Engr Beks Dagogo-Jack, two-time commissioner in Rivers State, is Chairman, Presidential Task Force On Power.
In this interview with select journalists in Lagos, including Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, he speaks on his political ambition and his winning model for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015. Excerpts…
There are strong speculations and even poster evidence that you are in the governorship race in Rivers State.
Engr Beks Dagogo-JackFor the records, I was just as surprised to see those unsolicited posters as anyone else. Indeed, I had to put out a disclaimer of sorts to forestall anyone capitalising on the act for political mischief. I also want to say that it is perfectly possible for some enthusiastic well-wishers to do this, as this is fast becoming part of our political culture. And to your question, yes I am an aspirant waiting to progress to being a candidate for the gubernatorial race on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform.
You know the peculiarities of our state being very strategic to the national economy and in the face of the needless acts of political rebellion; our party cannot afford to make unforced tactical mistakes ahead of the main elections which we stand a very good chance of winning landslide. Rivers remains a PDP state at all levels. Rivers people are waiting adamantly to massively vote PDP in all the elections, especially the presidential and the gubernatorial races. Believe me: all current pretensions to the contrary are mere grandstanding, and shall fizzle out in due course.
So, when will you declare?
For now, I remain fully loyal and committed to the official duty I am assigned to. As soon as my team and I are ready, I promise, you will be the first to know.
What are your core political interests?
As they say, no permanent enemies (or friends) in politics; but only permanent interests. Even at that, you will agree with me that the interests are bound to be shifting, based on the circumstances of the moment. For me, the principal and paramount political interest I have into the foreseeable future is not to do or be involved in any activity knowingly or unknowingly, which can pose even the remotest threat to the re-election of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election. Every other political consideration must be fully subjected to this paramount goal. Once all plans, choices and actions fully align with this goal, any secondary interest can queue behind this. I totally believe in this and I have no apologies on this.
What motivated you to come out?
My first motivation is to enrich the field, knowing that over the years I have received the level and quality of preparation required for a high public office such as the governorship of our state. On a more personal level, I am motivated to offer a credible alternative to the regime of conflict, suspicion and exclusion-based politics which has dominated our political landscape for over a decade now. It will surprise many to learn that the Gross Domestic product (GDP) of Rivers is larger than that of Gabon or Senegal. We have what it takes to perform as a country, yet we live like beggars in the midst of plenty because we allow ourselves to be misgoverned and misled. By far, my strongest motivation is my personal conviction that our president sincerely desires to leave enduring developmental achievements, especially in the Niger Delta region, to fully resolve the restiveness in the region. This can only be successfully delivered when the states are governed by adequately prepared, humble and well committed transformational leaders who would work to earn the trust and followership of the people. I strongly believe that if we get development right in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, we can create a momentum of economic opportunities which could cascade across the country with far-reaching nationwide impact. In this sense, therefore, I personally share the view that the decades of mismanagement of the economy of the oil-bearing states have been a disservice not only to the people of the region but also to Nigeria as a whole. Don’t you wonder sometimes how, by some strange process, we keep electing all sorts of desperately insecure people with largely unconcealed desire to use the office chiefly to acquire stupendous wealth just to overtake those who they consider previously ahead of them while doing everything they can to dismantle meritocracy and enthrone below par mediocrity for their succession plan. I tell you, I am motivated to present myself as a committed agent of change who would see the state and our neighbours as a huge economic asset to be optimally exploited for the full benefit of our people and Nigeria at large. The challenges shall be significant in view of decades of practising wrong politics, and to deliver this change shall require discipline, tenacity and exemplary leadership. It will require ability to set clear targets and secure the buy-in of critical stakeholders; it will require transparency and accountability in governance. It will require capacity to build consensus. It will require humility and a learning spirit. Over the years, I have been developing these traits and cultures and feel well armed for the challenge.
From information available to us, the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, is also an aspirant and he has the state and national party structures fully secured to his interest. Why do you think you can compete fairly at the primaries under such a situation?
Yes, I have read and seen different groups filing out in newspapers and mini rallies, either endorsing or calling on Wike for the ticket. Indeed, there is even news of the state party chair openly canvassing for him. Yet I am yet to hear him say he is running; so it will be improper to speculate too widely. My concern is that we must first design a winning model for the president’s re-election and avoid placing our interests ahead of his own, thereby putting his victory prospects under unnecessary stress in the state. As members of the same political family which has the sitting president, we must be ready to make any sacrifice required for his re-election.
Do you think rotation of key political offices should take precedence over the capacity of a candidate?
I do not think the two elements are mutually exclusive. We are 165 million people in Nigeria; with abount five million in Rivers. In the state, we have well-known ethnic nationalities which unfortunately denote our political groupings for now. I make bold to state that each of the groups are richly blessed with prepared and experienced leadership materials who most often get crowded out by the more desperate power-mongers in our midst. To suggest that we should, at this vulnerable stage of our political evolution, pretend we do not know that once a particular group gets elected into power, it can manipulate the dynamics to perpetrate its kind in office on the basis of a jaundiced “capacity and qualification” argument is, to my mind, self-serving and deceitful. No group has the monopoly of capacity and experience. Now, if a group can’t trust others to govern them, tell me what gives them the right to govern others? It’s as fundamental as that. A time shall come when we shall transcend such proclivities and collapse the ethnic boundaries into better integrated social classes which shall then predicate our political process. Until then, let honesty and integrity prevail please.
In this context, how do you explain the unprecedented and unimaginable victory of Ayo Fayose against the incumbent, Kayode Fayemi, even in his own electoral ward?
The Fayose victory shall remain a political case study for some time in contemporary history, yet I see the twin elements of capacity and equity at play here. Without doubt, the incumbent governor took far more for granted than he should. Not taking anything away from Fayose, he seemed to have resonated well with the people’s mood. On one hand, he enjoyed an overflow of emotional redress from the injustice of his forced displacement by the Olusegun Obasanjo government. There was also the factor of public repulsion with the Bola Tinubu expansionist politics, etc.
We have heard many people say that you are a well-respected technocrat, and you are really not a politician. Can you take on Governor Rotimi Amaechi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as Wike?
Again, I want to really avoid being presented as Wike’s bitter rival for whatever reason because I am not. He is my younger brother. I have a lot of respect and admiration for him. He is a very strong politician and we both have a duty to work together and retain Rivers as the PDP state it has always been. I repeat; it’s not so much about us as it is about our boss’ political calculation which guarantees a win-win for both of us who are the president’s aides. Talking of being a technocrat, I fail to see that as a liability in any way. Politics is a people and contact game which can be likened to football in its simplest form. An ‘all defenders and no strikers’ line-up can’t make a good team and vice versa. The potency of my candidacy is not anchored entirely on my skills, muscles and orientation; it’s rather a coming together of several socio-political interests who share a common set of core values and have agreed to rally support behind a single point of leadership.
What are your strengths as a candidate?
I am a very credible alternative which can be used to change the destructive direction of our politics to make significant improvement in all socio-economic indices including health, education, industry, employment, agribusiness, quality of life, etc. Of course, I have other strengths; but it’s a bit too early in the game to let them out of the bag.
What do you think are your weaknesses as a candidate, if we may ask?
I’m not quite sure what you want to know; but may be my not being as desperate as I have seen other candidates conduct themselves. Now, if I know of any more weaknesses, you can bet I will keep them to myself and try to overcome them before they hurt me and my project.
What specific values will you bring to the process as the governor of Rivers?
Strong and clear vision, discipline and robust work ethic, transparency and accountability. I shall do everything in my power to restore peace and security to the state and set the state on the path of irreversible growth. This will make it the destination of first choice by investors and tourists during my tenure.
If you become the PDP flag-bearer, how would you rate your chances against any APC candidate in Rivers?
At this point in time, I have not the foggiest idea who the APC candidate would be. I told you Rivers has no business with APC. I will always show respect to my opponent, but I sincerely doubt if the APC in Rivers can boast of the kind of candidate line-up from the PDP. Even if this remotely happens, Rivers people will be the last to allow a former governor of another state in competition with our state to come in from the back door to continue the re-colonisation of our state as they have done in recent years. You know it’s all about the electorate; at the right time, we shall explain in more details to them. But you can go and be assured that Rivers people do not know APC. They might use paracetamol when they feel headache from the current dispensation; but even if you want APC, you can’t find it in any shop in Rivers.
What is your message to the PDP faithful in Rivers as the governorship primaries draw nearer?
The party leadership at the state should fully align with the paramount political calculation which is the re-election of President Jonathan. Whatever choice results from that primary, strategic calculation should be embraced by all. The party leadership at the state level should commence and sustain grassroots engagement to galvanise the people to stay faithful to their PDP origins. They should really avoid promoting any one candidate at this stage which can inflict mortal wounds on the party and render us vulnerable to opposition attack.
A ruling party has no business shooting itself in the foot, and I can assure you that we shall not.
What do you make of the recent court judgment secured by the state chapter of the PDP to ensure that only the current state executive can conduct all political activities, including primaries, for the next four years?
I think it’s immature and uncalled for. Taking a careful look at the actions and the mind-boggling judgment that followed what one sees are: inordinate ambition and greed necessitating such a pre-emptive action designed to predict the results before the exam. It will not work. It shows total lack of confidence in and unmerited disrespect of the national leadership of the party. It is an attempt to sow the seeds of party crises which can make us vulnerable in the general election. I strongly believe that a full investigation is proper, and appropriate disciplinary action meted out to all parties involved in the procurement of this obviously kangaroo judgment.