Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, former Education Minister is a delight of a reporter any day, any time and when he spoke to our crew of Tejiri Ebikeme and Francis Sadhere recently, they were left with a basket full of stories. He spoke on varied issues. Happy reading!
Chief, please tell us why you are in the 2015 Delta State Guber race?
Let me put it this way. Nobody will understand the architectural design of a house built by a combination of architects. So you are stranger to the technicalities involved in building that house. So to that extent, I am a founder of the PDP here. In 1998/99 as history will have it, I contested a primary here with Prof. Sam Oyevbaire, myself and Chief James Ibori and as God will have it I was the youngest of all of them. I believe very strongly, and records at our disposal, have it that I have the Midas touch. I have what it takes to turn the fortunes of this state in quick comparism to any major city in the world. In my private endeavors, especially considering the facts that one is coming from grass and getting to this level without any help but God, my conducts speaks volume for itself. I believe that unless Deltans saddle people that are not questionable in characters with their wealth, people who have demonstrated skills and competence with their wealth and resources, they will forever remain a people that will be complaining and yearning for satisfaction that will never come their way. A man at his forties by every yardstick of life expectancy has lived 50-75 percent of his life because life expectancy in Africa is sixty. So if Deltans choose a man that has not been able to demonstrate any effort of his, other than the effort of participating in one government appointment or the other, having the privilege to have had access to the treasury of a state or a country or the funds of a company, it will therefore amount to shame that Deltans will have to pass through another rough road for eight years. Most of those we started this political race with in 1998/1999 have died and they are no longer here. So it is about time that Deltans looked deep and refuse deceits and temptation to easy and quick money without any plan for the future.
As a journalist, you and I have been here for a while and the players that are rearing their heads today within the state as you know them, who are they? Let them show us what they have been able to do, the employment they have been able to create and most significantly, what is the evidence of stake-holding in the country? If they do not have a stake-holding they will ravish the place. The British people came to Africa and because they do not have a stake, they tore it apart and caused confusion everywhere, the amalgamation of 1914 came about because they were dividing and ruling. They left all the nations they have conquered in bitterness, fight and quarrel among the people. So we Urhobos should be wiser because there is a game that is in the air. How many of them understand the game remains to be seen. I have always said that people should go back to the owners of the game. God was not wrong when he made me an Urhobo person. God did not make a mistake to put me here. I am for a purpose. If you have an appendicitis that is growing and you are afraid of the surgery you are going to take to remove it, you either die or you will find a way to remove it. We have reached a state of quagmire as a people and my appeal is that people should open their eyes and be wise so as to avoid the deceits that will be inevitable put in place as a body. Delta is a great state on its own and all you need is a proper driver who understands what to do. The Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has done what he is capable of doing. So rather than criticize him, fight him and spoil him, Deltans should allow me to do what I know how to do best. Draw a line between what Uduaghan has done and what I will do and I will move on. So if you ask me, I will say there is no time for acrimony and we must as a people move on, seek for development and ensure that Delta State returns back to the map where it belongs. If Edo can do what was almost thought to be an impossibility with the few years that Oshiomole has come to power y; if Lagos, a dustbin town where I grew up, can now be turned to a garden where you can eat with your loved ones in Oshodi (which nobody envisaged to happen); we can also do it.
I have this friend in Sapele who told me that I have a nag for turning things that people have never envisaged will amount to anything into life. I said Fred what do you mean? And he said look at this your office on Sapele Road. We know they were killing people in this place and the whole place was bushy and because of that the owner abandoned it for almost 35 years. But today look at how the whole place is busy with production and everything. You can recall how this place (Golden Tulip Hotel) was before now. In fact, some women demonstrated against me when I wanted to develop this place. The land belongs to me. And with no thanks, the press men gave them wide publicity. But I was resolute on what I was going to do. Today, this is the first internationally accepted first star hotel in the whole of South/South. As you know, the French people, owners of Golden Tulip are the managers and we have secured the place all to the glory of God. Silver Bird has just started with a five whole cinema, the first digital cinema in the whole of Africa. In fact all other cinemas in Africa are now trying to upgrade to digital cinema. But it is interesting that Warri was the first city in Africa with a five whole cinema that are digital. You already know the history of Deco Road that was a fish pond before. I believe I can transform Delta state to become one of the best cities in the world. I believe we will account for the resources of Delta state to every living Deltan, home and abroad. I believe that with my emergence as the Governor of Delta State, we will be the envy of the country, Nigeria and the continent at large.
Is Delta State backward?
I will not say that Delta State is backward. But the question is that, if Delta State is just having the first four stars hotel and I built it, it will tell you what I will do with the state when I emerge as governor, but not to say that the state is backward in development.
What should Deltans expect from you if eventually you become the governor in 2015?
As I said to you before, I will massively transform Delta and I will not have a citizen of Delta State unemployed in Nigeria. Never! There is not going to be one and all the ones residing in any part of the country, I will bring them back home because there is enough for us to do and there is ample opportunity for all of us to be happy people as a state. All that there is to it is the strategy which I have and which I have demonstrated in my private world and will demonstrate in my public work. As you know, I run my private life the same way I run public life. That is why in my short stay as a minister I was able to establish the Federal University of Petroleum Resources in Effurun, Delta State. What was there before was that there was no law backing it up and that was why Rilwani Lukman or anybody then, were able to say that they can take it away. So I took memo to council and I got it founded. So I founded the document of this university, just as I founded the twelve universities in the country today and also just as I created the girls schools across the six geo-political zones, plus Delta. What I am trying to say is that even if we were of the same mother, we do not have the same brain power. The brain power defers from one child to the other. I am not the eldest of my father’s children but I believe that I am one of the most visible of my father’s children, and that has to do with brain power. I went to school and all through my school life, I have only had to deal with first or second positions up to my university level. So it is what you have that you give. You cannot give what you do not have. My prayer is that people should not play God. Let God’s will be done in Delta state.
There are so many intrigues in Delta State politics. Do you think they will allow you see the light of the day?
In answering your question, nobody would have thought that the current Governor will be bold to enough, given the atmosphere, to tell the world that I am about the best citizen in the state and I congratulate him. He won my heart when he told the entire world that if there were two investors like me in Delta State, the state would not be where it is today. And that in all the short comings, the security problems, and other problems confronting Delta, that Gbagi remains resolute in the love and development of Delta and that the only reason why he is associating with me was because of my developmental zeal in Delta. So what nobody thought Uduaghan will never do, he did by making those statements. As he made those statements, God heard him. Nobody would have thought that I would be made a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria given the travails of our institutions in Delta State. But it pleases God at that time and I emerged as minister. And as you know, even if you were a minister seven hundred times, you are still a former minister. On the day I was sworn in as a minister, I told everybody that cares to listen that once you are a minister, governor or president, all that is left is a former minister, governor or president. It was clear that the hand of only one person is at work and at play. And that person remains what he is yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever, which is God.
Many have dismissed you as not a serious candidate and that people should not take you serious. What do you have to say to that?
They are at liberty to say whatever they want to say. When they say you are not a serious candidate, they must be referring to the fact that you do not do party politics as frequent as they thought you should do. If not, when you say serious, in the true sense of the word, everybody say I am the most serious Deltan because on the ground today I am the most visible investor in this state. The world over, it is on record today that I am the first black man to rise to the highest position in Rotary. That was why last year the whole world stood tall when we sang the Nigerian Anthem in Evanston, USA when I was invested as the first black man in the world known to have donated cash of over 250,000 US dollars to help alleviate poverty and diseases in the world over, with a specific instruction to educate Delta people by rotary with Urhobo children, 60 percent, Delta South 30 percent and Delta North 30 percent. So if they are saying that I am not politically serious, it is not unlikely that there is a political game that I do not know how to play well. But suffice it to say, that if I have succeeded thus far in playing other games in business, in society and life I became the first youngest Chairman of the Liguate Council of Nigeria and of the whole world post call as a lawyer for three years. So if am not serious maybe there is something I am not doing and I like those people who are more serious to show evidence of their better planning and better seriousness that I did not have and they have and I will take corrections.
What is your problem with Prof. Amos Utuama, the Deputy Governor of Delta State?
I have repeatedly told everybody that cares to listen that I have no problem with Prof. Amos Utuama. It is in my nature which you know and you laugh at every time, I say things the way they are. For God’s sake the simple thing which we were told in primary school in child upbringing is that we should not lie. And some jobless people keep on telling me that I should go and apologize and all that. I read a lot of nonsense. That you have been of service to government in the state does not delineate our rights as an individual. Utuama and I have lived together in my house. Utuama’s wife is Ojigho and my first cousin is Ojigho. So I do not believe that there are people who know Utuama better than I do. My only mistake, if I can put it that way, is that I have spoken the truth. Some people are saying I should go and lie, which I will not do. They are wasting their time. I stand by all that I have said about Prof. Utuama. It is only time that will vindicate me. I will not be disrespectful and I have not been. But as to say the truth of what I know, I will continue to do that and stand by it.
What are some of the qualities that Deltans should look for in their next Governor?
I have always told people that if you tell one lie you will need another ten lies to cover it. And in that same vein, if you bring a looter of treasury to govern you, he will continuously loot the treasury. If you bring a non-stakeholder to govern you, you will never have any stake-holding coming out of that person. For instance, it is not possible for me to create a riot in this state or set about a situation whereby the state will be ungovernable, because it will adversely affect me personally and because I am a stakeholder. So I believe Deltans should open their eyes and look for the best person that can do the job.
Just tell us briefly about your personal investment in the state?
Between you and I, when I was younger we had a very funny situation during the 1966 war. In Jos, we have a lot of Deltans who worked as miners and at that situations, they all ran away from Jos. That is the very first cases we could remember as children. We have seen situations that have forced a lot of our people that were living in the north back home. So we believe strongly that, let us develop our home because in our own case, we have done a bit in Lagos and Abuja and abroad. But we are vexed and resolute that we want to do a bit more here. What you are seeing now is a child’s play. We will continue to do more and continue to create more employment in our private capacity as God lifts our hands. You have just come into the Golden Tulip now and you have a sense of happiness and good feelings. You have just been to the cinema. When my children came here they will tell me that they want to go to Lagos to go and watch cinema. Now we have brought cinema back home. Those things that we see in Europe we have brought them home. That is my zest to make sure that I do not leave the landscape the way I met it. If you see this land before you will not believe your eyes. Now I have transformed it to any standard that you can think of in the world. Where you have the cinema now, used to be an abattoir. God has given us the land and it is our responsibility to improve on the land. So I have come to improve and my younger ones will do better than myself. If you can remember, when I built the shopping mall at Deco Road, I was the first to do that. But today, when you go round the state, people are copying me and they are even using the same colour of zinc I used at Deco Road Plaza. As I speak today, this is the tallest building in Delta State, a seven storey building. It is my believe that my younger ones and my children will build 10-15 storey building in the state. When I came back to my home town, Oginigbo to build my storey building; then a lot of people were afraid that when you come home to build a house, witches and wizards will kill you, but go there today, you will see a lot of beautiful buildings. You must set the pace for others to follow. I am building a cinema house now and tomorrow other people will emulate me. You must have something to lead the people and that is the only way to attract development. What I want to do now is to build a storey building that is more than 7 and I know it is going to be possible.
Still talking about your investments, what is happening to former Woodridge Hotel?
In the usual nonsense, people are saying that I have sold the place. When I became the minister for education I saw the need to mold the child from puberty because to mold a child is a lot more difficult than that of teenage. I have donated that place to education and the place is massively under construction now. The knowledge and understanding I have acquired as a minister for education is enormous that I will do everything and anything for education.
Are you not worried about the High Tension Wires over the building?
Ignorance is the biggest problem in the world. I will assume that your grandmother was an illiterate and she had more peace than you and I because she does not have read all the bad news that we have everywhere today. The required law for safety of a property was put in place even before NEPA energized the property. As you know, Delta is a place where stories spread like lightening and that was the reason why people believed that I have a lion and a cobra in my house and that I have a high tension somewhere that is going to kill people. Nobody in my state will do anything to jeopardize the life of his people.
Who can stop Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi in the Delta 2015 election?
It is only God and only God that can stop me in 2015.
What do you think are some of the solutions to the unemployment challenges facing the world?
Let me put it this way. Allow the drivers to drive their vehicles while the owners sit down in their cars and plan how to pay the drivers. I told you earlier that I will bring all Deltans living anywhere in the country and abroad back to come and live here. I will pay them times two whatever they are earning because I need them here because we have a lot to do that we are not doing. I created over one million employment in my short stay as a minister and by my target, the institutions that I have put in place as a minister will have over ten million employees. As a minister, I created those 13 universities as you know. Take each of these universities and find out how many professors, lecturers, drivers, cooks, administrators, clerks, security men, each of those universities have employed from the labour market. Just take the statistics. Take the eight Federal Government Girls Colleges I have created. Take how many principals, teachers and others people it has employed. We do not have enough Deltans to take the jobs we are going to create for Delta State. We have the Midas touch and we know what to do. In my 60 days in office as Delta State Governor, any Deltan all over the world that is unemployed, is that Deltan that has refused to come and work in the State. Let all administrators Nigeria find solutions to their problems. I, Gbagi, have the solution to Delta’s problems.
You final words to the people of Delta State?
As I have said earlier in the beginning of this interview, you cannot leave a known surgeon for a quack when you want to operate yourself. I believe I have what it takes to do the job. I have no need for the treasury of the state. It will not add value to my personal estates as it were. All that I have come to do is to offer my services and to do what I know how to do best, to do what I believe will uplift Deltans and change the topography. When you came to this environment, does it not look like Europe? If I can to this with my meager resources, then you can imagine what I will do when I get there. For instance, we will do roads that will last 15 years minimum. And if the road gets bad before 15 years the contractor is bounded by law to make sure that he goes to maintain that road. It is a simple contract. All you need to do is pay and give them what they want to do and they will do it to your specification. So I believed that Deltans should not be deceived. If they are deceived, then they allow themselves to be deceived.
Do you believe in power rotation?
I have been an opponent of that irresponsible comment, power rotation. Did your father rotates power when he gave birth to you? Power rotation is another thing that says mediocrity has come to play. Aminu Tambuwal said that one of the biggest problems that Nigeria has today is this issue of power rotation. Let the best come up. I have a great investor in Delta North, for instance, Sunny Odogu. It unlikely that you are going to see Sunny Odogu ravaging Delta North because he is a stakeholder. I disagree with that comment. And in any case, where has rotation worked in the country? Take the embodiment of the Secretary to the Delta State, Ovuozourie Macauley, he confirmed what I have just said. He said there was no agreement for any rotation. And in case, had the people of Delta North left it for Ibori or Uduaghan in all the elections that we have held? We all contested and they are more of them there. It is this attitude of people with questionable character with loud voice, having been able to permeate press, that is selling what is not sellable. Are you saying that Urhobo people should go and sleep? Have Delta North slept before for Urhobo to take it? Delta North people contested against Ibori and Uduaghan. I do not know where this story is coming from. I have spoken to the educated sound brains from all the other zones and they believe it is an insult on them. They are great people. Let them come out and face the quagmire and lacuna of elections. Let them tell us what they have to offer. We are all collective shareholders in the state. Have you seen any company in the world rotating the MD? It is about board gamble and the best and the hottest brains. If rotation was anything to talk about, would Obama ever, ever, ever be a president of America? In the next forty years, the people of America will continue to feel the impact of the kind of reforms Obama has made. You want me to leave what I know you cannot manage to you as a shareholder? Then you want my company to collapse. So please, it is not sounding immodest or saying that we do not have any qualified person in Delta North, South or Central, let the best emerge and let the will of God be done.
good day sir,
am in full surport of your addmin.