The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming polls in Anambra State, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo has explained what predicated his call to serve the State.
The 51-year-old business executive in a virtual interview session with Njenje Media TV: “Anambra Decides 2021, Meet The Candidate Series; 1-on-1 Conversation With Valentine Ozigbo” highlighted the core issues his administration will focus on.
The former President and Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria plc (Transcorp) believe the APGA led administration led by Governor Obiano has fallen short of the required standards needed for governance and believes with him coming on board, Anambra State would be placed on the right track.
He believes there is nothing to be proud of in Anambra state as there are lots more to be desired.
In his words:
‘There’s absolutely nothing working right you know. For me, I feel that Anambra should actually be in an exemplary state.
“I’ve often wondered if anything is wrong with us a black people?
Why is it that we haven’t been able to take steps and build our future in a manner that will give us that sense of pride? Why is it that there is actually no perfect example of how we’ve contributed so much collectively as a people?”
He lamented that despite the giant strides of indigenes of the State individually, there is nothing to show for that collection.
“We are usually individual champions in what we do we go to classes we beat every other person but collectively, there’s nothing to really be so proud of, I mean there are a few things but not enough, there’s a not a lot more to be desired and for me, if you really do deep introspection you’ll come to a few conclusions that indeed nothing is wrong with us, If it’s really about people intellects, resources, in all these we have them but what is lacking for me is the ability to entrench leadership. Proper leadership is the ability to entrench competency and the right culture, a culture of continuous improvement and I feel when this is embedded”.
If you have the right leadership but in fact you know emphasizes competency within the right culture, a lot can happen, and your question is about what is not working.
Other transcripts of the interview
“I am here not just to talk about the basics that we need to fix but also what we need to start doing to catch up with the rest of the world and what are those basics we need to fix first?
I have gone round in the period of our campaign, I visited the whole 21 local governments and when I do visit, I usually will ask a simple question: What do you want from the next governor?
“I didn’t want to just sit in my comfort and decide for a number of people what I wanted, let’s figure out exactly what they wanted and in this, you will find out that what we actually need in our Ommbawa may be different from what we need in Onitsha. What the elders need may be different from what the younger ones think. What an area needs may be different from what the other area needs and in some cases, there are things we may need commonly but one a number of things that resonates very strongly are that three things in particular:
Number one, we need security, and today it’s not working
Number two, we need good roads today we don’t have them
Number three we, need power, today we don’t have them and then these are basics.
“Now if you want to go even further we’ve got to ensure that Anambra becomes top in education and we need to build the right infrastructure and make Anambra more competitive as a people known for business.
“We know that a number of people are known for business, there’s no other tribe, there’s no other state you can compare with Anambra when it comes to peace and therefore we’ve got to prioritize this and they can go beyond that.
“Why are we even not the technology hub in Africa? Why are we not an entertainment hub in Africa? Why we’re not a sporting hub in Africa? There are several things that we can do that are not working; there’s actually nothing to be proud of in Anambra today.
We used to boast of being from Anambra, like Thank God you’re from Anambra, but then are you boasting about anything today?
Is there anything maybe that’s why when I came from the UK and saw what we’re suffering here?
I must tell you there’s nothing to be proud of; I mean this is not just to give a number of people the identity,
“I actually want us to be totally proud, I want what I ask you what’s your name and you start by saying I’m from Anambra, that’s how proud I want everybody to get because that’s the only time we can give meaning to our diasporas who are walking on the streets of Manhattan and the rest of it because today anyway we find ourselves, we’re still treated as guilty until proven innocent, the only thing that can change that story is when we fix our State.
Let us once more be proud of our home.
“A couple of things that are not working in an Anambra state, but let me tell you when we went around the states, there were three things that we observed needed fixing:
“One is security power and road, and then I asked, let me stay in the middle because security has its own segment in this conversation but if I stay with power, how do you intend to intervene in power where you clearly know that power is within the exclusive hand of the Federal Government and I thank God you know for me I have been fortunate to have been an active participant and player in the power industry.
What we can do within our circle of influence, there are things that we actually may not be within a second but we can make the changes”.
“You’ll want a governor that is not going to be giving you excuse but pulling the strings to make sure the right things are done and that is why you need someone with the right knowledge, pulling the strings to make sure things are done, with the right contacts and connections to orchestrate things. You can see that advocacy is part of governance.”
