Dr. Patrick S.A. Irabor is a retired director of Ceramics and Materials Process Engineer at FIIRO, Oshodi. He spoke with TIM OKOJIE AVE from London on the state of the nation, especially the Edo State governorship election coming up on September 21. Excerpt:
Before you travelled to London, you were an avid supporter of Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), can you let us into the reasons for your support for him?
Let’s begin by commending the two biggest parties, the APC and PDP, for fielding two sons of Esan extraction. In my most considered opinion and assessment, both candidates are eminently and excellently qualified to govern Edo State. To answer your question directly, I have suspended my support for Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC for now since I am outside the Country. I took this action because I have not been able to undertake a critical assessment of the APC candidate until I return to Nigeria. While I have been able to assess the Manifesto and proposed programmes of the PDP candidate here in the UK, I am yet to receive same of the APC candidate. My initial support for the APC candidate was predicated on what I observed as the display of absolute disloyalty by the sponsor and promoter of the PDP candidate. To assess the performance of Governor Obaseki’s last seven years in Esan (Edo Central Senatorial District), and Edo State in general requires elements of both intellectual capacity and diplomatic wisdom. In his first term as APC governor, he made little impact as he was busy organizing memorandum of understanding which earned him the name of MOU Governor. Following his fallout with his political godfather, ex-governor Adams Oshiomhole, he rode to his second term as a high profile technocratic governor. The enormous display of disloyalty by Governor Obaseki to his political godfather and the PDP leadership that gave him the governorship platform which saved him from the humiliation of APC remain unprecedented in Edo State. Consequently, in the second term of Governor Obaseki under the PDP, he has been running the state like a sole administrator, based exclusively on his technocratic considerations and decisions. Now, at the twilight of his two terms, Edo people are left with mostly uncompleted, high sounding project technicalities such as the Gelegele Sea Port, Modular Petrol Refineries, Cargo Airport, Agricultural Hub, and digitalization of services. Of course, there are the cosmetic projects comprising the renovation of few schools, the State Government Secretariat and the College of Nursing. The EDOHIS, EDOBEST, EDOEMS and EDOCAGON Technical training programmes are commendable but too late and unsustainable. I agree there is the need for technology and technical input to drive development but the bulk projects that boost agriculture, education and job creation were not given due attention. Most of these initiatives and road projects are felt lowly in Benin City with no noticeable impact in Esan Senatorial District and other parts of the state. On the prevalence of insecurity in Esan Senatorial District and Edo State in general, either of the two leading candidates who wins the election has the capacity to govern the state and reduce insecurity to allow freedom or liberty for commerce, trade, agriculture, social movement and adequate safety of lives and property in the state.
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You have jumped the gun, sir. I wanted you to score governor Obaseki’s government on insecurity in the state?
Insecurity in the state is the most challenging and would require the capacity to collaborate and harness the local, State and Federal security organs to the advantage of the state and the people. The security concerns, among other sectors, would be seamless with a non-opposition governor in the State to work with the Federal Government. The incidents of kidnapping, herders’ violent activities and the disruption of the subsistence farming tradition of Esanland has reached alarming proportions. The situation makes a coordinated synergy between the State and Federal Security apparatus imperative for Esan Senatorial District and Edo State in general. In fairness to Governor Obaseki, he started well with Ambrose Alli University when by 2019 he had completed the abandoned administrative building which was initiated by ex-governor Igbinedion and completely overlooked by ex-governor Oshiomole. Sadly, the university has lost its high standard of academic performance due to the drastic underfunding by the state government, lack of staff motivation, the high handedness of the SIT, wrongly sack or dismissal of highly trained Professors and other academic staff, non-payment of salaries and pensions as at when due and other issues.
How can the university be made to function again?
The way forward to begin to repair the disruptive damage of the last six years, including the highly recommended course of actions below: the payment of the university backlog of salaries and pensions, the constitution and inauguration of the University Governing Council, the raising of a high profile academic Reconciliation Committee to review the cases of all categories of staff that were sacked or dismissed over issues that could have attracted a query, a warning, suspension or other forms of sanctions to reposition the University. The State government is strongly advised to set up a sustainable scholarship programme for higher institutions in the state to draw brilliant minds from the EDOBEST school initiative.
How will you rate the performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one year in office?
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My take on President Asiwaju Tinubu’s one year in office is a mixed grill. First and foremost, now that the Supreme Court has upheld the election of Asiwaju Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is about time we accept it and offer any support for the success of the government. A critical assessment of the new Federal Government has no notable outcome for now because so much activities are going on with insignificant impact. Insisting on the assessment of Tinubu’s performance so far will only end up in the ex-ray of the economic anguish, pain, poverty, hunger and deprivation that is facing over 160 million Nigerians across the country. This situation was brought about by the horrifying cost of petrol and diesel fuels that are necessary to oil the wheels of economic activities and growth. The much highly proposed cheap gas powered public transportation are still in the pipeline. The palliatives that have been bandied about are mere cosmetics that will not solve the current economic hellhole that is facing Nigeria. What is there to assess for positive outlook and hope for Nigerians? The contract award for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has been signed, a high profile project that will not offer any positive economic impact in the next 10 years. The Abuja -Lokoja-Okene-Auchi- Benin highway that was screamed to life few months ago by this administration has been cancelled due to nonperformance. The East-West road and a host of other projects are gasping for attention without hope. Some positive achievements include the commissioning of the renovated Lagos Third Mainland Bridge and the FCT Minister’s showpieces in Abuja. The insecurity across the country has continued to challenge the existence of Nigeria as a nation and enough is yet to be done to curb the outrage. I think the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Asiwaju Tinubu may not be able to drastically reduce the economic hardship in the country very soon. However, with the boldness and courage associated with him, he can excel in the rebranding of Nigeria for true democratic governance, industrialization and economic development. Therefore, President Tinubu would require the strength and courage of Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain combined, to restructure Nigeria for improved administration and democratic governance. Truth be told, Nigeria is not working as it is now. The journey can begin with the liberation of local government administration from the vice grip of state emperors, the State Police and the six geopolitical zones configuration. Nigeria is absolutely too massive with the growing population that is plagued with diverse tradition, religion, language and deep ethnocentricity. The Constitution of Nigeria must be reviewed to reflect the realities that make up the geographical entity called Nigeria. The time is now for Nigeria to get up from its slumber to generate enough electric power supply, reduce insecurity, massive agricultural and infrastructural revolutionary development to advance the country into a 21st century nation and stop the potential of a human volcanic crisis of epic proportions.
Before you travelled to London, you were an avid supporter of Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), can you let us into the reasons for your support for him?
Let’s begin by commending the two biggest parties, the APC and PDP, for fielding two sons of Esan extraction. In my most considered opinion and assessment, both candidates are eminently and excellently qualified to govern Edo State. To answer your question directly, I have suspended my support for Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC for now since I am outside the Country. I took this action because I have not been able to undertake a critical assessment of the APC candidate until I return to Nigeria. While I have been able to assess the Manifesto and proposed programmes of the PDP candidate here in the UK, I am yet to receive same of the APC candidate. My initial support for the APC candidate was predicated on what I observed as the display of absolute disloyalty by the sponsor and promoter of the PDP candidate. To assess the performance of Governor Obaseki’s last seven years in Esan (Edo Central Senatorial District), and Edo State in general requires elements of both intellectual capacity and diplomatic wisdom. In his first term as APC governor, he made little impact as he was busy organizing memorandum of understanding which earned him the name of MOU Governor. Following his fallout with his political godfather, ex-governor Adams Oshiomhole, he rode to his second term as a high profile technocratic governor. The enormous display of disloyalty by Governor Obaseki to his political godfather and the PDP leadership that gave him the governorship platform which saved him from the humiliation of APC remain unprecedented in Edo State. Consequently, in the second term of Governor Obaseki under the PDP, he has been running the state like a sole administrator, based exclusively on his technocratic considerations and decisions. Now, at the twilight of his two terms, Edo people are left with mostly uncompleted, high sounding project technicalities such as the Gelegele Sea Port, Modular Petrol Refineries, Cargo Airport, Agricultural Hub, and digitalization of services. Of course, there are the cosmetic projects comprising the renovation of few schools, the State Government Secretariat and the College of Nursing. The EDOHIS, EDOBEST, EDOEMS and EDOCAGON Technical training programmes are commendable but too late and unsustainable. I agree there is the need for technology and technical input to drive development but the bulk projects that boost agriculture, education and job creation were not given due attention. Most of these initiatives and road projects are felt lowly in Benin City with no noticeable impact in Esan Senatorial District and other parts of the state. On the prevalence of insecurity in Esan Senatorial District and Edo State in general, either of the two leading candidates who wins the election has the capacity to govern the state and reduce insecurity to allow freedom or liberty for commerce, trade, agriculture, social movement and adequate safety of lives and property in the state.
You have jumped the gun, sir. I wanted you to score governor Obaseki’s government on insecurity in the state?
Insecurity in the state is the most challenging and would require the capacity to collaborate and harness the local, State and Federal security organs to the advantage of the state and the people. The security concerns, among other sectors, would be seamless with a non-opposition governor in the State to work with the Federal Government. The incidents of kidnapping, herders’ violent activities and the disruption of the subsistence farming tradition of Esanland has reached alarming proportions. The situation makes a coordinated synergy between the State and Federal Security apparatus imperative for Esan Senatorial District and Edo State in general. In fairness to Governor Obaseki, he started well with Ambrose Alli University when by 2019 he had completed the abandoned administrative building which was initiated by ex-governor Igbinedion and completely overlooked by ex-governor Oshiomole. Sadly, the university has lost its high standard of academic performance due to the drastic underfunding by the state government, lack of staff motivation, the high handedness of the SIT, wrongly sack or dismissal of highly trained Professors and other academic staff, non-payment of salaries and pensions as at when due and other issues.
How can the university be made to function again?
The way forward to begin to repair the disruptive damage of the last six years, including the highly recommended course of actions below: the payment of the university backlog of salaries and pensions, the constitution and inauguration of the University Governing Council, the raising of a high profile academic Reconciliation Committee to review the cases of all categories of staff that were sacked or dismissed over issues that could have attracted a query, a warning, suspension or other forms of sanctions to reposition the University. The State government is strongly advised to set up a sustainable scholarship programme for higher institutions in the state to draw brilliant minds from the EDOBEST school initiative.
How will you rate the performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one year in office?
My take on President Asiwaju Tinubu’s one year in office is a mixed grill. First and foremost, now that the Supreme Court has upheld the election of Asiwaju Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is about time we accept it and offer any support for the success of the government. A critical assessment of the new Federal Government has no notable outcome for now because so much activities are going on with insignificant impact. Insisting on the assessment of Tinubu’s performance so far will only end up in the ex-ray of the economic anguish, pain, poverty, hunger and deprivation that is facing over 160 million Nigerians across the country. This situation was brought about by the horrifying cost of petrol and diesel fuels that are necessary to oil the wheels of economic activities and growth. The much highly proposed cheap gas powered public transportation are still in the pipeline. The palliatives that have been bandied about are mere cosmetics that will not solve the current economic hellhole that is facing Nigeria. What is there to assess for positive outlook and hope for Nigerians? The contract award for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway has been signed, a high profile project that will not offer any positive economic impact in the next 10 years. The Abuja -Lokoja-Okene-Auchi- Benin highway that was screamed to life few months ago by this administration has been cancelled due to nonperformance. The East-West road and a host of other projects are gasping for attention without hope. Some positive achievements include the commissioning of the renovated Lagos Third Mainland Bridge and the FCT Minister’s showpieces in Abuja. The insecurity across the country has continued to challenge the existence of Nigeria as a nation and enough is yet to be done to curb the outrage. I think the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Asiwaju Tinubu may not be able to drastically reduce the economic hardship in the country very soon. However, with the boldness and courage associated with him, he can excel in the rebranding of Nigeria for true democratic governance, industrialization and economic development. Therefore, President Tinubu would require the strength and courage of Nelson Mandela of South Africa, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain combined, to restructure Nigeria for improved administration and democratic governance. Truth be told, Nigeria is not working as it is now. The journey can begin with the liberation of local government administration from the vice grip of state emperors, the State Police and the six geopolitical zones configuration. Nigeria is absolutely too massive with the growing population that is plagued with diverse tradition, religion, language and deep ethnocentricity. The Constitution of Nigeria must be reviewed to reflect the realities that make up the geographical entity called Nigeria. The time is now for Nigeria to get up from its slumber to generate enough electric power supply, reduce insecurity, massive agricultural and infrastructural revolutionary development to advance the country into a 21st century nation and stop the potential of a human volcanic crisis of epic proportions.
