Chief Obadiah Ando, Minister of Water Resources, a down-to-earth and contained man, in this interview, was prudent and frank with words. He relayed  all that transpired in Taraba State during the April polls  and why he cannot be robed in the toga of anti-party activities as conjured by some people.  He believes Nigerians are yet to see the real humane President Goodluck Jonathan.  He made us understand that his loyalty to Mr. President is too strong for him to even think of any form of betrayal.  As a Christian, he holds fast and strong to the tenets of his religion.
When Sunday Vanguard met him in his office, well-rounded Ando made light of some issues just as he was brutally frank on others. Specifically on the warning President Jonathan gave to members of the Executive Council of the Federation, EXCOF, on the April elections, Ando said, “Mr. President was not kidding. He meant every word he said when he said we should not rig or do anything illegal to assist him win. He meant it and he was very frank”.
Excerpts:

Can you give us an overview of the performance of PDP in Taraba State during the recent elections?

I’d say based on the circumstances, we tried.

What is this hullabaloo about anti-party issues and your alleged involvement?
I don’t know where you got your information from.

It is absolute rubbish.

I know what l spent on  the party during the elections and l am ready to give you names of party officials in government that you can ask, because l wouldn’t want to talk  much on the triviality of anti-party.

I know what we did to win the election for Mr. President, the governor and the party.

So, how come this issue of anti-party is coming up?

I’m sure some mischief-makers may be referring to my late uncle’s son who was in PDP and he wanted to be a senator. He went into the elections but didn’t get the nomination. When he didn’t get the nomination, he switched to ACN and got the nomination. Naturally, under normal circumstances, he was supposed to inform me but knowing what my response would be, he kept mute about it until he got his nomination in the other party.

They are doing their thing in the village and l am here in Abuja hence l could not know what was going on over there. Not until he got his nomination in ACN that he sent me a text saying ‘Uncle, you know I didn’t get the nomination in PDP, so l switched to ACN, based on the advice of my colleagues. I got the ticket’.

What did you do?

For goodness sake, what do you tell such an individual whether he is your uncle’s son or not who was a graduate many years ago? He is above 40 and an architect.

What will you tell him if he was you biological son?

I had nothing to say to him so l didn’t bother to reply his text.

It was when they started their campaign that l saw him and asked him why he did what he did.
Find out from the PDP chairman in my state and my governor whether I’m involved in anti-party activities; go to my local government chairman and ask there.

*Obadiah Ando

Ask all the PDP leaders if l ever indulge in anti-party activities. The campaign manager of my governor in the state is a lawyer who finished in 1972. Go and ask him. Ask Prof Sa’ad Abubakar, the campaign coordinator of President Jonathan in my state. If you are in  public office, you can expect anything.

I  was surprised you requested to ask me about my own side of the story. It was a pleasant surprise to me.  The question to ask is: Have l failed in my job as a  minister?

Go and ask all the people whose names I’ve mentioned and also go to my village to find out. Go to the secretary to the state government in Taraba and ask him how much l gave to PDP in my state. Ask the CAN president and ask how much l gave them.

Your public service career appears impressive?
I have been  privileged.

I was secretary to state government in 1988 during the military  regime. I was the last secretary to government in Gongola State and the first in Taraba State.  Definitely, you will come across some people who disagree with you along the line – that I don’t care about because it is part of life. Have I failed in my job as a minister? What will it benefit them now that they are dissolving the cabinet next week. Mr President, my boss has confidence in me;  if not, he would have sacked me. He doesn’t tolerate nonsense as l am one of the key ministers.

What are those things you can say you have done in this ministry?

That will be very glorifying to start to talk about but ask my staff, they will tell you. I don’t like to praise myself because my religion teaches me to be humble. This ministry was dead.

Dead! How?

I am not God but God helped me to resurrect it.

You have to explain what you mean, that the ministry was dead?
For three years, it was completely closed down. Ask my staff. I  worked here before, I retired here.

The day l reported here for work, I  cried because the whole ministry was waiting for me downstairs rejoicing.  I was a director  before I retired and we related as friends and one family. If you want to know about me, ask my permanent secretary or my staff but l cannot be the one to sing my praises.

Why is politics in the country dirty to the extent of pulling down fellow men?

We are evolving. The Americans spent over a whole century to get to where they are now.  I started following American politics since my Form One days in 1963 because of John Kennedy. We are just evolving. America started with military men; we started with civilians, went to military and came back. It was a rule in America then that if you were not in the army, you could  run for president until Bill Clinton came but we came from the other side.

And, lack of education on our part makes many things difficult for the rural man to know and make his choice. So, we have to be a bit patient to reach the standard that those people have reached.

What is that thing that is wrong with us as a people?

There are many things wrong with us as a people; we are clannish.
But you know what! The coming of President Jonathan and the evolving attitude of Nigerians have broken that jinx.

In a country where you have 36 states and somebody from one remote village comes and gets above 30 states leaving only six to the other people, he has tried.

That shows we are evolving. And it means that we are improving. Even in states that he won, some of the governors of the states are not from PDP and that shows that it was Jonathan the people of Nigeria voted for. If we can now start having discerning leaders and picking them, it is a good sign that we are improving.
Do we not see serious challenges confronting the president on the issue of zoning?

You expect that people will jostle for posts. And about zoning, that is for the Board of Trustees and co. It is not within my jurisdiction. The leaders decide, though they will seek our views but it is for them to decide. Even among thieves, there are leaders.

PDP has  always survived  crises that confront it and people say it is because of the power and the money at the centre. What is your take on this?

It is the maturity because when you go to an election, you cannot be 100 per cent sure because you don’t know what the mood in the villages are. You may have a campaign in a place a day before election but in politics, 24 hours means a whole lot – even an hour.

President Jonathan warned leaders of his party not to rig election for him, but some opposition leaders said he was merely grandstanding?

Grandstanding!

President Jonathan did not tell us; he warned us.

He warned us that if one person should die, for him to win this presidency, he said he didn’t want it. He warned us on several occasions. He advised us to do the right thing at all times, that if God said he would win, he would.  He said if God  had seen him through all these years when he did not even think he would get this far, why should he now do things that are illegal for him to win the election.

Okay, from what you saw of him, did he mean it or he was just…?

What are you talking about?  I said the President warned us. Of course, he meant it.
He even warned us not to insult anybody. He said if he was destined to be, God would perfect His work and not any man.

He said: ‘I was a lecturer when God picked me to become deputy governor, to become governor of Bayelsa State.  Then He took me to Aso Rock as  vice- president, acting president and then I became president.’
He said all that was providence and God wish for him.

So, he said he could not afford to do wrong having enjoyed God’s benevolence.
Even during the nomination process when former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar got up and insulted the him, Mr. President got up and refused to trade words with anybody. If you fear God, He paves the way for you but if you deny His existence, that is when you enter into trouble.

Water resources: Some people see it as a waste in the light of the ratio of drinking water per citizen.  What would you say is the roadmap for sustainable water programme in Nigeria?

The relevance of water to our national development has progressively increased over the years with rapid population growth, urbanisation, agriculture and industrial development. Because of its usefulness in different capacities for direct human consumption, agricultural irrigation, fisheries, hydropower, industrial production, recreation, environmental protection and industrial effluents, it is considered mankind’s most unique and indispensable natural resource to manage.

The imbalance in the water infrastructure development, population increase and rapid urbanisation rates has created a serious deficiency in the quality of life of an average Nigerian with its dire consequence on sanitation, food, security, health, employment and standard of living. It is the recognition of this critical issue and gap that led to the necessity for the re-birth of the Nigerian water sector reform. A major step taken by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan towards the reform is the demerger of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources from the erstwhile Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in April 2010.

The current administration has also identified programmes and initiatives capable of transforming the ministry and encouraging private sector participation in the management and execution of government’s aspiration. Accordingly, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources has observed the need to develop a road map for water resources development to put the nation back on track in achieving the Vision 20:2020 targets, Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets for 2015 and the Africa Water Vision in 2025.

Whilst the Federal Government through the Ministry of Water Resources is committed to resolving specific obstacles against the reform, it is also conscious that the quality of reform is a clear indication of its overall investment and funding philosophy. Accordingly, the government has defined broad-based investment and funding strategies. Some of these strategies are tailored towards the construction of dams, irrigation, water supply projects and other related projects across the states of the federation.