Gov. Amaechi In APC, A Big Mistake-Princewill

Q: What is your take on the Governor's move to APC and are you moving with

him?
A: The short answer is No. Moving to APC is a mistake for him which has

become inevitable. So I call it the inevitable mistake. The Governor boxed

himself into that position almost deliberately and so if it looks like

beer, smells like beer and taste like beer, then let us all all

acknowledge that it is what it is. He chose the path he is walking. Talk

of him being forced to take it is for those who don't know any better. Mr

President loved Amaechi but Amaechi put that love aside to perform his

first love which was Chairman of the Governor's forum and his performance

of it undoubtedly brought them into conflict. He naively thought that it

wouldn't. Many of us advised him against it but he said, “The President is

the Commander in Chief, I am just a Chairman, there will be no conflict.”

Now we can see how wrong he was. The President may have made peace with

Amaechi but the President's men and women wouldn't especially considering

the media approach he (Amaechi) employed. The insults were too much and it

only made a bad situation worse. People who have tried to kill the

President have made peace with him so why not Amaechi. The answer comes

from the lack of a sufficient desire for peace.
Very few people have the authority to talk on this matter like small me. I

understood the internal working of Amaechi's mind on this issue, I am very

familiar with the President's personal view on this matter, I have worked

with the heads of the current APC family (Tinubu and Buhari) at close

quarters and I understand the pulse of both teams very well. So when I,

who understands this in and out say Amaechi was wrong, I know what I am

saying and when I who has been there before say, “don't go”, I know also

what I am saying. Asking me to go there is like asking me to return to

secondary school after leaving University many years later. A big mistake.

It is the Governor's supporters I feel sorry for. He has been Speaker for

eight years and will be leaving as Governor after eight years, so he can't

complain. But thanks to his decision, his “inevitable mistake”, many

councillors, LGA chairmen and other political office holders will have

their political prospects cut short. It is them I pity. They are the real

victims. Alongside Rivers people. Amaechi will be fine.

Q: People are wondering where you stand. Is it with PDP or PDM?

A: They shouldn't. I am in PDP. I have been there since 2010 and I am

staying there. Many of them wonder because I speak for the people first

before the party. Unlike most politicians, for me my state comes first. I

will not blindly follow a party that does not have the interest of my

state at heart. So if my views are seen as anti-PDP, it is only in the

spirit of correcting the one you love whenever they deviate. After all

when Amaechi and I were working together I publicly criticised him. My

loyalty has always been to the people. If Amaechi or PDP do not walk the

path of my people, I will not hesitate to remind them. Having said that,

PDP is still the best of the rest. The only party with a national interest

and people who you can go to war with. I would rather go to war with Wike

than with some of these two faced politicians. With him and his faults,

you know where you stand with him. I can deal with that. Same applies to

Jonathan. If he can't do something, he will not say he can. He may be slow

to decide but when he does, that is it. He keeps his word. That has not

been my experience with many of them.
If I take you through the new APC arrangement, the story is different.

Since political parties have refused to have a unique ideology of their

own, despite some of us coming close to insulting them on the subject, you

are better of pitching your tent with a team going somewhere and with your

people's interests at heart. I make bold to say that, for me in Rivers,

that team is PDP. With respect to PDM, it is a party close to my heart and

many good people uncomfortable with the aggressive style of politics

played in PDP have sought refuge there. They are organised, respecters of

internal democracy and a roof for those, who can't see the difference

between APC and PDP but want to get involved in party politics to make a

difference. My dream is for PDP to make them allies. It will not be easy

but it is possible. They have a bright future, if not now – in 2019.

My committment to the youths has made me keep one eye on PDM and its

progress. I believe the youth can use it to take control of their future.

Their website pdm.ng is proof that they are the first political party in

Nigeria to effect online registration. At the rate they are going with

manual registration kicking off next week, they are set to become a

serious force in Nigerian politics. Their pedigree guarantees it. I tell

people that my heart is with PDM but my head and my legs are firmly in

PDP. PDM will make change tomorrow, PDP can make change today. They should

work together.
Q: How is your relationship with Amaechi now?
A: It is no longer what it used to be but that is also inevitable. I have

supported him at my own expense and it was no longer wise to continue to

do so. Each man to a box they say. Most of the negativity I get today was

because I decided to support Amaechi's government in 2007. Some accuse me

of doing it for money, others accuse me of lacking the fighting spirit,

some go as far as calling me a sell out. All that because I decided after

fighting a good fight that I should allow what I saw as a divine decision

to stand. I sold all I had to fight the 2007 election but after I

supported Amaechi, I had to leave the state to survive because I was not a

government pickin who survived off government leading up to 2007 so why

should I be lazy and become one now? Amaechi knows this. I did some work

but it was not at all commensurate with my input and even though I

finished it after one year, it took them over two years later to pay me.

But I never complained. Amaechi was a good man and I know he appreciated

me.
Amaechi was like aradite anyway so empowering me was not his first, second

or third interest. I noticed this and went about my business. Many say I

was involved in Silverbird, the 1000 bed hospital, waste management and

many other things but the truth is not what it seems and one day it will

all come out. In 2011, I engineered over 1/2 a billion Naira of

contribution to Amaechi's campaign. Majority of the contributors came with

money from outside Rivers state. Did Tonye Princewill see one contract

worth that much? No. Yet I still stood by him. Because I was there for the

state's interest, not my pocket. That support I gave Amaechi cost me

politically but I didn't look back. I gave it. In the end God will judge

us.
My people supported him tooth and nail but yet they were not acknowledged.

I asked and asked, they were promised and promised but even after he told

them in public and on National TV that he likes to keep his word as an

example to his children, he didn't. Still I supported him. He removed our

commissioners in his cabinet, still I supported him, he promised other

appointments and failed, still I supported him, because I was not there

for me. If I was interested in me, I would have done things differently,

had a deal with Omehia and collected 1.5 billion from him. All this I did

because I believed Amaechi came from God. I never knew him before October

2007, yet I was more useful to him than people who grew up with him in

politics. Many of my supporters felt that my refusal to fall out with him

signified I was eating fat and content. This was not the case.

I saw my support as a stabilising force. The Riverine were agitating for a

Governor after eight years of an Odili upland regime. People like me

deciding to stand by Amaechi gave him credibility and soothed the Riverine

/ Upland divide that has dogged our state for so long. One day I sincerely

hope that Amaechi looks at my role and realises that he lost a friend

given to him by God. It might be too late for us, but let him not do this

to others. Eventually it catches up with us. The same man he called

corrupt aka Mr Consumables and not wanting to do politics with is now the

interim Chairman of APC in my state, the same man he called an irritant

and refused his calls is now his spokesman and the list goes on. He

deliberately poached members of my team without the courtesy of my consent

and did it only when he needed them. But I am not bitter. They are good

men and deserve recognition. I am glad for the role I played in their

lives. Good luck to them. I only wish he had recognised them sooner.

Q: Can you still be Governor in 2015 now?
A: Why not? I am free of all encumberances. I have stood in Amaechi's

shadow for too long and now I am once again my own man, free to talk for

me and free to speak for my people without worrying about relationships

and allegiances. Even though I was still quite blunt, I was a lot more

measured than I would like and a lot less critical than would have pleased

me. Now I can talk about what is still wrong, what is not right and what

needs doing without suspicions about me wanting to be Governor. Many

people say I won in 2007, 2015 will be an opportunity to find out how

popular I really am. I have never held a political office before, yet I

have touched more people than some Governors and I have not campaigned for

a day since 2007. That is the grace of God and I pray for it every day.

Rivers state will experience what it has never seen before. That I promise

you. It will take an Obama to stop what we are coming with and I can't see

a Kenyan coming to win Rivers state, can you? No. Unless the One from

above says “Don't.” I will do. And I will not look back for anyone. 2015

is all the way or nothing. The past is the past. We all make mistakes.

That is why pencils have erasers. All I can ask is for people to have a

forgiving spirit. As for Amaechi's support, I told him on the 6th of

January 2012 about 2015 and I saw it in his eyes that he wouldn't support

me but I still supported him. Now all this happens, through no fault of

mine. Can you see? God decides not man. It is amazing that the same

beneficiaries of this philosophy still want to play God. I guess it is

only human nature to think a Governor will install a Governor. I heard

Amaechi said Tonye Princewill will never be Governor. I hope it is not

true. But I will ask him. I have never abused him or insulted him. In fact

I have even prayed for him. But I will not fight our President and I will

not go for Senate in 2015. This I will not do. We have agreed to disagree.

I hope agreeably.
Q: What is your view on Atiku and Jonathan. Who will you support for

President?
A: I will support the President for a continued four year term in office.

Let me make that absolutely clear. As much as Atiku in my mind is a

brilliant politician and a great Presidential material, I am afraid that

his route to the Presidency is unclear to even a nuclear strategist like

myself. He can't get the PDP ticket and the APC ticket is not aimed in his

direction either (thanks to the G7). He can't keep jumping just to get a

ticket, so I believe he should stay in PDP. Who knows, if he stays there

anything can happen tomorrow. 2019 is there and his chances are still

quite good. Jonathan can acknowledge his support, Nigerians can or maybe

just maybe he wasn't destined to be President. I don't know. What I do

know is I am not going to APC, Atiku should not allow himself to be used

by those G7 Governors. I have no reason to do what would amount to

impeaching the President by denying him a second term. What is his crime?

Granted he has not done fantastic in many areas but I am not fooled by

the finger pointing especially because of the grubby fingers that are

doing that pointing.
They are no better, they have a selfish agenda and do not mean well for my

country either. I'd rather have four more years of this certainty than

eight more years of their own version of it.
Politics should be about compromise. Honour amongst thieves. Help Jonathan

to go again for the sake of the country and help him rule. He needs all

the help he can get because many good people are fooled into abandoning

him so the bad people around him are gaining relevance. The President is a

good man. I've seen many acknowledge this. They complain about the people

around him. So why not come around him too? If you are kept at a distance,

maybe it is because of your actions and your body language. Open it up to

dialogue and compromise. Do what Mandela would have done. Talk to your

oppressors, dine with your enemies and seek a way forward knowing that the

interest of the nation come first. The voice of the people is the voice of

God. Jonathan didn't get there by his might, so maybe God has a reason.

Let us think about it. Everything I have said here, I have told Atiku in

private. Without divulging his response, let me say that he acknowledged

that Jonathan is the only President that has not attempted to destroy his

business. All other succesive Presidents have. Does that not tell you

something. Nigerians have heard the phrase, “It's the thought that counts

but let them remove “the” and use “It's thought that counts.” We need to

start thinking.
I rest my case. That is the kind of man you are dealing with. A GEJ/Atiku

alliance would so gladden my heart. It would be a dream come true for my

nation. If Mandela and de Klerk could work together, why not them? The

answer is leadershp and these elders God gave us. Ego and ambition can not

come before us the people. My comfort is that God knows best. Only one

person can occupy that seat at any one time. For now it is Jonathan. I

advised Amaechi not to support him in 2011, Amaechi ignored my advice. Now

he wants me to help him clean up the mess? I won't do it. You lie in the

bed you made. Jonathan may not support me for Governor but I will support

him for President especially seeing the forces that have mounted against

him because it is right. I try not to put my interest first. It helps me

sleep better at night.
Q: With PDP in such dissaray, how can they win the Presidency in 2015?

A: Because what you see as a disarray is really just a cleansing. Those

that leave were never meant to be there. Granted PDP has a structural

problem highlighted by this recent drama but now PDP is free to address it

without distractions. PDP is a formiddable machine. I know. I have come up

against it before and so I pity those who start to read its obituary. They

underestimate it and underestimate Jonathan. I did that in 2011, but I

will not be repeating that mistake. Listen. PDP Governors controlled the

party until Jonathan came along. Obasanjo and Yar Adua had tried to

rebalance the control but they failed.
We have a string of memorials for PDP Chairmen who fell at the hands of

the Governors but GEJ changed all that. How? You can trace it to the

Governors forum election. A masterpiece in political slight of hand. Now

you see it. Now you don't. While all of us were complaining that 19 is

more than 16 and quite rightly so, the forum died and Governors were

suspended by the same party they controlled. People should go and study

what is happening in Nigerian politics today and they will see that acting

foolish is the new wisdom because Nigeria is full of wise people. Busy

analysing the problem so much that a silent listener who actually focuses

instead on solutions can makes progress where other so called smarter ones

have failed.
In the end the majority know that APC is no better than PDP and if they

sense that PDP and Jonathan are ready to listen, they will give them

another chance. If President Jonathan wants to come back in 2015, he has a

lot of work to do. But he can do it. Some of us will help him do it. There

are many young Nigerians that see the 419 in our politics. How can APC

absorb the same PDP governors they were abusing last month and hand over

the party in their states to them as if people were not there before. And

they say they are different? Is that democracy? Is Nyako change? The

original APC members in Rivers state are about to defect en masse to PDP

and PDM in sheer disbelief. Tell me who is in disarray.

A: Is the level of corruption in Nigeria today not an indictment on Jonathan?

Q: It is an indictment on all of us especially him. Yes. But Nigerians

need to move beyond complaining to actually doing. We complained about

Obasanjo assigning National assets to himself and what happened?

Jonathan's hasn't done that. Did corruption end? Did it go underground? So

why do we keep doing the same thing and expect different results?

Complaining about GEJ is not the solution. He has done a couple of things

that suggest he can do more. The PDP Chairman's son has been remanded in

custody. Haba! That was never possible in Obasanjo's PDP. But it has

happened. Tambuwal complained the other day that Jonathan's body language

encourages corruption, Amaechi complained that trillions are missing and

Dino Melaye set up an anti corruption NGO. Who are we kidding? Can we

please stop the drama. The political class are all knee deep in corruption

so forgive me if I don't fall for that particular game. They want Jonathan

out and somebody else in. So they can control the key to the CBN vault.

Sorry. Now we know. If good people surround Jonathan, bad people involved

in corruption will be expendable. Now you ask him to chuck out the few who

stood by him and he feels exposed. Let us understand them even if we don't

agree. Obama said of Mandela that he “sought to understand where his

opponents were coming from.” We should learn from Mandela.

Nigerians should be wise. The truth is bitter. There are no saints in the

political space anymore. Just serial sinners. Let us find the ones who

accept they need help and see if we can save them. Jonathan needs help. He

has only four more years. He is a much better option than a full eight

years of these other ones. The damage political drama does our nation is

beyond belief. In the end, they all settle and resume casual affairs,

while the people remain casualties. Never again. I don't see 2015 as

change, I see it as a preparation for change. I see that change in 2019.

Q: Where do you see the state of the nation come 2015?

A: I see it stabilising. The critical year for me like I said is 2019.

When Jonathan is on his way out. If the North do not support him now, they

will loose the President's support in 2019 and that may tilt things in

favour of the South East politics. That would isolate the North and drive

their political prospects deeper underground. Knowing the history of our

country, that will open up many ugly possibilities. Containing that

situation in 2019 is my concern. Not 2015. If the President does what he

needs to do, 2015 will pass peacefully and there is nothing to suggest he

won't.
Q: Mandela pulled South Africa from the brink, what can be done for Nigeria?

A: Nigeria can move forward in leaps and bounds if they are given the

right leadership. Mandela was a fighter and a defender of democracy but he

was willing to speak with even his oppressors to move his country forward.

This is what is lacking here in Nigeria. Selflessness. If we can get a few

of them to hold on to this philosophy, the future will be bright.

Politicians have to learn to keep their words and be open about their

deals behind close doors so we can see who keeps their side of the bargain

and who does not. Mandela and the ANC negotiated in open with de Klerk and

his team. The interest of the country need not be a secret. We don't all

have to be the President or have one from our region to progress. Let

God's will survive. This brings me to the issue of a national conference.

We need one and we need it now. Dialogue is the key to all our challenges

and we have many of them. Those afraid of dialogue need not be unless they

are happy with the status quo. The status quo cannot continue.