Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Emmanuel Ibeshi is the former national publicity secretary of the party. In this interview with KUNI TYESSI and SHUAIB SHUAIB, he criticizes the current political leadership of Cross-River State and commented on the national minimum wage and other topical issues
As a PDP chieftain from Cross-River State, how would you assess the government of Liyel Imoke?
I will take your question from the perspective of education, health-care, party leadership and infrastructural development. You know that Liyei Imoke took over from Donald Duke and the moment you mention Donald Duke, a couple of milestones comes to mind. So I identify with Donald Duke and those milestones. But when you mention Governor Liyel Imoke, no milestones are attached to his name. So if you begin to compare both of them and you begin to narrow their performance individually, based on the areas I have mentioned, you will see a marginal difference.
As an indigene of the state, if I will rate him between 1-10, I will rate him 3%which is good enough for him. One of the reasons is because northern Cross-River State suffers the most terrible road network in the state. If it used to take you 30 minutes to get to Ogoja which is like the central province of Calabar North, it will take you an hour plus because the road is terrible. Some of them you may argue are federal roads but some which are not are still in a terrible state. Look at the case of federal appointments; he has given all to Calabar South and no one from Calabar North. Even the senatorial slot that was to go to Cross-River North was again given to Cross-River South. So even the 3% I rated him feels as if I have rated him too high. Under normal circumstance, any one from Cross-River South will be vexed with Liyel Imoke. Even though Donald Duke had issues, he developed the ranch, he brought in the cable car, improved the infrastructure of the place and raised the standard. But unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint such in Liyel Imokes’s administration.
How would you respond if it’s argued that your claims are as a result of the oil wells that were lost to neighboring Akwa-Ibom State.
This is a very laughable excuse. How many states in the north derive revenue from oil production? Go to Gombe State and see what Danjuma Goje has done. Go to Zamfara State and see what they have done. So if a governor has something to offer, he will think about creating revenue and jobs for the people. If Donald Duke had branded Cross-River State a tourist state, then he can build on that bench mark and create local infrastructure which the locals can look up to and begin to create jobs for themselves. So when I hear governors talking about mono economic source, I begin to wonder. Before oil, what were the people doing and how were they deriving revenue? I don’t like listening to that kind of crap because its absolute hogwash. Cross-River State is sliding down the bench mark of states that should be looked up to.
With all of these complaints, will you join the people of Cross-River State to vote him out of office?
Every governor has four years in office and if the people of Cross-River say they are excited about him, then they will vote him into office.
Are you likely to challenge him so that you can bring the desired changes that the state needs?
I won’t run for governor. I did that last in 2007 under the platform of the Action Congress and would not do that again. I believe that running for governorship should be left for young people. I will be fifty next year. In Cross-River State alone, I can give you the names of not less than 25 candidates who are not more than 35 and who are viable and competent and can via for the seat of governor. They are all well educated and well informed. Most of these youths read abroad and if given the opportunity, they can bring their experience and turn things around but where is that opportunity? I’m one of those that believe in change and not just in passing the baton not just of leadership but of everything to the young ones. So count me out because you will never see me in that kind of race again. I know and I believe there are opportunities for young people who can fit into those shoes and will do so perfectly.
Do you then have the right to complain if you don’t want to help change the system?
This is a medium of complaint and I know that Cross-Riverians will read it and the governor as well. And this will also go to other state governors who have found themselves in positions of power and are not doing anything to better the lot of the people. Most of them have surrounded themselves with stooges who are not interested in the growth and development of the state.
Most of the state governors are saying they cannot pay the new minimum wage and are also calling for the review of the revenue formula. What’s your position on this?
How much do you recharge you MTN or Glo with? When you do indices of how much you spend on common things or how much the average Nigerian spends, you will see that the new wage is not even enough, and phones are not luxuries but necessities. It was laughable when I saw the review of the NYSC allowance from nine thousand to nineteen thousand eight hundred naira. So if a governor is saying he cannot pay the 18,000 minimum wage, it means he does not deserve the votes of his people. Such a governor should be voted out because every governor can pay. Have you taken time to find out how much is given on security vote? They don’t use it for any development but to harass their opponents and enrich themselves.
I have tried to summarize the basic needs of an average Nigerian on the street and the summary of it all is that it is not even enough for the whole month. With all of these inadequacies, tell me why people will not rise up in arms like we see Boko Haram today? Government have not gotten to the real cause of all these. They are only treating sensitive issues from the surface. Tell me how a boy who from six years till now that he is eighteen and all these years has being an almajiri and might even have been used by a politician will feel when he gets to know how much he will get from terrorizing people and getting money from them? How do you think such a society will be like? I watched with dismay the situation on Mararaba/Nyanya road and saw how the road was completely blocked.
Some people in that kind of blocked circumstance trekked to work. That should tell you the elasticity of the average Nigerian even in discomfort, and we sit down and laugh about it. It is a huge problem. So if any governor is insisting that he can’t pay the minimum wage, then he should be voted out of office. And definitely, the revenue allocation formula should be reviewed and I believe the 7th National Assembly will see to that because that ought to have been done long ago. Although, it is a continuous process and should continue until we get to a point where most Nigerians will be satisfied.
With the results of the 2011 general elections, it appears that Nigeria is a one-party state. Is that good for democracy?
That’s not true. Have you not seen members of the ACN in the National Assembly? Has their number not increased? You can’t say Nigeria is a one-party state. The truth of the matter is that the answer lies with the youth and that’s why am posing this challenge to the youths. All tenures have an expiry date and if members of a constituency are satisfied with the performance of their former leaders, then they can vote them in again. But if they are not, for goodness sake, use you vote against that person. Look for a sound person in any political party and give him your vote. Nigeria is bigger than any party and no party should put Nigeria in a box. We need Nigeria outside the box and this lies in the strength of the youths. I thank God for what Professor Attahiru Jega did but I believe he can still do better because the electoral process is getting better day by day. So use your votes against people who are anti-development so that Nigeria will not continue to be the laughing stock among the committee of nations.
Do you think that PDP will one day be voted out of power?
The question is not PDP but that of the man in office. We have lost a sense of value in Nigeria. Those in public offices have lost a sense of value. It is not the system that makes them work but they make the system work. So you don’t need to be a PDP, ACN, or APGA man to be talked about from this perspective. We need people who fear god and have a sense of value. People who watch their steps because they know that people are looking up to them. I’m not talking for PDP as a party but for Nigeria. With this, the crime rate we are talking about will go on its own. Even corruption will go on its own.
What advice do you have for the president to unite the country?
He should depend on God and be wise. He should do what God is asking him to do and not what any man is telling him to do. He should be like King Solomon who depended on God and God told him what to do. By so doing, he will take the right steps and Nigeria will be united by the steps he takes.
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