Mr. Peter Obi handed over the reins of power of Anambra State last month after serving two terms. Recently, he was in Lagos to receive the Champion Newspaper Award of the “Outstanding Igbo Personality of the Decade”. He talked with some journalists after the occasion. To them, he talked about his work as the helmsman of the state and the legacies he has left. He also discussed things political, including the state and position of his party, APGA. KATE HALIM was there. Excerpts.
We wish to congratulate you, sir, on the successful handover of power in your state, Anambra.
While thanking me, I must also thank all those that collaborated and assisted us in all that we did, especially the press. Without your guys, it would have been difficult for us. I cherish the good relationship I enjoyed with you and I am inclined to say I was very fortunate to have a Homer (You People) as the herald of our work in the state.
Anambra State came first in WASSCE and NECO examinations in the country, I think we should also congratulate you on that.
My attitude to news like this is that the new governor should actually be congratulated. I have done my own part, he is now in charge. Henceforth, he should take credit for the successes and failures of the state. But our prayer is that Anambra State will never fail again.
Amen! (Chorused journalists present)
Well, I think it is proper to congratulate you because it was one of the many manifestations of your investment in education. How did you really do it?
If you recall, 10 years ago, Anambra schools were closed for over a year. At that time, things were really bad. The problems confronting education in the state were legion, from lack of teaching materials to non-payment of teachers’ salaries. When we came on board, we took time to study the factors militating against the progress of the state. At that time, many people accused us of being slow, but I argued that a person taking over the governance of the state ought to, first and foremost, understand the state before embarking on actions. I argued that it was better for a man planning to fell a tree to take time to sharpen his machete and do it in minutes rather than use a blunt knife and take days to do the job. I went on to say that even if it were a twig that should be felled, the need for a sharpened machete was imperative. All I was emphasising was planning. Having discovered that the state had no Ministry of Planning, I set up one.
In Education which is your specific question, we returned schools to the original Missionary owners. In doing this, we did not abdicate our responsibilities of paying the salaries of the teachers and providing needed facilities. We followed it up by granting billions of money to them to rehabilitate the schools already run down by government. Today, if you visit schools in the state, you will marvel at the level of transformation.
One unique thing we did was to take money directly to the schools rather than go through intermediaries with their accompanying toll gates. Contractors frowned at this, but it achieved the desired results.
We also committed billions of Naira to buying and distributing about 30,000 computers and laptops to schools at various times. We connected the schools to the INTERNET, we bought generators for them, equipped their laboratories, provided them with Microsoft Academies, Sickbays, Libraries, among others.
With what I have said, you would agree with me that Anambra State coming first in 2013 WASSCE was not by accident. In fact, considering the efforts we put in to revive our schools, what we should be talking about is the margin with which we overtook other states.
In saying this, May I say with all humility that a lot still needs to be done by the present governor. If we scored 67 per cent in WASSCE examination, it means we still have 33 per cent left to be conquered and he is now leading that army of conquerors.
Talking about coming first in WASSCE, may I happily let you know that it has become the same thing in all external examinations. For 2013, NECO organised National Common Entrance Examination, an Anambra indigene came first. I think her name is Agbasi Praise Chinemelum. Anambra as a state also came first among the states in Nigeria. While our cut-off was the highest – 159- some states were 2. You can see for yourself that we are on the right path to regeneration.
After eight years as Governor of Anambra State, how would you rate your performance?
I have never rated myself because I believe it will amount to self-indulgence. Nobody marks his papers after examination. Even in universities, they invite external examiners now and then. For the sake of objectivity, it is better for others to do the rating.
I recall when some people came from the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies on study tour of Anambra State. They asked me to convey people from the state to a particular place for interactive session with them as to know firsthand the peoples’ feeling about our government. I insisted they should rather go to the markets with me and we did so, without security. I think what they saw marvelled them. The responses from people about activities were most cheering. This is how people are assessed. If I had conveyed people to them, the chances were that it would be party supporters without respect for objectivity.
How did Anambra key into Millennium Development Goals?
I said it earlier that we modelled our vision after that. For instance, the first goal is the eradication of extreme poverty. In this regard, we did poverty mapping and were able to determine the poorest parts of the state. This informed our intervention. Realising that most of those poor areas had the problem of access, we provided them with roads. The first road I flagged off as governor on May 1, 2006, was the 43-Kilometre road traversing the entire Anyamelum. With that, we connected them to the rest of the state and their situation changed. Today, Ogbaru area that was accessed in hours can be accessed in 15 minutes. You can ask Prof Ben Nwabueze, he is from Atani, he can confirm this to you.
How would you assess the security situation in Anambra State
On March 17, a journalist met me at the Akanu Ibiam Airport and wanted to know the secrets of our relationship with International Development partners. I merely told him to go to the rising sun, His Excellency, Gov. Willie Obiano, as my gubernatorial sun has set. I am no longer the governor, Obiano is and it is appropriate you go to him for such questions.
The question is relevant because during the security summit your successor organised recently, the Inspector General of Police advised the new governor to follow in your footsteps on security. He went….
I also listened to the IG. He did not say you should come to me for questions on security in Anambra State. He merely commended what we did, the over 500 vehicles we purchased for security agencies in Anambra, the cordial working relationship, He linked all of them to the low crime rate in the state. I remember he talked about Anambra State not experiencing any bank robbery in the last five years. I think if the same cordiality is maintained, Anambra’s safety is guaranteed. I am particularly happy over the summit. If nothing, it is early signs that the present government in the state has security at heart.
While Nigerians are applauding you for a job well done, some people published in the newspapers that you did not leave the money and investment of about $86 billion you claimed to have left. How would you react to this?
I often say that there must be the lunatic fringe in all reform movements. People told me about the publication, but the only thing is that I refused to read it because they are minor distractions intended to snare the lowly minded. As far as I am concerned, I should not comment on such inanities
It is not about the publishers of the advertorial, it is about clarifying issues to Nigerians.
My brother, on March 8, I called Nigerians from all walks of life and presented want I called my “End of Tenure Report”. I explained where I met Anambra State and where we are leaving her. I made it clear that we did not borrow a dime neither did we issue bond. I mentioned our investments and savings in banks. For example, I mentioned that we saved $156 million through buying local and foreign denominated bonds. The managing directors of the banks were these money are- Fidelity, Access and Diamond Banks- were present. It baffles me that some people would come up to cast doubts on people’s mind just to pull Peter Obi down. All I can say is that what we said we did, the money we said we left and all that were properly documented and certified. With the Freedom of Information Law, one can actually apply to those institutions to know if the money are there.
Let me take this opportunity to clear one misconception, I did not say I left all cash in the banks. I made it clear that some were by way of investment. For example, Anambra State invested money in some of the companies we attracted to the state.
It is important to let you know that we were able to save money in the state because we made a law that Anambra must save the minimum of N100 Million monthly and I obeyed it religiously.
As a governor, I supported savings by the country. Look, no matter the situation, one must save even if kobo, kobo every month for the rainy day. Unfortunately when one says so, one is reminded by some people that it is already raining here. The irony is that the same people saying this have private savings? When one witnesses the mindset of some of us, one shudders. Many of us are only interested in the next post and not what the future holds for us as a country.
You were noted for financial prudence, “stinginess” some say, but towards the last days in office, you donated money to many organisations. Was it a strategic move …
(cuts in) Those who know me over the years will tell you that I am allergic to money being spent wrongly. It is not about being stingy. Some even have the good sense to call me “araldite” to my face. All I request is that money should be spent properly. Not just money, we have the moral obligation to do things properly. The other day, I was at the airport and a cleaner offered to carry my bag. I refused. I made it clear to her that she was paid to clean the airport and not to carry people’s bags. By carrying bags, she hoped to be given tips, but in the course of doing that, her work suffers. All I do is to insist she should do what she is expected to do. As a former governor, I was not expected to be sharing the money of the state to people who would not utilise it to add value to the state.
Source: Sun
