Hon. Johnson Egwakhide Oghuma, representing Etsako Central Constituency, is the chairman, House Committee on Commerce and Industries in the Edo State Assembly. In this interview with PATRICK OCHOGA, the lawmaker bares his mind on critical national issues, including the flood that has rendered thousands homeless in parts of his constituency.
This is the 5th Assembly since the inception democracy. Can you give a brief account of legislations which have impacted directly on the lives of Edo people?
It is pertinent to note that some of the bills this Fifth Assembly has passed have really impacted positively on the lives of the people, but more importantly is the appropriation bills, which have directly affected our people more than any other bills we have passed because any government that is not spending wishes poverty for the people. I’m sure you know the story of Edo State House of Assembly before I came in.
Prior to that period, the governor’s hands were tight because his appropriations were not approved by the then PDP-controlled House. So, for the period he ran the government, he could not operate, but the day I came into the House, there was a change which led to the fracas between the PDP- led legislators and the ACN members. I want to say that my entry into the House opened up the legislative system which gives an edge to the ACN. All the executed projects you see in the state today are as a result of the appropriation, and that is why I started by saying that appropriation bill is one of the most important.
When government spends money for the people, the economic activities within the system can be stimulated and the people can benefit from it, either through contracts or job creations and people’s purchasing power increases. There are some other bills in the area of health, tax, employment creation, erosion control, bills relating to local government and the public procurement bill, which you all know is for accountability within the system and will help in checking fraudulent tendencies either in procurement or contract award.
As we speak, some communities under your constituency have been sacked from their ancestral homes as a result of flooding; what are doing to ameliorate the troubles?
Well, as a true representative of my people and a lawmaker, I do not make laws for my people alone but for good governance of Edo State. When the disaster occurred, my first reaction was to immediately move a motion under ‘matter of urgent public importance’ to call the attention of the relevant agencies like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), federal government, the state governor and local government to come to the aid of the people.
Because what happened was beyond the control of anybody as a result of the overflow of River Niger which submerged several communities. Our duty was to reach out to our people and ensure that they are evacuated from the disaster areas, because some of them were hesitant to move at the initial time. It is important to note that Udaba, Agbabo, Imiegba,Usugbenu and Yelwa are all submerged. At the time, we followed the governor in a chopper to tour the affected communities, some person were still seen hanging on roof tops, so we started moving canoes to rescue them.
We want to thank the governor who came and made available N100 million to buy relief materials for the victims at the various rehabilitation centres. One worrisome aspect is that our own system is different because in developed countries like the United States, they know when disaster of this nature is about to happen, but in a system like ours, nobody knows anything; we are just at the mercy of God.
But we understand that people were alerted before hand.. (Cuts in).
Were they alerted in Abuja or Edo State? You must understand that these communities that were affected don’t even have access to that kind of information, and even if they do, they need to be communicated in their local dialects. If the enlightenment campaign was channelled through some of us, we would have gone to the communities to educate the people about the impeding danger ahead.
Because as it is now, I am not sure they was any sensitisation because, all along, people have been living along the bank of River Niger but what we were made to understand was that Cameroon released excess water from their dam; was that announced to the people? How do you tell somebody who has not seen water coming to leave his house except there is provision for him elsewhere?
The management of environmental disasters by relevant agencies has come under criticism; what is your impression about disaster management in Nigeria?
The management of disaster as far as Nigeria is concerned is a total failure. I was in the US recently when they had a hurricane and I saw how they rose to the occasion, but in Nigeria there is nothing on ground. Even in my constituency that was flooded, we had to resort to crude implements and using our personal money to buy food and other relief materials for the affected persons before the Comrade governor doled out N100 million to assist the people. When we are talking about disaster, it is not only in the area of flood. Look at our roads in Nigeria; they have turned into death traps, and accidents occur on daily basis, which again is another national disaster.
As the Chairman, House Committee on Commerce and Industry, why is there much attention on infrastructural development while comatose industries are left unattended to?
Virtually all the industries in Edo State were sold during the administration of Lucky Igbinedion, while others were privatised, so I cannot possibly see anyone that is free. Even when my committee visited Ehor Juice factory, we made a report which led to some pronouncements from the speaker directing the state government to take over the juice factory.
But you know that there was competition because the factory was sold to an individual which, as I speak to you, has not come up to discuss with the governor. The only power that is left to us now is to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy; it therefore means that the ownership must change because all the machines have been vandalised. It is only the cassavita company that now needs to be addressed and I can assure you that the governor is already doing something about that.
Other industries, like the Bendel Brewery, are a subject of litigation, so I cannot comment on that. What we are doing in the area of infrastructure is to set a road map leading to the industrialisation of the state by connecting communities that are viable for agriculture, commerce and industries by opening them up for private investors. For example, in my own community, we are beginning to have foreign investors in Anegbite in the area of rice production, and it is because of the opening up of roads.
Leventis farms are doing well because of the infrastructure put in place by the State government. So most of these roads are leading to industrial settlements.We have spent several billions of naira in connecting communities in the state. We are also concerned about the power challenge in the country which is directly under the federal government so that industries can strive.
Some Nigerians have expressed fear over the possible break-up of the country should power remain in the South after 2015 presidential election; what are your thoughts on power shift?
I feel pained over what is happening in Nigeria. It is sad that at this age of our national life we are still talking about power shift. What is important to us is talking about electing quality people that have conscience and know what to do with governance regardless of whether the person comes from North or South. It should be about people who are ready to lead the country out of this quagmire.
Nigeria today is in confusion because people are not allowed to freely elect their representatives; all these appointments here and there will never help Nigeria. What we see today is appointment of leaders. Our people should allow the legislators to use all the powers that are available to them to check the system. If at the national level the president is not doing well, the legislators should use their power to check him.
If it is the people that give our leaders power, then the leaders should be subject to the people. This is the only country where one man will just sit down and say he wants to print N5, 000 notes in a country that depends largely on all sorts of imported items; so it’s like giving the rich more avenue of carrying more money outside, and this is the same government that is talking about cashless economy. When Soludo was the Central Bank Governor, he came up with the redenomination of the naira and I bought into the idea because of the advantages.
It would have enhanced our national purchasing power because we are in an economy that is dependent on importation of every manufactured goods. So if an economy depends on every machine and their parts imported, then that redenomination of the naira would have been okay for us. If a machine that produces coca cola is sold for $1,000 and you have N100, 000, with the redenomination of the naira, somebody with N100, 000 will be having N10, 000; that means you can buy ten of the machines and that will increase our drive for money.
For a cashless economy, we need energy; because if you carry a card to do any transaction, you require energy do that. On the issue of rotation, we only need someone that is knowledgeable enough to manage our economy. If we get a leader that can drive the economy, nobody will be talking about where he comes from.
You talked about allowing legislators to exercise their powers; are you justifying the move by federal lawmakers to impeach the president?
Impeachment is not only necessarily when you want to remove a leader; you use that to make a leader sit up and do the right thing. Are you not amazed that not even 50 percent of the national budget has been implemented and we are in September? What we are going through today is because we are not truthful to ourselves. I want to let you know that with this impeachment threat, the president is trying to make sure that contracts are awarded and payments are made. If not for the impeachment move, we would have just watched ourselves further drift down.
Nigeria marked its 52 years of Independence recently; how have we fared ?
You were in this country when we repatriated Ghanaians, but visit to Ghana today and you will be amazed. It is very shameful that Nigerians have lost hope – even in its educational system. Most of our leader’s children today are schooling in Ghana; it is a monumental shame. And, today, factories are relocating to Ghana. It might interest you to know that in Ghana they have only three universities. We spend N166billion in Ghana on school fees alone.
Those who have presided over the affairs of this country should be ashamed; we are so blessed yet there is growing poverty in the land. Why should the Nigerians, at 52, be complaining about food, electricity, roads, and rail lines? There is not a single rail line that can take you anywhere in Nigeria. Why must our leaders mortgage our future? This is the only economy in the whole world that is driven by generators. What we need is a leadership that can plan for the future.
You recently donated some items to the people of your constituency; what must have informed this gesture?
As a legislator, if opportunity is created for me by the system to assist my community, I will do that. I always believe in giving back in practical terms to the people. You see, the comrade governor is doing everything possible within the available resources to reach out to every nook and cranny of the state.
For me, I must not be seen to be lacking in my duty to the people I am representing; I see it as a call to duty. God has given me the spirit to feel for the ordinary people, so, that informs what I do, be it the borehole, water project, furniture and schools to help my people.
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