Akpata: We’ll Ignite a Revolution in Agricultural Sector

Olumide Osaigbovo Akpata is the immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association and the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State. In this interview with Wale Igbintade, he speaks on his chances, plans for the state and other issues. Excerpts:

You are a successful lawyer; why are you leaving your comfort zone to join the gubernatorial race?

You know there is a Benin parable. If I translate it into English roughly, it means that if there is only one wealthy person in the family, we are all poor. So, for me, my motivation is simply to ensure that more people are pulled out of wants, and neglect. I joined the Labour Party because if you look at our logo, you will see Papa, Mama, and Pikin (child). People should be at the centre of governance; people should be at the centre of policies. But in Nigeria, I see that people have been removed from the equation.

You know, it is in our enlightened self-interest to take a keen interest in what is going on. We just witnessed the protest days ago. We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Just one matchstick and it will blow. So, the sooner we improve the situation and improve the welfare of our people the better. As we speak, Garri is N90,000 per bag. When we say it, it almost seems like a joke, but it’s not funny. I live in Nigeria, and I don’t want to live anywhere else. I want to live in my country. If we don’t take part in how our affairs are being directed, we will not have a country.

That’s why I’m here. I have been a lawyer for 31 years. I have been President of the Nigerian Bar Association. So, it’s time to leave that comfort zone if we want to still have a country. I still intend to be around, God sparing our lives, and you want to have a country where you can be comfortable in. I don’t want to run away; I don’t want to go to Japa. That’s why I am in politics.

You have been in the private sector over the years. Now, you’ve delved into politics. What exactly are you bringing to the table; what are you going to do differently?

I will put people at the heart of governance. How do you know a government that is running properly? You check its programmes and policies and see which ones are going to impact the greatest number of people. So, what do I want to do differently? How do you allocate your resources? Edo State today earns close to N17 billion a month. What are you doing with your resources to improve the lives of your people? The government is set up to provide a better life for the people – protection of life and property, security, and good life.

I also use the example of the Edo State government, which pulled down a hospital to build a museum. That cannot be right.  We still have a deficit in healthcare infrastructure. So, I will build more hospitals than build a museum. So, that’s what I will do differently because you have to understand that it is not your money; you are just a caretaker. It is what they call OPM, (Other People’s Money). So, the allocation of these resources must be a function of what will benefit a greater number of people. So, we will do what the people need transparently and we will be accountable.

Governance is not rocket science. When people say Olu, you’ve never been in government before, I tell them it’s the management of men and resources. I have run a law firm of 120 people. I have run the Nigerian Bar Association of 128 branches all over the country. I ran that association’s programmes and policies and I left N1.5 billion in the accounts of the NBA when I walked away. It’s management of men and resources but our politicians make it look as if it’s witchcraft. But it’s not if you’re intent on providing good governance for the people.

How will you make agriculture attractive for the people of Edo State?

I thank you for that question because we just keep paying lip service; we just keep repeating the same things. Agriculture has the potential to transform our economy. But we are spoiled. We are looking for instant gratification. Agriculture has a long lead time. You know, from planting to harvesting. Unlike oil, you know, scratch the ground small, you see oil, and you run away with it.

But the effect that agriculture has on any economy cannot be overstated. So, I give you my guarantee. We will not be paying lip service to agriculture, because we want to ignite a revolution in that sector. I’m old enough to remember Operation Feed the Nation, and I am old enough to remember the Green Revolution. It’s just that we did not sustain those programmes. See what Professor Soludo launched the other day in Awka. You know, he is thinking. Farm to feed, that is what he launched the other day in Awka.

We will ignite a revolution in the agricultural sector. Now, how will we do this? Number one, the government must be the off-taker. You subsidise farming implements. You subsidize fertiliser, or give it out for free. You subsidize pesticides so that the farmers can go to the farm. But after you do that, you must be the off-taker. You have enough money to buy the produce from them and sell it to the people at a subsidized rate. You establish what we used to have in those days – the produce boards. You have storage facilities. So, you create farm settlements, at least one in every Local Government.

That’s what we’re going to do, as much as we can. But we’ll start with the pilot project. So, these farm settlements will have storage facilities. From pineapple to pineapple juice; from tomatoes to tomato puree; there and then. So, it’s either you are storing to sell, or you are moving to the processing plant. Meanwhile, Mr. Farmer has collected his money and gone back to the farm.

The cycle does not stop. Garri is N90,000 a bag because there is a shortage; farmers are not going to the farm. We will secure them. We’ll bring security because of these herdsmen’s business. The other day, in Ondo State, three or four herdsmen were finally sentenced to death. There must be accountability; there must be sanctions.

So, we will secure them. Forest rangers will come back because these are government businesses. Can you go and attack Warri Refinery? No, because the government is protecting it. For us, in Edo State, the farms will be a state asset, which we will protect. So, the farmers will feel free to go in.  The one that the state runs, the one that the farmers run. And then, of course, the storage facility will not be government-run alone. It will be with PPP, the agro-allied processing zone.

 PPP, you understand the government will earn income from it, but the government will not run it, because I am not a fan of the government running business alone.

So, once you see that you have ignited the agricultural sector, what does that do? Number one, the economy of the farmer has improved.

How would you address rising rural-urban migration?

So, first and foremost, rural-urban migration is because there are no viable economies in those areas. So, the agriculture that we just spoke about will fire up the economy in those areas. Number two, infrastructure fires up the economy. The government is supposed to deal with urban development. So, you are supposed to be providing facilities area by area. Roads come first; drainages come first; power comes first. So, at the end of the day, you are spreading out. So, you find out that people will discover that they are comfortable enough to live there.

Abudu has had no lights today for 10 years, and it’s a Local Government Headquarters. Urhonigbe has had no light for 10 years now. Why would people not run away from there? But if Abudu had lights today, and if the roads were good, some people would commute. They will go to Benin and come back that day. So, you have to build infrastructure, but you also have to build a viable economy.  Like Orhionwon Local Government Area in Edo State, they are sitting on the largest inland gas deposits in Nigeria. Why are there no companies or power plants? The best fuel for power is gas. Why are they not there? By the time you put power plants in Orhionwon Local Government, will people not stay there? They will stay there. What are they coming to do in Benin?

Thus, rural-urban migration will stem from agriculture and industrialisation, pushing more industries there. Therefore, I think we must increasingly create viable economies around the state, and it must be a deliberate approach. So, that’s our plan.

 What measures will you put in place to bridge the economic gap of women and children at the State level?

I am the only son. I grew up with women.  First of all, I believe in gender equality. But the problem with people like me who grew up with women is that I am so used to women. I don’t know when they are suffering discrimination. So, when I became President of the NBA, I had to put in place, a sexual harassment policy, because I didn’t realise what women lawyers have been suffering right in the course of their work. Because I’m gender blind, I don’t even know, because I grew up with the notion that what a man can do a woman can do, period.  But it’s not exactly like that. So, I have now become sensitive to the plight of women. Therefore, there must be affirmative action to balance the situation.

For me, my government is a matter of policy. We are going to have representation in the cabinet; nothing less than 40 to 50 per cent. I am not even going to hold myself to the 35 per cent that we hear of in the federal. So, for women, for example, opportunity must be given to them, and we must take that extra step because of the playing field that is not level. Women are disadvantaged, and so, I am an advocate for ensuring that we level the playing field; and give them more opportunities.

And for children, let’s call them the youth, first and foremost. You know, we talked about education today. The best thing you can give your child is a good education. So, we must ensure that we build that platform right from primary school. As you see, I have never been schooled outside Nigeria. So every child must have that opportunity.

Education is important. Healthcare is important. When I harp on healthcare, it is the women and the children that I’m thinking of. And then going back to the women, apart from affirmative action, when you build a woman, you build a nation. So, for our women, those who are traders, and market women, there must be access to credit.

Abia State just brought out N1 billion to give to the market women and traders, interest-free. He puts it on the table, interest-free. You can be sure that we will follow that example and improve on it.   All those women in the market must have access to credit. Do you know how many families depend on what they do? So, I’m going to take a very, very, keen interest in what the women are doing.

On the children, we have to look at our value system. Our value system has been torn into shreds. What are the children learning? So, the government must work closely with churches, schools, traditional institutions, and families. Because it’s that community that raises a child so that we can put our value system back. Children today go anywhere they see money, and that’s the value they have. They don’t care. We must change that, because, if not, they as leaders of tomorrow, how will they function? So, the value system is also very important.

How do you intend to leverage technology to place Edo State on the path of sustainable growth and development?

On technology, I promised that I wasn’t going to build another university in Edo State. I wanted to deal with the one that we already have. But I’m going to make an exception. We’re building the University of Technology, and we are going to put it in Akoko-Edo. It would be named the University of Information and Communication Technology, and we are putting it in Akoko-Edo because we have to build a whole new generation of people who speak that language.

Some of our children have not seen a computer. Meanwhile, they are in computer science departments. So, for technology, it is almost like the oxygen we breathe. Now, I have to work hard to ensure that it becomes part of our culture. Technology has become a culture worldwide. So we must do that.

How confident are you to win the election going by the continuous attacks from opposing parties?

On the attacks, what does not kill you makes you stronger. “No be so dey talk? Na tree wen get fruits na dem dey stone o”. So, I have been on this matter for one year. They thought I would go, but I am not going anywhere. Honestly, when you talk of candidates in the Edo State election today, what name comes to your mind first? So, I have positioned myself ready for any of the challenges that are there. I am not worried; the attacks have helped me. They have even propelled my candidacy further, and we are still standing; no shaking.

Over the years, we have witnessed cases where thugs stormed polling units and made away with the electoral materials. How do you ensure that this does not happen in the forthcoming election?

First and foremost, to rig an election in a place where you are not popular is hard; very hard. Rigging has become almost extinct. Now, it’s violence; rigging itself is very difficult. So, if you go to the Edo people now, we are not quite there yet, but we are almost there where we have the people’s movement that propelled the Labour Party in 2023.  We have almost built to that crescendo where the people are daring to hope again.

So, the first thing is to put the people behind you, and the people are behind us. The next thing now is to engage the system to be sure that we have enough security in place. I’m happy because PDP is at the state level. APC is at the centre. So, at the end of the day, there’s a crossing out. So, APC does not want PDP to cause mayhem in the state. They will show up. The government machinery will be in place. PDP, too will not let APC come from Abuja and come and shortchange them. So, at the end of the day, I suspect that the ground will be levelled; everybody will stand down. So, if that happens, you let the people’s will prevail.

Some observers say one of the major hurdles facing your candidacy is that you’re from the same senatorial district as the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki. How will you react to this?

Now, on the issue of zoning, yes, the current governor is a Benin man like me. You don’t transplant zoning from one party to another. PDP is where that governor belongs, and he’s a Benin man. I am from the Labour Party. We held our primaries. We decided to open it up to the best man, because, you know, our reality is different. “We just dey come”.

So, we said we are not going to circumscribe ourselves to any zone. Let the best man win. There were many Esan men in that contest; many Etsako, but I emerged as the candidate. And the Labour Party now says, ‘Since he is our candidate, and by the grace of God, he wins,’ then we can set the clock and start our zoning. You can’t work in Leventist and collect a salary from a UTC.

Now, every party does their zoning. How does that affect me? With the generality of the people, I have looked around, there are some sympathies for Edo Central, but politics is a game of numbers. It’s not just about sympathy. You must have the numbers to back that move. Oshiomhole, when he was interviewed recently said that he did not run as governor on zoning. He ran as an Etsako man. He went to convince the Benin people that he was the better candidate. 

So, if the two candidates of the PDP and APC, who are from the same central can convince the Edo South, who have about 57 per cent of the voting population, that they are better, congratulations to them. But I fail to see how that will work. I am the Benin man in the race. I am from the Labour Party. Political calculation, it will be very difficult, all things being equal for any of them to beat me.

But let me speak to that issue of tribe. Development does not know tribes. This is my message to the people. Forget about tribes. They are all looking for their people to be in government because that is the way our politicians run politics. I fix my side. I repair my side. But even then, Edo Central had three federal ministers of works, but go and drive around Uromi today, they are crying. The Benin – Auchi road by Ekpoma has failed. Forget it. If I entered the government house, you would think it’s an Esan man in the Government House. It will be an egalitarian spread of distribution of development. But our people don’t trust but by the grace of God, when we go in there, they will start to trust again. I don’t blame them. “Na watin their eyes don see”.

Do you have confidence in INEC to conduct a free and fair election?

You know, my real challenge with INEC is not that I fear that they will deliberately join anybody to rig an election. That is not my real fear. I think every system has bad eggs, but my uncle used to run INEC. Ephraim Akpata was chairman of INEC in 1999. So, my problem with INEC is not that they will even rig; it is capacity or the lack of it. That is my problem with INEC. So, this is an off-cycle election in Edo, just one state. So, my fears are less, because the real problem with INEC is that INEC is all at once, a logistics company, a security and printing company, a procurement company, a security company all at once trying to run elections in 774 local government areas in a day. In riverine areas, INEC will outsource boats to waterside operators. They will leave their fate in the hands of waterside operators. But I am less worried because this is one off-cycle election.

I think as a country, we must come back and reappraise INEC. Are we not asking for too much? Is it not chewing more than he can swallow? Or biting more than it can chew, as the expression goes. Can INEC really on a day of elections all over the country be able to meet its obligations? I have my doubts. So I don’t have all the answers, but I’m sure we must think about how we can disaggregate some of the functions that it plays right now. Can we not give to other bodies? Because Nigeria’s presidential election is one of the largest logistics undertaken in Africa, So, I said to myself, it is a booby-trap, an accident waiting to happen. How is a country like this, in the terrain that we have? Materials have to be moved from point A to point B. Look at the last registration exercise in Edo State. 

So, I’m concerned about INEC, and we must. What I find is that because of the politicians, I think they like that situation, that opaque, or that unpredictable situation. Otherwise, we should have been able to fix it by now. Many of us have suggested an alliance between INEC and the banks. I don’t know. I’m just thinking aloud, but for this Edo election, I am more comfortable. All attention will be on Edo. So, I’m okay.