•Abacha didn’t loot; he saved Nigeria’s money abroad in national interest
Chief Johnny Ucheaga has expressed optimism that President Tinubu will revamp Nigeria’s economy with time, noting that the president is the first businessman to be President of the country. Ucheaga, a former National Administrative Secretary of the defunct National Centre Party of Nigeria (NCPN) commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its conduct of the November 11 off-cycle governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states.
He disagreed that money being recovered from different countries is Abacha loot, explaining that the money was saved in individual bank accounts abroad by the Abacha regime to save Nigeria’s foreign reserves from being tampered with by some foreign powers.
He spoke with DICKSON OKAFOR
Are you satisfied with the conduct and outcome of the November 11 off-cycle governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states?
Yes, because the better side won and those who are more entrenched won. In Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma was re-elected because he had a very good chance and within four years he has transformed the state to a modern city. And that is why he was returned. In Kogi State, as it stands, and until the court decides, the candidate of the ruling APC Usman Ododo was elected because the incumbent Governor Yaya Bello worked hard and convinced the electorate to vote for him. Also, in Bayelsa State, the incumbent Governor, Douye Diri was returned because he performed excellently well in his first term. So, the people returned him to continue the good work he is doing for another four years.
On the conduct of the November 11 off-cycle governorship election, it was not only INEC that did the job. All stakeholders contributed to the success in the conduct of election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states. They all did their jobs that guaranteed free and fair election. How many years have we been in democracy? The present political dispensation is just 23 years. In the first administration during independence, there was no politics, it was true nationalism. The politicians of that period were called nationalists; they were not politicians. When they were given independence to play politics, but within five years, they couldn’t play this dirty politics we see today and the military struck and took over power that lasted till 1979. Then power was returned to the civilians and by 1983 they lost power. Those ones were interregnums and we called them politicians as at that time, but they couldn’t do anything. And then power was returned to them again in 1990, they started staggered politics until 1999. The thing that has happened this year, if it were that period, we would have had a coup. So, politics is beginning to get mature in the country. So, INEC did a good job during the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states.
But there were allegations of rigging and manipulation of results in these states?
I know the terrains and those elected very well. I’m not just talking, I have been in all the territories and I know the individuals and I know who is backing who, their strength and weaknesses. If the electoral empire caught people for electoral offences they should be prosecuted. The former Minister of State for Petroleum, Timpre Sylva, who was there as governor of Bayelsa State lost a lot of time in trying to scale through court cases to be included as APC candidate hence that would have stopped him from being on the ballot. With my experience I know that there are people who make people governor. When you talk about making people governor, not those people you see, but people who make decisions. And when they make decisions they execute their decisions. So, whatever happened to him might have affected his chances of winning an election. And the person Sylva was contesting against is the incumbent governor who is in charge of the state and all the local government areas and all the electoral wards.
You predicted that the last Presidential election would be a three-horse race. What do you think of courts deciding electoral contests?
I’m happy you recall I told you it was a three-horse race. Some people would have wished some other persons among the three horses won, but wishes are not horses. One of them, Bola Ahmed Tinubu won as a leading candidate in the number of votes received at the election by INEC. There will be no judgment that will be given by any court that some people will not be disappointed. The game has been won and lost, but Nigeria will continue as one indivisible entity. However, in three years’ time, we will start another election and another strong candidate will win. It is not a threat to Nigeria’s democracy because that is the last bus stop for election litigation. I’m an associate of the three presidential candidates in the last election. If our President is good enough to be a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and thereafter he was good enough to be the governor of Lagos State which is Nigeria’s supposed viable state, and the Presidential candidate of the ruling party APC after a hard fought primary, and the leading candidate in terms of vote cast in the election. And he was good enough to form the coalition that brought former President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015 and 2019. Like I said earlier, we are not looking for Christ Ambassador to the Vatican, but we are looking for President of Nigeria. Nigeria is a very difficult country to govern hence of all the allegations they brought against Tinubu, the one I have not heard is that he is not a Nigerian or an adult. So, any other allegation is neither here nor there. Meanwhile, in the next three years Nigerians will have another opportunity to choose another President whether the devil they know or the angel they don’t know, time will tell.
Since this administration was sworn in, Nigerians have been going through economic hardship. Do you see any relief in sight?
We are on the way out of economic problem with the removal of fuel subsidy. Before now if they tell you that fuel subsidy would be removed, you would have thought it was impossible. But Nigerians are beginning to adjust to the present economic realities. For instance, you left your house to my office to interview me and I also came from my house to the office. So, we will soon overcome the present economic challenge. Meanwhile, what Nigerians don’t want is a situation where you tell them to sit-at-home without going out to look for their daily bread. Anything other than sit- at- home is welcomed. If you go to the filling stations they are selling fuel and people are queuing up to buy. If you were buying a full tank and you don’t have enough money this time you buy half tank. We all need to cut cost in order to meet the need of our families. But I assure you that Nigerians will overcome it and gradually the economy will stabilize. No amount of distribution of palliatives and cash by federal government to vulnerable Nigerians will cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
With the present economic hardship, was it okay for federal lawmakers to procure luxury SUVs for themselves?
One thing that is good about democracy is that you know how government is spending your money. In some other clines where there is no democracy the citizens would not know how government is spending their money. Those legislators in the National Assembly were elected by their constituents hence they come from constituencies. Mind you that some of them sold their houses and other viable property to contest elections and some are sponsored by their political godfathers whom they are now accountable to. Let me give an example with what happened in my village. It was about a man who stole a fowl and hid it inside his bag and children saw him and pursued him and the man ran to an old man’s house and he asked the old man to look into his bag if he saw a fowl. And the old man looked into the bag, he saw the fowl, but he told the children to go that there was no fowl there in the bag. So, I’m using the eye of an old man to know what those billions approved by government for SUVs for the lawmakers may not be actually to buy the car. The purpose of the money I know it and many Nigerians also know. To you, the election is over, but for these federal lawmakers, it’s not over for them. And they will not work for the country and represent their constituents properly if they have no peace. It is a pity that such huge amount is spent at this period when Nigerians are finding it hard to eat a square meal a day.
The Abacha loot is being returned every time, but some have said Nigerians are not feeling the effect of the returned loot.
First and foremost, let me correct the impression about Abacha loot. There is nothing like loot because the money being returned now is cash paid into the accounts of some prominent Nigerians by the Abacha regime to escape the effect of sanctions. I’m not saying that former Head of State, late Gen. Sani Abacha is innocent; he was not an angel. There was a time Nigeria was sanctioned because of the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa. And the only option in such circumstance was to preserve our foreign reserve. That was what brought about the problem. Saro Wiwa was a very good friend of Gen. Abacha. Do you understand? So, when his activism began during the period of Niger Delta agitation he was a very good friend of my friend Kenny Martins. We were touring the country making peace under an organisation called National Unity Organisation of Nigeria. We brought together prominent individuals in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. In January 14, 1994 we went to Avutu in Obowo LGA of Imo State to talk to the whole leaders in the Old Eastern Region. I put together a meeting on behalf of my leaders during the Gen Sani Abacha regime. This was the background. The Minister of Finance then, Anthony Ani who was our good friend told them that now that Nigeria has been sanctioned it may lead to seizing of country’s assets and if they get our foreign reserve and seize it Nigeria will boil. I’m not holding brief for them, those who did it should talk for themselves. But I can tell you the little I know because I don’t know everything. So, based on this they then decided among those they trusted to save some money around the world with personal names. Unfortunately, Abacha’s son Mohammed died in a plane crash and later himself, Gen. Abacha died. So, coordination to return those monies was then very difficult. But when the new administration came, the then Minister of Finance spoke to the government and said this is what has happened and showed them the papers. Those people holding our money are the thieves, not Abacha. Those people who are bringing in the money in instalments tare he thieves because they know about these monies. The foreign agents took this money and gave conditions under which they would give them money back. So, those who looted our money are those who we are talking about. They give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. There were things Abacha did well. Under Gen Abacha our economy didn’t fall, our exchange rate remained between N80 to N84 to a dollar and it didn’t go beyond it. There was no fuel scarcity. I’m not holding brief for him or his family. There may be some public funds that are in their personal accounts. Some of the individuals who returned that money we call Abacha loot became governors because if they were seen to have stolen money they wouldn’t have become governors. Some of them became ministers.
Do you see this government reviving any of the nation’s refineries before the end of December as promised by President Tinibu?
Two of the refineries have started working in Edo State and there is one that is in operation either in Imo or Rivers States as modular refineries. If we have over 100 modular refineries we will not bother about those bigger refineries not working. Because these refineries will start to work soon as there are a lot of pressure around this. The current government has shown capacity and it knows those who don’t want these refineries to function. So, these are the advantages you have when a businessman is your President. Tinubu is a businessman and that is why many have hope in him that he will revamp Nigeria’s economy with time.