Audu Ogbeh Speaks Out

He is an encyclopedia of some sort. The history of Nigeria revolves around his finger tips as he bats no eyelid in telling it. He is a politician of note and to most people, a revered one with some modicum of integrity. In 1979, he ran for legislative seat in the Benue State House of Assembly on the Platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), and was consequently, elected the Deputy Speaker of the House. In 1982 he was appointed Federal Minister of Communications, and later became Minister of Steel Development. His tenure ended in December 1983 when a military coup brought Major-General Muhammadu Buhari to power. In 2001, he became the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but left the scene under a controversial circumstance. Today, he is one of the founders of the newly registeredAll Progressive Congress (APC). Looking back through the years, Chief Audu Innocent Ogbeh in this no-holds-barred and time-consuming exclusive interview in his Abuja residence tells Saturday Vanguard that the PDP he once chaired is a party of Killers amongst other turbulent national issues. The following are the excepts of the interview Nigeria will be 100 years by January 2014 having been amalgamated in 1914. And it’s been 53 years of the country’s post-independence existence. How has the country fared? Audu Ogbeh We started off well. It was a land of hope, a land of opportunity, a land of sunlight and faith, land of very proud people. Nigerians are hardworking and very committed. And it went on. It had its own challenges until the unfortunate tragedy of 1966. And then all that hope; true federalism which we had then, all that regional competition for excellence simply came to a halt under the unitary system of government which the military brought along. And then the culture of violence came into this country. Gun was a solution to political problems and we are here now. We haven’t recovered yet because the hands of the military have not left the scene yet. A British Journalist told me this once: He said you Nigerians made a mistake. You allowed the Army to hang around too long. He reminded me that in 1945, Winston Churchill, the hero of the Second World War contested election with his own deputy, Clement Atley. They refused to vote for Winston Churchill and voted for Clement Atley. Then I asked him why. Were you not being ungrateful? He said no, they did want any professional soldier hanging around too long in government. And he said but you are paying for it in your country. Are you saying that 15 years down the line, democracy hasn’t set the pace to correct the anomalies apparently perpetrated by the military? A strong and violent culture does not dissipate very quickly. It gets engrained in the blood system of people. The choice of candidatures by the opposition is always predetermined by strong men and individuals who believe that they own the estate. If you argue with them, you pay very severely. And the most difficult person to set free is a happy slave. So, most Nigerians would rather not risk challenging arrogant authority. They will just blend. And Nigerians have the courage to say, sorry, this is wrong. And a few who have tried have paid dearly, some with their lives. And we haven’t had time to mourn them even. So, people have learnt the lesson of acquiscence, grumbling in their bathrooms. I call Nigerians bathroom vocalists and bedroom heroes who would rather complain to their wives and children but outside there, they are busy flattering, cringing and crawling before arrogant authority. That’s what we are. But talking about the military, many Nigerians will be quick to point out the legacies of the military than the civilian rule, why is it so? In terms of infrastructure, roads and bridges, yes, they built a lot; I mean Gowon did a whole lot. Obasanjo, Murtala did quite a bit but you realized that the destruction of Civil Service, unfortunately happened under the Murtala regime; those arbitrary retirements. They were permanent Secretaries in Lagos who went to their early graves. I know one of them before he died. He couldn’t afford a gateman in his house in Lagos. If a visitor came, he had to come out of his house to open the gate. He had no money. But he was presumed corrupt. Those retirements with immediate effect changed the Civil Service into the near monster it is now. Politicians are called corrupt. Check the Civil Service. Only God knows what goes on there. So, in terms of physical achievements, yes. Democracies are not particularly famous for physical infrastructures. In fact, when people call something the dividends of democracy, it is a funny misnomer. Roads and bridges and water systems are no dividends of democracy