Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
In every ramification, Cairo Ojougboh means many things to many people. For some, he is an ubiquitous and controversial politician, yet to others he is a cat with nine lives.
As reporters’ delight, he was at his best in this chat with Sunday Sun, as he dissected many issues including the controversial zoning arrangement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
He specifically argued that Ndigbo would be more comfortable with a conducive business environment than the presidential ticket.
He also took a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing it as a dead party that should not be allowed to resurrect in 2023.
He equally spoke on the future of the APC in Delta State, stressing that though mistakes have been made in the past, with persons like the Deputy Senate President, Omo-Agege, APC would wrest power from the PDP in 2023. Excerpts:
The litigations over the 2019 presidential election have finally come to an end last Friday, what should be your advice to Atiku and Buhari?
For Atiku, I know he is a seasoned, traditional and experienced politician. He is also a Moslem and I know that he is very conversant with Islamic teaching about reconciliation. I expect Atiku to congratulate President Buhari as soon as possible. He should not listen to sycophants and those that build business centres around him and desirous of their business erected on his head and shoulders, they don’t want to close them. They will instigate him more to continue distracting President Buhari, but he should rise up as a statesman that he is and congratulate you Mr President. As for President Buhari, I know him very well as someone magnanimous in victory. He is a humble man and I am very certain that he will stretch forward his merciful and conciliatory arms to everybody.
Do you share the feelings by many that strongly believe that having worked for the APC, you deserved what you got from this government?
I am not a greedy person and my journey in politics is not essentially to satisfy any personal aggrandizement. I am not a hustler jumping after one opportunity to the other. If you know very well, I don’t also beg for anything or pester people. I have a guiding principle that what will be, will be. So, it does not mean anything if contrary to people’s expectations I was not given ministerial position.
Do you have any regret working for APC to destabilise the PDP post-2019 general elections?
Why should I have any regret when I made it clear then that PDP is a dead party? I am happy that since then, PDP never resurrected. It is even ‘deader’ now than what it was at that time. PDP is gone, it is finished for PDP. Everybody knows that comparing the APC and the PDP is like comparing life and death. Contrary to the tradition of lobbying for everything entrenched in the PDP, appointments are purely based on merit in the APC. For instance, they were looking for somebody from South-south competent enough to take the appointment in the NDDC, a person who has no peculiar interest in the Commission and I was chosen. If it were to be in the PDP, they would look for somebody who will bribe them before he gets the job. You have to pay bribe before you get any appointment under the PDP leadership. Is that where you want me to remain? God forbid! You know very well that President Buhari will not accept bribe from anybody. It is a case of when the head is correct, others will fall in shape.
What is the way forward to the crisis rocking the APC in Delta State?
The solution is simple. APC Delta should avoid the idea of predetermining candidates for elections. They should allow politicians to run the politics of the state. The emergence of our governorship candidate, Great Ogboru, was a huge disaster. I announced it publicly on national television that our candidate was a trader. When I moved into the APC with 15,000 PDP members, everywhere was active and bubbling. We had a party hot and sparkling. But the moment Ogburu emerged the party candidate; it became cold still water. The good thing is that we now have chieftains that can revive the party. Such persons like the Deputy Senate President, Omo-Agege, among others, have all it takes to turn around the party. I have put the incidence behind me and I am not in any way feeling short-changed because as I said earlier, what is yours can never be taken away from you.
Like Delta State, the APC at national level is also enmeshed in crisis, what are the solutions to the problems?
You cannot expect anything less from a huge ruling political party with massively acceptability like the APC. Don’t forget that even at home, husband and wife do fight, let alone a big party like the APC. How do people expect a party with membership strength of close to 10 million to be that peaceful?
In fact, if there is no fight in any party, know that the leadership is dictatorial. The fight in a political party is a confirmation that democracy is in action. Instead of the crisis affecting the party, I can tell you that it is even making the party to grow in strength. A political party without crisis will continue to bleed until it bursts.
What is your take on the anxiety that APC may not retain power after the 2023 presidential election considering the crisis and controversy over zoning arrangements?
As far as I am concerned when it comes to the issue of zoning, it is neither here nor there. If an Igbo man is contesting and he will improve on what Buhari has been doing and make Nigeria better, I will vote for him. If it is a Fulani man, Yoruba man that will do it, I will vote for him. For me, the issue of zoning is inconsequential. What I look for is the ability of the person to person. I am beginning to see some Nigerians that can do it. For instance, if they give me this country to rule, though I know they will not give me, I will turn it around. I know what to do.
How do you address the issue of Southeast feeling short-changed in the political equation of the country?
How can they feel so when former President Goodluck Jonathan is from Southeast and how can you forget that he is from Rivers State, which is the heart of Southeast before the civil war in 1967? What about Azikiwe Ebele, which are Igbo names. I don’t understand why they should feel so when the first Vice President of this country, Dr Alex Ekwueme came from there. He was massively voted for. It was only by accident that Jonathan became both the vice president and the president. Let me educate you about Ndigbo, they are not concerned over who becomes the president of this country. They are living cool life. They are good investors, good businessmen and good in creating wealth. Let me tell you, if you ask the Igbo to choose between president of Igbo extraction and president from another zone that will provide good business environment that will foster their trading, I can conveniently tell you that they will choose conducive business environment.
What I am saying is that zoning presidential ticket to Ndigbo is not a sine qua non to his happiness. What I am saying in effect is that it does not matter to me whether northerners produce president for another eight years. Obasanjo did eight years, Yar’Adua did three years, and Jonathan did over six years cumulatively. That is something we should admire this country for. I was the Senate liaison officer to Yar’Adua, but people shouted that the cabal will not accept a Niger Delta to substitute him when he died. Call it doctrine of necessity; they are just semantic. The truth of the matter is that the Fulani, Hausa man and the entire northerners knew that zoning is a second-class matter in politics. I was among those that started campaign for Jonathan when we convinced the North to give him the ticket. But when things started going wrong in the PDP, we shouted for correction, but they refused to heed to our call. Both the APC and PDP should be ready for any eventuality. I know that PDP is dead, but we cannot allow them to resurrect. The APC should take them into consideration when choosing our candidate for the 2023 presidential election.
Are you calling it quits in contesting for governorship election in Delta State?
The truth is that the issue of Delta governorship ticket is very cumbersome and since I am not greedy and desperate, I prefer things that can bring succour, unity and peace to my people, the zoning arrangement in Delta State has worked very well. Having seen that my zone has done eight years, it will be foolish of me to rise to contest again in 2023. After the man I may consider the most ugly person I have ever seen in the world, I cannot come again to contest. I cannot do that. The good thing is that we have competent and capable person in Omo-Agege to conveniently run the PDP out of Delta government House in 2023. I want to advise the youths to get serious with politics because it is a way of life. If we don’t get involved in politics, fools will take charge. It is very import.
What are your blueprints for the position given to you in the NDDC?
I want to reconfigure, reconstitute and reposition the NDDC so that the original idea of the establishment of the commission will be realised. NDDC is going to pay attention to the rural dwellers. It must look into militancy and the rural urban drift and pressure. Some of these militants came from the rural areas to the urban jungle. We must be able to have one or two monstrous giant projects in the Niger Delta. The Commission must foster relationship both intra and inter NDDC. By now, the NDDC would have taken a strong political position involving our leaders under the umbrella. Apart from been a welfarist organisation, we can also turn into a political vehicle that can deliver the goods. We are going to look at programmes and projects within the limited time of three to six months we will operate.
What should President Buhari do to leave a legacy in 2023?
That is exactly what he is doing now. Repositioning and strengthening the economy, crushing inflation, raising the GDP, improving the power supply and ensuring that the health sector is restructured. There is something very fantastic about him for resolving not to embark on new projects until he completes the abandoned ones.
What do you tell Nigerians claiming that he is not in charge and that the cabals are calling the shots?
I would have been surprised if you did not ask about cabals, but if I may ask, who are the cabals? As far as I am concerned there is nothing like cabal.