By Daniel Idonor

Chief Ede Dafinone is the eldest son of Senator David Dafinone, patriarch of the Guinness World Book of Records largest chartered accounting family in the world. Ede wants to step into the political shoes of his father by seeking to represent Delta Central Senatorial District which his father represented in the second republic.
Although he admits his father’s shoes are indeed big for him to fit, he will rather rely more on the electorate than his father’s antecedents; because he believes he can win the election on his own merit.
In this interview, Dafinone (Jnr) says he lost out in 2006 because he was naïve to believe there would be ‘’genuine’‘ primaries.
Excerpts:

Why the Senate for you?
I didn’t suddenly emerge as a senatorial aspirant. I contested for the Senate four years ago but lost in the primaries. However, when I lost in the primaries, I told my supporters, ‘’although we are not successful, please don’t leave the PDP’‘. I told them that if we all remained steadfast, at least, our group would be able to negotiate a way through to be part of the government. It didn’t quite happen like that. I now told my supporters that I came to bring development back home and I didn’t necessarily have to be in government to be able to touch the peoples lives. We then started a foundation which has been running for four years now. It is a women empowerment initiative. We give micro-credit loans to women on a turn-by-turn basis.

Ede Dafinone

The micro-credit ranges between N30,000 and N100,000 depending on the business you want to do. The women manage the foundation themselves. My responsibility is just to give them motivation and of course to provide the finance. We also set up a small training school where women who do not have any skill or basic education are given some basic training to be able to benefit from the micro-credit scheme. Such women are trained in such skills as tailoring, hair dressing and after graduation we give them loan to set up their own businesses. When we started the foundation, I told the women that it is not a political movement. Any resident of Sapele is eligible to benefit.

I was a founding member of the PDP in 1998. At that time, my father was instrumental to bringing PDP to Delta State. I campaigned for the party’s candidates at all levels although I did not stand for any position then. Rolling forward to 2006/2007 when I contested for the Delta Central senatorial primaries, I made a decision at the early stage that I wanted to belong to the faction that stood for change and positive development of Delta State.

And the group within PDP was and still is a formidable group within the party. We felt we could change the system but we were unable to do so. We lost out at the primaries. But we are back again. I am back because I don’t like to be a loser; I like to achieve what I set out to do. Four years ago, I must confess, I was a little naïve. We had a good plan and we should have won. But I don’t want to go into those details. But, this time around, I am four years older and four years wiser and I believe we can get to where we are going.

Have the tendencies that contributed to your defeat at the primaries in 2006/2007 been eliminated?
Naively, in 2006, I believed there would be primaries. But there were no primaries in Delta State. I participated in all the sham primaries, but I was very surprised that those who should be automatic delegates were not in the primaries. Even for the presidential convention in 2006, their names were not on the list. So, it was an error of judgment I made to think that the structure would follow the procedure as laid down. And I will not make the mistake this time around.

You are seeking the senatorial seat held by your father in the second republic. Do you think his performance was so significant to convince the electorate to support you in your bid?
Yes. Senator Dafinone was a senators’ senator in the second republic. At the state level, the representation he made for the people of Delta Central is a record that is yet to be matched. As an elder statesman, he has a name and reputation within the country, within the state that gives credibility to my aspiration. In that sense, people of Delta Central are ready without meeting me, without discussing with me, to give me the benefit of the doubt. But, to me, and to many people, that is not enough. During my consultations, I said to people: “you have come to say you would support me because I am the son of Senator Dafinone, but good men dey born bad pikin too! So, it is not enough that you are giving that pass mark that my father is a good man and that he performed well does not automatically mean that his son would also perform well”.

I have the capability, the experience to deliver also and to even surpass what my father did during the second republic. I have to thank all of them for that pass mark but to also let them know that the dream of every father is for his son to achieve greater things than he did. And the senator is fully in support of my aspiration and believes that I can achieve at least up to what he achieved if not more.

Some observers have said the people of Delta Central in the last 12 years have never felt the impact of their representatives in the Senate. Have you taken this into cognizance? What do you think has been the missing link and how do you intend to bridge that gap if you eventually win the election?

We all know that the dynamics of politics in Delta State and indeed in the country as a whole is such that you have to have a godfather pushing your case. Who is your godfather that makes you wax so confident of picking your party’s ticket?
From my background that I have already highlighted, you will understand that I am a grassroots politician. I believe that it is not until the voice of the people is heard and their votes count would we have a proper democracy in the country. The election of representatives by the people is still something that might happen in the near future in this country. And I believe that Professor Atahiru Jega’s INEC will conduct a credible election that will make people’s votes count. My godfathers are the good people of Delta Central. I have consulted with the leaders and elders of Delta Central and I believe the are firmly behind me. And I stake my aspirations on that. I believe that the change that is needed in Delta Central, Delta State and Nigeria as a whole cannot come about by mere selection of candidates but by properly conducted party primaries and credible general elections. Anything short of this will mean that the right candidates will never surface and we will continue on a downward slide.