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What is on the lips of Nigerians, especially Imolites is that the state has fallen on hard times, prostrated, crushed and manacled to wanton bloodletting. So, as the state prepares to elect a new governor in November, all eyes rivet to Senator Athan Nneji Achonu, the Labour Party, LP, candidate, for rescue.
That is exactly the mission Achonu, a businessman, philanthropist and politician, who describes himself as an ideas distillery, told Adedayo Adejobi of Thisday newspapers in a recent interview. Excerpts:
I am a Nigerian, an ideas distillery, who is very passionate about development, integrity, young entrepreneurs, and nation-building. Some say I‘m a successful businessman. I simply say I thrive on ideas that create solutions. I work hard for my money. I like the good things in life. All the money I have made all my life are a result of struggle, sweat, and dint of hard work.
At the time fraudsters were pumping counterfeit notes into Nigerian banks and taking good notes out, I fought the racket by selling counterfeit money-detecting machines. My first million was made selling counterfeit-detection machines, and the late Chimezie Ekeazor played a very big role in it. He brought in some damaged pieces of equipment, which his first son and I repaired, sold, and made some good money off. The first military governor of Rivers State and His Royal Majesty, Alfred Diete-Spiff, also helped me by asking Pan-African bank to buy from me. That business got me on a good footing in life, and since then, my life has been real activism in business.
Over the years, I have championed local government autonomy, and, so, last year, when President Buhari assured Nigerians that money meant for the local government system would be going to them directly, I was happy because that is the only way you can secure the country and have an efficient local government system.
Because I am building health centres all over the country, I then joined the APC so that they would give me the support to complete the health centres. Not too long, there was a clamour for me to run for Senate since I was in the APC and the Senatorial seat was vacant. At first, I was disqualified, but I did not challenge it. How can you disqualify a Senator who hasn’t committed any crime before and since he left the Senate? It was funny, but we all ran again and I won with a landslide and they declared someone else the winner. I didn’t challenge it, because, by then, I had become tired of the system. I immediately resigned from the APC and partisan politics to focus on my family and business.
I own a farm in Kuje with 50 greenhouses, a cattle stockade, artificial flowing river with the capacity to produce 150,000 catfishes monthly and export to the international market.
I also have another farm in Imo State. The farm has 260 greenhouses, a hatchery, a feed mill, cattle stockade that can accommodate 5,000 cattle, and we can produce over 1 million catfish monthly.
Years down the line, Peter Obi and Datti happened. Obi is my kind of leader and someone I would like to associate myself with politically. I started and got back into politics. That was how I joined the LP.
Everything is not right in Imo. Bloodshed in Imo since Hope Uzodinma assumed power is unprecedented. The only infrastructural development taking place in Imo today is the responsibility of the Federal Government. Instead of building state roads, the governor has abandoned all state roads, and he is busy doing federal roads because he will get refunded. If he is really close to the president as he claims, he should be able to attract the Ministry of Works to do those roads while he concentrates on the state’s road networks.
For over 20 years, I have been championing ‘Aku ruo ulo’, meaning the Igbo should go home to invest in, and develop their place. We are the ones developing Kano, Abuja, Lagos and Nigeria for Nigerians, to the detriment of our homeland. Since the war ended, there has been a deliberate policy to choke the South-east. If you come to the South-east, there is a Customs checkpoint every kilometre. We are being treated as a conquered territory and our governors are not doing anything about it. So, that has been stifling trade and development.
Imo State needs a government that is development-oriented and that’s what I have done over the years. I had a licence to operate a refinery. I bought 47 hectares of land from Ohaji Egbema. We were looking for about 100-200 hectares so that when we build the refinery we can have an industrial park beside it, such that the same power firing the refinery can power the industrial park. With lots of gas deposits in that area, we can have 24-hour electricity. The idea went into the cooler because Rochas (Okorocha) was attacking me so my partners pulled out.
When I go to convince people to invest in the South-east, they ask me what of the ‘Aku ruo ulo’ I took to the South-east 20 years ago, and ask where I am with it. Truly, how can I ask them to come and invest when I have not realised my investment? So, they said, if I am serious with this ‘Aku ruo ulo’ mantra, I should go and contest governorship because they know I am development-oriented. They trust and can vouch for my integrity; so that when I become governor, they know there is an enabling environment to bring their money, and their investments are safe.
When I heard that Uzodinma gave me money, I wanted to laugh my head off. Even though the man whose voice was in that tape had denied it, he is now saying they used artificial intelligence to clone his voice. Ohakim was very angry and the boy refuted it. It’s a shame people can go to that extent. Is it Hope who couldn’t pay me N100 million in damages, is now ready to give me a credit of $1m? In fact, he should offer me up to $10 million, so I can add it to what I have to throw him out of Douglas House.
Everything I think about is how to add value, more progress and stop waste. And that is what I will bring to bear in Imo, that is why they are clamouring for me to take over. I can’t judge myself, but those who know me personally, know I have integrity.
The Imo people are the ones deciding who will govern them. And the brazen rigging in the last elections will not be allowed any longer. Everybody believed in the BVAs because it worked in the legislative elections, so they felt it would work in the House of Assembly elections. Nobody knew that the governors would do what they did in all the states. But all of them are going to lose all the seats because it was so brazen.
Whatever they talk about in the judiciary, no judge can give such judgement in their favour.
My expectation is that Hope Uzodinma should start making arrangements on how to wind up his administration, vacate Douglas House, and go home to his village. He should prepare to hand over so that the Imo people will take back their government, so that sanity and peace will reign.
I look at where governments are making mistakes, I bring ideas on how to correct them and then I make money. That is how I make my money. I have a track record of having created jobs across major sectors of the economy. I will open up the rural areas and turn them into cities, by setting up factories and housing, schools, and hospitals for workers. This will engender reverse migration. We will build power plants that will support all the industries and factories.
It’s either Nigeria restructures or we go our separate ways. And it’s leading up to that. Any incoming government that does not unite this country immediately, will run into a lot of trouble. I have hope for this country if we restructure.
Restructuring is the only way forward to having a stable country. I believe we should have a government that is competent and has integrity. That is why I supported Peter Obi and Datti Baba Ahmed.
