George Moghalu is the immediate past Managing Director of National Inland Waterways. In this interview, he bares his mind on his governorship ambition in Anambra State, why he left the All Progressives Congress to join the Labour Party, among other national issues. Excerpts:
Why did you join the Labour Party, a party in crisis?
I don’t really want to agree with you that the Labour party is in crisis compared to what we are seeing in every other party. Like I always say, political parties are human organisations, and like in any human organisation, issues like this will always come up because a lot of interests will clash, and ambitions will also clash. So in the course of this clash, there is certainly going to be some level of disagreement, but they are all resolvable because they are all part of human evolution. It is a human organisation. So for me, it is not a big issue.
I also believe very strongly that the issues they have, just like in all other political parties, will be resolved. That is why we are all human beings.
What will you tell those that feel the odds would have favoured you more if you had remained with the APC?
My leaving the APC is not about me. Two critical indices in political contestation must be weighed before making final decisions. And those two indices are the person and the platform. These are two critical political components. For you as the person, it is about you making the decision. You will probably consult your family or those very close to you, your loved ones. It is understandable, but it is about you making the decision.
However, when it has to do with the platform, it involves not only you, this time around; it involves your political family. It involves your friends. It involves a lot of people, and a lot of issues are put into contestation and put into consideration before you can arrive at the decision.
For me, when I decided and made up my mind that I was going to run for election, the next thing was the platform. So, I decided to talk with both my campaign organisation, my friends, my followers, those who believe in me, in my ideology and my principles, and those who think they can work with me. After all considerations, the odds appeared to favour LP, and that is why I had to pitch my tent with the party.
Will it be right to say that the driving force behind this movement is the governorship ticket of Anambra State?
There is no doubt about the fact that I want to run for the governorship of Anambra State. I have made it abundantly clear. I have spoken about it in private and in public. That is not even a contention. I am going to run for the governorship of Anambra State God willing.
But have you weighed it to know whether the odds favour you actualising your ambition through LP?
I don’t see anything odd, because it is a process. And what is the process, when you are in a political party and they throw a position open and you are desirous, you throw your heart in the ring, then the political party members will now decide if you are their best option, and if you are, they will support you. If you are not, they support whoever they consider as their best option.
And if you are lucky to be the person considered, you move to the next level, which is the general election. You will appear before the Anambra State electorate, the state I come from, to ask for their support. And even if you are lucky to get their support, to God be the glory.
Have you considered the challenges ahead of you going into that election and what are your chances of winning in Anambra, a State with APGA stronghold?
Yes, I have considered the challenges and I can tell you that my chances are very high. The realities are more than having a party like APGA as a tradition in the state. The situation is a case of people having a wrong assumption. Yes, APGA has been in power in Anambra for a long time now and that is a fact we must acknowledge, but the truth about it is, what is the situation on ground? Are the people happy with the government? I can tell you that the answer is no. You can do an independent investigation; you can talk to as many people as possible, that the feelings of APGA being on the ground may not be there anymore.
It is about who the people want. The Anambra state political elite are going to consider the persons involved, weigh them according to their merits and their demerits, check who will be better for Anambra State, and then give the person an opportunity. So, I am not bothered about what APGA has done there in the past. They have been there before, but an incumbent administration has been changed in this country. We are going to do lots of things when we come to power to change the narrative in the state.
Without stampeding you into unveiling your manifesto, what are those things that Governor Soludo is doing that you intend to do better?
There are many of them. It is against my political principle and I find it difficult to criticise any administration without providing a viable alternative. I am going to soon unveil a comprehensive manifesto that will deal with all the issues about governance. But I can simply say, off the cuff, that the government of Soludo has failed in terms of infrastructural decay.
Anambra State has not had it this bad previously. There is total infrastructural decay. I repeat, Anambra State has not had it this bad before. There is total failure in many things, insecurity is at the maximum, and there is so much insecurity in the land. I wonder how somebody will be expecting any foreign or even local direct investment in a state that is insecure. No investor will come to any state if they feel it is insecure. We have challenges, insecurity is alarming in our state, and it’s very disheartening. There are quite a lot of things they have not done well, especially the economic policy, surprisingly, very surprisingly.
The economic policies are not having much impact on the lives of an average Anambrian.
Their style of taxation is also not the best. There are many other things that Anambra State people will not like or have rejected and will not accept. We feel so disappointed.
“There is no doubt that Anambra billionaires have a lot of impact on the outcome of the state governorship elections. You cannot also wish the billionaires away, but the average Anambra man in the street has a major stake in this project”
What is the level of acceptability by the Anambra people judging by your consultations so far?
I wish you could ask an average Anambra man that question, but I can comfortably tell you that I have reasonable goodwill in the state that I can build on. My people know my competence and capacity.
Will it be right to say that it is Peter Obi that motivated you to join LP?
Not at all, but that is not to say that Peter Obi does not have an impact to make in the politics of Anambra State. Anybody who says that he does not have an impact is a joker.
The truth about it is that he is a light in Anambra State; he served the state creditably well and left on a clean slate. So, he is a force you can’t wish away. He is a credible Anambra son who can be trusted, and who has been trusted in the past because he has never betrayed the confidence Anambra people reposed in him.
As I keep telling people, my principal agenda in running for governorship of Anambra State is to restore the confidence of the people in their government. The moment you lost the confidence of the people, just like we have now, you have lost it.
But, the moment you can gain people’s confidence in their government, administering them becomes a lot easier. They will make every sacrifice and do everything to ensure you succeed. They will see the government as their own and that is talking about acceptability.
I know the Anambra electorates are the deciding factor in the election.
How much acceptability will you get from the Anambra billionaires who usually have a serious influence on the outcome of governorship elections?
There is no doubt that Anambra billionaires have a lot of impact on the outcome of the state governorship elections. You cannot also wish the billionaires away, but the average Anambra man in the street has a major stake in this project.
How true is the impression that Nigerian politicians are so insensitive to the plights of the masses?
It is not true. It is not true. If counting the politicians includes me, then I can tell you that it is not a true assertion, because I know I feel the pains of the people. I know that the challenges are quite enormous. I know the people are not happy. I feel it, and I am sure the President and those in the positions of responsibility today are also feeling the same.
If you sit down with President Tinubu, what will you tell him?
I don’t actually envy him. I know what he is facing. He is facing a lot of challenges. The challenges before him are quite enormous because things are not just going well. I am praying for him because my Bible tells me to pray for people in authority.
I pray for him every day and I ask God to give him the grace, and the strength that will help him and those in authority at all levels, up to counsellors, to have the feeling of the people and to have empathy, so that they can do their best.
I agree that the decay before this administration came into the office was also quite enormous. Even the administration before this one also had challenges they inherited. But the truth is that it is like getting a sickness cured, any form of sickness, which takes a little time.
So, my appeal is, let our people be a little more patient. And to answer your question directly, I will appeal to him to see what can be done to cushion the effect of the difficulties people are going through. As to whether the challenges are enormous, they are on both sides, on the side of the governed and the side of the government.
Do you share the impression that APC is sponsoring the crisis rocking most of the political parties in Nigeria?
I don’t want to share that impression. I don’t want to believe that because those sponsored must be fools to accept to destroy the houses they built. If the APC is sponsoring you to destroy your house, why allow them to do so? If sponsoring crises in other parties is what APC is doing every time, why can’t others do the same in APC?
So why do you have to allow somebody from outside, whether APC or anywhere, to sponsor you to destroy your own party? It doesn’t make sense to me and that is why I don’t want to believe that.
Who is your godfather as you go into the contest for Anambra State governorship election?
I don’t have any godfather. God in Heaven is my father. I don’t have any godfather. My godfather is the Anambra people on the street. They are my number one godfather. They are the ones to decide with their votes whether George Moghalu is fit enough to govern them, and once they do that, I am good to go.
I ask you this question because of what is happening in the Rivers State, do you feel the pain?
It is very unfortunate and very sad. I really feel very depressed because this is the type of embarrassment that we suffer. These are things that happen among Nigerian politicians. This is absolute nonsense that shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.
My advice to the gladiators is to sheath their swords and put the Rivers State people on the front burner. The people of the state are the major issue. Any distraction of the governor, the people will suffer. The state governor will not work until his tenure expires.
At the end of the day, it is the people that will bear the brunt. So, why didn’t they all consider the people of Rivers State and be guided by empathy for them? Power is a sacred mandate given to leaders by God to use for the benefit of mankind. You will account for its failure to do that, if not here in the world, then thereafter, but it must be accounted for, because it is a secret mandate.
