In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES’ Musikilu Mojeed, Festus Owete and Samson Adenekan, Anambra senator and businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah, speaks on his governorship ambition, his business, the Igbo bid for the presidency and other national issues.
Excerpts:
PT: You were known as a businessman long before going into politics. Now you are into politics full time. How has the transition been so far?
Ubah: I love being a businessman but also being a businessman does not give me the fulfilment of catering for the downtrodden. Being a businessman was not giving me the opportunity to touch the lives of people as much as I would have loved to touch.
As a businessman, there are boundaries to what I can do however politics is made for humans on the helm of affairs to garner assets and attention on the people, build infrastructure and do other things with the intention to touch lives. The entire essence of politics is set touching lives and making our international a higher place.
PT: But in Nigeria, some be a part of politics simply to make cash?
Ubah: There are two things about creating wealth. For instance, I can talk about myself; I don’t suppose making a living in politics is the ultimate aim due to the fact I even have made money, and with what God has blessed me with and I will give you records to this impact.
I rarely communicate to the media. This might be the primary time I am granting an interview inside the remaining eight years. You can in no way see me in a lot of these magazines or attending parties. I am a person that may be a bit arguable and extraordinarily misunderstood but inside the proper feel.
Many human beings frequently take the opposite aspect of my lifestyles and it facilitates me every now and then. If human beings keep to speak about a person and the character keeps developing and he has in no way been indicted, he have to be superhuman.
If you need to be superhuman, you have to be a piece mysterious. Don’t talk often, simply do what's right earlier than the sight of God.
To me, politics is in which I can derive the fullness of potentials to the touch lives, no longer approximately business and I can come up with records of factors I even have completed on this us of a which have distinguished me.
Let me let you know one. You have never visible all of us that has come to my top in this usa so one can let you know that he has by no means had a tax waiver to strengthen his business or agreement. As a businessman and a baby-kisser, you may in no way get me on that.
PT: You have in no way benefited from a waiver or tax incentive?
Ubah: Never. Never in my life. You know in 2015, I can give you files wherein this Lai Mohammed, the minister, wrote that I could have my day in court over subsidy. But I can inform you nowadays for positive that I actually have in no way been indicted, my books are there.
The eyes of Nigerians have been on Ifeanyi Ubah, that I would go to jail due to subsidy, fraud and different matters however I saved my faith. I have stored my words till date (and) my words are as I said it.
Some of folks who accused me then got here lower back to compensate me. Many things a lot of them said about me had been proven incorrect.
With all I even have achieved, I saved being centered. When I become disqualified from taking part within the senate election, I took a pretty unknown party and I received. I am likely the only individual to have performed this type of feat in Nigeria. It is rare for a Nigerian to enter the senate with an unknown birthday celebration. You will see sixty five-70 per cent (of senators) belonging to APC while 35 in line with cent belongs to the PDP, and you are one consistent with cent.
It is ready displaying that the journey of a million miles starts offevolved with a step and that one with God is the majority.
PT: Are you announcing you aren't going to illness?
Ubah: I could have defected if I wanted. Politics is not that if I move there I may be preventing, making pointless noise as an opposition. I am an competition and I have gone there to justify my capacities, and the document speaks for itself.
PT: You are announcing your assignment in politics isn't always to make cash. Are you sure about that?
Ubah: I even have greater than sufficient (money). Let me come up with information. In Anambra today, greater than 70 consistent with cent of politicians within the nation, both those that have retired and still in politics, have handed through my faculty of benevolence however I even have no longer gotten the favored results.
Not only in Anambra State. I also can let you know that inside the whole South-east, there's hardly ever any governor, outdoor Hope Uzodinma, that has now not handed thru my faculty of benevolence. I actually have helped them, funding their elections and in other approaches.
I were longing to have a actual core Igbo leader from the South-east. They have all not executed as a great deal as I even have predicted, the motive I actually have joined politics.
PT: Are you announcing that they have failed the Igbo race?
Ubah: I can’t say that. I need to be truthful to them however they've not met my expectations.
PT: You said you are not inside the Senate to make money. But some Nigerians consider you and your colleagues on the National Assembly are there to thieve and plunder.
Ubah: If you assert someone has stolen, show me what they've stolen or are stealing. I don’t need to presume what human beings say. I need to combat for my personal soul. It can be of interest to you that in #ENDSARS I become the most effective baby-kisser in Nigeria that came out to confront over six thousand protesters in Anambra.
I went in when it turned into wild. When they had been looting. I went in, fought them, beat them or even moved around with them. I moved them to a school where I addressed them and told them to move domestic, and they obeyed.
PT: How did you try this? Is it because of your wealth or reputation?
Ubah: No, it isn't approximately money. It is ready clean sense of right and wrong. A clear conscience fears no one. See, there are politicians and there are politicians.
If you believe you're a politician, you need to have come to confront them because they had been agitating in opposition to politicians too.
PT: So far, has your access into politics now not affected your business?
Ubah: It has. But it's also desirable. My enterprise is my enterprise. Thank God I don’t have any enterprise that could be a partnership. It affected my commercial enterprise and someway my people. Some of my workers have labored with me for 10 years but ought to go away because of this. Some went some other way round but we will nonetheless come again to the commercial enterprise, by some means.
For now, I want to finish my venture in politics. I can’t inform you the time frame due to the fact it's far a existence challenge for me to go to improve things and move lower back to my commercial enterprise.
PT: Is your task, very last vacation spot Igbo Presidency?
Ubah: No, I don’t have that mantra. I can tell you for sure.
PT: Distinguished, you stated you are in politics to the touch lives, how a lot of these lives have you touched inside the remaining years?
Ubah: That is why I can confront #ENDSARS protesters and that they did not anything to me. I can’t tell you however they're many. If you need to realize, come to Anambra and I will display you. I can invite you in case you won’t thoughts.
If you want, come to Anambra and I will stroll with you loose without police or any protection operatives in view. You and I will walk the streets of Anambra and you'll see.
PT: Are you saying you are greater popular than the kingdom governor?
Ubah: I don’t recognize. When you come back, you may ask him to walk with you too and you make your judgment.
PT: The Anambra election is nearly here and there are reviews that you are going to run?
Ubah: I am the simplest one these days that has a ticket. I am going to run. I belong to a celebration a lot of them assume has nothing to provide. I am going to run on the platform of that birthday celebration. We have been begging human beings to contest the price ticket with me however they are not showing up.
PT: So you're positive of defeating APGA and PDP to emerge?
Ubah: I defeated them in the senate election, so what is the massive deal?
The identical miracle of the senate election will occur on the governorship election. The Senate race is even extra hard than the governorship and I can inform you why.
During the Senate election, we also had the presidential election concurrently. So you have forces which might be above the senate. You have the House of Representatives election on the identical day.
So, as you're fighting with the presidential election, the House of Representatives and the Senate elections have been hung on the same day.
In 2019, there was a bandwagon impact that made way for the PDP due to the fact the previous governor of my country changed into the PDP vice-presidential candidate. Everybody become almost swinging to him. You see Uche Ekwunife become an APC candidate and some months earlier than the election she migrated to the PDP.
Stella Oduah become in APGA and APGA became trying to play video games with her and she or he moved.
PDP gained genuinely in the North and Central (senatorial districts) which added about Uche Ekwunife defeating Victor Umeh who's from APGA. Then within the south wherein I come from, PDP gained the presidential, received the House of Reps, but they couldn’t beat me.
You see, this politics has long gone past what you people suppose. It has come into a purifier shape and I don’t accept as true with in manipulation. That bandwagon impact inside the North and Central could not have an effect on my election. That suggests you the essence of the energy. It isn't approximately “can he go?” Once you're anointed, you are anointed. I consider that I am anointed by God, now not man.
PT: The former CBN governor is likewise going to contest, possibly on APGA platform. Do you believe you studied you could defeat someone like him?
Ubah: I will defeat him via the grace of God due to the fact I strongly accept as true with that I have performed extra than him for my people. I strongly consider that I am greater authentic inside the cause of my humans. I strongly believe that I have a higher heart and that my people love me than him.
So, it isn't approximately pedigree. It is not approximately artificial things, it is approximately human understanding and private dedication earlier than the eyes of God and guy.
PT: You said you'll nevertheless run underneath the Young Progressive Party, how have you grown this birthday celebration?
Ubah: A revolution can in no way be televised. When it comes, it comes like Tsunami. Just watch and see.
This politics is not media politics. You are fortunate I am granting this interview. I need to stay an underdog, far from the view of the media but you will see two to a few months earlier than the election.
I am the most effective elected employees from YPP from all elective seats and I am k with it even though I see it as a challenge.
PT: Have you ever come below any strain to defect to every other celebration?
Ubah: Every day they technique me however I had been turning them down. See, if God improved me to this function, why must I illness? It means I want to mock God. It manner I don't have any judgment of right and wrong and I need to be selfish. It approach I haven't any regard for people who toiled day and night time to look that I emerged beneath the YPP. It way I don’t understand the importance of not despising your days of humble beginnings. It means I am a everyday Nigerian baby-kisser, ‘ewedu and amala’ politicians, the ‘come and chop and go away them’ flesh presser. I actually have a conscience.
PT: If elected Anambra governor, you may end up being the handiest one because your birthday party does now not have members in the State House of Assembly.
Ubah: Who instructed you? Human control is some thing that each chief need to have in him. Of 109 Senators within the Nigeria Senate, I am the best one from YPP and I am nonetheless coping and not complaining. Wherever God tells me to serve him, I will pass and leave the whole lot to him.
PT: In the workings of the National Assembly, you have to belong to one of the important political events earlier than you're appointed to important committees.
Ubah: I am no longer complaining. There is a leader who chooses leaders. If it pleases him to make me chairman of any committee in the senate, so be it. If he feels he likes me to be where I am, so be it. It is grace. What he has given to me that I even have, I am satisfied with it.
PT: Have you been capable of take accurate matters (amenities) for your human beings?
Ubah: Yes. There has constantly been fairness. You get what your colleagues get. It is best the way you control it and percentage it and your sincerity that topics.
Last year on my own, I turned into able to double my constituency allocation through asking human beings to donate to my foundation. They donated two instances my constituency allocation in the direction of the health center and other things I did in my nation. Those are those who love me and have discovered confidence in me. Some did no longer accept as true with in me all through the senate election but now they do because of the interventions that I did.
They helped due to the fact I am a senator. They won't have helped if I turned into just Ifeanyi Ubah.
PT: You are in the competition birthday celebration but you appear so near the ruling birthday celebration.
Ubah: I am a Pan-Nigerian. After elections, we have to all come together to work for Nigeria. Ruling or no longer ruling, opposition or no opposition, the worst that can happen is to put the whole lot on hold.
PT: In the path of this interview, you've got spoken an awful lot about the grace of God, how near are you to that God?
Ubah: Everything approximately me is God. My call Ifeanyi is God. The call they name me Ebube Chukwu Uzo is God. I place God before whatever. Some of the matters that I actually have executed for God, I actually have not visible any of them (politicians) on this u . S . That has finished in appreciation of my love for God.
PT: You need to emerge as Anambra governor but I recognise that in the time beyond there had been certain cases in opposition to you in court docket. For example, there's a case involving you and AMCON. Don’t you believe you studied some of the ones instances may match towards you on this race?
Ubah: I don’t suppose that I have ever had a case that is horrific. Some of those instances you spot me in have been targeted at me and on every occasion an difficulty comes up, you clear it.
During the election, they will ask me a number of these items and it depends at the information that I deliver to the human beings. Between now and the election I could be launching my ebook that addresses a number of the ones things.
Sometimes I get misunderstood and a touch controversial, controversial in an excellent way. Some of these belongings you name instances fizzle out with time, they don’t keep water. The AMCON case, for example, it's far a financial institution that facilitates corporations and there has been a reason why we went there. We had an agreement but turned into that settlement applied? This isn't always the time to talk about that, however I will say it throughout the election if it arises, even supposing it may cost me my election.
I will provide some other interview on AMCON, you have asked me about Anambra and I even have replied.
I may be the underdog but watch and notice. When you forget about a small pot, the foam from that small pot can quench a strong and burning firewood.
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