He had been governorship candidate in Rivers State on the platform of the Fresh Democratic Party as well as the chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties in Rivers State and the South-South region. In the past Rotimi Amaechi administration, Rev (Dr) Minaibi Dagogo-Jack was S.A to the Governor on Empowerment and Chairman of the SURE-P programme.
In this interview with Opaka Dokubo, Rev Dagogo-Jack shares his thoughts on some trending issue, in the polity. Excerpts!
Have you left politics?
No, I have not completely left politics. I am still there but I am taking another direction. Having served in government as S.A to the governor and chairman of the SURE-P programme in Rivers State, I’ve come to have a better understanding of what leadership is all about. So, I’m taking a different approach in trying to raise awareness in righteous governance.
What I have come to understand is that it is not of him that willeth, neither is it of him that runneth, but it is of God that showeth mercy.
What is the condition of Fresh Democratic Party in Rivers State and is your governorship ambition still alive?
Well, when I came up to contest the governorship under the Fresh Democratic Party, I mentioned to everybody, while some of my counterparts were telling people that God spoke to them that they will be elected governor, I told people that God didn’t say in my case. It was my heart’s desire to serve, my heart’s desire to change the system, my heart’s desire to bring fresh democracy into the system. That was how I joined the party whose leadership is ministerial.
So, with regard to my governorship ambition, before now I said and not the Lord but for now I have not said and God has not said anything. So I can’t say I still have such ambition because I have not thought of that yet and God has not spoken to me too.
What is your opinion concerning the renewed talk about restructuring of Nigeria?
Ten years ago I made my position clear that Nigeria needed restructuring and that is still my position until it is restructured. We say that we are a federation but it is obvious that we are not practicing true federalism. I think that the concentration of power at the centre is too much. We need a devolution of power.
Agitations are coming because people are feeling alienated, people are feeling that they’re being marginalised. So I strongly believe that restructuring is indeed needed.
I have been watching Buhari to start the process but there’s no way you can start restructuring without fighting corruption; there’s no way you can properly govern well without fighting corruption. I think that corruption has become a great monster in this country. So I think that the president’s fight against corruption is in order but he must think about restructuring the country also with a view to according every unit its proper place. Let the local governments properly run as local government, let the state governments be given their proper powers and let the federal be given their proper place as well.
We need to come together and discuss on restructuring. It’s not the federal government alone sitting down and deciding the matter. While we discuss, we must take into account the reports of panels and conferences that are already available. The report of the National Conference held by the Goodluck Jonathan administration is there. There is also the Justice Uwais Electoral Reforms Report. There is yet another report by a committee led by Ledum Mitee on the Niger delta issue.
We really need to come together and talk as friends in order to chart a way forward for this country.
What do you think should be the appropriate relationship between a sitting government and opposition political parties and politicians?
I think that the government should always give a reasonable quota to the opposition to come and demonstrate what they have to offer to the people. For example, at the national level, can you point to any member of an opposition party that is in government? There is none. Opposition parties are not accommodated at all. In fact, if they can kill all the opposition to have a one party system they will do it.
Today, the only opposition party is the PDP and I thank God. Let them suffer and let them see the pains of being in opposition. They are crying and they’re shouting but how many commissioners in the state where they control are from the opposition parties? So, the present situation is not fair. It is not proper. We must think of how to put Nigeria first and the people first in everything we do.
What do you say about a situation where the opposition makes it difficult for the government to settle down and work as in Rivers State?
No, that’s not the right thing. Right from when I was actively in politics and as chairman of the CNPP. I have always told people that opposition does not mean throwing stones. Opposition means ensuring that things work well. You’re not examined or rated by the number of stones you throw at those in power. Whatever government does you want to criticize, no its not proper.
I was pleasantly surprised when Governor Nyesom Wike joined the government at the Ogoni clean up. That’s good. I was also surprised when he said that the militants bombing of oil facilities should stop. This is how it should be.
When you identify government policies that are good, you should support and encourage them because the welfare of the people should come first in our mind in whatever thing that we’re doing.
Take another example of Governor Wike completing projects with contractors from the previous government and I hear some people criticising it “you don’t have a project.” I don’t know what is wrong with politicians. Government is a continuum and Minister of Works, Fashola is saying that they will do the same thing. So what is the justification for the criticism. What the federal government is doing in this regard is proper and what Governor Wike is doing is proper.
Some people say he (Gov. Wike) does not have a vision, he is operating the vision of Rotimi Amaechi. If Amaechi has a good vision and he is continuing with that vision, what is wrong in that?
I think we should leave that type of politics and support those in government who are doing right and also, when they’re doing wrong, you constructively tell them that they’re doing wrong.
Give your assessment of Governor Wike’s one year in office
I have been asked this question severally and I have maintained that I can’t assess Governor Wike now the reason being that if you watch very carefully, since this man came on board, he has never rested. He has been fighting court cases, militants fighting here and criminals fighting there. And then it is only recently that he had the Supreme Court verdict. If you watch him now, it is now that he is trying to settle down to governance. He has been playing politics since he came. He has been too partisan since he came and that is part of the restructuring we need to do.
A leader that has assumed office no longer belongs to a political party alone. You can see how much he has been struggling from the time he got that verdict till now without money and borrowing to meet up some obligations. I don’t want to assess him now. But from now to his second anniversary in office, my eyes are on him.
INEC says it is under no pressure to conduct election, in Rivers State. What do you make of that?
Every Riversman, the church leaders and everybody should be ashamed. If a church leaders says they are politicians, when they win don’t go Mother Teresa said the sin of indifference is greater than any other thing. We all are at fault in this matter-Nyesom Wike, Rotimi Amaechi, APC, PDP, we church leaders are all at fault because we were sleeping when the devil came to sow the tars.
I have not heard this kind of thing that INEC said they’re not going to conduct election because of insecurity. It is uncalled. It is unthinkable. We played ourselves into their hands. We were sleeping. Let’s go back and ask God for forgiveness.
It is unacceptable that we don’t have anybody in the Senate and we have only five persons in the House of Representatives. Do our people not have a right to be represented? The same thing is happening in the House of Assembly.
Every Rivers leader should be ashamed of himself for the fact that you did not even speak out the truth; for the fact that you did not get involved, for the fact that you were protecting your party ahead of the interest of the people, you should confess that sin because the interest of Rivers State should be paramount in our heart. We all should be blamed and it is a shame that we are so deprived.
If we all come together and say enough is enough, this excuse of insecurity will not stand and INEC will come and conduct election. We all must take Rivers State as our constituency and forge a common front and INEC will have no say. We, our conduct gave INEC the boldness to look at us in the face and tell us there is insecurity otherwise did INEC not conduct election in Borno State? Even when President Jonathan said there should not be elections, the people insisted that there should be elections and they conducted elections.
There were elections conducted in Boko Haram infested areas and you can’t conduct elections here? Well, we played ourselves into their hands.
As I have said, we have to take the blame. The spirit of indifference was in us and we were thinking of our own and the devil came to sow tars because we were sleeping. INEC is capitalising on that and I think we should rise up from our slumber and God will help us.