Dr. Dakuku Adol  Peterside was the Rivers State governorship candidate of the All  Progressives Congress (APC) in the  April 11 2015 election. 

In this interview with Temidayo Akinsuyi, he speaks on on the state of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari’s foreign trips, Budget controversy and the security situation in Rivers state. Excerpts:

Looking at the state of the nation today, can you really say Nigerians are getting the desired change they voted for?

Nigerians are getting the desired change though the pace may not be what we would have desired. Change is a process. Moving from a particular way of doing things to another is not a one off event, a new culture you can say .  We had a culture of impunity and corruption till recently but that is gradually giving way. We need to work with and support the government to achieve the country of our dream .

The economy is at a critical juncture due to past activities of those we trusted with authority but there is also a global dimension to it .  The security situation deserves more than a passing interest . My take is that Nigerians should work together to pull our country out of this ditch and quickly too . The country has great potential and great people. All we need is leadership that inspires.

Nigerians have hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s war against corruption but many are worried that this fight is taking much of his time while other critical sectors are suffering. What is your take on that?

It is true that the president has devoted quite a bit of his time to the fight against corruption . It is explainable that it is one of the most challenging scourge plaguing our country today .

Again corruption has a direct inverse relationship with development. If you want to place development on a fast lane you must deal with a major potential obstacle. That potential major obstacle is corruption . I am also aware that the president and his ministers are tackling the other facets of development but we may not appreciate the efforts until results begin to yield. We all appreciate result and not work .

Some critics have also condemned the foreign trips of Mr. President as too frequent. What is your take on this?

If you don’t know the purpose of a thing, you are most likely to abuse it . The President and his team have an objective they want to achieve and if it will take interconnectedness in this global village to achieve it so be it. What Nigerians should demand at all times is full disclosure of purpose of visit and results accomplished.

I agree that there must be a delicate balance between dealing with economy and realizing our objectives as a people within a global community.

As a former lawmaker in National Assembly,are you not worried about the handling of the 2016 Budget by the lawmakers?

I am truly worried that from information at my disposal some civil servants bungled the budget making process . Budget is a very important tool in national  development planning and reengineering so, it deserves detail attention . I am however confident that the National Assembly will rise to the occasion and do the needful .

The blame is not to be at the doorstep of the lawmakers . I am among those who believe that bipartisan cooperation is needed at this time as well as cooperation among different arms of government to move our country forward .

What is your take on the implementation of the UNEP report on the cleanup of Ogoniland?.

So far,  I am impressed by the steps taken so far . We have played too much politics with something that deals with the existence of a people . Cleaning Ogoni land and Niger Delta is an international commitment that should be treated as a national emergency . It deals with the very root of our humanity .

Evaluating what has been done so far, I am convinced the president is taking the right steps. All I pray for is for us to get the right results  .

Coming to Rivers state, you have accepted the Supreme Court judgement that awarded victory to Governor Nyesom Wike, but some Nigerians have said the judgement was given to Wike not because you lost but to avert further bloodshed if a rerun was ordered. Do you share this view too?

What you have just said is not reflected in the reasons given for the judgement . What seems to be a consensus among Nigerians  is that the Supreme Court judgement did not address the issue of violence and rigging in elections . The judgement inadvertently endorsed political violence as a means to achieving victory .

It has further emboldened election riggers. We now have more bloodshed in the build up to the National Assembly rerun than we had during the last elections . The indication so far is that if something urgent is not done to stem the orgy of violence, then the violence we experienced during the governorship election will be a joke .

Rivers state no doubt is in serious security crisis, Are you impressed with the manner Governor Wike has been handling security issues in the state?

Governor Wike has no clue on how to tackle the insecurity in Rivers state . This is why the killings and general insecurity is growing geometrically by the day.  His dormancy and cluelessness has fueled the speculation all over the state that he is the promoter and sponsor of the political genocide going on in Rivers state.

The governor has not taken any step known to me or Rivers citizens to stop the carnage . Rather, he was on radio the other day saying afterall, no prominent politician has been assassinated .   I believe all leaders will give account to God for our secret and open actions .

Do you think the current security crisis has anything to do with the forthcoming election rerun in the state?

It definitely has to do with the forthcoming elections . You may have noticed a pattern since the year 2014/2015, which is as we approach elections killing and insecurity heightens .

It’s been made worse by the constant threat of Wike that his supporters and thugs should take the laws into their hands and resist arrest. He practically advised his followers at Etche to burn people alive and the next day Ofinjite Amachree, an APC stalwart was burnt alive in Buguma. You can see the nexus .

The Ogoni are protesting the military invasion of their community by soldiers. Are you also in support of this?

Let’s always tell the truth . The military went to Yeghe to arrest Solomon Ndigbara, aka Osama bin Ladin of Ogoni  and his boys opened fire on the military . Perhaps you expect the military to fold their arms and allow militants overrun them? The military responded to the attack and in the process, a few casualties occurred.

The military got a cache of arms enough to declare war on a territory from Solomon’s armoury  and yet a few persons think it is okay for an individual to stockpile such arms .  Those arms stockpiled by the militants, who were they planning to use it on?

You once lamented that the security agents do not respond on time whenever innocent people, especially  are attacked in Rivers state . What do you think is responsible for this?

The security agents are doing their best but Rivers state security situation has been an extraordinary case which requires national attention . What is currently going on in Rivers is worse than what is going on in  Borno state .All hands must be on deck to sincerely and effectively tackle this national security challenge taking place on the soil of our beloved Rivers State .

Dailyndependent……

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