Uzodinma must be accountable to Imo people –Ex-commissioner

TRACKING_____Dr. Obinna Duruji is a lawyer, politician and community leader. A Harvard University-trained expert in Difficult Conversations, he is former Commissioner for Information and Strategy and also former Commissioner for Education in Imo State. Known for his forthrightness, in this interview with STEVE UZOECHI, he speaks on issues of governance in Imo State, warning Governor Hope Uzodinma not to yield his mandate to the whims and caprices of the coalition agents. He also gives the assurance that the governor would relaunch the state to national politics, attracting the much needed federal presence in the state, and provide prosperity to the people

With your years of experience in government, how do you think Governor Hope Uzodinma would address the myriad of challenges confronting the state?

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma on his victory at the Supreme Court on January 14, 2020, and the affirmation of that victory by the same Supreme Court on March 3rd, 2020. Having said that, I would like to say that the governor would confront the challenges facing the state by assembling an effective cabinet involving a team of experts made up of seasoned technocrats and politicians, people with the requisite qualifications in their various fields of endeavour; people who have been tested and trusted.

For the first time in history, Nigerians saw Governor Hope Uzodinma, former Governor Rochas Okorocha, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, former Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, and others work together in what many describe as a coalition. How do you think the governor would manage the interest of this huge coalition and still deliver on his mandate?

Well, let us start with the definition of politics as the art of the possible. Politics is an art and it is crisis ridden. Senator Uzodinma is not a beginner in the political arena. Having served as a senator for two terms, he has garnered the requisite collaborative experience of managing coalitions. For him to have sponsored bills and motions in the Senate requires collaborative efforts and team spirit with his colleagues to be able to navigate his bills and motions in the upper chambers of the National Assembly.

He has garnered the experience over the years, and if you look at his constituency you would see that he has twelve local governments, that is the Imo West Senatorial Zone. None of his elections was easy. It was a question of manoeuvring and intrigues. He survived all of them. I would like to say that Governor Uzodinma is a crisis manager. He is a consensus builder and would not have problems managing the coalition. He managed the intrigues before the elections and I believe that after the election, and with the mandate of the people, and after the Supreme Court verdict, he will do the best he can to manage the coalition. He has managed the Imo West Senatorial Zone with 12 local governments and the issues arising from them. Having managed the coalition from the beginning he will not have any problems managing them now with the mandate of the people.

The governor has promised to run a government of shared prosperity. What is the implication?

As you could see, the prosperity agenda speaks volume. It speaks about the large-heartedness of the governor and his people-orientedness. That is what Bill Clinton of the United States calls putting the people first. The governor has succeeded in life and he is largely prosperous. He wants to extend prosperity to the masses of Imo State. The agenda is unique in its orientation and conception. It will help give vision to the socioeconomic and political thinking of the governor.

How can the governor drive his prosperity agenda in a state that is said to be broke?

The magic is the governor’s social capital. It is in his public relations exploits, his ability to build consensus and his collaborative spirit. He is a team player. He has navigated through the Ministry of Aviation as a Senate Committee Chairman on Aviation, and Senate Committee Chairman on Customs. These are veritable grounds for building consensus and alliances. He has succeeded in mobilizing the whole nation in the Aviation and Customs sectors. Narrowing it down to Imo State, I think it is a smaller constituency to him compared to what has been his pedigree.

Uzodinma has announced forfeiture of his security vote to help address the economic challenges in the state. Many critics say it was cosmetic. What do you think?

Sure. Let us look at it very well. The forfeiture of his security vote is evidence of his large-heartedness and willingness to meet the people at the point of their needs. It is his personal sacrifice and it speaks volumes of his commitment to the masses of Imo State. There could not have been a better starting point for his prosperity agenda than to declare the forfeiture of security vote in the pursuit of the general wellbeing of the people. It is a window to the largeness of his heart and a manifestation of the governor’s prosperity agenda. He has shown that his prosperity agenda is not an abstract mantra, by giving up his security vote.

What kind of people do you think the governor needs as his commissioners?

I cannot speak for the governor authoritatively, but I can only suggest as follows: the governor should do himself a favour by adopting a unique strategy in selecting his cabinet, especially the commissioners. He needs the ancient and the modern. He would need some professionals and not greenhorns. He would need experienced technocrats and just politicians. He needs people who possess digital skills and can navigate the internet. The global economy is knowledge-based and he would need people that would use such knowledge to drive the economy of the state, not the old people who can no longer send text messages or read WhatsApp messages. He needs people who are savvy in their chosen professions. It is not about friendship. I know he has a lot of friends. His friends would have to help him to succeed and not overwhelm him.

During a visit to the President recently, the governor asked for a refund for monies spent by the state on federal projects. Does it signal a reconnection to the politics at the center?

They show evidence of connecting to the national grid, and they will bring us greener pastures. You recall the governor’s triumphant entry into the APC, I mean when he joined the party. In less than two weeks of his coming into the party he was made a BoT member and he became a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party also. All this happened within two weeks, in APC where he was just a new comer.

Imagine a governorship candidate with such aura. These are indices of relevance among the powers that be. It is only a man who is in his comfort zone that could leave Abuja and return to the state to continue with his job as Governor, when the Supreme Court was about to pass judgment on his seat. Any other person could have been sweating in his hands and legs and could have postponed every other activity in the state till after the Supreme Court judgment. But Governor Hope Uzodinma was sure of his mandate and he did not fidget. He came back and continued running the affairs of the state while the proceeding was still on.

What is your take on the ongoing fight against insurgency and corruption in the country by President Muhammadu Buhari?

To be honest with you, the fight against insurgency and corruption has left much to be desired. The President may have been doing his best but his best has not been good enough. He needs to re-strategize. He needs to re-focus and achieve better results.

Uzodinma has identified security as a major challenge in the state. What would be your advice to him on how to tackle it?

My advice would be that he should galvanize the entire state the way he galvanized the Aviation sector and renovated the airports. He should use similar strategy to address the issue of security in the state. As a consensus builder, as a collaborative politician, he would use his foresight to address the issues. The criminals as we know are in the communities and they are largely known. If he could use the traditional rulers to checkmate the bandits in the communities he would achieve results. He could also re-jig the security system to achieve more results. He should use the best talents when the need arises. He has good rapport with the Police and I am sure he would make great success in providing security for the state.

Former Governor Emeka Ihedioha was accused of running an elitist government. With people like Araraume, Okorocha, Madumere around him, what kind of government do you think Uzodinma would run?

The mandate is his, but it is my candid opinion that he runs a unique government as he has promised. He will run a government that is characteristic of the Hope we voted for which the Supreme Court affirmed twice. He will run a government that is in tandem with his philosophy and experience. His body language is important. He will build a coalition but he should not yield his mandate to the whims and caprices of the coalition agents. He has to maintain a unique approach to leadership, because at the end of the day he is accountable to Imo people. The people are looking up to him to bring prosperity. He should therefore run with the mandate given to him by the people and he should not yield it to his collaborators. While we advocate that he carries everybody along, he should not succumb to their whims and caprices.

Do you think that security should be left in the hands of the Federal Government?

I think that security should not be left in the hands of the Federal Government alone. Efforts have failed in that direction. Regional approach to security solution is the best approach and Amotekun is a welcomed concept to me. I urge our Governor to use his skills with which he has succeeded in national politics to approach it, by building a consensus among the South Eastern governors and taking the lead in developing a southeast regional security solution.