Mr Osita Okechukwu is a former governorship candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Enugu State in the 2011 elections and one of the allies of President Muhammadu Buhari. In this interview with journalists, he spoke on the complaints of marginalisation that trailed the ministerial list across the country.
Some people had expected you to make the ministerial list, representing Enugu State, as a core loyalist of President Buhari. What happened?
To be candid with you, my unalloyed support for President Buhari in the presidential campaign elections of 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 was more than personal. I mean sincerely that it is more of national than personal interest.
Are you saying you would have rejected the ministerial offer if you were listed?
Far from it, one would have accepted it as an assignment by Mr President. However, what I’m saying is that from the onset, our single and fundamental objective is that President Buhari has the capacity and capability to change the socio-economic conditions of Nigerians for the better.
Does it mean you are not interested in public office? Is that why Enugu State ministerial nominee is relatively unknown to your people?
I am interested in public office. That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that my devotion to Mr President is primarily based on my passion to be part of the crusaders who will fix Nigeria. How many Nigerians rejected ministerial appointment? Very few, if there is any.
Are you saying you are part of the crusaders who are fixing Nigeria when you’re not in government?
Yes, for the truth of the matter without being immodest is that one remains the foremost Buhari man in Enugu State, minister or no minister. One has been like President Buhari ‘s District Head in Enugu for over a decade. Therefore, winning the presidential election on the fourth attempt is the true manifestation of our passionate commitment to Mr President. Many left in droves after the 2003 election. One is happy to be enrolled in the hall of those who made today possible. This is the golden trophy we all share.
Don’t forget that my joining the Buhari political family in 2002, then called The Buhari Organization (TBO), was a decision reached after rigorous debates under the caucus of Rt. Hon. Chuba Okadigbo of blessed memory.
Where did Senator Okadigbo fit into this?
That’s a nice question. Few months after Okadigbo was impeached as Senate President, he relocated to his private residence at Asokoro and the traffic of his visitors thinned out. So, it was only few of us who held night sessions with him, brain storming on the fate of our fledgling democracy. It was around this time that President Buhari made his entry into partisan politics.
Senator Okadigbo’s thesis was that the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was constructing a one party state, that if care is not taken, Nigeria will end as a one party state in the midst of multi-party democracy. His solution was that we should all decamp to the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and join the new entrant, for he has the capacity to follow through the marathon race of deconstructing Obasanjo’s pet idea of one party state.
What do you mean by a former president constructing a one party state?
It’s a historical fact that immediately Chief Obasanjo emerged as president he started emasculating the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the only two opposition parties then. He first lured the chairman of the APP, late Alhaji Mahmud Waziri and made him Special Adviser and used carrot and stick to stymie the AD. The rest they say is history.
This is what Oyi observed from his political observatory as a Political Scientist. He also pointed out that Mr President’s integrity quotient is an asset Nigerians will harvest from when the time comes. I’m happy that Oyi is vindicated?
In spite of your narrative, there seems to be a lot of complaints and noise across the country over the lopsided nature of President Buhari’s appointment. What’s your take on this?
I had answered this question in several fora and media, permit me to restate that at the end of the day, Mr President, I know will balance out his appointments. For one does not believe that he will deliberately marginalise any section of the country or breach section 14 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Which aspect of the Constitution are you referring to?
Section 14(3) which states that, ‘The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic; or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.’
Outside lopsided nature of the appointment, members of your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) are openly grumbling that they are also marginalised. Which excuse do you have for this bleeding injury?
I’m not Mr President’s spokesman, however one can add that naturally members of our great party have the right to complain of marginalisation, for every scripture I read, especially the saying in the Holy Bible which, states clearly that the labourer is entitled to his wages. The saying of Prophet Muhammad even goes further to caution that the sweat of the labourer should not be allowed to dry.
However, as I mentioned somewhere, there are over 500 appointments to be dispensed by Mr President, which invariably will be used to placate many. It can never go round for in the pyramid of support, Mr President’s support is at the base, where the masses are found.
All said and done, the party chieftains strongly hold on to the view that the ministerial slot is the prime trophy of the APC’s victory?
Yes it’s. But minister is not the only useful office in assisting Mr President to uphold the goodwill and confidence of the good people of Nigeria. To be candid, what I’m afraid of is any appointment or policy, which has the potential to erode the goodwill of the citizenry on Mr President. For we are thought in Political Science class that goodwill is like gas in a cylinder, which if not guided jealousy and carefully may evaporate without the holder knowing until when it’s time for cooking. The cylinder will ever remain heavy, so is state power, but not same with goodwill
Comments