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| Osita Chidoka |
Reading through his interview with the sun newspaper, Chidoka has the potential and the qualities we must seek in our future leaders. We must begin to think like 21st century generation. This guy is the face of the future and Anambra State must come together to make sure that he takes over from Obiano. The time is now.
Read for yourself.
Former Aviation minister, Chief Osita Chidoka is seeking the ticket of the United Progressives Party, UPP, ahead of the November 18 governorship election in Anambra state.
He said he was aspiring to govern the state because he represents tomorrow’s solution for the myriad of challenges confronting the state, adding that the election was not a referendum on incumbent Governor Willie Obiano, but a referendum on the future of the state.
Chidoka spoke on others issues.
Beyond the call for a generational power shift, what is Obiano not doing well that you think you can do better for Anambra?
My quest to be governor of Anambra state is not hinged on generational power shift. It is one of the issues but not the main issue. Let me preface this comment with a caveat. The election of November 2017 is not a referendum on Governor Obiano; it is a referendum on our future. I believe very firmly that the governance model of the current governor is good for yesterday’s problems and yesterday’s solutions. But for tomorrow’s solution for the problems that we are going to be confronted with as a people, we need new thinking; we need new strategy, we need to press the reset button.
A typical example is the current approach to infrastructure. The infrastructure that Anambra state is investing in now is infrastructure for the past. For instance, in constructing our roads, we have the golden opportunity to lay fiber optic cables to bring in cheap broadband internet access to ndi-Anambra, but we are not doing that. So if you are building an infrastructure for tomorrow, the road you are constructing should be a multi-purpose enabler that will unlock value for the people.
Take a look at the education system in Anambra; you find out that we are still applying yesterday’s solutions. The government has not been mindful of the quality of education, meaning that the next generation we are building in Anambra has the challenge of being viable people for tomorrow’s world. UBER has changed the way we use taxis. Facebook and WhatsApp have changed the way we communicate and how communities are built. In trading and commerce, the way people transact in goods and services has changed. The issue is that if you don’t build a new generation that is aligned to the new world, if you are building a generation who still come out of schools with old skills, then they will end up being frustrated. So under my watch, all Anambra children must have access to quality education that will prepare them for the future
People may feel more secure in Anambra today because of absence of high profile kidnapping and crime, but the real test of security is: at 7pm in Anambra today, where are you? By 7pm, most people have gone to their homes, so the fear is still there. In our appraisals, we have not been able to link security to economic output. People that have factories in Anambra should be able to run a 24 hour shift. Toyota factory in Japan does not shut down once it is dark, they work 24 hours. My target is to extract value and make Anambra enjoy the dividends of the values that have been put into the state. So what I am offering Anambra state is a paradigm shift; a reset button to reengineer the state for the future, building on the past successes of previous governments in Anambra.
Anambra politics is highly monetised, do you think you have what it takes to take a plunge?
If we leave politics to become the calling of the rich and wealthy, then we will lose the capacity to attract our best and brightest who are usually middle class people. I don’t think a Barack Obama had the money to run for President of the United States of America. The measure of the acceptance of your candidacy is how much money you are able to raise from the people. I am going to crowd source funds, because the people believe in me. If you use your own funding to run an election, the implication is that you are already setting the template to loot the state treasury. So I want to be the first governor of Anambra that goes into the government house as the people’s governor and not a godson of a godfather or any interest group. Anambra state has the chance to elect a people’s governor, in me. The last time we came close to it, was when we elected Peter Obi as governor.
He was a fairly successful businessman, but it wasn’t because of his money that Anambra people voted for him, and you can see in the way he led Anambra. He was not attached to any interest and wasn’t giving state funds to any group. He had the capacity to sit down and plan and he did well for the people. So I think Anambra has another opportunity to elect a people’s governor and not one foisted on them by god-fathers.
From 1999 to 2013, like you have also observed, every governor of Anambra has always had a ‘godfather’ or some group of backers. Who are yours?
I have the backing of God and the backing of the people. Every day, I seek the face of God and continue to interact with the people. I am one of those who insist that you must give everybody equal opportunity, and this has always pitched me against entrenched interests. I have always believed that if there are employment openings, you must allow for merit to drive those that will be employed. I am a product of merit; throughout my education and my job life, I’ve never gotten a job because somebody gave me a note. It has always been by merit. So I want to create a situation in Anambra where the children of the poor and the forgotten have access because of equal opportunity. Once I create that equal opportunity, I would have been true to my calling. I would have set the possibility for Anambra to be a state, which is standing on equity, fairness and justice.
Sunnews.
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