Governor Henry Seriake Dickson is two years in the saddle. He recently celebrated the second year anniversary of his regime in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State. In this interview with a select group of journalists, which included Victor Oluwasegun, he gives an insight into his desire to make Bayelsa the Dubai of Africa. Excerpts:
How has the journey been so far?
It is has been an exciting , interesting and challenging journey so far and as I interact with my people, leaders and as I get feedback from the grassroots and particularly as I go round inspecting and commissioning projects and interacting with the common people as well as the elites, I get to hear their words of encouragement and candid views of commendation and I see smiles on the faces of people when I go round to commission project that touch their lives. I am really encouraged and that has given me a feeling that our efforts to make a difference has been worth it.
As the governor of the heartland of Ijaw nation, how do you feel?
It has been an exciting journey. Are there challenges? Yes, many challenges. Are we confronting those challenges? Very well so. Are we hopeful of a difference at the end of this journey? Clearly, already there is light at the end of the tunnel and people are already seeing the light without even waiting for the end of the tunnel. Bayelsa has changed, Bayelsa is constantly changing and we are making a modest effort that everybody appreciates.
Between now and last year we have seen a lot of difference. Well, it is not easy for one to do all these things without having a clear blueprint. How did you come about your blueprint?
The truth is that I have been involved in the affairs of governance and in public management for sometime. I served here as a Commissioner; Attorney-General and even before then, I have been involved over and over again in community service in the Ijaw movement which exposed me to the realities of underdevelopment and the pains of it, and I became very passionate about the need for change. I believe that the federal government, the government of the federation of our country from independence till now neglected our people which should not have been and that is why there is no road linking Brass till now. No federal road to Okpuruma till now or even to Ageh, which is a natural seaport. But if the federal government either deliberately or inadvertently brought his situation of underdevelopment about or did not pay sufficient attention to it for whatever reason, it is not something we want to see remain so. If we were forgotten by the federal authorities for this long, should we not do something about it by ourselves? Should we also forget ourselves? Now, these are the things that have propelled me, the pains of underdevelopment and I thought that if God in His infinite wisdom and mercy and the people of Bayelsa State gave me a mandate such as this, the least I could do is to bring about maximum impact. I want my tenure as governor to have maximum impact, not only in this generation but for a long time to come and I made that very clear in my declaration speech. I made it clear that with me as governo, Bayelsa and the Ijaw nation will never be the same again. These were things I meant and a lot of people did not know. The other thing is that I am a passionate person, I am not a person of half measures, I am either warm or cold, I am not lukewarm and I am a politician of conviction, I am not a politician of convenience. So, the things that propel me are deep things, they are not issues that come and go or change in a day. I am influenced and motivated by values that are lasting, principles that are enduring and I am compelled to pursue a vision that I think could outlive our generation and I think that is the purpose of leadership. But unfortunately, in our own enclave and even generally, that kind of a person does not come all the time, but when we have someone who has a clear vision of what has to change the society, because the political process throws up all kinds of characters as leaders, so it is not always that you have people who have the necessary preparation, the right understanding and then the commitment and passion; these three things must be in one. You may know what to do but you are not passionate about it. So, a lot of issues in political leadership, particularly through the democratic process. Democratic process does not guarantee that the best man emerges and that is the sad thing about a democratic political process and that is why societies that are not democratic also make a lot of progress and even more. Go to China, a one party state, go to Saudi Arabia, and even Gadaffi. So, for me, with my variegated background of sorts, I am a little bit of a number of things. These aspects expose me to the realities of underdevelopment, the imperative for change and development and with the constant reminder that if I, with all these advantages and exposure, with all the values that I have been exposed to over the years, if I cannot make a difference, who else? So, I came prepared for change and I warned my people because some of them thought they were electing a regular politician. I told them that they were in for a big bang, they should be ready and put on their seatbelt and we are shaking our society for good and I hope to do so for quite sometime to come.
The society that will develop are societies that are founded on knowledge. By September, this state will have its senior secondary compulsory boarding school completed. The state policy will be implemented and parents won’t pay a dime, we are going to bring best teachers from all over the world to teach them and then when they register for WAEC, NECO and JAMB, let us see if Bayelsa will not come first. Right now, no student pays for WAEC, NECO or JAMB, government pays, so that is where our education policy is. We just approved 1billion for those 20 secondary schools, we will do the hard work now by creating those infrastructure and then bringing the right people to man it. We are also building teachers training institute because all these will be in vain if we don’t have teachers who will impact knowledge into these kids. The Canadians are going to run the institute, every teacher must pass through that school because I want the teachers to be tested and to know if they have the skills and knowledge because all of us are products of what our teachers impacted into us. Apart from God, our parents and teachers made us into what we are. People don’t believe the campaign against me because the common people know what we are doing. For the old people, the welfare system has been instituted by law. Once you are 75 and above, you have N5000 allowance and they are paid every month. I don’t know them and I don’t need to. Also, this state will be the first to have an organised economy, planned social welfare scheme, planned medical insurance cover. These have made crime rate to be low.
How does it feel to be the state governor of a president?
It is very exciting to be the governor of a president. They are governors who complain that they have national chairmen of their party from their state and I always tell them, if they don’t want it, they should zone it to Bayelsa because I have room for it. The good thing about Bayelsa is this, because of the years of political interaction that I have had with the president, who is not just an elder brother but also a political leader, there is wonderful synergy, chemistry and understanding at a personal level between us. He is also the person that does not interfere with what I do, we don’t feel the weight of his authority while dealing with him. He is a gentleman who believes in due process and cares passionately for this state and region as he cares for Nigeria as a whole. Having a president from your state, to me, is like having an umbrella, it is like having someone you can run to for advice, and who you can ask for support. I know that because of the kind of politics in the country, some people find it difficult in those kinds of situations because we have a situation where the president will know everybody in the state. So, everybody who deals with you also deals with the president. A lot of people could find that unsettling and I think that is part of the issue we had even though with time, you will know why my predecessor did some of the things he did. I enjoy having a president from my state and I wish to have more presidents from Bayelsa because it makes the burden of leadership easier and lighter and the president is like an umbrella and that gives me an additional responsibility and I think we are coping well and I am a very secure person. Secured and confident, I am not someone who is unsettled by all the traditional rivalries. I have a very cordial relationship with the president which has come a long way and far longer than a number of people do have.
There are lots of construction going on and it is on at time where allocation is dropping, so, where are you getting money for these works?
A lot of people have also asked this question because initially when I came in, they knew the state of the economy. When I listed all I was going to do, there was a lot of cynicism which I understand then but now they saw that every pronouncement I made was followed through with action and then the talk changed to where is he getting money from? Are we sure these are not federal projects? These are processes that are very transparent, all commissioners sit and we work out the indices and it is announced.
With your declaration and your constant statement of account, are you not carting problem for whoever will takeover after you? Also, are you indebted to any bank?
You cannot run a government without once in awhile telling a bank that your FAC has not come, so they should borrow you something. Government is a very complex institution to run and even when money is there, you don’t want to touch the money because it is set aside for a purpose. We are not seriously indebted to any bank on account of what we are doing. Government is a very huge bureaucracy, particularly when you are doing projects, you cannot rule out the possibility of saying I want this project done and it must be commissioned in two years. The reason why I made the account known to everybody is because of transparency. I could have made it by policy but no.
Yes, I am making things difficult for whoever comes after me and for all time. I want to institutionalize this culture of giving account and people coming to listen to you every month publicly and ask questions. I have never dealt with anybody in the treasury since I became the governor, I don’t even know who is who. There is no room for any bagger to steal anything in Bayelsa State, it is not possible and even of you wanted to, the checks and balances are too much, you can’t. We are servicing debt of about 3billion every month.
How did it come about?
My predecessor owed banks and he said he took a bond and it was very controversial but after coming in and since I am running a government, government is a continuo for the long term image of the state as a solvent and respectable entity, I thought that I should not challenge it. We are servicing the debt regularly. He took bonds of about 60billion and the bond will expire in 2017. If I have that money available to me, what you people would have been seeing will be different but don’t worry, government comes and goes and once we don’t loose focus, things will be alright.
It appears some people are trying to distract your attention as regards 2015, is there any opposition?
There has to be opposition, this is a democratic government and I am a democrat. I spent over six and half years in opposition, I was a leader of opposition in this state. I respect opposition and I expect a vibrant, formidable and focused opposition and also a constructive opposition. Opposition politicians are not my enemies, I take them as friends. It is their responsibility to ensure that they play by the rules and it is my own responsibility to ensure that the laws are respected and obeyed and particularly in this environment, once there is no criminality, we are all fine. I don’t promote criminality and that is why this place is peaceful and if you do that in the guise of opposition politics, I will descend on such person and no regret for that. Opposition politics and including people who have ambition to be governors are welcomed, why not? Politicians are ambitious people. I contested against somebody and I expect people to also contest against me fairly. If I wanted to be a governor for example now, I will not criticize a governor for tax because that is the right thing to do for the state, that is the kind of courageous and patriotic opposition that is needed. It was the view of experts I respected that is saving the economy of the state now. I listen to people, I am not dogmatic, if you convince me with superior reasons, I know and acknowledge it and identify my position on it immediately. I am not someone that is moved by sentiment and blackmail and the reason is because it is not right. I will support any opposition but I did not allow new PDP to be because it was illegal and they were bringing propaganda to overhaul all the legal order. APC is a registered political party, so it has the right to exist and it is my duty as the governor of the state to ensure that they are protected. I disagree with their ideology, I will defeat them, I will campaign for my party but they have a right to exist.
