Hon. Bassey Etienam is the APC Senatorial candidate for Eket Senatorial District in the recently conducted Presidential and National Assembly elections. He spoke to our correspondent EMMA AYUNGBE about the emergence of General Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the Presidential elections, the implications of APCs victory on the politics of the Akwa Ibom state, among other issues.
Excerpts:
With the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari as the President-elect on the platform of the APC, what are your sentiments as regards his victory?
I think it’s the will of God and that change Nigerians were yearning for has now come. It is not something we should get too excited about but to humble ourselves and reflect towards the future of our great country for our generation and the next generation to come. So, particularly I think we are all grateful to God for this change at the national level.
What is the implication on the South-South considering the fact that for the first time that we had power coming to the South-South man, we have lost it; what is your feeling about that sir?
We have not lost it; I don’t know what you mean by losing it. We are asking for a President who would bring development to the people. Biblically, we know that it is stated clearly that a good friend is better than a bad brother.
For me if a northerner will make things happen in the South-South; it’s a plus, it’s not about where you come from. We should leave this politics of ethnicity.
For instance, I am from Oro in Urue Offong/Uroko local government, my mother is from Onitsha in Anambra state, my mother’s father mother is from Kafachan, Kaduna, my mother’s mother is Ishang; Ugoji in Edo state, my mother’s mother mother is Ughelli in Delta state. What are we talking about ethnicity?
We should be thinking about things working and not where the President is from. So, I don’t think it will have any adverse effect. In fact, if you want to talk about it. Buhari as Petroleum Minister; it was in his tenure that we had the two refineries, one in Warri and one in Port Harcourt. So, I don’t see it having any adverse effect on the South-South. It’s about who is going to do well, it’s about development, it’s about the people yearning for and having the dividends of democracy.
Governance is of the people, by the people and for the people. As long as the government imparts on the people it should impart on directly, it’s okay by me.
Some people are apprehensive, particularly the camp of the PDP that the APC victory will have a backlash on the governorship and House of Assembly elections, do you think along that line?
I am one man who believes in persons; let’s put the persons on the table because if we want our country to move forward democratically, we should be mindful of those we choose to lead us. It’s about persons; you won’t see a man who is known as an armed robber and say okay because of party, you will go and vote for such a person.
If we are talking in terms of proper development, we should look beyond party and look at persons. Most definitely, nobody would want to play opposition. It is a stated fact; everybody wants to be where it is happening. We should look beyond party lines, integrity and character should be key as we go out to vote.
How do you think that the victory of the opposition in the Presidential race will affect the politics of the state?
This development will first and foremost allow for a free and fair democratic process in Akwa Ibom state, not like what happened during the Presidential elections; it was absolutely a sham, we all know that no election took place in Akwa Ibom state. How will you conduct an election without result sheet? So, it was a sham; everyone who is sitting in his office knows that key on the mind of our President-elect is to stamp out corruption.
I tell people that you can’t fill a basket with water because as long there are those holes, there would be leakages. If Nigeria is to move forward for that basket to hold water, we must seal those holes which is corruption.
Like I said earlier on, corruption is a societal decay; it starts from the family. We must begin to thrash it from the family. Lost ethics should be brought back to bear.
So, for me it’s a welcome development. We won’t have the kind of sham that we had the last time; the will of the people must come to bear in Akwa Ibom state come April 11th, the peoples’ vote will be counted not like what happened on Saturday where it was one man taking all. We know what happened.
For instance, in Ikot Ekpene local government where we had 69,000 registered voters, we had about 19,000 accredited voters then we had election results for Ikot Ekpene 37,000. Where did they get it from? The record for accredited voters was 19,000 but 37,000 people they claimed voted. So, what are we talking about?
The coming elections, everybody knows that is not going to be business as usual. So, we will have a free and fair elections come April 11th and I know that the will of the people will speak.
President Jonathan called President-elect, General Buhari congratulating him for his victory, what does that speak of President Jonathan?
He has exhibited the spirit of sportsmanship and that goes on to show he is an elder statesman. I want to say that he did very well to accept defeat and in the spirit of sportsmanship, he extended that hand of friendship to the winner of the elections.
People look at the APC as the other side of the coin of PDP because most of the members of APC were in the PDP; people think that the APC might not be so different from the PDP, do you share that sentiment?
Absolutely not; a journey of thousand miles starts with a step. America has come to stay today because they have had well over 200 years of democratic practice. We have started the process. We will have all these issues of people aggrieved; it will get to a point where even the grassrooters would know that you just don’t appoint a councilor from Uyo, we in our communities know those who live around us and we want to vote to elect a man who has character, who has integrity. So, it’s a step towards that journey of a thousand miles.
During the collation of results at the collation centre in Abuja, an agent of the PDP in the person of Godsay Orubebe disrupted the collation process, telling Jega that he was partial in the process and that the whole exercise was a ploy to hand victory to the APC, what is your reaction to this development?
He has apologized because it’s a thing of character and integrity; garbage in garbage out. You cannot exhibit what you are not. There is a process.
For instance I know I was rigged out of the elections, I will not come and stop election results from being announced; there is a due process. If you feel you have a case, go to court. After all that was what was said in Akwa Ibom state. They said just announce anything, let them go to court. So, those of us who know very well that we won our elections on ground; will allow the law take its natural course. That’s what I expected of a man who was a former Minister, character. There is character flaw but I thank god he realized himself and apologized to Nigerians and we have accepted his apology.
What is your message to Akwa Ibom people as the governorship elections comes up?
My message to the Akwa Ibom people is that we yearn for change, my message to the Akwa Ibom people is that they should not go out violently; there should be no violence but in peace, let them ensure that their votes are counted, let them ensure that elections are conducted across the local governments, the wards that make up Akwa Ibom state, let them protect their votes, be calms, be peaceful about it and we need the desired change to move this state from where it is now to the next level. I will call on the people of Akwa bom state to vote APC.
