Controversial
Uyo born politician, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe in this recent interview
bares his mind on the 2015 gubernatorial election, zoning, and his party APC. The
read the full interview after the cut…
You have been away for some time; how
has it been?
I
was constrained by the court bail condition given to me. That is what people
don’t understand. Our people have a saying that you can only lay on the back of
a dead ca. when you go everywhere and talk, people who are trying to foment
trouble will say you are the one and then they will cancel your bail and put me
in the prison. That doesn’t make me a brave man. A dead lion cannot be compared
with a live cat. You simply obey the
condition. I am a leading opposition figure in the state, keeping quiet doesn’t
mean that I am taking sides with the government.
Don’t you think your supporters may
abandon you as a result of your posture?
Our
supporters are not leaving us. It is the propaganda of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) to lure them to its side. They should know more than that. Did I
abandon them? Abandonment means that we did not pursue the tribunal case to
logical conclusion which was my legal right. I went to Supreme Court twice. I
don’t want to talk about the case but I will say I have enjoyed the
righteousness of the judiciary. I am not going to say anything about an
institution which I have so much respect for.
I
understand what it means to leave PDP. I abandoned my business, I could not be
patronized in what I do. I had no patronage.
Let
me give you a story, my running mate during the 2011 election, Chief Ime Umanah
is in court today because of a text message. He hasn’t gotten out of it. Now,
if you rob anybody or you kidnap someone and that kidnapper is arranged to
implicate me; if I am the last person you called and you drop that phone and
when police asked what was the last number he called and it was traceable to
me, that is trouble for me. It is only a fool that will not understand some of
those things. You must understand your enemies and understand how far they can
go.
Is
it not clear what is going on at the NGF, where lower vote defeated a higher
vote? Have we not seen the situation in
Rivers State where five is greater than 27? Is it not clear that tehse
people are doing this with impunity? If you think you are surviving because of
the rule of law, who will save you? If Akwa Ibom people understand what I have
given up to speak on their behalf, they will be thanking God.
Even
a lot of PDP people come and lobby me to speak so that Akpabio will bring to
the PDP people.
Even in the face of all these, you seem
to control a whole lot of followers; what is responsible for this?
When
I used to mind my business, mind my money, nobody will care because your
prosperity is not affecting them. The same people that hated you, when you turn
and speak on their behalf, they will like you. To the glory of God, it is not
magic. It is just that you have decided to give eyes to those who don’t have
eyes. You have decided to give voice for those who don’t have voice. You have
decided to be that leader, to fill the gap for those who don’t have the
ability.
I am
pleased with my life. I stand for what I believe in. if you have hope of
eternity, you shouldn’t be afraid of this life. It depends on the level of
spirituality you have with your God. For instance, when they put me in Uyo
prison, they were trying to take me to Enugu that night. What shocked the
people that came was that when they came I was sleeping. They don’t understand
why I was sleeping. They thought that I wont be able to sleep. I don’t bother
because the message is very clear at that particular point in time because I
have word of God that will keep me. When I was in detention, it really
devastated wife. She was totally shattered.
How would you assess the development
plan of Akpabio’s government?
Akpabio’s
government is a complete failure. Development is not based on media hype. The Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) had set out indices that can determine development. Poor
sanitary condition must improve, access to water must improve and access to
other life changing facilities must improve but it is unfortunate we have not
been able to meet up with some of these things. You said you are developing a
state while you are running on generator at night. When people come, you do a
guided tour to show them. You keep advertising a particular thing all over again
with nothing else to show.
What is your position on the zoning of
governorship seat in 2015?
Zoning
is a very convenient political arrangement. They are trying to bring in their
own so that the status quo will continue. We need to be liberated so that we
don’t slaughter the freedom of the state on the altar of zoning. Don’t quote me
wrong. I support fairness, I am not for zoning.
As
we speak, everybody who wants to run for this office believes in anointing.
They are not people friendly. You need to have a message that will sell you to
the people. There is something that is wrong; our people are living under a
certain spell. Why would you have people being frightened to their marrow?
Democracy is freedom.
In a
normal political situation, there is nothing wrong with zoning. The question
is, are they going to be fair in their zoning? For instance, if they are fair,
they should narrow it down to ethnic group. But they won’t do that.
In
2015, what the people of Akwa Ibom need is
a message that will give hope, a message that will bring back the state
from the hands of despots. Was I not one of those who came and actualized the
dream? Governor Godswill Akpabio was the least among the people that came from
Annang to contest the governorship seat but just because they called him names,
I was angry because God created everybody but calling people names doesn’t make
sense.
So
here we are today, all those people who are clapping for Akpabio today, what
did they do that I did not do for Akpabio? The same man who made a law to
imprison me. You can be happy today because you are eating prawns; what about
your children? We don’t do things for the future, people only think about the
present situation.
Are you satisfied with the state
government’s efforts toward poverty reduction?
It is
sad that we have people in this state who
are smiling while suffering. For instance, last month, we got from the Federation
Account almost N70billion, excluding Internally Generated Revenue. If you have
people who believe in anything goes, where there is no intellectual component
to propel the future and someone is deceiving you and you are still believing
him, then something is wrong. Do I need to look for two people to believe the
way I think? No, it is not always a lot of people who believe in something. It only
takes one person to change a society. It is a terrible situation we are facing
here in Akwa Ibom.
You cannot
cry more than the bereaved. If people are suffering and smiling, and I am
telling them you are suffering and they said ‘no’, so what do I do? There are
those who come to tell me things are difficult. When they come here, they tell
me you are not giving us money. I am not a commissioner and not a contractor
here in Akwa Ibom State.
How prepared is APC towards 2015 in Akwa
Ibom State?
We
are building a platform. That is what we are doing. We need a strong party. we
need people who believe in progressive arrangement; an ideology that will bring
in a better future because party is a vehicle and you need to build a structure.
Are you saying APC would not allow PDP
castaways?
By
the time they come, we must have finished our structure. We are willing to take
everybody but you must not come after the deadline. If you come in from PDP,
that means you still have your structure in PDP. What we want is for people to
believe in the ideology of the progressives.
Are you saying that money received by
Akpabio’s government since inception is not commensurate with the level of
development in the state?
Don’t
even use commensurate. What he has done is like that of a local government
chairman when compared with the money he has collected so far. What he is celebrating
can be likened to the performance of a
local government chairman. It is only a local government chairman that will build
a healthcare centre and commission it. When I was a Minister of State for
Federal Capital Territory, it was mandatory as a policy to build healthcare
centre in each of the wards to be closer to the people based on the indices/criteria
of development. Education must be given to everybody not the type in Akwa Ibom
State. It is not just going to paint classrooms on the street and call that
free education.
Next
year, we will engage him. This is why I don’t like giving interview. I am just
giving you an idea. If we engage him now, it will turn to propaganda. There will
be a time he won’t be able to defend himself again. That is why I am keeping
quiet.
So will you be vying for governorship in
2015 considering the fact that you are from Uyo Senatorial District and the
people are agitating for zoning of the governorship seat to Eket?
I am
waiting for them. Eket Senatorial District people are sleeping. Is it not
shameful that some of them from Oron are going to collect money? Is that a
serious set of people? They better get money now than to sacrifice the
governorship seat. Do they expect me to fight for them? We need people who will
redeem Akwa Ibom because it has been sold out. We need to redeem it first.
Somebody can come from Eket or anywhere who has the message and ability. If you
are not ready to die, you don’t come and struggle for the governorship
position. It is a wrong timing for zoning. Even with courage, there is a little
element of fear.
Source: THE NATION
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