brought it back again after 18 days. And when the result started, I am sure you saw the whole drama and stopped proceedings and by the time they came back, the whole thing had changed. But once the Supreme Court says this person won, you don’t argue. By the grace of God, this time is our time; there will be no problems.

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