—Rev Asoliye Douglas-West

•Says, political offices should yield to negotiated zoning formula
By Moses Nosike

An Anglican  priest and  oil magnate, Rev Asoliye Douglas-West is an aspirant for the 2023 governorship election in Rivers State. In this interview, he spoke about how the Ijaw speaking parts of the state have been sidelined in governance and stressed that the situation should be addressed in 2023. Excerpts:

Former Rivers State governor, Dr Peter Odili is from the West Senatorial District of the state while both  the  immediate past governor, Rotimi Amaechi as well as the incumbent, Nyesom Wike are from the East Senatorial District which means the South East district has not had the opportunity to govern the state. What is your take on the issue of zoning of political offices?    

The Constitution governing our democracy does not recognise  the sanctity of zoning of political offices, but the principle of zoning is an extra-constitutional mechanism which evolved as an appropriate response to deal with moral conscience in enthroning equity and fairness in the distribution of political benefits to satisfy sentiments relating to our ethnic diversity. No matter how contiguous our geographical affinity might be,  we cannot live in denial or be pretentious about the existence of ethnic diversities just as resource endowments are diverse. Since we have found a mechanism of pooling proceeds of economic resource exploitation into a commonwealth for redistribution among the entities, therefore it is a logical corollary that high ranking political offices should yield to a negotiated zoning formula. Perhaps this was why the writers of our Constitution introduced the federal character concept as a means of invoking balance in representation and some semblance of fairness and equity in the allocation of resources among the constituent entities.

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Rivers State is geographically dichotomised between an upland north and a littoral south with their peculiar physical features and topographies. Four prominent linguistic groups are recognisable within the ethnic diversities that make up Rivers State, which include the Igboid tribe (Ikwerre, Etche and Oyigbo), the Ogonis (Khana, Gokhana, Tai and Eleme), the Ijaws (Kalabari, Okirika, Bonny/Opobo and Andoni/Nkoro) and the Beninoid stock (Ndoni, Ekpeye, Abua/Odual. The Igboid, Ogonis and Beninoid stocks are located in the upland north while only the Ijaw speaking ethnicities are located in the riverine south. The threesome of Celestine Omehia, Chibuike Amaechi and Nyesom Wike, all of whom are Ikwerre speaking have ruled as governors for a consecutive totality of sixteen years shared among them. Peter Odili representing the Beninoid was governor for eight years. A disregard for the zoning formula and the political expediency that enabled and enthroned Nyesom Wike as the third governor of Ikwerre speaking extraction is apparently emboldening them to enact an agenda and act a script intended to perpetuate hegemony which is unconscionable to good moral conscience, equity and fairness. If and when we recognise our diversity, the application of the zoning principle is a pragmatic way of guaranteeing inclusiveness and social justice.

Despite the  heterogeneous  nature of Rivers State  as you have said,  all the  governors since 1999 came from one particular area, how do you feel about that?

It is rather disinteresting, disquieting and disconcerting to witness a situation where one particular ethnic group had devised a stratagem of capturing and retaining power for  16  years without consideration for the political  well-being  of other constituent ethnicities. Using the advantage of incumbency, that same ethnic group is still unjustifiably wrangling and plotting to produce a candidate for the  2023  election. I am a strong proponent of a paradigm shift where compromises and negotiations would embrace themselves in favour of a candidate from the riverine south. I stand to be corrected, the riverine Ijaws have been very patient and understanding.  It is the turn of the Ijaws to produce a credible candidate to be elected and serve as the next governor of Rivers State. It will be  a  demonstration of bad faith and insensitivity if our brothers upland should insist on satisfying their appetite for power by presenting another candidate for the governorship election in 2023. Their argument of possessing a higher voters’ population in Obio/Akpor is untenable and dubious.

What will be your agenda for the people of Rivers State if you become governor in 2023?

Often times we give priority to the wrong things. I wonder why the incumbent governor finds it fashionable to expend so much resources on constructing flyover bridges in the Port Harcourt metropolis. This appears to me as heaps of concrete clutter. Things have to be done differently to fetch different results and change the narrative about governance. There is going to be a departure from the old ways of doing things. After nearly 24years of uninterrupted democracy we can hardly perceive or feel a meaningful impact of governance positively changing lives in Rivers State. Poverty is still very pervasive. We have to create a new message that emphasises value creation as the distinctive selling proposition with focus on investing in human capacity development, inventing new ideas to modernize the economy through knowledge and eco-tourism. Human beings are the most valuable resource any society can possess and developing the capacity of human resource should form the priority of any government. It is human beings that initiate and propel the knowledge-driven economy. Human beings build and work in factories. Human beings construct the roads and bridges. Human beings cultivate the farms. With a bold determination, I have unyielding conviction that the new direction to steer the state is investment in human capital who would be armed with the capability to create ideas, invent innovation and reduce poverty. Therefore, our agenda will prioritize human capacity development and to build brand new cities that would redirect the movement of population away from a congested Port Harcourt. Research and development, Supply chain logistics, Tourism and agriculture are other critical sectors that would receive preferences in the agenda.

How do you intend to increase IGR in the state when you become governor?

I may not be able to give comprehensive details of our strategy for increasing IGR but I know there is a foundation already established by successive governments. It would be appropriate to say that we will build upon that foundation by tweaking and introducing some reforms that would totally revolutionise how public tax revenue management system can be deepened and expanded in line with global best practice. While seeking to plug leakages where they exist and reduce the cost of tax administration, we will strive to expand the tax net to include more taxable individuals and entities especially among the informal sector. The new economy we envisage would seek to create enabling environment to ease doing business and attract new businesses. We would provide incentives to encourage small scale start-ups

What stands you out among other aspirants?

There is an urgent call to duty to alter the narrative about the ways the business of governance is conducted. Rivers State needs a forward thinking leadership whose preoccupation would not be to preserve its own privileges but to channel energies and resources into building a modern economy and a smart society. In very critical moments in the history of a people, those in whom God is well pleased would hear His voice saying ‘whom shall I send and who will go for us’? They would offer themselves and say, ‘Here I am, send me’. Many governors have come, and seen but failed to conquer. Many appropriation bills have been passed into law but budget implementation has failed to deliver on promises. I would like to describe two scenarios and situate myself in the appropriate context. On the one hand there are those who are either thrown up by the system or they throw up themselves and run for political offices in order to fulfill some personal ambition or ethnic agenda

But on the other hand, there are others who seek the opportunity to serve in leadership position in order to manage resources efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the community. Those who run the race most likely turn out to be chips off the old block whose contribution would terminate at maintaining the status quo but those who seek to serve would bring value. The challenge is big but my resolve is firm. The mission is urgent but my purpose is unmistakable. The terrain is tough but my faith is solid. I am a political outsider but a providential insider.

You are not decided on the political party platform on which you want to contest the election, how do you want to actualise your aspiration?

I am not a card-carrying member of any political party yet. I realise that the mechanism for selecting candidates for election in the existing political structure in the dominant parties is flawed. The so-called dominant political parties have cultivated and entrenched a certain culture and habit that could be likened to the laws of the Medes and Persia that changeth not. A game changer would probably be located in one’s ability to create a vision and an alternative message that can resonate a rhythm that would connect with the hearts and minds of the people. All things being equal, upsets caused by dark horses are not improbable in the race.