Honourable Zakari Alfa is the former Commissioner for Finance in Kogi state. In this interview with Chamba Simeh, the renowned financial expert and a PDP stalwart spoke on the chances of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former vice-president, in the 2023 presidential election, Kogi 2024 politics, among sundry issues.
What is your view on the next governorahip election in Kogi state come 2024?
Thank you for having me. It is my pleasure to be in the midst of very important members of the fourth estate of the realm. No nation would ever survive without a vibrant press. The role of the press in nation-building cannot be overemphasised. You have my respect. Let me come to your question quickly. Our state, Kogi, as presently constituted, has the sympthoms of a failed state. A state where the welfare of its people has been relegated to the background, a state of promise with the qualities of making the dreams of its people come true, now surviving only by the mercy of God, I would say has failed. Therefore, the next guber election in the state will be a referendum to ascertain between the PDP administration of the past and the present APC change government cum the new direction administration that has taken the state backward. With the best candidate and when our party allows democracy works, I think the election is has already been won and lost.
Why are you in politics?
Answer: I am in politics basically to champion the cause of my people who have been deprived of not only the dividend of democracy but even freedom. Our people have been deprived and denied the basic needs of life and development. I am therefore in politics not for myself but to fight the symmetric and assymetric warfare of the Kogi people. I am an apostle of the new type of politics dispensation and believe that a leader is a dealer in hope. I also believe that politics should be a vehicle for the dispensation of hope. There is never a paved expressway to a people’s truly beneficial freedom, according to my father, because when freedom is offered on a platter of gold as it is done in Kogi state, the value of the platter far often overshadows the platter. Kogi people, hope is coming, trust me.
What is the missing link in the administration of a state like Kogi?
A state like Kogi must have the leadership resource that is capable of transforming the state with ideas, ideas that our people will buy in and in unison with the leadership work together to implement. Japan has no crude oil or gold but they are today one of the most developed countries in the world. This is because they believe in a common development doctrine its leadership sells to them and it is very simple for its people to buy in. The good thinking, good product philosophy of the Japanese has made the country one of the most industrialised in the world. This is the basic missing link in the development of Kogi state.
The Ankpa group visited you recently and urged you to revive the Ankpa Agenda for 2024. What is your take on the visit?
I decried the sense of entitlement amongst other zones in the state as regards the 2024 governorship election in the state. I do not expect the Ankpa people this time around to continue to play the wingmen while others jostle for the Luggard House. I expect 2024 to herald the election of a governor of Ankpa extraction in the state. This is simply because for over 16 years now, aspirants from Ankpa zone have shown a great sense of maturity and understanding with other zones in Kogi state and we expect other zones to reciprocate our kind gesture by automatically allowing our zone to produce the next governor of the state. It is a gesture which is expected to be a recipe for peace, development and brotherliness in the state.
On a personal basis, why are you in support of this clamour for power shift to your zone in 2024?
Very simple. Personally, I dropped my ambition to enable my former boss, Captain Idris Wada, to attempt a second term in office. It was a mark of respect for him and the zone he hails from. But this time around the race would be different as I will not ignore the interest and yearnings of my people to please anybody. I think for the sake of natural justice and peace that this time around that the Ankpa man must be given a sense of belonging for the simple fact that even though it is the largest and most populated zone in the state, it has made sacrifices for the development of the state. We should be allowed to savour it.
What are your motivation and postulations of believing that this time around it should be your turn?
The fact remains that the Ebira people have tested power, even the Okun people have been on that seat. Remember Clarence Obafemi was govermor in acting capacity not long ago. How can Ankpa, when cnmpared to other zones, one of the largest local government areas in the whole of Nigeria, not to have produced a governor in the state despite the amazing individual accomplishments and compencies of our people?
Are you now ready to champion this cause by coming out to contest the next governorahip election in the state?
Yes. I am saying that I will by the grace of God contest the next guber election on the platform of the largest party in Nigeria, the PDP, come 2023. My people have asked me to lead them and the call to lead my people is one that no true son of Ankpa can turn down.
What are your plans for the state and what would you do differently when you become the governor to turn things around?
My plans for Kogi state is simply from ab initio to make education the industry of the future by building the state to depend on a knowledge economy. I will build a knowledge economy because it is a sector that is eternal and never depreciates. I will harness the world class potential of our youth, because youth-inclusion in governance is not just about holding major political positions but also having the freedom to utilise their vast skills and get the experience, connections and funding neccessary for greater political participation. People like us are here to ensure that the platform that would adequately prepare the youth for leadership is not taken for granted. It is not only about being a young governor but can you do it well? It is therefore our duty to make sure that the system encourages you to grow wings and fly.
What are the qualities you possess that will make you a good governor?
I will not like to be like the proverbial lizard who praises himself at every turn by nodding his heads in self adulation.The rareness of any Nigerian to have worked so long as some us have done without a single blemish and corruption case in our name is one of my greatest leadership credentials that you can easily take to the bank. I think I am the kind of governor that the state deserves to turn things around. Clean record, astute financial knowledge, grassroots political base. I am a politician who knows the people and their pains.
The PDP, touted as the largest political party in the country, will be again contest for the presidency in 2023. Who do you think is the best candidate capable of leading it to victory?
ATIKU,.ATIKU,.ATIKU; a man who has spent almost all his life in the political arena is a blessing to the PDP. He has the competence, the experience and the political charisma to lead the party to victory in 2023. We should count on his staying power to defeat the APC.government which has failed the people.
But many are of the view that Atiku had contested many presidential elections in the country and lost?
This reasoning is wrong. Abraham Lincoln contested elections 14 times and failed before he became the president of the United States of America. President Muhammadu Buhari contested series of presidential elections and failed and only won after he decided to quit politics; history is replete with examples. Alhaji Abubakar Atiku is the best candidate on offer in the PDP today and should be supported to lead our party to victory come 2023.
Why do you think Atiku is the best candidate to lead PDPto victory in 2023?
Atiku has consistently been seen as the real face of the PDP. This is a man that has all through his life clamoured and advocated the betterment of the masses. Beyond clamouring and advocating a better life for the masses, he has through personal examples contributed greatly to the economy of Nigeria. He is one of the largest employers of labour in the whole country through many of his investments scattered across the length and breadth of Nigeria. This man, Atiku, is an entrepreneur par excellence with experiece in many fields of life.
Why Atiku of the many of gladiators seeking the same ticket?
Our people know a good leader when they see one. Nigerians are asking Atiku to still consider contesting for the presidency in 2023 because the present government has failed them. What has becomed of poverty in the country? What happened to unemployment? What is the state of the socio-economic inequalities among our people? We need to look at the state of our people who have invested their lives on the present leadership of the country that have failed them at all levels, considering that all the three indices of development have declined. We need Atiku to transform and lead our party to victory.
