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By Damiete Braide
Reverend Asoliye Douglas-West is an aspirant for the 2023 governorship elections in Rivers State.
The oil magnate describes himself as a game changer that is poised to create a vision and an alternative message that can resonate a rhythm and connect with the hearts and minds of the people in Rivers State.
In this chat, Douglas-West speaks on his agenda for Rivers State, the role of money in politics, his relationship with the church, among others.
Despite the heterogeneous nature of Rivers State, all the governors since 1999 come from one particular area, how do you feel about that?
It is rather disinteresting, disquieting and disconcerting to witness a situation where one particular ethnic group had devised a stratagy of capturing and retaining power for 16 years without consideration for the political well-being of other constituent ethnicities. Using the advantage of incumbency, that same ethnic group is still unjustifiably wrangling and plotting to produce a candidate for the 2023 election. I am a strong proponent of a paradigm shift where compromises and negotiations would embrace themselves in favour of a candidate from the riverine South. I stand to be corrected; the riverine Ijaws have been very patient and understanding. It is the turn of the Ijaws to produce a credible candidate to be elected and serve as the next governor of Rivers State.
What will be your agenda for the people of Rivers State if you become governor in 2023?
With a bold determination, I have unyielding conviction that the new direction to steer the state is investment in human capital who would be armed with the capability to create ideas, invent innovation and reduce poverty. Therefore, our agenda will be to prioritize human capacity development and build brand new cities that would redirect the movement of population away from a congested Port Harcourt. Research and development, Supply chain logistics, Tourism and agriculture are other critical sectors that would receive preferences in the agenda.
How do you intend to increase IGR in the state when you become governor?
I may not be able to give comprehensive details of our strategy for increasing IGR but I know there is a foundation already established by successive governments. It would be appropriate to say that we will build upon that foundation by tweaking and introducing some reforms that would totally revolutionise how public tax revenue management system can be deepened and expanded in line with global best practice. While seeking to plug leakages where they exist and reduce the cost of tax administration, we will strive to expand the tax net to include more taxable individuals and entities especially among the informal sector. The new economy we envisage would seek to create enabling environment to ease doing business and attract new businesses. We would provide incentives to encourage small scale start-ups.
What stands you out among other aspirants?
There is an urgent call to duty to alter the narrative about the ways the business of governance is conducted. Rivers State needs a forward thinking leadership whose preoccupation would not be to preserve its own privileges but to channel energies and resources into building a modern economy and a smart society. In very critical moments in the history of a people, those in whom God is well pleased would hear His voice, whom shall I send and who will go for us? They would offer themselves and say, Here am I, send me.
The challenge is big but my resolve is firm. The mission is urgent but my purpose is unmistakable. The terrain is tough but my faith is solid. I am a political outsider but a providential insider.
You are not decided on the political party platform on which you want to contest the election, how do you want to actualise your aspiration?
I am not a card-carrying member of any political party yet. I realise that the mechanism for selecting candidates for election in the existing political structure in the dominant parties is flawed. The so-called dominant political parties have cultivated and entrenched a certain culture and habit that could be likened to the laws of the Medes and Persia that changeth not. A game changer would probably be located in one’s ability to create a vision and an alternative message that can resonate a rhythm that would connect with the hearts and minds of the people. All things being equal, upsets caused by dark horses are not improbable in the race.
Why should the Rivers people vote for you against other candidates in other parties?
My personality is braced with impeccable and well-balanced credentials containing physical, educational, corporate and spiritual attributes in a total package. Rivers State is known to be resource-rich but conversely performance-poor. Run-of-the-mill candidates cannot give any performance beyond their substandard capacity. The time is ripe to look outside the political box so things can be done differently and to achieve smart results. I am convinced that I fit into the species of political outsiders with forward-leaning and cosmopolitan mindset and without affiliation to preexisting power blocs and appendages that usually constitute encumbrances to good governance. This is the era of the emergence of a new kid on the block.
Considering the role of money in Nigerian politics, do you have the financial muscle to scale through the campaign processes and election proper?
If we consider the volume of money injected into politics and electioneering in Nigeria, one may be overwhelmed and discouraged to venture into the political enterprise. The significance and influence of money on politics and electioneering cannot be underestimated. The significance of money is intended to achieve the right purpose but the influence of money does the contrary. I would rather focus on the significance of money than on its influence. Money is a flow variable like current in water which is not stagnant. It flows in the direction where the gradient is not flat. If the message we have can connect with the people and the value proposition we are bringing can resonate the proper rhythm, then we are confident that one can become marketable to attract patronage from crowd investors and passive stakeholders without overriding interests. Holders of campaign funds who are much discerning are usually persuaded to direct their funds to support the candidate with higher prospects of election marketability. I am confident that the charisma, character and content about my candidature should give me some edge in this regard.
