Benson Onyekachi, KOWA Party's Gov'ship candidate in Abia State. |
The
huge desire to change the narratives in the Southeast state of Abia is getting
a bit more force than expected, as great individuals are coming out in their
droves to help Abians liberate themselves and reclaim the state which had been
in the hands of people who not only impoverished her, but had continued to make
mess of the state since 1999.
From
Orji Uzor-Kalu in 1999, to Theodore Orji in 2003 and now Okezie Ikpeazu, the
state has witnessed the worst of development amongst other states in the
South-East and in the midst of individuals jostling to govern the state today
are, Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP, Uche Oga of the APC, Alex Otti of APGA, others,
but one of the new entrants into the race is Onyekachi Benson of the KOWA Party
who says he has the Magic Wand to move Abia from being one of the badly
developed states, to one others will respect in less than four years of being
sworn in as Governor.
In
this interview, he bore his mind comprehensively on diverse issues on the state
and how he intends to develop and move her forward amongst comity of states in
Nigeria.
The candidate with Abia children. |
Q. Many are
taken aback that you left your comfort zone in Europe to dabble into the
uncertain, murky waters of politics back home. What are the motivating factors?
Could it be that you just want to enrich your CV with “a one-time governorship
aspirant”?
A:
I am a very proud son of Abia state but truth be told, it is rather
embarrassing the way the state has deteriorated. The entire state looks like we
are recovering from a civil war. We are the poorest state in terms of
infrastructure. There are no good roads. There are drainage problems everywhere.
No portable water. Electricity is scarce. There is high level of unemployment.
Pensioners
are not being paid. Workers are owed salaries. Our brothers & sisters
living with disabilities are totally disconnected from the society. This is
despite the vast sums of money available to Abia every month, which includes
federal allocation as well as Internally Generated Revenue. It is glaring that
there is an alarmingly huge gap between the demand and supply of good
governance in Abia state.
Abia
belongs to all Abians, home and abroad and there’s a saying that “an adult
shouldn’t sit by the fireplace and watch his yam get burnt”. Exercises that
involve bringing development and pride to our fatherland are everyone’s
responsibility. We consult our bests, for example Mikel Obi, Iwobi et al during
soccer tournaments to work and bring us glory. It is no difference when it
comes to nation building.
It
was not an easy decision, given my position as a Pharmacist Manager in one of
the largest chains in UK and a business owner, but the call to service, to help
salvage the soul of Abia made me throw my hat in the ring. Also, my love and
devotion goes beyond Abia state and Nigeria. It bothers me that there is not a
single successful black country in the world. I feel if we get Nigeria right,
the rest of Africa will follow suit. And the question about CV, I don’t think
adding one-time governorship aspirant in my CV is relevant in my field of
practice.
Q. In Nigeria
today, the PDP and APC are the two dominant parties and in Abia, the PDP is in
power. Followers of Abia politics posit that the governorship contest is a
3-way fight between PDP, APC and APGA. What gives you the conviction that KOWA
stands a chance against the three parties?
Power
is useless when the people are not empowered. We have had a single party
clinging on to power since inception and there has not been any form of
development. The standard of living of an average Abian has gone from bad to
worse. We can decipher that the dominant parties are the same. Same coin,
different sides. Every candidate in these parties has carpet crossed at one
point or the other. They are there to transact business, not for leadership.
More so, I refuse to believe that the past leaders lacked the capacity to
transform Abia but because of the prangs of godfatherism and their sole aim of
wealth and power aggrandizement, ala-igbo (Igboland) is in a sorry state
What
Abia needs is a candidate that is not tied to the aprons of the past. A
candidate that represents the future and understands what governance in the
21stcentury entails. I am that candidate.
KOWA
party is the credible alternative to the status quo. KOWA party was founded by
a group of technocrats who wanted a change in the Nigerian political sphere.
KOWA party was founded on the strong ideals of democracy and good governance.
We do not practice GODFATHERISM
KOWA
party's ideology is primarily social Welfarism and Modernism.
Social
welfare - the ideology that EVERYONE IS BORN EQUAL and must be treated as such,
no one should be accorded special treatment because of their social status,
everyone deserves equal access to justice, education and healthcare.
Modernism-the philosophy that affirms the power of humans to reshape their
environment with the aid of scientific knowledge.
KOWA
is not an acronym but a word that can mean different things in different
Nigerian languages. In Hausa Language, KOWA means 'everybody'; meaning all of
us are members. In Yoruba,KOWA means 'let it come'; meaning let the good life
come.
In
Igbo, KOWA means 'explain'(Transparency).
KOWA
Party believes that a moral obligation is placed on public officers to commit
themselves to a lifestyle marked by simplicity unlike the lavish lifestyle we
find in other parties. I mean it is sickening to see Leaders living exuberantly
while the people they govern can barely afford one decent meal a day.
A
country which scores abysmally low on almost every single development index
must focus on infrastructural development and the provision of long-denied
social services.
Onyekachi Benson. |
Q. KOWA party is
open to people of all ages and tribe. What do you make of the Abia rotational
governorship formula which its proponents call ‘Abia Charter of equity’? You
are from Ikwuano LG which is within the Umuahia axis, the same area that
produced the immediate past governor, Senator Theodore Orji. Are you not
worried that your governorship ambition runs counter to this Charter?
I
am worried that children are going to bed hungry. I am worried that our sisters
die from complications of childbirth due to decayed facilities and poorly
trained staffs. I am worried that the teeming unemployed graduates and youth
are roaming the streets unsure of the future. I am worried that our mothers
can’t afford to change their wrappers. A couple of weeks ago, one of my
campaign personnel’s mother was given a not so befitting burial because her
father had not been paid a pension from last August. People can barely afford
the basic necessities of human existence – food, clothes, shelter. Don’t get me
wrong, the Charter of equity agreement is great but the welfare of the entirety
of the people comes first. As a pharmacist, there are strict treatment
protocols and guidelines we follow when drawing up pharmaceutical care plans,
however that is what we call using your professional judgement. Also, naturally
there is common sense as well. If a government is not taking care of its
people, hunger and poverty knows no equity.
Q. Having lived
in Britain for a long time, your opponents say you are not in tune with Abia
nor in touch with its politics, its problems and its peculiarities. They say
you are actually a pretender and not a contender and you are in the
governorship race to negotiate a political appointment with the eventual winner
of the March 9 election. How do you react to this?
No
one can say I am not in tune with Abia. Abia’s problems affect everyone. Those
in the Diaspora have families living in Nigeria. Monies are remitted monthly
for them to solve the problems that the government should ideally be solving.
While Bank managers make huge profits from peoples’ monies and the government
do not make credits available to individuals to start up businesses, we in the
Diaspora send huge amounts of money to loved ones to begin businesses or buy
education or provide shelter and security. For the political space, you can see
that I haven’t really missed much owing to the lack of impact on the lives of
Abians by the politicians. May I say that I am not your typical politician, I
am a change advocate. If I wanted to build a career in politics, I would do so
locally in my local community in Croydon, Britain. I want a change in Abia.
An
Abia where everyone would be a productive entity, especially those at the
primes of their lives. I commit to be part of that change.
Q. You are a
young man vying for the office of governor, in terms of performance, how would
you rate young people who have held political offices in the past and those
presently holding them?
Baba
na the same people dey hold am since 1strepublic. The political space is made
up of gerontocrats who have concentrated powers in their hands, those who are
getting closer to retiring are building political dynasties and stage-managing
transfer of powers to sons, sons-in-law and the rest.
Q. Godfatherism
has come to be embedded in Nigeria’s body politics and Abia has always been in
the news as one of the states parading avalanche of godfathers who pulls the
strings to determine who goes where. In this race, who is your godfather?
I
do not have a godfather. The drawback to Abia’s development is godfatherism. If
a godfather sponsors your election and buys a position for you, you would have
to remit resources to them. I think Abia practice a primitive form of
democracy. Maybe I could say that politics has been turned into a business
venture so that native ways of transacting businesses have been incorporated
into politics. You know in Igbo businesses; you serve under a master, then the
master finances and establishes you. Godfathers have access to the coffers of
the state, so they finance any candidate who promises to give them continuing
access to the coffers. The people are poor and hungry, they leverage on this.
They oppress the people, fund violence to instil fear in people, emphasize
money politics and bankroll incompetent candidates. I do not need a godfather,
I have self-funded to the best of my ability and some help from crowd-funding.
At the end, I will be accountable to the good people of Abia and not to a
godfather.
Q. Generality of
Abians rue that Umuahia lacks the trappings of a modern state capital when
compared to capitals of neighbouring states. What are your plans for Umuahia if
elected?
We
would build a state of the art, tourist-attractive capital city. We will
construct, reconstruct, beautify and electrify all the entrant roads to the
capital. Umudike road, Ubakala road, Uzuakoli road, Amakama. We would replace
the Abia tower with a modern day 21st century tower, making it tourist
attractive, with roof gardens and recreational areas at the top. We would
employ the best of hands, developers, town planners and horticulturists.
Q. As someone
who lives and operates businesses in Europe, what are the unique businesses and
political experiences you are bringing into the governance of Abia?
We
would focus on our strengths which are Agriculture and Education. We will
industrialize these two key sectors. We will grow our IGR by making education
an industry. You find that Nigeria export huge capitals in billions of dollars
to buy education. For instance, 70000 Nigerian students spend over $1B per
annum schooling in Ghana. As a result, we also lose human capital to Ghana and
other countries; UK is also a classic example of where institutions are funded
by tuition fees from foreign students, Nigerians making up a large proportion. We
would revamp our school and universities infrastructure, laboratories and build
new schools to world class standards. We will train and retrain our teachers.
We will make teaching attractive by taking teachers off tax, so that our
teeming unemployed can get jobs, that way we would get enough manpower for the
influx of education tourists. We will invest in our School of Agriculture and
research institutes. We will industrialize agriculture in such a way that we
would identify advantage crops in each local governments and plant agro-allied
industries focusing on these crops. We will build export centres. We will also
expand on animal husbandry. We will harness on digital advantage.
Other
areas we will revolutionise will be in sports and entertainment, we will
privatize Enyimba FC , so that the new owners will thrive to give it global
visibility. We will also generate revenues from constant match fixtures and
souvenir sales. Enyimba FC Jerseys will be obtainable in the streets of the
world. We will also expand the stadium to accommodate concerts so that we can
generate revenues from Nigeria’s flourishing export-Music.
Business
cannot flourish without access to credits. We will ensure policies that will
enable small and medium sized businesses get loans. We will also ensure that
interest rates are minimal. The beauty of Nigeria is that there are so many
things that have not been done, so that gives opportunities for
entrepreneurship.
Politically,
the first thing we would do when we resume office will be to conduct a census
of population total of Abians and categorise into age, gender, location,
household income etc. This is very important for investors to decipher where to
build factories, stores or offices, this will ensure accessible employment.
Developers will need this to determine where to build new houses and where to
revamp. Security agencies would need this for policing, emergency preparedness
for example during disasters.
Q. Why should
Abians vote you? And what will you do differently from the incumbent governor,
Okezie Ikpeazu?
I
represent what a 21st century leader should be; young, compassionate,
innovative and enterprising.I will be transparent and accountable. We have
published a 100-page document on how we will inform our people of all
allocation accrued to them and how they will be disbursed every step of the
way. I will carry my people along. That way, confidence will be restored to
democracy.I also would propose to cut down on the remunerations politicians get.
It is absurd how much each politician earns. They earn in two months or less
what the prime minister of the UK earns. It is not right, especially when
ordinary people are living below the acceptable standard.
Q. What informed
your choice of KOWA as a platform to realize your governorship ambition? What
makes KOWA thick?
KOWA’s
ideology as mentioned earlier informed my judgment. They are based on these
two: Welfarism & Modernism. Welfarism simply put, utilising our
commonwealth to take care of all and sundry, not just a few, especially those
that are unable to take care of themselves- persons with disabilities, elderly,
homeless, widows, orphans. Modernism is self-explanatory. The constant use of
science and technology to effect changes in our ever-evolving world. People
opine that KOWA party lack the structure to win. KOWA actually does have
representatives in all 17 LGAs in Abia. You see because of the type of politics
practiced in Nigeria, what people refer to as structure, in my mental reckoning
is having vote buyers scattered around the state to bribe their way into
position. We will never achieve true democracy if parties keep doing this.
There
are dozens of other candidates, what stands you out?
I
am young; I speak the young people’s language. I represent the future. The
other candidates are tied to the aprons of the past. They have cross carpeted
from one party to another, they are the same recycled candidates. I am a
skilled professional as a pharmacist, so my skills will come in handy in our
quest to revolutionise the healthcare system. I do not have Godfathers to remit
public funds to. I have travelled wide and I understand what it takes to build
a decent society. I also do not have to spend tax payer’s money travelling the
world looking for investors; I already have them as contacts, colleagues and
associates. So you see, I am ready to hit the ground running.
Juxtaposing
the British and Nigerian political environments, including electioneering
campaigns, what is your impression of politics in Nigeria and what has been
your experience thus far?
Nigeria
is not as democratic as it should be. We have carry-overs of elements of
military regime. Executive leaders concentrate power in their hands and
subordinate other arms of government.
Outdated
practices are infused into politics. The rights of people are regularly
violated. There is zero regard to the rules of law, due processes and
procedures. Accountability, the very nature of democracy is non-existent.
Poverty and hunger is the weapon politicians use, rather than intellectual
capacity during electioneering process. The people, on the other hand, are not
educated on the essence of election. Most people, especially those at the
grassroots, religiously vote every four years, not because they want change, but
because this is the only period, they can afford decent meals and other
freebies by selling their votes. The politicians leverage on this.
While
British politicians see opposition parties as people with alternative views,
Nigerians see oppositions as enemies. There is also that spiritual
interpretation of power by followers of leaders “the chosen one” or “God sent”
wherein visions and power is not to be constrained or challenged by any
individual or body. Nigerians, especially the youth, should be sensitized to
understand that it is their constitutional right to aspire to lead, to stand
for positions. I am glad that awareness is being raised and public figures,
like Banky W, are taking the bulls by the horns.
There
are gross electoral misconducts in Nigeria, parties openly buy votes and also
intimidate voters. There are huge monetary inducements during elections. There
may never be a free and fair election until poverty is wiped out. Again, the
people need to understand the power they have in their votes and that they can
sacrifice taking bribes and vote right. Only then can true change come.
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