BUSINESSMAN, philanthropist and governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Chief Peter Eloka Okocha, in an interaction with editors of Vanguard Media Limited, during a courtesy visit, outlined his vision, mission and plans for Delta State and how he hopes to actualise them.

WHY do you want to be governor of Delta state?

The best thing any man can do for his country is to give back what your country has given to you. I think it was JF Kennedy that said, ask not what your country can do for you but look for what you can do for your country.

Icame back at the age of 12 (from Jos during the Civil War) and I was privileged to be given a scholarship by General Samuel Ogbemudia and that gave me a platform to be what I am today. I have sunk several boreholes in Delta State, built schools from my personal resources and I think I have the biggest pharmaceutical company in Delta State today. Through these, I am trying to give back to the state and country that made me what I am today.

Personal resources

I believe that if I could do this much from my personal resources, if elected as the governor of Delta State, I will be able to build on whatever that is there to make the state the Mecca or Dubai of Nigeria. I believe that I have whatever it takes to manage the resources and structures we have today to make Delta State what it should be.

In your first attempt at the governorship, the PDP screened you out. What makes you think you will succeed this time?

Sitting on the fence and being an observer is not good enough. Life is about risks. I could have stayed back in the United States after my MBA because I was offered a job with six figures but I came back home; it was a risk but I succeeded. What was the assurance I would be successful as a businessman? It was a risk. So in life, there is nothing that is cast on stone, you have to take a risk and I believe I will be successful and will not be screened out this time.

What are your plans for Delta?

Do not forget where I am coming from. I am not a sit-back chief executive. If I give a project, don’t be surprised I can visit the project at night to see if it is being implemented. All the projects I have undertaken in my life either in public quoted companies or companies that I created, I have always completed them because I ensure that whatever I start, I must finish.

This attitude that nothing works and people will not complete jobs depends on the driver. My responsibility is to change the psyche and bring the private sector attitude into public service.

If you have read the book From Third World to First World written by Lee Kuan Yew, what did he do? He made sure that private sector people and public servants were paid the same salary, he ensured that what their contemporaries earn in the private sector was also obtainable in the public sector. The people have descent life. A leader must be held accountable for him to hold other people accountable.

I will not say today that corruption has been completely wiped out in Singapore but I will say that it is infinitesimal and because the people in the private and public sectors earn almost equally and can afford the best of life, I think there is decency in people’s way of life.

So it can work but it depends on the manager and I believe I am a good manager and I will be able to live by example and by living by example, I will ensure that people do what they are expected to do.

You are perceived as a serial governorship aspirant in Delta State

The beauty of democracy is that it is come one, come all for anybody that feels he has the capacity and capability. But I can tell you that there are only two people in this race, a Peter Okocha and others. Of all of them, none of them has had private sector experience; I am not talking of buying and selling. I don’t think there is any one of them that has hired between 300 to 400 people. Being in government alone means you don’t even know how the private sector operates.

Are you not worried there are many aspirants from Delta North

We are many in this race, but I believe many are called and a few are chosen. The reason we have more Delta North aspirants is because we are assumed that the next governor of Delta State will come from Delta North. I am not one of those who advocate for power shift but since it has happened in the South and in the Central, it should happen in Delta North. I still believe that the arrangement or divine intervention that made it possible for somebody in Delta Central to serve for eight years making it a total of 11 years because Felix Ibru had three years plus Ibori’s eight years, after that somebody from Delta South is now going to serve eight years, the same thing whether it is an arrangement or divine intervention should also allow somebody from Delta North to also do eight years.

So because of that mentality and belief that it is our turn is why we have more candidates from Delta North than any other place.

What is your relationship with Governor Uduaghan with regards to your aspiration?

I have a close relationship with the governor. I also believe there are two ‘G’s that I hold on to that will make me succeed. One is the bigger ‘G’ and the other is the smaller ‘g.’ The smaller g is government and the bigger G is God. I believe that I have what it takes and if the smaller g does not like me, the bigger G will ensure that I get into government.

Do you think the people of Delta North will forgive you aspirants if you allow the opportunity to slip by failing to reach a consensus?

First and foremost, a consensus will be fine even though it is undemocratic. Secondly, I don’t see who will forgive or who will not forgive because nobody has the right to tell another person to shelve his right for someone else’s.

Shelving their attention

It will be nice to have a meeting of minds and say let A or B go and let C, D or E shelve their ambition. But look at all of us, when you tell someone to shelve his ambition when all through his life, he has been in politics, you must give him something else to do because he has done nothing else in his life apart from politics.

What I have done in my life is to give people a balanced opinion and let you make your own deductions. So it is always very dangerous to tell anybody to shelve his ambition for anything else especially when he or she thinks he is just a step away to glory.

How will you raise the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state?

Delta is one of the most unique and blessed states in this federation. Delta State is endowed with three ports – Koko, Warri and Escravos, all these are lying idle. In my terminals alone, we have at least 150 staff who are people bringing down the containers to people loading it to transporters but most of these ports are lying fallow because of the militancy in the Niger/Delta region.

Most vessels will prefer to come to Lagos and that is why you have a nightmare on this Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. This country is endowed with about six to eight ports but you find out that everybody wants to come to Lagos because Lagos is a bit safer in terms of doing business.

Today, it is like a dream come true that you can leave Lagos and land in Asaba in 45 minutes, airlines are scrambling to go to Asaba. Some years ago, this airport project was part of my manifesto and the reason is because of the catchment area which includes Onitsha being one of largest markets in West Africa, Nnewi being one of the most industrialized cities in Nigeria and the other areas. Today, to go to Asaba, you have to book two days or three days ahead to get a seat. What will I do with that airport is to expand the runways, build second runways and invite a private sector airline like Emirates and make the place their hub.

Being also in the air freight sector, I discovered that 90 percent of the air freight that comes in through the Lagos International Airport ends up at Onitsha or Nnewi and mostly spare parts.

International airport

You can see that if you make Asaba an international airport, the destination for Emirates after expanding the runways, the benefits of that expansion can only best be imagined. Apart from Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, Asaba airport will be one of the busiest and profitable airports in Nigeria.

You are an associate of Atiku Abubakar. He is in APC now and you are in PDP…

(Cuts in) Politics did not bring us together, so politics will not separate us.

Some say you cannot be trusted as a PDP member given your relations with Atiku and why were you not present at the meeting of aspirants at Chief E.K Clark’s house

Atiku being formidable in the APC and my being in the PDP does not affect anything. I am 62 years old and a father of four, my youngest is 18 years. I am a man and I take my decisions. Yes, Atiku Abubakar is my friend and our friendship did not start when he became Vice President, it started when he was a customs officer and I was a clearing and shipping agent.

Atiku is my very good friend today, tomorrow and it does not spoil anything. He has gone to APC and I am in PDP. I believe in PDP today, tomorrow and for life.

On the communiqué issued by the governorship aspirants, let me tell you because this is what I told them. I do not sign to something that I am not privy to, I was not invited and I was only called by a friend. I believe maybe Chief E.K Clark prompted them or he wanted to know why I was not there and I said I was not invited. So I could not sign what I never partook in, I saw the communiqué just like every other Nigerian saw it on the pages of the newspapers. You have read it just like I did; part of their complaints is imposition. Am I for imposition? I don’t believe that in any democratic setting it exists.

How far have you gone with your consultation?

We have criss-crossed the state, this is not the first time I am doing it. Now that adhoc delegates have emerged, I am sure that after the screening, it will become obvious who is left and who the delegates are and that is when you work on the final delegates. After the screening, the wheeling and dealing starts, talking to other aspirants who didn’t make it or talking to other aspirants who might have changed their minds to run for National Assembly, there will be horse trading and that is the beauty of democracy.

  Source : Vanguard