Otti: Improved Productivity, Revenue‘ll Drive Nigeria’s Economic Growth

For a long time, Alex Otti’s name was synonymous with banking. He did so well as a banker that he rose to the position of the Managing Director of the defunct Diamond Bank Plc. But to the chagrin of his fans, he resigned from his plumb job as the MD of the bank to venture into politics. His resignation had been greeted with mixed feelings. In particular, the fears in some quarters were that the Abia State-born gentleman is too polished for the murky waters of Nigerian politics. But he seemed to have thought it out, and was resolved to contest for governor of Abia State. Even though he contested for the governorship seat of Abia State on two occasions and lost in controversial circumstances, he is undaunted. He fielded questions on sundry issues bothering the country with Davidson Iriekpen. Excerpts:

What was your reaction to CBN’s order to banks and other financial institutions to close customer accounts used in trading cryptocurrencies, bitcoin and other related transactions?

If you understand that the major job of CBN is managing the economy from a monetary policy perspective, supervising and regulating financial institutions and maintaining financial stability, you will understand why the CBN issued that directive. Of course this is not the first time the CBN is raising concern about cryptocurrency. It did so in 2017 and followed up in 2018. My understanding is that CBN is concerned that the digital currency regime is not under its control as all currencies should be and it is unable to regulate its use. Besides, there are reports that investors in cryptocurrency are putting pressure on the foreign currency markets in the country and therefore pushing rates up.

CBN is also concerned at the speculative nature of the cryptocurrency market and the probability of losses to Nigerian investors, which it has no model to predict. I believe this directive is not where it ends. CBN would go to the next step of understanding and coming out with policies that would bring this currency trading under its supervision and regulation since it is clear that it has come to stay. You may have read that Tesla is now collecting bitcoin for car sales. Some other big companies will follow suit in due course. I have heard commentaries of cryptocurrencies being susceptible to fraud, terrorist financing, money laundering and other illicit trade. While this may not be untrue, it is also true that fiat currencies have the same challenges. Would we ban the Naira and the dollar because some people use them for illicit transactions? Of course we won’t.

The COVID-19 pandemic has no doubt dealt a huge blow to the nation’s economy. Are you impressed or convinced with government’s efforts to stimulate economic recovery especially after a recession? If not what’s your advice?

A country is said to be in recession when it witnesses two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. In a previous intervention in April, I had predicted that with the pandemic, we would go into a recession by the end of the third quarter of last year and that is exactly what happened. We have a big problem with the options available to us as nation to exit recession. Conventional economic wisdom recommends that the best way to exit a recession is to spend one’s way out of it. However, our challenges are complicated by unsustainable debt profile and dwindling revenue base.

So the question becomes, where would you find the money to spend? When you borrow further, you sink deeper into a debt trap, when you print money, you face the backlash of inflationary pressures. So, this is a catch 22 situation. While the 2021 budget makes provision for deficit financing of about N5 trillion, we are at the moment struggling with a debt profile of about N36 trillion. Should we find someone to lend to us, how do we pay back? Our debt service to revenue ratio is approaching 60 per cent. The summary of everything I have said is that while government continues with its programme of taming the recession, it should look at ways to improve productivity, improve revenue and cut cost of running government.

With the number of prominent Igbos hit by the COVID-19, are you satisfied with the response of governors in South-east in tackling the pandemic?

I am not sure Covid-19 cares about ethic profiling as there is no evidence that its only prominent Igbos that are hit. This is a virus and once you come in contact with it, you are infected. If you are lucky, you recover. But of course it is not just luck. If you have underlying conditions, you stand a bigger risk than those who don’t have. The problem is that a lot of people do not recognise that the virus is dangerous. So you see people not observing the protocol as directed by NCDC and others operating as if nothing has changed. There is a lot that can be done to contain this virus and it is everyone’s job and not that of any government official alone.

Any regrets in leaving banking for politics? Would you say you’re fulfilled in your field of endeavor and given another opportunity in life, what would you have done differently?

This is an interesting question which a lot of people would like to ask but somehow, no one has. The answer is no! I have no regrets for leaving banking at the time I did. I spent a quarter of a century in the financial services industry and it was a time well spent. It is true that my tenor as CEO had just been renewed for another three years a few months before I left, but it was also the best time to leave, when the ovation was loudest. I had set a target for myself and my team of where we wanted the bank to be in six years. We met the targets in four years and it was time to go. Coming into politics has exposed me to things that I would never have known. To those who say they don’t do politics, I refer them to a famous quote by the German Poet, Bertolt Brecht thus:

“The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he doesn’t hear, doesn’t speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn’t know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn’t know that, from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and multinational companies.”
Need I say more?

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been announced as the new head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). How can Nigeria, Africa benefit from her leadership?

I had done an article in my column where I had predicted what happened with the WTO position. I am glad that she has been announced as we were waiting for it. I’m sure that she will encourage Nigeria and Africa to begin to play significantly in global trade. At the moment, we are very inconsequential in Word trade. This is not unrelated to our level of productivity in the continent. To participate actively in a trade organisation, you must have what to sell. And it is what you make that you sell. Yes, we are largely responsible for natural resources and primary products, but these are not significant in world trade. This is why the US and China are major players in the WTO. Africa will need to put more on the table to be taken seriously in such an international organisation.
What is it about the Igbos and chieftaincy titles and how does that impact on citizens?

Again, it is also not only Igbos that take Chieftaincy titles. Having said that, I see Chieftaincy titles as a form of recognition. I also know that some people who are not deserving, pay for such titles but I believe they are in the minority. Beyond that, I do not make much out of it. I personally have a few, but I have refused to be addressed as “Chief”.

You were the 2015 and 2019 gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) but now you are in the APC. Is this move for political survival?

I spoke extensively of the reason I was leaving my former party. In 2019, the party became a Ponzi scheme used to fleece members who wanted to contest election on its platform. Leadership of the party which should have protected party members turned out to be the architects, masterminds and beneficiaries of the scheme. When some of us spoke out, leadership, instead of addressing the issue, decided on a witch-hunt. For instance, an insurrection was planted in the Abia wing of the party. A national convention was planned and I and few others were not invited. They kept us out because they knew they couldn’t have returned themselves if we were there.

Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the party were called and some of us who were members were not invited. These are just a tip of the iceberg. When people are treated that way, staying back would be ridiculing themselves. Meanwhile, this is a party that had no office when I joined in 2014. We hurriedly paid for a secretariat in the state capital and offices in all the local governments in the state. We went on to win 11 out of the 24 member state house of assembly and a house of representative seats. Before our time, the party had not won a local government councillorship seat not to talk of houses of assembly and representatives seats. It was very clear to me that the party had fallen into the hands of buccaneers who were on a mission to send it to oblivion. We had no option than to leave.

What are you plans for 2023?

This is 2021 which is still a brand new year. I can have plans up to end of 2021 which represents long term in Nigeria. You know that quite unlike elsewhere, a few months is long term here as things change quite rapidly. As for 2023, I have no plans yet. May be when we speak again in 2022, we can discuss plans for 2023. One thing that has remained constant with me is that I will continue to condemn and fight bad governance while campaigning for good governance at every level, whether I am contesting elections or not.

What are your thoughts on Igbo presidency and how can this become a reality?

If you have followed my politics, you would realise that I do not believe in primordial sentiments. I believe that tribe and religion are basically smokescreens used by politicians to drive personal interests. Having said that, I also know that arrangements about power shift have remained the fulcrum of our politics in Nigeria. That is not to say that our salvation is going to come from that. Given that arrangement that have had power move from North to South and power having been in the North for two terms, it will naturally move to the South. Since South West and South South had been in power, it should naturally shift to the South East. That is the extent to which I believe in Igbo Presidency.

The issue of insecurity- insurgency, armed robbery, kidnapping, have taken a frightening turn, are you satisfied with steps taken by government so far and what will you advise they do differently?

A lot of us had spoken about rejigging the security architecture of the country. I’m happy that the government has started by changing service chiefs. I expect that the new security chiefs understand that the country is in an emergency. I expect them to completely rethink the security system. Having said that, I also believe that we need to get into the root cause of the very high level of insurgency in the country. While I admit that criminality cannot be completely eliminated, I am of the view that the level of poverty is responsible for the upsurge in insecurity. A situation where close to 90 million people representing 43 per cent of our population are living below poverty line of less than $1.90 per day, makes the country a veritable candidate for insecurity of the highest order. Of course we know that poor education has a direct relationship with poverty, and this also ensures that insurgency is sustained. So, we must do all we can to address poverty, unemployment, poor education, deprivation, poor governance and corruption as a lasting solution to insecurity.

A group in the north has threatened to mobilise Nigerians from other parts of the country against the APC in the 2023 general elections if the issue of insecurity continues. Is that not a vote of no confidence on your party?

The beauty of democracy is that people are free to express their opinion. I am sure the group you are referring to was expressing its option and they are entitled to it. Another group may also come out and take the opposite position which will be well within its right. Like I said earlier, 2023 is still a whopping two years from now and no one knows what would happen then.

What’s your thoughts on the call by Ebonyi governor for your party to check social media critics?

I am unaware that he said that, however, I know that there have been divided opinion on the regulation of social media. I personally think that you cannot legislate on what people should publish, but I believe that people should be responsible for the information they publish in the media, be them social or traditional. You will be surprised that there are enough laws in our jurisprudence to deal with false publication. The problem is that many of us either do not know our rights or do not care to protect our rights. If someone publishes false information about you, the law allows you to prosecute that person and bring him to book.

APC has started its nation wide membership drive, what’s your take on that, are you canvassing for membership for your party?

Yes, the revalidation and registration of members is on right now. So far, it has been a huge success in different parts of the country. We are encouraging our supporters, particularly those that moved with me to come out and register. I’m happy to report that they are responding. We are also engaging with other people who were either not members of any political party before now or members of other political parties to join our party.

How do you balance business schedule, politics, family demands and your religious obligations?

Everything is about planning. Once you have the discipline to plan and keep to your plans, things begin to look like clockwork. I try to put some thoughts to planning and it has always worked for me. I also believe that bigger and larger is not necessarily better. So for me, it is about the quality of time I devote to activities which produce results than the amount of time. I can tell you that this has always worked for me even in the bank.