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From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
His declaration to run for the office of the president was unusual. Mr. Chukwuka Monye, a 43-year old Oxford University trained Innovation Strategist, unlike other presidential aspirants for the next general elections, went to his obscure Onicha-Ugbo homestead, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, to declare his ambition in January, 2022. Monye recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a platform to realise his ambition. In an interaction with select journalists in Asaba where he officially received his membership card of the party, he revealed his dreams for the country and his thoughts for the amended Electoral Act.
Why ADC and not any other political party?
We have heard of the phrase third force because people are looking for a third force, an alternative. People are saying that we practically have only two parties, and they are saying that they are looking for an alternative. So I am standing here today to say look no further, we are here.
You were part of the economic team of the Delta State Government which is led by the PDP. Were you suffocated out of the party?
No, I was not suffocated out. I was the DG, Delta Economic Summit Group, a think tank that bridges the gap between the private and public sectors.
What are your thoughts on zoning?
I think if you listen to what people are saying today, you will understand that the priorities of the party, the ADC, are to promote competence and inclusivity. My priority is to promote competence and inclusivity.
If you emerged candidate of ADC, you would probably have the likes of Tinubu, Atiku, Wike among others to contend with. These are moneybags, they have been in politics for long. How do you intend to do battle with these people?
I will start by saying that I was trained to be an innovation strategist. And one of the things I have found interesting in ADC is that it is a party where ideas rule. There are a number of people who have come to say that thousands of people are already following you, it looks like you have spent several hundred of millions, and I told them that you did not ask by saying how did you come up with a game plan that has attracted all these people. In ADC, the thinking is different, you never solve problems by only throwing money at it. If throwing money at problems is the solution, we would have solved our problems before today. Clearly, there is something missing, it is not just throwing money at problems. We need competent leaders, people with ideas, people with the strategies, the capacities to take Nigeria to the next level. You have thrown money at power, and it has not come. That said, I look forward to a general election that has different people with different capacities; it’s a democracy. The important thing is to be available for Nigerians to make a choice, to be available to engage when the opportunity comes. I look forward to having a debate with some of the people you mentioned, there is no problem with that. And after that, then we let Nigerians decide.
What is your agenda for this country?
This is the vision, ultimately the goal is to restore the dignity of Nigerians and Nigeria. What do I mean by that? Things are not good, if you must agree. We are in a country where you have many people who cannot afford three square meals a day, some are struggling. We are in a country where education has gone so low, reduced to a level we are unable to get graduates that are even employable. So, we have graduates with degrees but not employable. We are in a country where quality healthcare is unavailable. What can you then say is dignifying to a Nigerian if the average person cannot get access to these basic things? Ultimately, the vision is to focus on how we can restore the dignity of every Nigerian and Nigeria as whole. It’s enough for people telling us that Nigerians are lazy people but Nigeria as a country does not agree with the quality of the people. But in order for us to achieve this, we must do certain things, and that is how I summarise the vision into three pillars. Pillar number one is security. We must solve the security challenge. Yes we know that there are different reasons why there is insecurity in the land, whether it is through fiscal challenges or through social insecurity, but it exists and it must be dealt with because there is no way you can restore the dignity of the average Nigerian if they are not safe. Second is reforming institutions, the very key institutions. Under institutions, there are priorities. Number one is law enforcement and justice. It is important that we reorganize the justice infrastructure. The second is education. I must tell you that I am extremely passionate about education because I have seen what it does to an economy when people are educated. Nigerians are extremely intelligent, just empower them and you will be amazed what they can do. The third institution is healthcare. Today, people cannot afford quality healthcare. Infant mortality is at an alarming rate, quality of care at the hospitals, some cannot even afford access even if it is not fantastic. So, healthcare will also be a priority of mine. Now I see that the first point and the second point will lead to the third pillar of alleviating poverty and restoring the dignity. I will not be tempted like many politicians to tell you how many jobs I will create because it is unrealistic if all those other things are not addressed. But I will say that some of the areas that will enjoy priority are areas that we will empower youths and women whether it is the entertainment sector or specific sector such as the fashion industry and the lifestyle sector. There are also areas in agriculture that we will look at as a priority from two stand points. From the stand point of producing with strong emphasis on attracting foreign direct investment and people that have the capacity to do mechanised farming. A lot of our young people are not interested in the production angle of agriculture but they are interested in the processing angle. These are just some of the areas, we will be rolling out some of our policies in due course but I just used this to summarise the three broad areas of our vision. And we believe that with everybody working together, it is going to be an inclusive government, not the type of government that designs policies and stays in one place and the people that they designed it for are not even connected to what they had designed. It is something that would include everybody in the process of formulating and executing those policies.
Why did you declare your presidential ambition at your hometown, Onicha-Ugbo, and not at Aso Rock like some aspirants have done?
Like the saying goes, charity begins at home. It would have been a nice idea to go to Abuja and declare my interest but on the one hand, we are all saying that we are looking for an alternative, and looking for a platform with structure, and on the other hand, you expect me to go to Abuja and declare my intent. No! For me, the work has already started. To even go to Onicha-Ugbo for declaration of my intent, that was work because you want everybody around you to know that you are serious. And that we have started the journey from where I am from.
What are your thoughts on the new Electoral Act?
I think that the news about the signing of the bill into law actually deserves an applause. And I want to thank our president for assenting to the bill. I also want to congratulate Nigerians because I believe strongly that his assenting the bill is actually the beginning of this journey to a better Nigeria.
We have seen young Nigerians like Femi Durotoye, Sowore coming out previously to contest. But they ended up making noise in the social media, and when the real election came, we saw that they were unable to gather enough votes to win even in a local government election. What would make your case different from these people who vied for the presidency in the past and didn’t get anywhere to push these two main parties, APC and PDP aside or even give them a hot chase for their money?
I have to say this because I hear all the time that some young politicians contested the last time and didn’t really do well. I think they have played a role which we must recognise and commend. They started this journey, so you have today the opportunity to criticize only because they tried. For that reason, I have to first of all recognise and commend those who started. Interestingly, one of the areas I have developed interest in over the years is start ups. This project is a start up. I would have been rolling up my sleeves because I am ready to do the work that is required. Some have seen me in Kano, Nasarawa and even in Onicha-Ugbo here, it’s the work, it has to be done. It is not a social media campaign, not at all, we are talking of real differentiated and strategic policies that is going to be led by a dynamic party, ADC.
Why did you start from presidential rather than a lower elective position?
I expected that question. Now I believe strongly that the roles that anybody would take up at any level whether is councillor or House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate or even the governor, are fantastic roles. I will not discount or reduce the values that one can get when you play those roles. However, I believe strongly that we are doing ourselves a lot of disservice if we make any comparison between the skills and capacities or capabilities required for president and the skill required for councillor. If I mention a few skill sets needed for the presidency such as international and foreign relations, national economic planning, people management, financial management, policy generation, policy implementation, there are so many skills that I think that it will be unfair for us to compare the role of the president to the role of the councillor. I sat back and evaluated what I have done for the last 20 years, having supported, advised both public sector and private sector institutions, and I said to myself I cannot continue to complain knowing that I have the skills that are required and not step up. After all that assessment and evaluation, I decided that in addition to all those skill capacities that I highlighted earlier, Nigerians are even saying that it would be a plus if you have all these skills and then you are young. Now let me ask you, if I decide today to start a different career from councilorship to House of Assembly to Senate to Governor, and let us assume it is eight years for each role, how old would I be to consider running for president? So, it is an interesting question that people ask but it is also a puzzle that will appreciate all sides and determine what we truly want in a president. And that is what I look at bringing to the table.
