From Okey Sampson, Aba

Ukanwa Destiny Godspower is a businessman and a political activist. In this interview, he spoke on some contentions issues in Abia politics.

You have been quite active of recent in the state doing several philanthropic works especially amongst youth organisations. What has informed such philanthropic gestures?

What I am doing is my own way of thanking God for the blessings that has been bestowed on me. It is my own little way of contributing to the society; I am particularly touched by the failure of the PDP government in our own part of the country which has enthroned mass poverty and penury especially amongst the youth and the elderly. In fact, it is for this that the youths are the target of my philanthropic gestures.

Your criticism appears to be too abstract, could you explain further?

What do you mean by concrete terms? The failure is all over; the bad roads, the pot holes, the enveloping darkness, the wage bills. The failure seems to be the dominant characteristics of the government in place. Here in Umuahia, there is no any functional street light. Everywhere seems to be dark once it is 7pm. You cannot move around because of crime and the darkness. The robust night life we had before is all gone, the rural areas are worst. In fact, our people have never had it so bad.

Do you mean to say you don’t have anything complementary to say about the Ikpeazu’s administration?

Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as a person might be a pleasant young man. I also understand that he is making some efforts to improve the city of Aba. All I am saying is that his government seems to be overwhelmed by the problems created and left behind by his predecessor in office. The baggage he is carrying is huge; the mess of the immediate past administration is much. Cleaning up such mess will take a while; backlog of salaries, pension arrears, infrastructural deficit, violent crime, rural poverty etc. I pity the governor myself. There is pretty little he can achieve except he has a complete break with his godfather.

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Governor Ikpeazu is operating under a master that is negatively masterminding him. He might have good ideas and intentions but the environment he is operating under is too suffocating for him to actualize them. Such negative manipulation of the state Chief Servant and his administration has consequences for the state. It is all these factors that make the state a very viable place for opposition parties like APC to win elections in future.

But some elders in the state seem to have contrary view to what you have just said. How do you reconcile that?

Which elders? In fact they are part of the problem. Honestly, I feel disappointed that the so called elders have failed our people. They have failed the youths; they have failed the women. Their level of selfishness and greed for money and power is above the national average. All of us are witnesses to what happened during the last administration in the state. The only exception was Chief B.B Apugo, he was the only one that was talking. He is the only one that was mentioning the evil spell that held the state.

When Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu was the governor, he built many roads in the state which gave him the acolyte, ‘Action Governor.’ But immediately he left office, all the development projects he initiated especially roads were left to deteriorate, except of course the little that Ikpeazu has done in the past two years. With the way things are going presently, as far as I am concerned, the PDP Abia State chapter is a dead party. It is dead because of the failure of the PDP government and that is making APC to grow in popularity. Right now the APC is the first choice for so many prospective aspirants and politicians. This scenario is so, despite the fact that they are not controlling the state. PDP’s failure in the state has become APC’s gain.

The year 2019 is drawing near; which office will you be running for?

Definitely, as a patriotic and qualified indigene of the state, it is my intention to change the situation in the state by seeking the highest office in the state when the time comes. I can authoritatively tell you that when the time comes, I will be the first choice of many people for the office of the Governor especially the youths.

But your party in the state is perceived not too popular. How do you hope to change this perception?

What you are saying is no longer the situation. PDP’s failure in the state has made many people to start looking towards the direction of the APC for salvation. This satiation has been boosted by the defection of so many prominent politicians led by his Excellency, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu into the APC. The APC in Abia State will surprise many people in future elections.