Barrister Sergius Oseasoghie Ogun is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for the House of Representatives for Esan North and South Federal Constituency of Edo State. In this interview, he gives an insight into his life as a businessman, politician, Christian and why he wants to represent his people in the House. Excerpts:

By Chioma Gabriel

Not much has been heard about you before this time, what have you been doing?

I run an oil and gas company which is a service company in the oil and gas industry. Our core business is running pipe in a drilling rig. It’s like when you are digging a borehole and as you dig deeper, you begin to put rings around it so that the well will not collapse.

That is what I do in the oil industry. As you are drilling and going deeper, we will be called in to case it using pipes so that the well will not collapse. I have been doing that for the past 25 years.

You are said to be into philanthropy, what informed this?

Some years back, my mother said we should start coming back home and know our roots and that was when we came back and rebuilt this house and sank a borehole.

Sinking of a borehole

My mother said we should bring out pipes outside the fence so that people in the community could fetch water from it and when I did that, the people in the community celebrated it like a carnival and that was what touched me. It was never planned.

They showed me so much love and I said okay, the thing that can easily tie me down is to have a farm. I asked for a piece of land and they gave me a massive land to go and farm and I planted rice.

The manager of the farm was not able to harvest all the proceeds and the people on their own, youths, men, women and children mobilized to do the harvest. I did not give them a dime and I marvelled at the love they showed me?

The point I am trying to make here is that I never sat down one day and said I wanted to be a philanthropist. It’s just that there is always a need somewhere and you have to come and meet that need. That was how it all started.

What informed your choice of political party to launch your ambition?

Sergius Oseasoghie Ogun

A round 2005 when I came home, the only party then was PDP and the people who I know here, like the leader of the party here, who is my elder cousin is a PDP chieftain.

So I had to associate with them, even though some of them left the party for some reasons, but I did not see any reason to leave because I was not vying for any elective position then. I couldn’t say the party hasn’t done enough for me. I did not rely on the political party to feed myself, my family or fuel my car. I didn’t need anything from them to make me jump ship.

If elected, what major changes will you bring to the people?

The Agbazilo constituency is where I come from and they are the ones I pray to represent. First, I will generate employment and provide for the people the basic things of life which I think is not rocket science to do. People are dying needlessly. It is unnecessary and those things can easily be checked.

I want to collaborate with our brothers in diaspora, donor agencies, to try and see how we can equip the clinics here, provide doctors’ quarters in the 21 wards, and these things are no big deal.

Secondly, we have land all over the constituency; we do mechanized farming to produce enough food that can crash the prices of food in the market and then, the excess food we produce will be processed. Now, how do you process? You set up factories and these factories will provide jobs for the young ones. Now, you are producing food and you are also employing.

The other one will be education. My plan is to get science graduates from this constituency and pay them higher than government is paying the teachers.

I will use private resources to pay these teachers and they will in turn help the government teachers to teach our younger ones.

If you do this for two to three years, you will see a dramatic change in those leaving secondary schools and that will be a solid foundation as they go the universities and make good grades and become relevant in the society.

What are your chances against a formidable opponent like the APC candidate, Comrade Irabor?

I don’t consider him formidable. He was a unionist and I have worked for 25 years and have a business experience.

Business experience

When people say you are not a politician, I don’t know what they mean. That somebody has not gone to read political science or what?

I am talking like a business man because I have been a businessman all my life and there is not much difference between politics and business.

You have to let them know what you intend to do, you have to let them check your records, your antecedents. When these things are in place, they will accept you. The politics I don’t believe in is sharing money and blackmailing people, which I will not and cannot do. I am a born again Christian and I want to keep my faith.

Lastly, what will be your advice to your supporters as the elections approach?

I will tell them to be focused, check my records, look at what I have done even when I was not in government and that I can do more if elected. They should also vote wisely.