Imo State Deputy Governor Eze Madumere spoke with reporters in Lagos on the challenge of governance, the cash crunch and how the government is implementing the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southeast state. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.
How have been coping as the deputy governor of Imo State?
We give God the glory for everything that He has provided us. The Almighty Father is the ultimate who makes all things possible. So, we are grateful to God, for wherever I have found myself today, it is God first and the next person is Rochas Okorocha.
In Imo, what has really worked for us is that you have a man that is focused. We have a man who believes and who made us to believe that the best way we can achieve anything in stipulated time is through a task force process. And that is why people say we do things in unconventional way. We do it and we achieve results. We have a new Imo State.
Having said that, in my journey so far, it has been a matter of going through tutelage. I am following a man who has the vision, a leader, who has the mantle of leadership. And we being the apostles of Rescue Mission, we are playing the best supporting role to make sure we succeed as a team. And this, to the glory of God, is where my role lies.
For me also, coming from the private sector and finding oneself a public servant is quite challenging. But, anything that has to do with service to the people is quite interesting and you learn every day.
But, people see you as a strongman in your constituency…
My federal constituency, Mbaitoli/Ikeduru (Mbaike), used to be predominantly PDP. But, when we came in 2011, we were then in the APGA. Of course, we won Mbaitoli, which was my local government. The other part of my federal constituency, which is Ikeduru, we lost that. And we had to do a lot on the ground. Because of the infrastructure, some of the things the governor did; the dividends of democracy that was extended. There is no ward in my federal constituency or in Imo State that you will not see text of rescue mission. And that alone speaks louder than could be said. And how can you defeat free education, from primary to tertiary level? These are the hallmark. How can you defeat 27 General Hospitals in all the local governments? How can you defeat 305 primary schools? These are the hallmarks of what we have to remind our people because they already know about it.
Why is Owerri zone not agitating for governor again?
Rochas Okorocha is quite an example of a detribalised leader and not a zonal leader. My leader, our leader, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is a man inspiration. Why did I say that? Today, more than 75 per cent of the infrastructure is in Owerri zone. The other 25 per cent is shared between Okigwe and Orlu. You have a governor who believes in putting projects not because of where he comes from, but based on the fact that it is good for Imo State.
Today, for example, we are talking about industry, industry, industry, factory, factory, factory! We have gone back to bring back the old Mbakwe factories. For instance, card board packaging industry is in Owerri not in Orlu. We have recovered that. De Raising Paint is in Mbaise here, Owerri zone, we have recovered that. These things will now start coming in place. We have got some Italians trying to bring back those apex factories. These are the things that are lying fallow for over thirty years. Now, this governor is not thinking about his village. He is not thinking about his own person. This is a governor who makes sacrifice, who goes through pains every day, just to make sure that Imo people and Ndi Igbo are recognized in this country. And that is why when people say that he is a governor for Imo, not a governor for a zone or a local government, people do not agitate.
The issue of 2019 is an issue that is quite too far. This is 2015. We just got re-elected. We have not even constituted a government and people are talking about 2019. The team with which Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Madumere were elected have not been constituted for the second tenure. You are thinking of something that is not even in the pipeline yet. This is like placing the cart before the horse. I am not that type of person that people can just try to mesmerize into desperation. No. I am focused; we are on a mission, and our mission for the next four years is factory, factory, factory, industry, industry, industry. That is the focus and, with God helping us, we shall get there.
How do you relate tot he opposition leaders in Imo?
There are two ways to this. One of the things I have learnt over time is never to join issues. What is at stake is never personal and should never be treated as such. For me, we have to distinguish ourselves and show a positive way out for others to learn. We do politics without bitterness. Politics is about constructive issues, not about personal issues. Everybody who has vied for any position knows that. Let me give you example. When I ran for Senate under Action Alliance, many years ago, I was the only candidate who visited fellow candidates and others from opposing political parties to discuss issues of general interest. I went to their houses and ate breakfast. It doesn’t happen in most quarters these days. That is my background. That is how I am taught and that is the way of my leader; if we mean that we are in this business for our people, then, play politics of no bitterness. That is what the people want. Nigeria is changing. The idea that you lose election and you cannot pick up a phone and congratulate the winner is becoming a thing of the past.
Could you tell us a bit about your private sector experience?
Back in the United States, I worked with Pepsi Incorporated. I was the Head of Channels Development of various chains, and travelled wide in many countries. I actually worked in many countries. I travelled to well over 50 countries, where I worked. And at a time, when I got married in 1996, I felt it was time to step closer to your family. I had to come back and I left the job. I established a trading consulting company and a trading company. This is so because I have always had flair for business? I have always had a small business which I do.
How would you describe Okorocha?
The man, Rochas Okorocha is a philanthropist. He is a family man. He is a man you will love to be close to. Rochas Okorocha I know is vehement but his brain is faster than clock. For you to be able to meet up with him, you must come a little closer. Just imagine, someone you’ve been with for over two decades, by now I could have told you I have a PhD on him. No, I do not. By the time, you get closer; my boss will keep shifting the goal post. He is a man who likes challenges. He is an adventurer. He believes in a thing, then, it is achievable. He is not too perfect a person. He is a man who is also very eager and open to learning from you. As he is holding a conversation with you, he is picking up one or two things from you, but you don’t know. The day he will use them, he will say remember the day you said. That is the man, Owelle Rochas Anayochukwu Okorocha.
Within the context of the Imo Rescue Mission, have you developed your personal vision for Imo?
My oga’s vision subsumes mine. And that is the way it is. As much as I operate with my oga, you only have one captain at a time.
Your Excellency, going from this discussion, one thing we can deduce is loyalty. As a leader, what are the issues that have been driving you?
Number one, my upbringing has got a lot to say about me. I came from a home that my father is a disciplinarian. My father is in charge. My father came from nowhere to somewhere. He made himself and became a name for himself, from a very poor family. His father died while he was still a little boy. His father did not see him through as a man. But, grandmother saw my father through farming and business of palm kernel and raised some amount of shillings to help his grandson to start selling building materials. So, it was with that upbringing that my father impacted in us. Can you believe that my father built the Imo State Commissioners’ quarters as a government contractor. This Deputy Governor’s Lodge where I am living now was built in 1977. I worked as a student and my job was to dispense drugs to the labourers who were called Kiri Mbum. Can you believe that later in life, I would live in one of the houses I participated in building from the foundation, casting the decking. I also did a lot of menial job just to make my own money. My father didn’t know about this. I also was one-time my father’s personal driver, after secondary school. I drove my father till I sat for my school certificate exam.
How is the government implementing the APC manifesto?
Free education has run for four years now, and free education has come to stay. It is what people never believed it was possible. The opposition never believed that it could happen and the doubt is with them till today. I don’t think that we as a government have done very well in giving free education the publicity it deserves. Many people outside the direct beneficiaries are the ones that can say yes, this is free education. It seems like there is this shadow as if there is, may be, a thing of Rochas magic. No, there is a practical thing on the ground. We have three major tertiary institutions owned by the State – one of them, Imo State University. It is free from admission to your first degree. It is free. It is hundred percent free. The same thing applies to Imo State polytechnic, Umuagwo, Imo State University, School of Health Sciences, Amaigbo and other State owned tertiary institutions. The same thing applies to Imo College of Health Science, Okporo, Orlu and School of Nursing, Amigbo.
What effort is being made by the government to boost the Internal General Revenue (IGR)?
Like I said, this state has not done very well in IGR for obvious reasons. We have instituted a committee trying to make sure that the state does well in IGR. We are generating about 600, 000 may be 500, 000 or a little bit over 500, 000 monthly. It is not supposed to be so. A State like Imo should have a minimum of N2billion IGR. Look at Edo, look at Cross River. You can say these are contemporary States. You don’t expect us to be the same with Lagos or Kano for instance. What they have, we don’t have them. But the contemporaries States are the ones to be used to create a template or a benchmark to judge Imo State. It is Edo and Cross River. This sabotage is as a result of internal sabotage that they put up. Those are some of the loopholes we are trying to block. Some of the laws are there. Some are outdated. Some we need to change. We are working on it to change some enforcement. The governor is focused. He is acting on everything. We created some kind of committees. There is an angle that I am leading just to make sure we do that. The governor is personally involved in IGR revitalisation.
