A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Bayelsa State, Chief Reuben Boutwaowel Okoya, speaks with Emmanuel Udodinma on why he wants to take over Bayelsa State Government House next year from Governor Seriake Dickson. Excerpts
What informed your decision to run for the governorship position in your state?
I have been a part of Bayelsa since it came into civilian regime. I later went into private practice in 2007 as a registered Architect in America, Uk and Nigeria. I am a development person. Then in 2011 when Dr Goodluck Jonathan became the president, he invited me to Abuja, to help him manage the city of Abuja. The president is actually the governor of Abuja, but by the virtue of his busy schedule, he delegates those powers to a minister, and that is how the FCT ministers came on board; so, I was called by the president to help him manage the city, and by that reason I oversaw the entire development in Abuja We approved plans and make sure that the master plans were sacrosanct; we make sure the master plan was implemented properly. We make sure that the city was developed according to the master plan. I was actually the Abuja Developmental Management Council, a kind of mayor, and as a city manager, I also oversaw the Abuja Environmental Protection Board which was in charge of environmental sanitation in the entire city. I also took charge of all the park and garden in Abuja and the FCT Fire Service Management Agency.
Of course, when Jonathan’s government ended, my job ended and I decided to come and transfer the experiences I had to develop Bayelsa. I want to bring my experience to Bayelsa. In summary I am here to serve Bayelsans in any capacity that I can. I want to do it at the highest level, to be able to develop the state.
To become the governor of a state, one should understand the peculiar problems of that state. What are the peculiar problems you have identified in Bayelsa?
Over 70 percent of surface area in Bayelsa is water and we have problem of developing the state in terms of structures. Rainy seasons last for seven months or there about but a couple of years ago, we had devastating flood that actually consumed some homes, so we have problems of rain and environment unlike in Abuja. In Bayelsa, you have to excavate before you sand fill; so you spend a lot of money at the foundation level. So, we have that problem of developing Bayelsa State infrastructurally. But these problems are surmountable and we can do it. You know we are not as educated as we should be and you know education is the key to success. The problems are many. To solve them, it takes focus, proper direction and dedication. One must also carry the people along. No man is an Island and as a leader, you must have lieutenants.
What is your economic blueprint as the state is a mono-economy; how do you hope to diversify?
When I was Commissioner of Special Projects and I was constructing buildings the governor that I worked for hardly come to my site because they had confidence in me; so, I know how to go about the problems. Another problem we have is lack of private industry in Bayelsa which really affects the IGR and all that. It is like that all over the word that if you build a good city, investors will come; if you build a good Bayelsa, tourists will come. Investors find investment destinations themselves and tourists find theirs by themselves. If you go to Dubai, nobody is calling on investors to come and invest. We must deal with first things first; we must build good roads, schools, private hospitals and primary healthcare facilities to treat malaria, dysentery and simple diabetes.
When the necessary things are taken care of first, then the investors will come. There are a lot of things that government does today which are mere waste of money, time and energy. Bayelsa deserves the best, so coming on board; I will give them the best.
You will be contesting against a sitting governor. Do you have the structures to go into the party primaries?
Let me say this very distinctly, politics is not a do-or-die affair and the constitution allows for two tenures which is not a must, and serving out one term does not guarantee you second tenure. Nobody is perfect. However, people say politics is a game and l believe that if you are a serving governor and you want to go for second term, you ought to work for it; you ought to convince your party and the people that you want to go for it. If somebody decides to compete with you in an election, it doesn’t mean he is your enemy. It will be a check on you. The reason why presidential election has two tenures is that if you are not performing well, somebody else or another party will be given the opportunity to take over. Now, Nigeria adopted Presidential system for a purpose, to make sure that the governors, senators, and members of the House of Representatives are in check. There are some systems that have single tenure of six years. So, in our system, if someone decides to run election against you, it is for you to buckle up. In Bayelsa, we have had four governors, Alamieyeigha finished his first tenure and his second tenure was cut short before Jonathan took over.
Then Sylva took over and did not get his second tenure because somebody felt he should run against him, he won. Was it criminal to run against him, of course not? If Dickson wants to run for a second tenure, he is free to run, as a true democrat. Two tenures do not mean you are guaranteed the two tenures; you are only guaranteed for the current one you are running. The issues really for me are for us to change our mind set. Talking about structures, the party structures belong to the parties and not to individuals; that is why there are party primaries and the delegates vote for you because of one reason or the other. We must train ourselves to know that politics is not do-or-die. If you partake in it, either you win or lose. Jonathan ran and conceded; in Ekiti State, Fayemi ran, lost and conceded. That is good for democracy.
What are those things the current administration is not doing right which you think you are going to correct if elected?
I want to look at the state budget critically and only undertake those things we know we would be able to do. The reason most governments fail is that they bite more than they can chew. You are building this road, that road, structures just to answer name that you are embarking on projects and again you have political patronage and before you know you have given out contracts worth N100billion when you have N10billion budget. As an individual, you would not get yourself involved in what you can’t finish, simply cut your coat according to your cloth. I will be able to look at the budget critically and ensure that the projects I tackle are projects I can finish in no time.
There so many abandoned projects in Bayelsa. As an architect, if elected, are you going to complete them or are you going to embark on new projects?
I don’t believe in abandoned projects. When I worked as a commissioner, I never abandoned any project; we look at projects carefully without bias and tackle them frontally. We will embark on projects that are meaningful, that can impact on people and we can finish on time and hand over for people to use. The projects are not just going to be handled by me but by specialists, by people who know what they are doing. You cannot bring somebody who don’t have advantage in infrastructure to manage infrastructure, or somebody who is not versed in agriculture to manage agriculture. I know what it means to put round pegs in round holes. States that are doing well are doing so because of dedication and they know what they are doing. The Tower Hotel and other projects like the 350 bed hospital that have been lying unfinished will be finished in my time. It’s very simple because that is what I have been doing for a living in the past 30 years. That Tower Hotels is a project I know I will finish within 18 months if I become the governor. I know everything about the project as an architect. If you ask me anything about law and the judicial system in Bayelsa State, I may not be able to get it right, but if you ask me about project, it’s nothing to me; it’s like telling a journalist to write a story. What Bayelsa needs today is infrastructural and human capital development and they can be done concurrently.
How are you going to manage Bayelsa politicians?
My temperament is very cool. I don’t talk too much. I have the capacity to listen and take advice from the right people, not from the wrong people and I know how to manage people properly. People are looking for survival and relevance. They want to contribute. An average civil servant is looking for the capacity to take care of his children and some day, own a home. People are looking for independence and Bayelsa is one of the richest states in this country. If you take the FAC allocation and the IGR and you take it to per capital income, take it with that ratio of our population, you will know that Bayelsa is the richest. Prudent management is the key word and one of the things I must do is to build a Yenagoa city. Abuja is conceived by somebody. If we can have such built on the crude on our soil, with all the social amenities like water, light good infrastructures, Bayelsa will become the real glory of all lands.
How are you going to tackle in security?
Security is very important and it comes with stability. If you look at the society where there is good security, you will find out that people don’t talk about killing each other. When you come to a society where young men are employed and not killing each other, you will find out that the society has some level of stability. One of the most secured countries in the world is Netherlands and the country has about 2.3 percent unemployment rate. There is absolute increase in crime level when the employment is low and insecurity here does not necessarily mean armed robbers and kidnappers but young men walking in the night, looking for where to steal phone and other minor things. But if there are activities in the state in terms of programmes and buildings, you will see young men engaged in one thing or the other where they will make little money, and then they will think differently. If you drop three billion naria into Bayelsa’s economy every month, people will smile and economic activities on the state will pick up.
