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Abia Deputy Governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, has always done his job quietly, leaving his contributions to speak for him. Even when he was Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, he shied away from engaging the press.
However, on his birthday today, February 27, 2022, he was persuaded to talk about his life and times.
In this interview with Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Onuoha Ukeh; Editor, Daily Sun, Iheanacho Nwosu; and State Correspondent, Okey Sampson, Chukwu talked about his growing up, how he joined politics and his life as Abia State deputy governor.
Congratulations to you on your coming birthday. When you think about your birthday or any birthday, what comes to your mind?
Each time somebody or I is celebrating birthday, I always remember God’s faithfulness. The fact that one is alive to count an extra year can only be the grace of God. I thank God for everything. God has done for me great things, right from when I was born.
What was your growing up like?
I would say that my growing up was the same way an ordinary man grew up. I had wonderful parents. I would say that I was a village boy because I attended my primary and secondary schools in my village before leaving for further studies. I did things that other people of my age then did. As a boy, I went to the stream to fetch water. I went to farm to help my mother and grandmother. I went to public school, both for my primary and secondary schools. I led the normal village life. It was not until I left for higher school that I went to the town. There was nothing peculiar really, just the normal village life. I must however, say this. I am first son, from my mother’s side. There were six of us. Our only girl was the fourth child. All through that period, I had to do all the house chores. I did the work that girls do in those days – sweep the house, go to the stream to fetch water, even cook; all those stuff.
Was there anything in your life then that told you that you could in life become an important personality later in life?
As a kid, I took life as it was. One was thinking only about the present then. I never had any inclining about what life has turned out to be. At that time, we saw local government chairmen and councillors as people who were out of this world. I never actually thought about what the future would be. This is why when I look back I give God all the glory. It is only by his grace that a village boy of yesterday has become what I am today.
What type of influence did your parents have on you?
The greatest influence they had on me was that of discipline. My father did not take nonsense from anybody. He was a man that never believed in caning a child, but the way he would talk to you, would beat you into line. Indeed, you can’t afford to misbehave with my father. I learnt hard work and skills from my father. My father was a workaholic, so you can’t be lazy with him. He had tools for every vocation. He had carpentry, mason and mechanic tools. He deployed the skills at home, to fix things, when the need arose. Though a businessman, he was doing all other things himself. At that time, whenever he came to the village, there would be no dull moment. He would engage us. I was useful to himself and to my parents, because of this. My mother was equally hard working. She was a loving woman who believed very much in what God could do. She taught me hard work too and faith in God.
What influenced your choice of Accounting as a course?
I would say that my interest in Accounting was cultivated when I was in the secondary school. I won’t actually tell you that anybody influenced me. In secondary school in those days, we did Commerce, Economics and all that. I discovered that I was doing well in subjects relating to Accounting. I was solving problems arising from RSA question papers and in those days in the village, they were not common. Over time, I started developing interest in Accounting.
There’s this belief that Accountants are stingy or tight-fisted. To what extent is this true?
I would say that accountants are prudent and want to get value for every money spent. You will agree with me that nobody would just begin to throw away money. If money is given to you, it is taken that you must give account. That is the work of accountants, safeguarding and giving account of money.
What would you say life has taught you?
Generally speaking, life has taught me a lot of things. I have learnt that life is full of ups and downs. I have learnt patience. I have learnt to trust in God. I have learnt that disappointments could be blessings. I have learnt to be compassionate, loyal and to say only what I would do.
How and why did a reserved accountant like you branch into politics?
Prior to 2001, I was the last person who would be associated with partisan politics. This was as a result of the image of politics we grew up to see. You will be surprised to hear that owing to lack of interest in politics, I did not even vote in 1999, not to talk of belonging to a political party. You will then be wondering how I ventured into politics eventually? While I was living in Lagos and doing what I was doing then – accounting practice, business, lecturing part time – I was under a lot of pressure from people to help them secure jobs. My small practice couldn’t employ these people. In seeking help for these people, I went to my local government chairman then and asked him to speak with one minister then from our place to help people secure employment. I told the LG chairman I wanted him to write a letter recommending five people to the Minister for employment. I volunteered to take the letter to the minister in Abuja, since I was president of Nkporo Youth Vanguard. The LG chairman did write the letter and I set out to Abuja. At Abuja, I went to the house of the minister. I was there very early in the morning because I took a night bus. I was told he had not woken up and that I should wait. I waited and waited until the man woke up, had his breakfast and left for the office. In fact, he walked past where I was sitting, entered his vehicle and drove off. I was surprised. When I confronted his aides, they said I should go to the office. I went to the minister’s office and I was also told to wait. I waited from that morning till 5:00p.m; nobody talked to me; nobody attended to me. When I told the minister’s aides that I needed to return to Lagos that night, they said I should drop the letter. I had no other option than to drop the letter with them. I did and left. Nobody contacted me thereafter and no action was taken on the content of the letter. I felt really sad. In Lagos, I invited my friends and told them to get someone we could sponsor to contest election. For months, we could not get anybody to sponsor. One day, something just struck me, whether you will call it a calling or what. I just thought about contesting myself. When I made up my mind, I told my friends that I was going to contest the election myself. Of course, they did not take me serious. They laughed and laughed. Even though I was not really serious at first, I went to the village and made my intention known. It was only when six other people indicated interest in contesting for the House of Assembly seat that I became serious. That was how I joined politics. This was borne out of desire to help people get jobs or have opportunity to earn a decent living as well as contribute to good governance.
To what extent would you say you have accomplished them?
To the glory of God, I would say I have tried. As a lawmaker, who became speaker and now deputy governor, I have tried my best in contributing to good governance in Abia State and the country. I have found myself rendering service to the people. As Abia State government does roads, builds hospitals, builds schools, works for the security of life and property, formulates good policies, I am happy being part of it. Through my little contributions, many lives and places have been affected positively. I am glad that those things that pushed me into politics are being realised. I know that everything would not be achieved at the same time, but so far, so good.
What do you like and what don’t you like about politics?
There are so many good things about politics. It is through politics that governments come into being. With government, the welfare of the people is catered for. It is through politics that people come together to work in the best interest of their state, people and country. These are what I like. What I don’t like? If negativity comes into play, politics is no longer good. I don’t like this.
How have you been able to cope in politics?
Politics is just like any other vocation. I have been able to understand politics, understand people and behaviour. All these serve as a guide to me. I know the right things to do and do them. My principle is to do my best, with strict adherence to global standard.
You were a member of the state House of Assembly for 12 years and rose to become the Speaker. How would you assess the legislature in Nigeria? We ask this question because some people called the legislature rubber stamp?
You will agree with me that the legislature has suffered a great deal in the country. Until 1999, the legislature was not in place. During military government, you have the executive and the judiciary functioning, but the legislature was always set aside. By virtue of experience, you see that the executive and judiciary have grown stronger and better than the legislature. The legislature is growing and will get better. This is not to say, in any case, that it is rubber stamp. If the legislature supports the executive for smooth running of government, it does not make it a rubber stamp. One thing you should know is that the legislature is an arm of the same government, like the executive and judiciary. It has a duty to work with other arms of government for good governance. There has always been this wrong notion that the legislature should to belligerent. When it does not, seeing no reason in doing so, people are wont to say the legislature is week. It is not true. I am saying this from the benefit of being a lawmaker in the past.
When you were Speaker, you were taking decisions, being the head of the legislature. Now as deputy governor, you are subordinated to the governor. How do you cope?
Whether you are Speaker or deputy governor, you are part of the government and working for the common good. As a Speaker, I would say that I occupied a position where I had to take critical decisions. However, in taking the decision, don’t forget that I was an integral part of the system, government. I was the head of a legislative arm of a government. What I did was in conjunction with my colleagues in the House. It was not alone. As a deputy governor, I understand the limit of my powers and I stay within my boundaries. Deputy governors assist governors. Apart from a few assignments or responsibilities given to a deputy governor by the Constitution, like boundary matters, the other assignments come from the governor. I would say that I am lucky because I work with a man who has a good heart and who gives me responsibilities.
Some people describe deputy governors as “spare tyres.” How do you think deputy governors will be better used in government?
Governors are like chief executives, if it were a company. The deputy governor assists, as I said earlier. Remember, you don’t have two captains in a ship. There most be a leader and this leader assigns responsibilities. It is for the governor to know how best to use his deputy. It is for the governor to give the deputy the latitude to function and assist him in governance. Even to those of us, deputy governor, commissioners, he assigns positions.
As I said earlier, I am lucky. My governor engages me, gives me assignments and responsibilities. He gives me opportunity to sit down and discuss and make my contributions on how to run the government. I thank him for his trust and belief that I have something to offer in his government.
As a deputy governor, how is your day always like?
As a deputy governor, I’m a very busy person. My boss has made it so. I attend to events within and outside the state, representing the governor and government of Abia State. It’s quite a hectic and very busy office.
You have had the privilege of serving three governments in Abia State. How would you assess the Orji Kalu, TA Orji and now Okezie Ikpeazu governments?
I will tell you that for the three governments, each and every one of them gave and is giving a good account of themselves. The first two did very well and the current one is doing well, based on their own circumstances. Three of them operated in different periods, at different economic and political environments. The Orji Kalu administration was the first after the military era. Its circumstances were quite different from that of TA Orji and what we have today. The economic indexes of the three governments weren’t the same. The IGR level wasn’t the same. The rate of inflation wasn’t the same. The kind of government at the national level wasn’t the same.
Under the time and period they operated, I would rather say they did relatively well. You would also discover that each and every government that came up tried to build on what the other person started and probably look at other areas that the other person missed out. That is the beauty of governance. It is a continuum.
How do you feel when people criticize those in government despite the efforts they make?
For me, criticism is part of politics and governance. Criticism is part of human life. No matter what you do or how committed you are, people must criticise you. I really do not blame them because most of the times, you discover that they don’t understand what you are doing or what you have done. When they don’t understand the circumstances, they are bound to do that. In that respect, you forgive them for criticising you. The most important thing is that at every point in time, any position you occupy, try as much as possible to do your best because you owe it a duty to your God who has given you the opportunity and the privilege to occupy that position. Irrespective of whatever people say, just strive to do your utmost best.
By next year, your tenure as deputy governor will end. What do we expect next?
I am concentrating in what I have now. I have a duty as deputy governor and I am fulfilling that duty. Tomorrow will take care of itself. What happens tomorrow is in God’s hand. For people like us, who also believe that whatever a man is going to be is already predestined, all you need is to do your best at what you have and leave God to decide your tomorrow.
What’s Abia and Nigeria of your dream?
The Abia of my dream is a state where the livelihood of our people is enhanced, where the per capita income of Ndi Abia should go up, where we have infrastructure that will enable this per capita income go up, where we have good healthcare system, where we have secured environment. Some of these are in place. They need continuous effort to move to higher level. Nigeria of my dream? I want a Nigeria where, at the international level, we will not be looked down at as Nigerians, a country that is free of corruption, a country where justice, equity and fairness prevail, a country that takes care of us and we are proud to die for.
What makes you happy and what makes you sad?
I am happy when my little contribution to governance and humanity changes the lives of many positively. I am happy when people have food to eat and our children go to standard schools. I am happy when people can access good healthcare. On the other hand, I am sad when poverty becomes endemic and our children are not achieving their full potentials. I would want to be seen as a man who came and impacted positively on the lives of his people, a man who came into the political firmament of Abia State and working with others made some remarkable impact, a simple man who remains himself despite holding some high political offices.
