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Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State on Tuesday revealed that he sacrificed his ambition to contest the February election into the senate because he was more interested in ensuring that Deltans were secured.
“I was to contest for the senate seat but withdrew when I suspected a build-up of insecurity. If I insisted, by now, we will be having Boko Haram as well as the Niger Delta militancy that has built up again from the bottom.”
The governor was speaking at the public presentation of the book, ‘The Pains of a Country,’ written by a Deputy Editor, THISDAY Newspapers, Mr.Eddy Odivwri, which was held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos.
Uduaghan, whose speech was anchored on playing politics without bitterness, and a do-or-die mentality of politicians, said not going to the senate was not the end of life.
“If I do not go to the senate, ‘nothing spoil,’ but if I had insisted, people would have died. What is the point?” he asked.
Advocating a bipartisan approach to addressing Nigeria’s plethora of challenges, Uduaghan said: “For us to have a new Nigeria, we must collectively, whether you are in the ruling political party or opposition, join hands and make a new Nigeria. Yes there is palpable fear of violence erupting during and after election, but as politicians, we are talking to ourselves.”
Confident of Nigeria’s prospect after the 2015 general elections, Uduaghan said: “2015 elections can bring up a new, better Nigeria, which should as an ultimate goal, provide employment for a lot of our citizens.
“This is what occupiest the mind of many in government’s minds. A lot of the crises we are experiencing are because of unemployment.” Arguing that election campaigns in preparation for the coming elections have been issue-based, the governor said: “I do not agree that issues have not been raised during this campaign. When someone is talking about corruption and security, these are issues.”
Making a case for his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as it concerns the fight against corruption, the governor said: “For some of us in PDP, we are looking at the issues being raised. In corruption, things are being done but some are saying not much is being done. If we can get what our opponents are saying and incorporate it into our programmes, we will have a better Nigeria.”
Also speaking at the presentation, a constitutional lawyer, Fred Agbaje, decried the conduct of politicians.
“For foreign dignitaries like the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, and former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Koffi Annan, coming to tell our leaders how to behave and conduct a peaceful election, tells a lot about the kind of leaders we have,” he said.
Describing the absence of the rule of law in governance as a major problem, Agbaje said: “As at today, of all our presidential candidates, none have emphasised on the rule of law. Nothing can function without the rule of law. None of them is talking about it, especially chapter two of the constitution.”
According to Agbaje, corruption is also a big issue slowing Nigeria’s development.
He narrated a story of how he visited about 25 time his local government are a before he could collect his Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC).
“On the last day, I was on the queue waiting for my turn, but then, I saw people who were not on queue bribing the police officers there before they were allowed in. I had to protest and then others joined me to protest against the police’s action before we were able to collect our PVCs.”
The president of Aka Ikenga, Goddy Uwazurike, in his contribution, said Nigeria’s unity has survived on the crude oil foundation, predicting that as long as crude oil remains, Nigeria will not break-up.
“The contraption called Nigeria has lasted for 101 years. There are some things that have held us together, and one of them is crude oil. As long as there is crude oil, there will be no break up of Nigeria, he said.
Uwazurike said one of the causes of voters’ disappointment was because politicians were always fond of making “bogus promises and deceiving the people to believe that governance is simple and easy.”
He also charged the electorate to understand what the issues are before casting their vote in the coming elections, otherwise, they would be carried away by the empty promises of the politicians.
The Aka-Ikenga leader also cautioned the electorate to examine the politicians and how they have been able to manage themselves and families.
The book presentation was chaired by a former Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Niyi Adebayo, and reviewed by the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Femi Adesina.
Other dignitaries at the event included the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi; Managing Director of Vanguard Newspapers, Gbenga Adefaye; Deputy Managing Director of THISDAY Newspapers, Kayode Komolafe; members of civil society organisations and representatives of the media.
Source: Thisday
