Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State is passionate about the ‘big ticket’ infrastructure projects his administration has delivered, or is presently executing. He ticks them off one after another: a world class diagnostic center, roads, flyover bridges, hospitals and the Cargo International Airport which he said would be commissioned before end of the year. Dickson who has been in office for five years, points out that in spite of the dip in revenue accruals to the state, his government introduced free and compulsory education at both primary and secondary levels, built modern schools and started boarding school system for the first time in the state and spent billions on scholarship of Bayelsa and Ijaw students abroad. In this interview with selected journalists in Lagos, the governor who is the Chairman of the PDP’s National Reconciliation Committee bares his mind on the leadership crisis within the party. He also speaks on the secessionist agitation in the South East as well as the recent quit notice issued against Igbos in the North by some youth groups. Festus Eriye was at the interaction.
What is the future of your party, the PDP, in the light of its well-advertised divisions?
I think the right question should be what is the future of Nigerian democracy? The tragedy of our democracy today is that we have neither a strong political party in government, nor a strong party in opposition. You all know the efforts my committee made to reconcile the various tendencies in PDP so that the party could come back on stream to play its role as a credible opposition platform. As a matter of fact, Nigeria’s democracy is worse for it without a strong PDP. Unfortunately, our party has not been playing a role of an opposition party because of the needless crisis plaguing us. What is happening in PDP is a great danger to Nigeria’s democracy, but I still believe that all hope is not lost. But what is happening in PDP is not just peculiar to PDP, it is also happening in APC. For our democracy to be secured, we need a strong party in government, strong cohesive united party in government, pursuing their democratic agenda as well as a virile party in opposition. But so far our democracy is weak because of the absence of these. There is crisis in APC, it is brewing and nobody is talking about it. The sooner we in the PDP salvage our platform that is now terribly suffering a lot of de-marketing, the better for our democracy. It is unfortunate that a political party has to go to the judiciary to resolve an internal problem that is essentially political. Relying on the court to resolve internal crisis is an indictment of the political class; it is an indictment on the democratic credentials of all players. My belief, my views might be in the minority, but my belief is that the judiciary is been overworked or over-labored unnecessarily by political actors of all parties. We have abdicated our responsibilities as political players; we have surrendered too much to the judiciary. We have involved the judiciary in too many unnecessary political issues, thereby exposing them to ridicule and we are not helping the judiciary. Political leaders who are key players in the democratic system should show the maturity, the political temperament to be able to recognize and solve problems within themselves and see politics as essential element of democracy, which is a market place of ideas. We all do not need to belong on one political party. Even within our parties there are tendencies, there should be contestation of tendencies but
the irony in Nigeria is that politicians are more militant than the military. Honestly, politicians in Nigeria do not know how to argue, disagree amongst themselves. We don’t listen to ourselves, we can’t argue amongst ourselves. If you hold a divergent view, you are marked for destruction or blackmail, or tagged as doing antiparty activity and this is so because our political actors, leaders neither have the skills and the democratic temperament to drive the political process. These are partly the reasons why the crises in both PDP and APC are strong. In the US, for example, you see all the tendencies playing out; Clinton on the center of the Democratic Party, you have Bernie Sanders on the left of the Democratic Party and others – so also in the Republican Party, all marketing their ideas
But I am confident PDP will still bounce back after the Supreme Court judgment. But my view is that we have no business going to a court. If PDP leaders had agreed to implement our template for reconciliation, a national unity convention would have held this month to elect a brand new leadership. The irony of it is that the judiciary does not reconcile, it only adjudicates. Even after the Supreme Court judgement, the party will still hold a convention and embark on aggressive confidence building and reconciliation. So what is the real reason for going to court?
I was opposed to Senator Ali Modu Sheriff when some of my colleagues and others brought him. I didn’t like that. I thought that our party needed a fresh face to craft a fresh message after losing power at the center. Losing election is bad but that is not the end of the world for a party or for a politician. Unfortunately, those who brought him for whatever reason, fell apart with him. And when the Appeal Court upheld Sheriff as chairman, I as a product of the law, as a law-abiding citizen adhered to the court judgement by duly recognizing him as chairman and the same people said I was a Sheriff man! As politicians we shouldn’t be law breakers or hold the judiciary in contempt. We should not personalize judicial pronouncements by selecting the verdicts to respect!
Why should a politician, for example, want to pocket his party? Why should you be the one to select the national chairman and secretary and all the other posts, they must be in your pocket for you to be a member of that party…does that make sense, is that not madness? If that is the thrust of a politician then you can go and form a political party of your family and be in charge then, but once it’s a national party, it is an aggregation of all interest and top of which is the national interest. After the Supreme Court judgement, PDP must address many its problems top of which is funding
What is your position on the recent quit notice given Igbos in the North by some youth groups?
I condemn in strong terms the quit notice on Ndigbo. Nigeria has gone past that. We must remain as one indivisible country because our strength lies in our diversity. We didn’t even need the civil war we fought as a country because it didn’t result in anything. I support what the Northern Governors Forum and their counterparts in the East have done. I read the statements by my governor colleagues and I believe that all governors are united in this to see how we can promote peaceful co-existence and harmony.
I believe that the APC-led Federal Government could have done more in the area of promoting national unity in the country. I have spoken about this severally; the country was too divided. The Federal Government should consciously promote national cohesion, unity
and unite the various ethnic groups in the country. But unfortunately government has not done enough to promote national cohesion whether in the national management of federal political power, appointments or in evolving a national strategy to deal with the menace of herdsmen. The government must evolve the right strategy to contain all these as quickly as possible.
What is the status of the new airport you are building in Bayelsa?
When I came on board, I wanted an airport in Bayelsa State – the heart of Ijaw land – to boost our economy and play an active role in the Gulf of Guinea. I lobbied the Federal Government for partnership on the airport. But I was told contract for sand filling of the airport was already given to someone by NDDC, which they said was about 50 per cent of the cost. I said no problem, but I wanted to drive essential elements of this airport by myself so that it won’t suffer unnecessary delays.
I told the contractor, your contract with NDDC stays; I am not interfering. I cleared another place and gave the contractor that place to stockpile that NDDC sand. After all, we can use it in the other development projects in the state. Up till date, the contractor has not delivered on the sand.
I then took over the dredging of the sand for the airport proper and called in the biggest dredging company in Nigeria and gave the contract to them, paid them. Then I went to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and insured a N50 billion facility to deliver on the airport and tied it to the various contracts that would be awarded.
So, immediately the dredging companies verified, they went to the bank, they knew that their
money was there in the bank. They worked day and night and within one year, they finished the dredging, and we expanded the scope of the airport from two kilometers runway to 3.5 kilometers because we have to make it commercially viable. Right now it is only in Lagos that all these big cargo planes can land, even cargo plane servicing the oil industries bring in oil tools, big cargo planes carrying merchandise – they can’t land in Port Harcourt; they can’t land in Enugu, they can’t land in any other airport in the South-South. Cargo planes can only land in Lagos, Kano and Abuja airports. So we had to structure it for that type of traffic – to cover the South-South, South-East. Big cargo they bring in from China and other places can land in Bayelsa when the airport is completed.
So we are building actually the biggest state-owned airport. The contract was awarded to Dantata and Sawoe and it is now almost 90 percent completed. We now have the runway, we have the terminal building, now I am awarding the contract for the navigational instruments; when they are installed, you have the airport.
By why an airport with so many airports in surrounding states?
The airport will open up the state, enable people to fly into Bayelsa and fly out both for business, pleasure and generally create a hub for businesses. The airport will help to take Bayelsa to the world and bring the world to Bayelsa State. You know Bayelsa State is a historical center of oil and gas, yet there is no activity and when you ask the companies why they are not in Bayelsa, some of them would say because there is no airport; they can’t fly in and fly out. So we don’t even control elements of the oil trade because there is no airport, no seaport.
So you started the airport from scratch?
We started from the scratch, there is no federal government or NDDC sand in that runway, that is the point I am making. I wanted the state to be in charge of the essential elements of the airport, sand filling, runway, once you do that, you have gotten an airport. I wanted to drive the essential elements of the airport and I am happy that it has paid off. So by the end of this year, I will be commissioning the airport which is one of our biggest infrastructure investments. There are a lot of companies outside that are in touch with my team and I and we will also be meeting with many more. They want to use it as a hub, they are coming in with planes, to run their services, fly from Bayelsa, Lagos, Abuja and other cities and also service the Gulf of Guinea. Most of you don’t know that you can stay in Bayelsa and service the Gulf of Guinea because we are at the tip of the country just by the ocean; you fly thirty minutes from Bayelsa and you are in Equatorial Guinea. So that is the way it is and that is the market we are targeting. I will be reaching out to a lot of business people, because the airport is not just an airport, we want to make it as I said a trading hub. I want to talk to businessmen, all these importers, come and build warehouses. So from China, for example, they can come, it is going to be actually a trade zone, a free trade zone, the airport itself. So all the goods coming into South-South, South-East and most other parts of the country will be there, there will be market for it – that is why the airport is very important.
Are you also building infrastructure to enhance operations at the airport? If you can connect a road between the airport and the East-West road, that can take one straight to Warri, then you will also be thinking of capturing the Warri market…
It is all part of the calculations; we have done a road now going to Amasoma, which late Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha started but which my government re-awarded to CCC. The company did a great job, they built corners, bridges, from 2012 when I gave them the job and the road is very solid. But we are doing a road from that road to the airport, so from the East-West, you can easily get to the airport. We will capture all that market – Warri, Ahoada, Ughelli and so on. But we have a strategic plan targeted at opening the airport for business because it can accelerate our development. To develop any state, or any nation, you must create a business-friendly environment, build the capacity of the people as we are doing in Bayelsa and build the infrastructure that can attract and encourage businesses to grow. So we have a strategic plan and that’s why this airport is so critical to our development as a people.
There is a plan for a deep sea port from the airport, about one hour drive, you get to the Agge Deep Sea Port. Again, we have been labouring to build the road that will take us to Ekeremor, the next local government which is 50 kilometers. These are the big ticket projects we will commence. When you visit Bayelsa you will have an idea of what we go through to build roads. We are already building the road from Sagbama to Ekeremor which is about 50 kilometers. We have sand filled about forty seven kilometers already. I moved in a second dredger recently – even in this recession we are doing that even though it is costly, very expensive. They are pumping sand day and night because we have got to get to that local government and see how we can move from Ekeremor to Agge – which is about 67 kilometers from Ekeremor. We also did another 70 kilometers to get to Agge that is by the ocean.
As I always say, the wealth of Bayelsa lies in the sea. We have the most beautiful beach in the whole of this area, the Agge beach – white sand, long stretch of beach, lot of things can happen- tourism, maritime-related investment and that is the best location for a deep sea port in this country. As we know, we don’t really have a deep sea port in Nigeria, we have lots of trans-shipment going on. The Ekeremor road I talked about will cost
over N40 billion! I am even scared there will be other variations, because of inflation and the exchange rate and so on. We are bent on delivering that road before the end of my tenure. We have already stabilized up to fifteen kilometers, sand filled, stabilized and now vehicles can run on it. Already they are calling me that the economy is improving, there are young people who are now in the business of loading vehicles in some of the Ekeremor communities for the first time, and they have some young men in the parks shouting ‘Ofoni! Yenagoa!’
From that deep sea port to remote areas, we are opening up a joint trade corridor in the South- South and South-East because the end of my local government, Sagbama Local Government is very close to Onitsha and there are a lot of oil facilities – gas flaring going on. What I have started doing as part of our strategic plan is to engage even the oil companies, NNPC, and I have visited all of them, gotten their support to provide power 24-hours. We have acquired 400 hectares space of land and we shall make it a huge market for industrial estates linking it up with the South Eastern market – Onitsha and so on.
How much of these can you finish before 2020?
As I have said the airport is already being completed- end of this year. As a matter of fact, some months back, an aircraft on a mission landed there and took off, because what we call an airport is a road, essentially fortified road with the navigation materials. So they will be delivered. We are working with our partners collaborating on the big industrial park, collaborating with IOCs, the NNPC, on supply of power. They are flaring the gas even as we speak. We are converting gas to power, so that when we have 24 hour supply, it will now be a manufacturing hub for companies that want to manufacture. Part of the challenge in Bayelsa State is we don’t have strong private sector participation. The whole economy revolves around the state government expenditure, so that puts a lot of pressure on governance and affects the politics adversely. These are the reasons why we need the participation of the private sector.
Two days ago Shell’s country chief was my guest in Bayelsa, a lot of things are changing, and the international community know the narrative about Bayelsa is changing. People can see life-changing projects and government projects are impacting on the people and there is stability. We have invested heavily in security and today, Bayelsa is the safest and most stable state in the Niger Delta – even though it is the epicenter of the Niger Delta issues, concerns and struggles. Next week, I will be receiving the Agip Country Chief, I have met the NNPC MD, last week and I interacted with the Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo to market the Brass fertilizer project as well. I will also meet the chairman and management of the Brass LNG project, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki in Lagos before I go back to Yenagoa. You can see that my agenda is to a large extent delivered, the social investment end fully delivered. You have the best public schools, not private funded schools in Bayelsa State.
In Bayelsa we have made a revolutionary intervention in education not only in terms of the scholarships that we are giving out and our students are doing very well but we are building schools, schools and schools. As you know, I did declare emergency in the education sector, but it was not just a political slogan. I really meant it. Primary and Secondary education are free and compulsory in Bayelsa State.
We have committed over N55 billion, building schools, on scholarships, building quarters for teachers, building laboratories, boarding houses, libraries, supplying books, supplying uniforms, paying JAMB, NECO, WAEC. We now have for the first time boarding schools in the state.
In the Ijaw National Academy, for example, a school we designed and built from scratch in Kaiama – it was a massive forest designed – built from scratch. It is now like a university but it is a secondary school. You have 1,000 students right there now, all on state government sponsorship and it is boarding. We feed them three times a day and their uniforms are provided. We select the best students from all the primary schools, boys and girls, top students, and they do an examination and we select the very best again and tell their parents from now on till they end their secondary education, these students are state government ”property”, what you do is only buy buckets, cutlass and then the hostel wear.
We are embarking on massive mobilization of people. I had to even threaten parents and guardians by telling them ‘I have built the schools, the facilities are there, the children have been tested, exams taken to select them school by school, the best set, if you don’t allow your child to go I will order your arrest.’ I have built the schools and I have equipped them and given uniforms, books, feeding free and I have taken pains to send people to go around and select the best 10 in every secondary school. Those ones were brought together and they took exams and we took the very best. We said ‘This is the list, you parents only buy buckets, cutlass, brooms and house wear of N5,000 and now send that child to the school.’ Do you know that my press team is still running adverts telling parents to release their children to go school? Look at Ijaw National Academy… 900 Bayelsans were offered admission, the remaining 100 are Ijaw drawn from states like Ondo, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom and Rivers because a Bayelsa governor has a responsibility to cater for the Ijaw outside the state. The head girl in the Ijaw National Academy is from Edo State and I selected them four years ago. Initially what I did was to give scholarships and send them to the best secondary schools in the country. After building these schools, I brought them back home. So in every local government we have well equipped schools and in Kolokuma-Okpokuma Local Government alone, you have Ijaw National Academy and the Sports Academy.
Is the state not taking on too much by doing that?
Well, that is the reality of Bayelsa and the reason we are doing that is because unless you consciously intervene and build a new generation of citizens, leaders, there is no meaningful development that you put on ground that can last. That is why we are investing in human capital development.
We have put in place laws and measures to sustain what we have done even after leaving office. We have sponsored the ‘Right to Education Bill’ which is the right a Bayelsa child under the age of 18 has to educational support. Now these are necessary because I don’t want anybody to defund education after me. The second one is the Educational Development Trust Fund. By this June we will begin to take contributions. I have appointed one of our respected elder statesmen and leaders in this sector, Professor Turner Isoun, former Minister of Science and Technology, former Vice Chancellor of University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt to chair the Educational Development Trust Fund Board. We have made a case for the oil industry to key into it and the provision there mandates them to put a certain percentage of their CSR budget every year to support it so that it doesn’t amount to double taxation. Also, all corporate players, every Bayelsan contributes to that fund – all of us, civil servants, political appointees beginning with me, everybody, will generate quite some money. Once it is there, that fund will be used not to build schools because we have already done that but to sustain feeding of the students, supplying computers, feeding, uniforms, routine things, can be done with the funds.
What kind of guarantee do you give to investors on security considering the volatile terrain?
I acknowledge that we are starting off from the position of disadvantage, where there is a mindset that in places like Bayelsa, that if you go and put in something there, something bad will happen to you. That is a mindset, it is a perception, which is why we are having this type of interaction with the press. We are going to have more of it and actually that is why am keen to host most of you, a number of you, am not talking about investors out of Nigeria, even a number of you have not visited Bayelsa, you haven’t visited the creeks and communities out there to even see how the people live. What you hear about Bayelsa is actually exaggerated. In Lagos, for example, if you keep a diary of crimes committed per square kilometer, per population, of course you know what happens but it is not reported because the media houses are all here. Lagos State is number one in crime yet the investors have not left Lagos. Crime is crime and we condemn it. Look at what happened in London within the last three months, terrorist attack worse than what is happening in Nigeria, except in some areas in the North East.
The guys who put up the travel advisory exaggerate our situation. The US Ambassador spent three days, returned back safely. Two days ago, the Political Secretary to the British High Commission visited Bayelsa and I receive high profile international diplomats almost on a daily basis because they know what is going on in the Niger Delta. I tell them this narrative about Nigeria, Niger Delta and particularly Bayelsa has got to change, for it is over-exaggerated. Bayelsa is safe for investors. On a daily basis, you see people in far-flung creeks in Bayelsa drilling oil. There are people evacuating crude on a daily basis, from Brass terminal in Bayelsa, from Forcados, from Bonny and everywhere in the Niger Delta but when there is a little incident it is blown out of proportion. Security is an investment and for that investment to happen it takes two, the public and private sector to come together with the government, creating the enabling environment – which is what we are doing.
