‘My book captures the feat of opposition trumping incumbency’

Okoi Obono-Obla is the author of the book, ‘All Progressive Congress, the making of the change agent.’ In this interview, the Special Assistant to Mr. President on Prosecution speaks about his motivation to write it as well as his interest in writing and authors who have inspired him.   Bookshelf: In putting this book together, […]

Okoi Obono-Obla is the author of the book, ‘All Progressive Congress, the making of the change agent.’ In this interview, the Special Assistant to Mr. President on Prosecution speaks about his motivation to write it as well as his interest in writing and authors who have inspired him.

 

Bookshelf: In putting this book together, which was the most difficult section?

Okoi Obono-Obla: I would say intrigues and calculated moves to frustrate the merger within CPC. For instance, a very prominent northerner, Buba Galadima who is very vocal and seemed not to be in support of the merger because he was a very powerful person in CPC. Out of selfishness, he didn’t want CPC to merge with a bigger platform because he was not going to be influential. He was not happy that he was not appointed secretary or chairman of the merger committee. The president was well advised and he went for a quiet and former bureaucrat and politician, Senator Mohammed Abubakar Gadi who was former deputy governor of Bauchi State, he was also a former senator and a retired permanent secretary, a very quiet intelligent man. That was the beginning of the faceoff between the President and Galadima. To the extent that after we had agreed to merge, we had submitted our manifesto, our constitution, we were just waiting for INEC to issue a certificate. They put pressure that this alliance would not be in the benefit of the north or of the President. After pressure was mounted on him, he said ‘let us set up a committee to look into it and advise whether or not we should go on with this merger. He appointed a committee and made me secretary. Late James Ocholi who became minister for labour (state) was a member, Alhaji Sule Ama was a chairman, Abubakar Malami was a member who is now Attorney general, and Ayodele. At the last NEC meeting, we agreed that it should be set up to look into the APC constitution and see whether or not it will be in the interest of Mr President. After the meeting, I discussed with Malami, he said, ‘oh you don’t know why your president put you there.’ I now got, I had to key in all the resolutions that were passed on that day, we were to set up a CPC committee to review the APC constitution and that would have been the end. I now killed it, that committee never met again until APC was registered.

 

Bookshelf: If an average Nigerian took this book, saw this ‘All Progressive Congress, the making of the change agent,’ why do you think they should read it?

Obono-Obla: This is history. This history is important because sometimes politicians just had to come together because there was a threat as PDP was getting so strong, the country was drifting. This book captures that very important part of Nigeria’s history.

 

Bookshelf: How long did it take you to put it together?

Obono-Obla: From my notes during the merger committee, I was a secretary. I finished this book in 2015. I wanted to launch it before the handover but I couldn’t because I am a very busy person. It was Mathias Okoi-Uyouyo who motivated me.

 

Bookshelf: What is the toughest part of your job?

Obono-Obla: The toughest part is that I am perceived wrongly, perceived to be a demon. Like in the Senate, I was nominated to be a non-executive commissioner in the FCT, I was cleared by the Senate, and it was in the media. One week after, the senate president wrote to the president that I was not confirmed and I can visualise what happened. They went and told him, ‘oh that man is the person prosecuting and also planning to prosecuted all senators’ because a senator from our state, Bassey, confronted me when I went to seek his support. He said no ‘you people that we heard compiled all the names of the senators to prosecute.’ But I’m not a demon. It is a very challenging job. Also when I went to the Senate, when they invited the attorney general and he was not there, I went and they said they would not listen to me. It was then that we filed charges against the Senate president. When I came out, the press confronted me and I told them that the attorney general is not answerable to the Senate when he is exercising his power to prosecute.

 

Bookshelf: You have a chapter in this book that says ‘Change At Last.’ Do you think that Nigerians would agree with you on that chapter?

Obono-Obla: Everybody is entitled to his own opinion. In my opinion and if Nigerians want to be fair, even if the change is not 100% visible, there have been some changes in our country. I have told you about the single treasury account. I also tell you that the calendar of corruption has reduced to a large extent because people now are afraid that if they are caught, they will be prosecuted. That is change itself. If you go around the country, there have been a lot of changes in the way we used to do things. Even in the government’s bureaucracy because they feel the man who is there is a no nonsense man. It may not translate to people having so much money but it is part of the restructuring of the country. There is a change in the rental economy we used to run. For instance, the federal government monetary salary bill has been cut down.

 

Bookshelf: What is your interest in writing?

Obono-Obla: Knowledge, learning. I like history a lot, to preserve facts. In the coming generation, maybe my children will not experience the kind of life I experienced during my time.

 

Bookshelf: From practicing Law to politics and writing, what gives you the thrill about life, what puts a smile on your face?

Obono-Obla: When I am no more, at least people will read about me and know that in politics, I was part of those who founded an opposition party that took over power in Nigeria for the first time. In Law, the radical human rights lawyer who had opposed all government since 1999, even right from when the military was in power and I was a young lawyer, I was in the struggle to democracy from military rule. These are what I want people to know about me.

 

Bookshelf: Do you have authors who inspired you to write?

Obono-Obla: Yes, I read a lot of Shakespeare’s books. And in our teens, we read about ‘Mills and Boon,’ Mario Puzo who wrote a lot about mafias in America, Soyinka, and Chinua Achebe.

 

Bookshelf: Who is your favourite Author?

Obono-Obla: Shakespeare.

 

Bookshelf: What was it about his style that you found interesting?

Obono-Obla: The drama, the irony of life and he was talking about man, what man is that we may not see visibly. In Nigeria, we see people go into ritualistic killings because they want money to buy a car. We see the ambitions of politicians who would buy guns and give to young people to go and kill because of political powers.