‘People are becoming more aware of their rights politically’
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Mr. Joshua Chinedu Obika, a native of Abomimi Village of Enugu-Ukwu, Njikoka L.G.A in Anambra State, was the Councillor representing Gwarimpa Ward in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) from 1999 to 2003. In this interview with Weekly Trust, he spoke on diverse issues in the FCT and elsewhere. Excerpts:
As a former Councillor, what can you say about FCT of those days and now?Change is constant in everything be it physical, spiritual, political and business. We are seeing various changes, both physical and political in FCT. Some are good, while others are bad. But all the same, democracy is thriving in FCT. Things are not as bad as they seem; rather they are getting better.
Do you think AMAC has fared better compared to what it was when you were in the Council?
Like I earlier said, the beauty of democracy is that thing will continue to evolve until we get it right. When there is a democratic system of government in place, it makes people who are responsible for governance stand up and do what is right. The leaders, knowing fully well that if they don’t do well when they are in elective position, time will come when they will still go back to the people to solicit for their support, which they would not get. Based on that, I think things are improving.
What are your expectations of the dividend of democracy in AMAC and what do you think the leadership of the Council can do to attain some of them?
One of the challenges the indigenes are facing is in the area of capacity building. The chairman should focus on how to give scholarship to empower these people and also to train them in various ways to have entrepreneurial skills and to back them up financially to be able to give their lives a meaning. These are the things he should focus on now because when you develop one mind, you have succeeded in touching the lives of many people and that is important. Also in choosing his team, he should look at the direction of technocrats and not only politicians to strengthens his policies and add more value to governance and project implementation.
How do you see the politics in the FCT where political parties have Area Councils that are their traditional turfs and they have not been able to capture other places? Why is it like that since the advent of this democratic dispensation in 1999?
I will not say that things are like that and some areas are impenetrable by either PDP or other parties. But the truth is that if you field a candidate of people choice, the party will always win elections.
With Bamanga Tukur as the new national Chairman of your party, what do you think the future holds for PDP?
Bamanga Tukur is one of the founders of PDP. He was there from the beginning. He knows where things went wrong and how to correct them. He has the ability to reposition the party towards the winning ways. He is capable to stir the ship of the party based on his experience as a politician and businessman.
What advice do you have for the youth?
My advice to them is that they should be creative. They should look around and they will see where they fit into the system. For the graduates, if their families can afford to pay as much as N50,000 as their tuition fees when they were in school, then what stopped them from looking around for such money to start a small business such as fish farming, animal husbandry like raising of rabbits, poultry even mushroom farming. They should not despise little beginning since the so-called white collar job is not forthcoming and available. Instead of them roaming the street and wasting their time submitting application and Curriculum Vitae (CVs) all over the places, they should try something no matter how small until a breakthrough is achieved.
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‘People are becoming more aware of their rights politically’
Category: Inside politics Written by - Hits: 2050
Mr. Joshua Chinedu Obika, a native of Abomimi Village of Enugu-Ukwu, Njikoka L.G.A in Anambra State, was the Councillor representing Gwarimpa Ward in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) from 1999 to 2003. In this interview with Weekly Trust, he spoke on diverse issues in the FCT and elsewhere. Excerpts:
As a former Councillor, what can you say about FCT of those days and now?Change is constant in everything be it physical, spiritual, political and business. We are seeing various changes, both physical and political in FCT. Some are good, while others are bad. But all the same, democracy is thriving in FCT. Things are not as bad as they seem; rather they are getting better.
Do you think AMAC has fared better compared to what it was when you were in the Council?
Like I earlier said, the beauty of democracy is that thing will continue to evolve until we get it right. When there is a democratic system of government in place, it makes people who are responsible for governance stand up and do what is right. The leaders, knowing fully well that if they don’t do well when they are in elective position, time will come when they will still go back to the people to solicit for their support, which they would not get. Based on that, I think things are improving.
What are your expectations of the dividend of democracy in AMAC and what do you think the leadership of the Council can do to attain some of them?
One of the challenges the indigenes are facing is in the area of capacity building. The chairman should focus on how to give scholarship to empower these people and also to train them in various ways to have entrepreneurial skills and to back them up financially to be able to give their lives a meaning. These are the things he should focus on now because when you develop one mind, you have succeeded in touching the lives of many people and that is important. Also in choosing his team, he should look at the direction of technocrats and not only politicians to strengthens his policies and add more value to governance and project implementation.
How do you see the politics in the FCT where political parties have Area Councils that are their traditional turfs and they have not been able to capture other places? Why is it like that since the advent of this democratic dispensation in 1999?
I will not say that things are like that and some areas are impenetrable by either PDP or other parties. But the truth is that if you field a candidate of people choice, the party will always win elections.
With Bamanga Tukur as the new national Chairman of your party, what do you think the future holds for PDP?
Bamanga Tukur is one of the founders of PDP. He was there from the beginning. He knows where things went wrong and how to correct them. He has the ability to reposition the party towards the winning ways. He is capable to stir the ship of the party based on his experience as a politician and businessman.
What advice do you have for the youth?
My advice to them is that they should be creative. They should look around and they will see where they fit into the system. For the graduates, if their families can afford to pay as much as N50,000 as their tuition fees when they were in school, then what stopped them from looking around for such money to start a small business such as fish farming, animal husbandry like raising of rabbits, poultry even mushroom farming. They should not despise little beginning since the so-called white collar job is not forthcoming and available. Instead of them roaming the street and wasting their time submitting application and Curriculum Vitae (CVs) all over the places, they should try something no matter how small until a breakthrough is achieved.