Follow Us on Google
By Daniel Kanu
Grassroots politician and former Abia Central Federal Constituency representative at the Red Chamber, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, is by any standard a thorough-bred politician, versatile, and courageous.
She was chairman, Senate Committee on Oil and Gas Resources; chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other related financial matters and until May 7, 2021, chairman, Governing Council, University of Calabar.
During the 2023 election, she was the director for Southeast, Parliamentarians for Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council, and the Coordinator for Women for Abia State for Tinubu/Shettima.
In this encounter with Sunday Sun, the effervescent politician speaks on the 2023 presidential election, clamour for Senate president, constraints of women in politics, the Adamawa State election drama, and her fears for Nigeria, among other critical issues. Excerpt:
Let’s look at the clamour for the Senate President which many thought would naturally have been zoned to the Southeast, but the South-south and North-central are also contending for the position?
Yes, many are very correct in their perception that naturally, it should go to the Southeast and for me, I am kind of taken aback that the National Assembly, our Senators-elect are even thinking of somewhere else. I thought that since the Southeast neither got the number one position (President), nor the number two position (Vice-President) and considering the agitation of our people from the Southeast that it will be like a fait-accompli, that it would definitely be going to the Southeast. I think, it should be given or perhaps, zoned to the Southeast and considering the fact that the Southeast also parades very competent senators, eminently qualified for the position. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is there, he stands out, Senator Izunaso is there, among others, who can stand tall on competence for the post. We are still watching. Some of us are bewildered by how things are going out of the norm, out of what should be. Let me also use this medium to appeal to our great party, All Progressives Congress, APC, our distinguished Senators to see reasons they should zone the Senate president to the Southeast. Even the mood of the country as it stands today, unarguably shows that the Southeast region should be where the Senate President should go.
There is this latest report that has revealed that Nigerian women in politics find it so hard to scale through in politics as only a handful of them secure victory or get elected…?
(Cuts in) It is absolutely true. There are so many obstacles, constraints, and banana peels on our way. The initial challenge is: How many women are given the tickets abinitio? How many of the women were candidates? If the women are not encouraged, even from their political parties to get the tickets as candidates, and they are supported there is nothing much that they can do? In some countries, even in Africa, they give women in politics certain percentages in elective positions to occupy. How many women do you see in the NWC or NEC of our political parties in Nigeria? There are some opportunities you must create for women in politics to encourage and integrate them in greater numbers. We are not doing so here even when we are signatories to a lot of treaties on gender representation. Let’s look at our political parties in the last election, how many women were given tickets to run for the election and what was the support? Also when you look at the level of violence, intimidation, harassment etc, there is no enabling environment, level playing field for women to emerge in our politics. Of course, there is also the financial challenge. The level of expenditure on politics is massive, only few women can prosecute a successful election and emerge victorious. There are so many constraints for women in politics, and unless the political parties, I mean, the main political parties deliberately put in their internal arrangement that they are going to give women tickets, make them candidates where they can win, unless that, things will remain the way they are. Look at the last constitutional amendment at the National Assembly and the raw deal experienced by the women during the period. The gender bills that the women wanted passed were all rejected. It’s a sad story to recall. So, in all, there are things we need to do if we must get more women in elective positions. Now there are only 12 women in the House of Representatives and three in the Senate and it is not as if they are allowing the women to take up the leadership of any of the Chambers, they are not presiding officers, I mean, they are not either the Speaker of the House of Reps or Senate President. Women have been deputy whip in the House, but those ones are like a drop in the ocean. What we still need is, like having a female Speaker or a female Senate President; these are the two positions that can begin to change the misfortunes to fortunes of women in the national politics.
You have at different interviews expressed dissatisfaction with governance in your state, Abia under the PDP leadership. Now that the LP has clinched the ticket with Dr Alex Otti on the driver’s seat, do you think something positive will come from his leadership?
Well, I am expectant. Besides, you know, I am no longer in the PDP now, I left the PDP in 2015, and now a happy member of the All Progressives Congress (APC). So, whether I was satisfied or not satisfied the people of Abia have spoken on their choice and they chose the LP with Alex Otti leading the pack. All I can say is that what the Abians want, whether I am leaving in Abia State or leaving in Abuja, but from Abia, what we want is good governance, what we want is food on the table of our civil servants in Abia, what we want is conducive environment for our Abia traders and businessmen, what Abians want is somebody that can definitely turn things around for the general good of the people. What we had from 1999 till now with the PDP has shown that Abia was the least developed. So, there are lots of expectations from our new incoming government in the state and I have no doubt that he will definitely add value and smile on the faces of Abians.
The Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari is now in police net. What do you make of what happened in that election where Madam Aisha Binani, a strong woman was believed to be coasting to victory before the change of story?
We were all jubilating when we heard the initial announcement that our sister Senator Aisha Binani had won. That jubilation was short-lived. Now, it shall be further explored by the judiciary as to what actually happened. I do not know what transpired that somebody was already declared winner and that election was rescinded or cancelled for another person to win. I can only say that I do hope that she had gone to court to see whether this whole drama, so to speak, can be put to rest in one way or the other. We were wishing, we had hoped, we were jubilating that she had won and had broken the jinx considering somebody like me that had repeatedly, determined and wanted to govern my state, Abia and I was never given the opportunity. So, I was happy that somebody has broken that jinx, that curse of now allowing a woman to emerge in our country as an elected governor of a state. But nevertheless, we will keep the hope alive.
Do you really have fears for Nigeria today, looking at some developments?
I can tell you that I have no fears. We have survived all these years of stories we used to hear and see on television and read in newspapers. Stories like issues of kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, the issue of Boko Haram etc, we have survived them all till now and I hope that the new administration will definitely begin to turn things around for good and hit the road running immediately it assumes office. It is not a feat that will happen within one year like a magic wand, but with collective efforts, with commitments, dedication to duty all the issues will be tackled and every Nigerian will be happy. You see, I keep wondering why this issue of Boko Haram has become such a recurring decimal, why now it has become a permanent feature in the nation’s budgeting process, putting huge money to combat Boko Haram, kidnapping and banditry activities among others, I do hope that the incoming leadership of Senator Asiwaju Bola Tinubu will also discover, perhaps, different or more ways to tackle these issues. To that effect, we need from the new administration, new hands, new faces, new zeal; a new desire to do it better will turn things around to the joy of all. So, I am not afraid because I know that when all these things are done, a better nation, more united will emerge. I am optimistic that things will get better. The incoming government is fully aware of the challenges ahead, and I am sure they are poised to tackle them.
Despite the countdown to the swearing-in ceremony of the President-elect, Asiwaju Tinubu, the opposition parties like the PDP and LP are still very optimistic that the election tribunal will upturn the victory and kick-out the president-elect. How would you react to this?
In every contest, there will always be a loser or losers, but there will be only one winner. Losers and only one winner. PDP is claiming victory, LP is also claiming victory, I wonder how this their victory will be shared. I have no doubt, I am not afraid, I know, as the Director for Southeast for Parliamentarians for Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council, I was also the Coordinator for Women for Abia State for Tinubu/Shettima and I know the huge work we did and the impact on our people. We sold the party to them; the manifestoes etc and they welcomed and accepted the party. Today APC has two states in the Southeast, more senators, more House of Representatives, more House of Assembly members etc. It is sad that in the Southeast, what they were accusing the APC in other areas was exactly what they were doing. There was so much intimidation, somebody like me, if you look at my Facebook, they were like if they could harm me, the supporters of the PDP and LP, but LP, in particular, they would have done that to me, simply because I belong to the APC and I have those positions and I was very visible in my state for the Tinubu/Shettima project. But to cut the long story short, I am very sure that the judicial system will do justice to the cases. The judiciary will see, they have seen that it was indeed the APC that won the presidential election, so there won’t be any upset. Politicians should learn to be tolerant. You can’t wish the country to go into turmoil just because you lost an election. So many people have contested the election and they lost and they didn’t say let the country go into flames or continue to make provocative statements, just to see if the country will go into turmoil. I believe that this country is greater than any one person or any party. I do pray that the people will be tolerant and allow the judiciary to do the job without undue interference. People should stop putting flames in the polity; it will do us no good. God is in-charge of the affairs of Nigeria and it will not serve any benefit to any Nigerian to want the country to go into flames even if there was minor technical error. Democracy is self-correcting and there is no doubt that we are improving in our elections. No election is perfect anywhere in the world, all we need do is to continue to work on it and over time, the system will get better and better in terms of transparency, fairness and in conduct.
