• Home
• Columnist
• Videos
• Artist
  • Musicians
  • Actors
  • Comedians
• Notable Nigerians
• Legend Dies
• Articles
  • Nigeria Articles
• Photos
• Submit Article

Jude Agbaso, deputy governor of Imo State, in an interview with Victor Ugborgu, senior staff writer, speaks on the challenge of kidnapping and the spate of development projects in the state. Excerpts:

Newswatch:Sometime ago, there was an upsurge in kidnapping activities in the state. Many prominent citizens have lost their lives to kidnappers. What is the situation now?

Agbaso:  We believe that Imo State is in the hands of God. There is high level of security in the state now. That is because the people are working with the government in its efforts to kill the cankerworm called kidnapping and other criminal activities. The introduction of the fourth tier government which comprises the traditional ruler, president-general, youth leader, women leader and so on, has taken care of so many issues. There is more attention to community policing. Every robber or kidnapper comes from a community and every member of the community knows the criminal. The issue of kidnapping is gradually dying down, what we see is a flash by some disgruntled elements.

Newswatch:  But how many people have been jailed or prosecuted so far out of the 32 suspected kidnappers paraded some months ago? Don’t you think the people are beginning to lose confidence in the government’s ability to fight crime?

Agbaso: The wheel of justice grinds slowly. The kidnappers so far arrested will be prosecuted. The court is not in a hurry to prosecute them to avoid mistakes. We are taking our time to study the situation and understand fully how they operate. But I can assure you that they will be prosecuted soon.

Newswatch: The fourth tier of government is entirely a new concept. Is it a replacement of the local government system?  And how are you sure it will not bring confusion in the various communities?

Agbaso: The fourth tier government is the idea of the governor. The philosophy is summed up in a document called Rochanomics. The economic blueprint is centred on three core elements. The first is commitment, that is, government’s sheer will and capacity to direct things and make sure those things are being done. The second is decentralisation. The problem is that power has been centred in the hands of a few persons in this country over the years. The resultant effect is that people are looking up to one source of power. It is not correct for power to reside in one person who claims to know all. The present local government system is faulty and has failed us. It has not taken the dividends of democracy to the grassroots. It has not taken development to the rural communities. So, the fourth-tier government is an attempt to take development to the masses, the people living in the rural communities. The local government is a creation of the colonial masters, and people look at the government from a very curious standpoint. In the Igbo setting, everything belongs to the community. If someone embezzles say, N1 billion, belonging to the government, people will initially be angry, but as time goes on, they might moderate, though wrongly that the money belongs to the government. But if a community leader misappropriates say N5,000 given to the community, the people will not take it lightly. The person will not have a rest until he produces the money. Therefore, the fourth tier of government is actually community government. It is community based, where the rural people will be empowered to develop their areas.  They will fix their roads, run their primary health facilities and take care of their schools. We are enterprising people with communal spirit to develop our areas without waiting for anybody.

Newswatch:  The Ministry of Works and Housing is under your supervision. There is massive construction of roads across the state at the same time. How is the government carrying out these projects at the same time or are you copying from any state?

Agbaso:  One thing you cannot deny his excellency is originality in his thinking, both in his public and private life. What is happening in Imo State is very original. We are not copying from any state or anybody. As a matter of fact, we are doing our own thing to suit the people of the state. During the campaign period, his excellency told the people that he was going to rebuild the state at a supersonic pace. A lot of people thought it was a mere election slogan. But from what is happening, it has dawned on those doubting Thomases that he was not in any way mouthing slogans, rather the state is being developed at a pace we promised to do it.

Right from the beginning; we had a road map. We were very clear about where we’re going. We have already laid out what we are going to do and the pace we are going to do it. That is what is made manifest today. What is happening in Imo State can be likened to the reconstruction of Western Europe after the world war. We have read and seen the infrastructural problem of the state. We noticed the depth of decay and we are ready to confront frontally those problems. That is why the whole state is witnessing such magnitude of road construction.

Newswatch: But there are fears that these roads might become a nightmare to the people during the rainy season, considering the slow pace of work.

Agbaso:  I don’t see how that’s going to happen or how opening up roads could be a wrong thing. The state has witnessed massive construction of roads; it has cost time and money. I don’t see why that will become a problem. We have an issue with the rainy season, but if you move around the state, you will notice that the pace of work has not slacked. We are working in all fronts. We are going to protect our investment-the money we have already put down in the construction of roads in all communities. We are not a wasteful government, so we will protect our investment; I don’t want to belabour this issue because I have spoken on it in different fora. Just move around the towns and villages, you will like what you see.

Newswatch: It appears the government is only concerned about road construction…

Agbaso:   Road construction happens to be the only visible of all that we are doing. But in the real sense of it, we have done more work in other areas. For instance; we have worked miracles on the confidence of the people. For the first time in the history of our state, the people of the state have implicit trust and confidence in the government of today. People have noticed the sincerity, the sacrifice and commitment of a government in all areas. Now the people believe in this government.  Because we told them what we’re doing and what we want to achieve, they are also willing to make sacrifices. That’s a very major achievement. Go through the villages and towns, you will see the reality that will confront you. Go out there interview the people including members of the opposition parties, they will tell you that they have never had this kind of confidence in the previous governments.

Look at the educational sector, the governor said no child of Imo State origin should be denied education simply because his parents cannot afford the school fees. The centrepiece of this administration is education. We are the smartest group of people in Nigeria, and education is our main industry. We have invested a lot in education. For instance, we’re building 305 brand new primary schools across the state. That means every ward will benefit. The free education offered by the present administration is known to everybody. We are committed in the education of our children from primary to tertiary level. His Excellency, Rochas Okorocha has an overwhelming passion for education. We are also working on teachers training and retraining to make them more effective and efficient. We have really overhauled the school system and schools are now going autonomous. We are also paying serious attention to the health sector. We are constructing new general hospitals in the 27 local government areas of the state, which will be well equipped and furnished as modern hospitals.

Few weeks ago, I went to India to sign a memorandum of understanding with a known medical outfit to partner with us to raise the health care delivery system in the state. We want to put a stop to the movement of Nigerians to India or any other country for medication. In the next three years such Nigerians will rather come to Imo State for treatment.

Newswatch:   The Supreme Court recently confirmed the election of Owelle Rochas Okorocha as the duly elected governor of the state. Would you say the verdict was a true reflection of what transpired in the state during the election?

Agbaso:  That was the verdict to expect. You understand that the election that brought this administration was a very peculiar one. You must recall that we had a supplementary election for the first time in the history of our democracy. The supplementary election at the gubernatorial level was introduced to take care of the peculiar circumstance that arose with the governorship election in Imo State in 2011. The first election of April 26, witnessed the clear winning by our political party, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, and the governor with whom I shared the governorship ticket. And when there was nothing to hold on following the cancellation of elections in four local government areas; the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared that there was no clear result. The decision by INEC was accepted by our party because we knew that the people were eager to vote for us. The people also supported the supplementary exercise which the INEC declared. The May 6, 2011, supplementary election was a clear landslide victory for our party.

After the election, on the day of handover, the former governor, Ikedi Ohakim, clearly said the people had spoken, that the elections were over and that he was convinced that his Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha won. He even went further to say that he wasn’t going to challenge the result of the election. It was a surprise that he went to court to challenge that same election after he accepted defeat. The contest went through the tribunal to appeal, up to the Supreme Court. All the judges unanimously declared that our party won the election. From the foregoing, there was high expectation that we will win at the apex court. It could have been a clear miscarriage of justice if we did not win at the Supreme Court.