Chief Martin Agbaso has remained a major player in Imo politics for many years now. At various times he has contested elections in the state and even won the 2007 Governorship elections before it was annulled. As a Chieftain and leader of APGA in Imo State, Ochoudo as he is fondly called, in this interview barred his mind and interest in 2015 excerpts
You are the leader of APGA in Imo State, but Capt Iheanacho, is quoted in a recent interview with a national daily said he doesn’t recognise the position of ‘leader’ in the APGA constitution. Is he passing a message?
You are the leader of APGA in Imo State, but Capt Iheanacho, in a recent interview with a national daily said he doesn’t recognise the position of ‘leader’ in the APGA constitution. Is he passing a message?
I’m a little constrained to react to such trivialities. Our people say a ‘wise chicken that arrives to a new home usually stands on one foot and watches events before it starts demonstrating rascalism’.
We in APGA recognized Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, Eze Igbo Gburugburu as our leader. We now recognise Chief Peter Obi- our BOT Chairman as our leader. If anyone doesn’t understand this APGA way of doing things, it is definitely his or her business- not mine.
My concern is how to create sustainable economic empowerment, open windows of opportunity, and strong support for our elderly and pensioners.
Given today’s reality, every community, local government, federal constituency, senatorial district and state must bring their best qualified and most driven people forward to contest for various political offices. We must elect people whose primary interest is to serve the interest of Imo citizens. The government can no longer be a platform for people to solve their personal financial problems.
How about the leadership crisis in your party at the national level?
What you perceive as a leadership crisis is a mere storm in a cup. Chief Victor Umeh remains the national chairman of APGA and Peter Obi is, BOT chairman. The Chekwas Okorie crisis was there when we won the election in 2007 and 2011. The Maxie Okwu palaver will be resolved before 2015 election.
How, therefore, do you see the state of governance in Imo State today?
As I said earlier, the state of road infrastructure, education, health, water and recreation was deplorable. The morale of the teachers, civil and public servants were quite low. Not much has changed since then. My vision then and now has remained the same.
Our immediate concern that requires urgent intervention is the number of young men and women, who in spite of their education are not gainfully engaged in any form of economic activity. We cannot sit around and overstretch their threshold; otherwise the social challenge will be quite enormous. It is against this background, we must seek someone who is capable and motivated to lead.
The challenges we have in our hand does not make room for mediocre…it’s not for people whose businesses are in trouble and want to use state resources to sort them out. The state of our state, in plain terms, is depressing. The civil service structure has been destroyed. Our state is the only state in the federation where there is total disregard for due process. It is a state that has no iota of planning. Every activity is on ad hoc basis- ninety per cent of the time- it is an issue of trial and error. Confidence of the citizenry has never been so shaken. Nothing done in the state is subjected to empirical analysis. And of course, flagrant abuse of rule of law is common.
With Okorocha out of APGA, what is the strength of your party now in Imo State?
Okorocha left with his campaign structure called “agenda” but all original APGA members are solidly in APGA. The success of APGA and election of Governor Willy Obiano in Ananbra have so energised our people that Imo electorate is registering in their numbers into APGA.
What has Rochas not done well to deserve another term?
Rochas has neither kept faith nor lived up to any promise he made to Imo people. But that is not what we are faced with in this interview. Imo people will want to know how Imo can be industrialised and windows of opportunity opened for our young people. We are a very industrious people; all we need is a very committed leader. One who would not lie to the people but establish platforms for the development of both local and regional economies.
Our teachers, public and civil servants must be motivated. Our pensioners must be reassured; our students must be guaranteed a better tomorrow. That is the way forward.
It has been speculated that you will run for the Imo governorship in 2015; is it true?
Well, in very clear terms, I will contest for the Governor of Imo State in 2015 general election. As you all know, in 2007, I set out to massively rebuild the infrastructure in my state. As I told you, at the time, we had over 900km of state-owned roads to pave and an excess of 1400km of local government roads to stabilise. At that time, approximately 80 per cent of the public water scheme was dysfunctional. We had over 1200 primary schools that needed to be refurbished and made fit for learning. Seventy per cent of our secondary schools were a shadow of what they were 30 to 40 years ago.
The industrial centers, set out in the different parts of Imo, had become over grown by weeds and hide-outs for miscreants. The morale of our teachers, civil and public servants will be described as ‘low’ at best. We had 18 general hospitals that were mere consulting rooms. Our state was very depressed as a result of the teeming unemployed young men and women.
These were my concerns then and they remain my concerns today because not much has changed, apart from the latest television and newspaper razzmatazz. However, what has become urgent is the near explosive situation of over 400,000 young educated, but unemployed men and women. This alarming situation will get worse if not checked immediately.
My mission, therefore, is to create wealth by tapping into our enterprise, industry, and entrepreneurship. To get every able adult in Imo engaged in productive effort that will stimulate the local economy and expand opportunities across the board. I am driven by capacity and willingness to reposition Imo State into a secure industrial, agricultural and commercial hub of Eastern Nigeria.
See my brother, in this region, we have a 50 million people-economy and huge disposable income. The potential for growth given the ongoing reforms in the power sector- with Imo in the middle- is enormous. Therefore, we need a sincere and very competent manager to drive the affairs of Imo State for the common good of our people. We must restore the confidence of our people in our government and ourselves. That is why I am offering myself for the governor of Imo State in 2015.
But in 2011, you were said to have negotiated your chance. Don’t you think this comes with consequences on your renewed ambition, as it regards trust?
One of the most difficult decisions I ever had to make was whether or not to support Rochas Okorocha in 2011 general election. There I was having spent three and a half years in different courts in the land to establish if INEC had the power to cancel an election that was adjudged the freest and fairest, by all that I had won in 2007. I was not mentally, physically, or financially ready to contest the 2011 election. This man came to me with the Bible in one hand and documents showing his education foundation in the other.
His plea was for me to allow him to run, since I wasn’t, to be governor for only four years. After which he would proceed to run for president. No other person approached me for such support. My thinking was that, since this man was training other people’s children with his own funds he could do a lot more if placed in authority. There were no pecuniary considerations whatsoever for my support. Secondly, I was eager to prove to Maurice Iwu that the election I won in 2007 was not a fluke that I could even win by proxy. That APGA was the party of choice in Imo.
I had no crystal ball to look into the future and see what was stored in the heart of the man. If I knew that Okorocha would turn out to be a man that would falsely accuse my brother, just to impeach him, with the sole motive of destroying ‘the brand’ ahead of the 2015 election, I would not have supported him. This whole talk about negotiation is just designed to give me a bad name.
The only issue of trust that can be addressed here is to determine the man or woman that Imo people can trust with their future and that of their children. The person who can quickly address all the infrastructure issues, provide massive employment and empowerment and restore our confidence in ourselves. The Idea of parents still catering to their adult children must stop.
It is against our tradition. The young must take care of the elderly and not the other way around. The pride of the Igbo man is to show off his accomplishments at home; it is called “aku ruo ulo”. But that no longer happens because of insecurity in our region. Our people want a governor who can provide a safe and secure environment to enable us return to the old tradition.
How about the moral slant to your ambition, having foisted somebody you didn’t quite know on the people and that person failed them, then, you come to say you want to contest? How do you reconcile that?
Again, you are under the perception that I have a crystal ball and that I have the capacity to look into the future and tell how a man will behave tomorrow. That is practically impossible. A man swears with the Bible that he was a philanthropist. That he wants to prove that Obasanjo was wrong when he sacked him from NAMA on the grounds of corruption; that he would do his utmost best; pick a good testimonial from Imo State that he would present to the Nigerian people as his CV to run for president.
That sounded plausible to me. I deployed my all, hoping that Imo State would improve. However, the unfortunate turn of events is regrettable. I never intended or wished to offend Imo people. And to this, I do apologise. The best way to say ‘I am sorry’ to Imo people, is to send Rochas packing in 2015.
What would your flagship programme be and how?
It can never be over emphasised. The provision for infrastructure for Imo is not my head ache, I know how to provide it; I know exactly how much it will cost and how the funds will be generated. My focus, which you may call flagship, is how to engage all Imo citizens, who have the ability to work in meaningful production; how to empower them and how to develop a local economy that will metamorphorse into a secure and strong regional economic hub.
I am excited at the opportunity of turning Imo State into an industrial, agricultural and commercial center. I am motivated by the fact that this laudable vision is achievable. I will unveil in the coming days when I declare my gubernatorial ambition in Owerri a master plan and contract to empower 150,000 young men and women within 24 months or I will resign as governor.
What track record can you boast as that manager that can take Imo State to the next level?
By my academic training, I am an Economist. Professionally, I am a financial analyst and investment consultant. Look at the business I have built in construction, oil and gas services. I have set up enterprises that started as single unit centers but now grown into large chains nationwide and beyond. These are businesses that I have built in the last 23 years, without government patronage. The growth of my businesses is derived from forces of demand and supply.
We have shown steady growth in spite of the economic downturn. Apart from the management of my businesses, we have shown clear leadership in the management of human resources with all organisations and institutions that I am associated with. We single-mindedly built APGA since 2006 to date. We have maintained integrity of this mass movement to the point that all and sundry now find it attractive to join and now win elections.
What gives you confidence that you will win the governorship election in Imo state in 2015, especially now that what happened in 2007 could still repeat itself?
I am not going to address the 2007 injustice any more. I am going to dwell on how to put Imo State on the right track. The Imo electorate is quite educated and robust. My call on them and prayer is that they see my commitment to them as absolute. I have remained resilient; I have shown courage and I have been consistent. I only ask for an opportunity to showcase my God-given talent. I am confident that in spite of the misadventure of 2011, they will choose me for what I stand for.
Do you nurse any fear about 2015?
There are concerns here and there but not enough to shake or derail our democracy. There is no fear whatsoever. If I had any fear, I wouldn’t embark on this project. With regards to our election in Imo, we have improved on our strategy of what we did in 2007 and 2011. As they will say in the streets: ‘No shaking”.
