I will not say that I was born with a golden spoon but partially I will say so because my father has always been there; well to do. He sent all of us to school and did all he had to do for us as a father. He is a good man; he is still alive and strong. I thank God for his life too. He trained us very well and that is the same way we will train our own children; to respect our elders, be godly and kind to people. So, I thank God for my life.
What will you consider your greatest achievement?
The outstanding achievement is being a godly person because there is life after this life. I have been a successful businessman. I started business when I was young. I built my first storey building when I was 22. I got married at 22 and wedded at 23. I strongly believe that I do tell people the truth whether they like to hear it or not. My greatest achievement is to love God and train my children in the way of God. My family and I are godly people.
There is this notion that the average Igbo man prefers business to education. You have combined both. How?
Actually it is good to acquire education before business. But like you said, the average Igbo man prefers business to education, but I don’t agree with you. Most of them do have the opportunity of going to school. I just thank God that we have free education now and things are changing. Yoruba people go to school very well because the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo laid the foundation and prepared the way for them.
The outstanding achievement is being a godly person because there is life after this life. I have been a successful businessman. I started business when I was young. I built my first storey building when I was 22. I got married at 22 and wedded at 23. I strongly believe that I do tell people the truth whether they like to hear it or not. My greatest achievement is to love God and train my children in the way of God. My family and I are godly people.
There is this notion that the average Igbo man prefers business to education. You have combined both. How?
Actually it is good to acquire education before business. But like you said, the average Igbo man prefers business to education, but I don’t agree with you. Most of them do have the opportunity of going to school. I just thank God that we have free education now and things are changing. Yoruba people go to school very well because the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo laid the foundation and prepared the way for them.
Like you said Awolowo laid a good foundation for the Yorubas. In your area, the South-east, do you see a change now? Do more people go to school now in your area?
Yes. More people go to school in the entire South-east. Imo State, now for example, has free education for which we are happy. Now that there is free education, there is no one that will say he will not go to school. Outside the South-east, Akpabio announced free education in Akwa Ibom. I was impressed. The day I heard that I was in the United States and was browsing when I read that Akwa Ibomites who were doing menial jobs should come home and embrace free education.
Yes. More people go to school in the entire South-east. Imo State, now for example, has free education for which we are happy. Now that there is free education, there is no one that will say he will not go to school. Outside the South-east, Akpabio announced free education in Akwa Ibom. I was impressed. The day I heard that I was in the United States and was browsing when I read that Akwa Ibomites who were doing menial jobs should come home and embrace free education.
Nigeria has had an unbroken democracy since 1999. Of what benefit has this been to our people?
I will not talk about the past. I prefer to talk about the present and future. From 1999 till now, I am very happy and every good Nigerian should be happy with democracy. Everything now is straight and things are now going fine. The last election went well. So, we are impressed and President Goodluck Jonathan is doing well. Like the Bible said, we should also be praying for our leaders. We should continue praying for God to give our leaders wisdom. I am impressed with our electoral process. It is getting better by the day.
I will not talk about the past. I prefer to talk about the present and future. From 1999 till now, I am very happy and every good Nigerian should be happy with democracy. Everything now is straight and things are now going fine. The last election went well. So, we are impressed and President Goodluck Jonathan is doing well. Like the Bible said, we should also be praying for our leaders. We should continue praying for God to give our leaders wisdom. I am impressed with our electoral process. It is getting better by the day.
In Imo State, some people have the view that the state has not had the benefit of a good governor. Are you satisfied with the leadership of your state?
There is progress in Imo State today. I will say we are doing better. I was away for some time, but what is going on now is great. So, I think Imo State is better today than before. Anybody that goes to Imo State today will know that things are working. The present administration is doing well. When I came back, some people, especially teachers, were saying that they were being owed for months. But that is not the same today.
There is progress in Imo State today. I will say we are doing better. I was away for some time, but what is going on now is great. So, I think Imo State is better today than before. Anybody that goes to Imo State today will know that things are working. The present administration is doing well. When I came back, some people, especially teachers, were saying that they were being owed for months. But that is not the same today.
If every governor will come and make an input, and another comes to build on the works of his predecessor, things will get better and better.
If you had the opportunity to be in governance, what would be your areas of interest?
If I am given opportunity, there are a lot to be done. First of all, the quota that goes to Imo State from the Federal allocation is not as much as what goes to other states. Imo state has a lot of workers compared to other states. So, when people say the state is doing as much as other states, I agree. But we need to look at the indices. So, if given the opportunity, first of all I will look at free education and ensure that salaries are being paid. Aside that, there is need to build small-scale industries that do not require power (electricity).
If you had the opportunity to be in governance, what would be your areas of interest?
If I am given opportunity, there are a lot to be done. First of all, the quota that goes to Imo State from the Federal allocation is not as much as what goes to other states. Imo state has a lot of workers compared to other states. So, when people say the state is doing as much as other states, I agree. But we need to look at the indices. So, if given the opportunity, first of all I will look at free education and ensure that salaries are being paid. Aside that, there is need to build small-scale industries that do not require power (electricity).
The reason I am talking about small scale industries, is that now, I have more than 187 workers. But anytime I want to hire say five people and you advertise it, you see more than 200 people applying. You see people that have even masters degrees applying for jobs of someone who has not even gone to school because they want to make ends meet.
So, in Imo State, if I am given opportunity, the first thing is to look for small-scale industries. There are some industries that do not require power. Agreed that our current president is doing so much to ensure that we have adequate power supply in the country and we pray he succeeds, but in Imo State we can encourage people to go into some industries that do not require power. If they go into such, they will be able to make ends meet, make money and even employ people and pay tax to government. So, small–scale industries should be the driving force of the economy.
As a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), how do you assess the present administration in the country and what areas do you think the federal government should do more?
The PDP government has done quite a lot, especially in the area of peace, the elections and many more. See what happened in Edo State. Irrespective of what happened, the elections still went ahead. Look at Ondo too; the President even went to congratulate the winner irrespective of what happened.
The PDP government has done quite a lot, especially in the area of peace, the elections and many more. See what happened in Edo State. Irrespective of what happened, the elections still went ahead. Look at Ondo too; the President even went to congratulate the winner irrespective of what happened.
In terms of security, I will not wish to comment on that except to say that from what is happening now, that will soon be resolved. At least some people know now that that they cannot take the government and the rest of the country for granted.
No comments:
Post a Comment