7 November 2008
interview
Lagos — Chief Brady Nwosu is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo state.
He was one of the gubernatorial aspirants in the 2007 governorship election. In this interview with BONNY AMADI, he gives an insight into the political developments of the nation, advising that Nigeria should learn useful lessons from the United States of America and South Africa in terms of their democratic systems.
AS a stakeholder in Imo state politics, could you analyse political developments in the State?
The political development is that we have a Governor who is a Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) governor in the name of Chief Ikechi Ohahim who is also a friend to me. Basically, we know that Imo state is a PDP state, but by virtue of what happened in 2007, as God may have it, we have a PPA governor.
In as much as they are still in court, I don't see the court case as being necessary. There is no basis for Araraume to take Ohakim to court because he never contested any election.
How would you rate the performance of the governor in this new political dispensation?
It is just barely a year since the governor assumed office. But he is being distracted by proceedings in the court.
I believe based on his prerogative and understanding of what he sets out to do, he is pursuing a policy that is peoples-oriented that will open up the state as investment haven.
Everything depends on his understanding and what he has done as well as mastery of what he is doing.
How would you assess the performance of the South East governors in this new dispensation?
I know a couple of the South East governors and I cannot say actually what they have on ground in their respective states.
I am from Imo state and have not gone round the other states in the South East to know the level of new developments there. To the best of my knowledge the new papers the governors are doing their best
Do you think that the federal legislators from the South East are representing their zone properly?
They were elected as legislators and their duty is to make laws. We have seen some bills passed by the National Assembly and some of the bills have been endorsed by the president while others are still waiting to be endorsed by the president.
The point is that they are still legislating as members of the National Assembly working to make laws.
However based on what is happening, the fact is that the legislators are very slow. Even if you bring out the bills endorsed by the president and it is not implemented, it is meaningless.
What role do you think the South East legislators will play in actualizing the second Niger bridge?
Constitutionally, they are to legislate and make laws and it is for the executives to ensure that laws are executed by implementing projects.
If they go away from their constitutional areas, they might lobby as representatives from the South East, their fellow members and lobby the executive too.
Because the executive has the constitutional right for implementation, they should insist on the implementation of all projects approved.
What role do you think lobbying played in the recent political developments in the South East and Nigeria?
Lobbying is an invisible fifth estate of democracy because it is the ability to persuade somebody to do or something which is more interested or will benefit the group that is lobbying. They have reason for lobbying.
In American politics, lobbying is allowed. Many Washington DC lawyers, are lobbists. Lobby has to do with your friends, to help those people to get anything they are lobbying for.
In our own case, lobbying is very much internal. Maybe it is not a law yet. But some people use to call it influence peddling. But lobbying has to do with your influence in the election of that person and being friendly to power influences. It also helps the executive in project implementation.
As far as we are concerned and considering the type of democracy we are running, lobbying is the fifth estate of the realm.
What then do you think is responsible for declining influence of some powerful camps lately?
If I can summarise your question properly I think what you are talking about is the influence of God fathers. Godfatherism has been in existence since the beginning of the world. If you are there before me, definitely you will be regarded as god father.
Godfather has been in vogue in every kind of power be it in kingdom, empire, dynasty, be it in communism or democracy.
The only thing is that the name changes at any given time but, you cannot do politics without having a godfather.
There are some people that will call you to go and if you don't have the consent of those people, if you go, you will not succeed.
Take for instance, what happened sometimes in Niger State when the governor of the state was having problems with the godfathers in the state. People like IBB, Kure, Abdulsalami. I looked at him and said maybe the man was out of touch or that he was a civil servant before he was carried to become a governor by Obasanjo.
Well, I saw that and laughed because no body becomes politically relevant without a god father.
Then he was bearing Aliyu Babangida, but right now he is bearing Babangida Aliyu, He realised that the god father is there, the only thing that changes god father is in its application.
In America, the godfathers are called the establishments because you cannot be without a godfather. There are some leaders that must tell you to proceed.
And in the case of Niger state, how do you think you can become a governor without the endorsement of IBB, Abdulsalam Abubakar, and Kure, who was in incumbent governor of the state.
Even if Abdulsalami and IBB say you must go and Kure as an incumbent governor says no, there is nothing you can do about it. That is one of the problems we have in Imo state.
In as much as our governor used to say he doesn't have a godfather, he understood that there is establishments (godfather) in the state.
Definitely, Udenwa is the most powerful man in Imo state and he is the godfather of the present governor. The last time Udenwa celebrated his 60th birthday, Ohakim actually admitted that he couldn't have been there without the forces led by Udenwa, of which I am a member.
What role do you think godfatherism or establishment played in the emergence of the president?
Definitely, when you look at Yar'Adua, you see Obasanjo as the god father, afterall we all knew that he was just placed there by his political godfather.
In the president's speech, he was humbled because, he never waited to become a president, he said that he was planninges to go back to the class room as a teacher, but, was asked to bear the flagship.
He will thank God first, that made Obasanjo to do what he did and definitely we cannot rule out the fact that he will always respect the establishments.
Should we now say that the godfathers dictate the direction of their point men?
You cannot say that they are acting the script of their godfathers, but before they do any major thing, they must seek for their consent. You must call the godfather. This is the way its done. You cannot implement or come up with powerful policies, as chief executive without seeking the advice or consent of the past leaders.
You must tell them, this is what I want to do, this is what I am planning to do. You are not doing this that you are seeking for their advice but you are notifying them of the changes that is coming up in the government.
Based on all these, how then would you rate the performance of the President so far?
The point is that generally, we have relative peace in the country, and he is there to take the credit. In as much as a lot of people claim that everything is slow, that maybe his own style.
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