Daily Independent (Lagos)
1 December 2008
interview
Those who may think that Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has lost his trademark, by the mere fact of his present office, or is likely to do so soon, may have a shocker coming. If his words did not say enough, the sparks in his eyes were unmistakable as he swayed gently in his seat, in a simple T-shirt and trousers, while fielding questions to his visitors, penultimate Saturday. His mien seemed to indicate enough warning to would-be scavengers, who might want to feast on his government, to steer clear of the state. Indeed, the archetypal labour leader, has since started to show that he means business, with the resolve to introduce some radical changes to governance. He has since begun with himself. No sirens and obtrusive security restrictions. In fact, the new rule is that he must be allowed to be at pace with those that matter - the electorate. He also plans to banish godfatherism and mediocrity in governance and more, all in a package, he calls his pact with the people. He shared this and other issues in this interview with Editor, Ikechukwu Amaechi and Group Politics Editor, Sunny Igboanugo in Benin.
Excerpts:
What was it like, fighting from the outside for 18 months to regain your mandate?
Eighteen months was after the election. But the real fight was before the election because you have to sustain your campaign with extremely lean resources compared to your opponent who had the backing of both the federal and state government; financially, in terms of security and politically. But I think I had what they didn't have; they didn't have credibility. The public saw them more as the problem and we had a message that was very clear and the messenger that was trusted. So that made our campaign very interesting and exciting. We went to a number of communities where my opponents had never visited before, because traditionally they don't even rely on votes; they rely on rigging and before the election, they already know that they are going to win, quote and unquote.
So we had a very exciting campaign. It was fun, even though it was tedious. And I learnt so many things in the process. After the rigging and the announcement by INEC, of course, the reaction of the people instantly reassured me that they were not scared by what happened and that they were ready to stand if I was willing to provide leadership. And I made up my mind that this was a battle that had to be fought. My burden was also made easier by the enormous goodwill, which I had enjoyed from people across the country, incidentally including PDP people outside Edo State, North, South, East, and West; within the professionals, businessmen and very ordinary people. My business therefore was to constantly reassure them that we were on and that we had not given up and would not give up. And in particular after they made effort to induce me to surrender by trying to monetise the mandate and I refused, our people became even more excited; because in the past, PDP's trick could be fairly simple; they rig you out, you complain and they tell you 'Oh boy you know we are here, there is nothing you can do, your best bet is we will look after you, so join us.' And then you join and then they give you some money, quote and unquote to compensate you and then they find a job for you. And Ogbemudia tried to play that trick; Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia. But I told him point blank that I didn't enter the race because I needed money to complete my father's family house, and therefore, the issue of monetising does not count. The thing was that they killed many people. They murdered people in cold blood just to send a message that to vote for candidate other than PDP could be a life-threatening affair. And I said the blood of those guys would never be allowed to be shed in vain. Even though that we can't bring them back to life, but we can fight the ideal that they died for. I think from there, the tune was clear and Edo people were excited that for once someone was ready to stand up and be counted and I am happy that it ended well.
How much were you offered?
They said I should just tell them the cost of whatever I incurred. They spent billions; so by their own experience, they imagined what I spent. Of course I didn't spend as much as they did because they spent money to buy security agencies, INEC officials both in Abuja and Benin. They spent money to buy returning officers, the local police and even the Abuja police; they spent money for all sorts of things as well as spent money to hire thugs and to buy the thugs weapons; as well as spent money on some traditional rulers who allowed their palaces to be used for rigging and all kinds of things like that. I didn't need to do that. So, they were ready to spend good money but the issue is that I wasn't even ready to negotiate.
Are you saying that there was no point within this period that it ever occurred to you that you should let this thing go?
No, no, no! in fact I made up my mind that if the case didn't go in our favour we also had our set of plans. We cannot give up on Nigeria until we fix it. The more obstacles they placed on my way the more determined I was and the more I realised that there was so much work to be done. In the morning of that day, before the judgment, I sent a text message to some of my friends telling them that whichever way this thing goes, we must not be discouraged; we must sustain the struggle.
If you had lost, what would have been your fall back position; what would you have done?
Oh! We would have continued to engage the system. The only thing I can't say, all of those people who trooped out jubilating, I am not sure that anybody would have been able to hold them down. That is not due to anything I had planned. But on my own part, I was going to make a statement that I will dedicate the rest of my life to the struggle to fix this country and to engage those who are determined to pull us back. And I will throw every little influence I had to energise those who are willing to be mobilised for that struggle.
Some critics insists that it was nemesis that caught up with you; that in 2003 when the elections were also massively rigged, instead of mobilising the workers that you were leading to fight the same injustice you were fighting, you came out to say that you were not going to use Nigeria to fight anybody's cause. Did you regret ever saying that?
No, I didn't say I would not use Nigerians to fight anybody's cause; I said I believe that some of those who were returned as governors could not have been so returned if the elections were not massively rigged. But I recognised that the way things were, being the very first election after our return to democracy that I was worried about the very limited options that were open; return to the military era, what would that portend? I then said we encourage those who felt aggrieved to go to court and I said NLC would offer to stand as witnesses in those areas where we have evidence. And what I have done when I was cheated out was to do exactly what I advised people to do in 2003, I went to court.
Some people believe that with what you have achieved because of your enormous goodwill, all eyes are on you to give back to those who made it possible. How are you going to manage this?
Well, I do appreciate that; I am a very hardened person, not given to emotion most of the time. But when I saw the sea of heads, when I saw the reaction, the excitement of some people, I told my wife this is something extraordinary. One was extremely humbled by this level of support and we immediately realised that the people believe that we will make a difference and therefore we have to make a difference. I have made this point from the very beginning that I came into the race, not because people called on me to do so. I'm not a reluctant governor; I made up my mind that I will make a difference if I have the opportunity and I am going to make a difference. When people asked me to contest for presidency, I said I was not ready for it, because I would be the last person to do anything simply because people asked me to do it. I want to do something because I believe I can do it and I also reasonably believe that it is doable. So, I am here not under an illusion that we have an easy task to achieve, but I am here with confidence that we can and we will make a difference. What does it take to make a difference? Be clear. You should have a clear vision and you need the support of the people. The support is already there. I don't have to use TV adverts or galvanise sponsored solidarity visits and all sorts of fake manipulation of public opinion to be seen to be accepted. That the people have made a very clear statement and I don't have to worry about that. That in a sense reduces my burden by more than 80 per cent. What is required now is for me to give effect to all of these promises that we made and I know that there is no policy we are going to put in place, which is people-oriented and driven that the people will not readily buy into. The typical suspicion that exists between the governed and the government does not exist in my own case. They believe me, they trust me, not on the basis of manipulation of public opinion, they trust me on the basis of my pedigree. And in seeking this office, my immediate family members were worried that given the benefit they enjoy just introducing themselves as either the wife of Oshiomhole or the children of Oshiomhole, the kind of support they get, they do not want me to jeopardise it. I promised them that I was going to build on that. What it takes to please Nigerians is so little; they want to see some cosistency, commitment and exemplary leadership. They want to see a leader who appreciates that he is not leading because he has all the wisdom; they want to see someone that can still relate with them, one that reminds them that we are all ordinary human beings. They are not responsibilities that I am a stranger to; I can even tell you that the challenges we faced at the NLC were probably far more than the one of a governor. When I assumed the office of the president of NLC in 1999; don't forget NLC had been battered by the military, and I remember one professor, now the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, and a former President of ASUU, at a seminar in Lagos wrote off the movement, and I said no you are wrong. The failure of one leadership or even a set of leaderships does not tell you anything about the character of the organisation; because there are a lot silent people there who have not had the opportunity. So, eight years later, I think Nigerians are almost unanimous that we were able to reposition the NLC. Even though NLC is not partisan, but all the media, public commentators were unanimous that we became the only viable opposition to Obasanjo's government; and we did it to a point that even Obasanjo said I was behaving like alternative President and we were running the NLC like alternative government.
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