An easy-going lawyer and a fresh face on the political chess board, Barrister Chinedu Francis Idigo is a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling party in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria. In this exclusive interview with News Express, Idigo exudes confidence in his ability to win the forthcoming governorship election in the state. He also speaks on how he would improve security in the state, get the youths involved in governance and consolidate on the works of incumbent Governor Peter Obi if he wins.

News Express: What is the driving force to this ambition to contest the governorship of Anambra State?

Barrister Idigo: Just one word: Service.

What sort of service are we talking about here?

Service to the people. The intention to serve was not borne out of the fact that one thinks that he is indispensible but because one feels he has something to offer considering what one has achieved so far in the past seven and half years. I believe that one has to sustain what is on ground. There is no other way of offering yourself to serve if not this way and I feel I have the capacity and intellect to deliver.

Are you saying that you already have a legacy that will speak for you?

If you use the word legacy, you might be correct and wrong at the same time because I have not been in office so to say but I have the capacity. I know where I am coming from. I’ve been a lawyer for 28 years. I understand what governance or good governance is all about. I think the capacity here now is that I have the driving force and I understand what is required to continue the progressive development of the state. So far, we are on the right path and we need to ensure that we do not deviate. I tell people the progress and development of the past seven years should not be allowed to go into retrogression. We need to move forward.

Why did you choose APGA as the platform on which to contest?

I am one politician that has a policy. The first time I dabbled into politics, I was a member of the SDP (the defunct Social Democratic Party). After that dispensation, when democratic rule came back, I did not join politics but I came back into politics when APGA was registered and one of the driving forces is that I looked at the situation and I felt that a leg of the tripod was missing, and APGA has come to fix that leg of the tripod, if you get what I mean, that is Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. In the early dispensation of 1999, we were missing in action and with the establishment of APGA and with my hero, late Dim Odumegwu Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, as the leader of the party; I felt there was no other option than to follow him and I don’t regret that decision. From one state structure, we are now a two-state structure. It will continue to progress and apart from that, I saw APGA as having clear-cut developmental programme for the people in the entire South-East region and that has been fulfilled by His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi. Nobody can fault his developmental strides. Despite the money in South-South, I don’t think any governor can match his achievements so far. You don’t just join a party for the sake of joining a party but joining a movement that is there for the people and APGA is for the masses. If you check the composition of APGA, it is more of a party for the downtrodden: not like we don’t have rich men in APGA, we do, but the extreme money bags are not there. It is a party for the masses across the country, though it cuts across majorly in the South-East region.

Can you confidently say without a second thought that you are the candidate to beat in the forthcoming election?

Oh, yes! Everybody will tell you that he or she is the candidate to beat but from my strategy and calculations, I think I will gradually releasing my strategy. It’s about five months to the election, that’s if it will still take place in November. So, I think this is the proper time to start moving up gradually until we reach the crescendo for the primaries, then after the primaries, we plunge into the election proper and go full speed ahead to win the election.

How can you rate your acceptance so far at the grassroots level?

I have not made much move but am amazed at the level of acceptance already. There is a group that started something in my name even without getting me involved. They call it Chinedu Idigo Solidarity Group. To be honest, I don’t know when the group started, I don’t know their financial strength or where they get the money they are using to finance the group. It’s a group of youths, made up of young men, employed and unemployed. Many of them claim that I have in one way or another touched their life. From the time they started till now, the T-shirts they printed, the banners and a whole of other things, I have not given them a kobo. If I were dilly dallying as per taking a position, the mere fact that these young men made such move has propelled me to be more serious with this project. So, I believe that I am strongly accepted. I am a very loyal party man; I’ve been with the party through thick and thin. I think that within the party, I am well accepted.

What is your mission statement?

At times, I don’t want to box myself into that corner of mission statement because it’s something that sometimes is very narrow and when you start talking about mission statement, it might get people confused but if am to say anything, I will say it is to move Anambra State forward, move it to greater height from the height we are presently at and try to build an El Dorado for our people.

What level will you say Anambra State has attained judging from what it was in the past before the advent of Governor Obi?

Let me start from the fact that we didn’t have a Government House both in Awka and Onitsha. There was no radio station or roads in Anambra East or West, Ayamelum and the entire South. The only place we had a semblance of road was in the Central and Idemili area but the entire state has been opened up now. Look at the massive construction that is still going on now as if the person is still in his first tenure. We didn’t have any secretariat, there was no library, no Teaching Hospital but all these things are there now for all to see. Or do we go to the field of education or the partnership with the church and hospital development? In the past, there was no recognised or accredited hospital in the state; at the moment we have two. So, it’s just a clear difference between daylight and darkness.

Are these areas where you hope to consolidate on or you have a different angle in mind?

No, no, you don’t change a winning forum, but you can consolidate or improve on it.

Are you saying you have same concept and focus as Governor Obi?

It depends on what you mean by focus. What you might say is that probably I have certain areas I will love to pay more attention to. Yes, like I am all for urban renewal, job protection and improvement, a cleaner environment for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, though it’s not majorly a government work. Why do I say that? The citizens need to contribute and cooperate with the government. You know, there is this practice, not only in Anambra – it’s also same in Lagos – where you see people bringing out their refuse to dump in the gutters anytime it rains. We need to educate our people to stop that practice and we will have in mind a new environmental service that we will collect this refuse and dispose of it properly. So, we have cities that are clean and environmentally friendly as we have in Europe and the US.

Is there any candidate you see as an intimidation or a stumbling block to realising your ambition?

God never created any human being with two heads. So, nobody is an intimidation and once we all have one head, no one can intimidate me. You need to know my background. How can I be intimidated? No one can intimidate me. You need to know my background. How can I be intimidated? It’s not possible, that cannot happen.

What are the challenges you face in your bid to actulaise your ambition?

We face challenges everyday in life. Waking up is a challenge. You cannot give an honest answer if you say there are no challenges. There are opponents you are facing and you are all shopping in the market and what are we shopping for? Votes, votes, votes. We are all shopping for human beings. You as Pamela, I may want to recruit you as part of my media team for PR purposes and all that, and then somebody else may have approached you. The challenge there now is for me to make sure that I get you in my team. So, there are challenges in such areas. We sort of have to scramble. You know, we are still at the primary stage. So, we are like scrambling for the attention of our parties at the moment. Another challenge is the human power: when you leave a person or community to solicit for votes, when you visit an individual or a community to solicit for votes, as you are leaving, Mr. B. coming in to also seek same thing you went to ask for. That’s another huge challenge because you have to ensure you present your own agenda or manifesto to be better spiced than the next person’s own. As you leave, you don’t even know the mind of the person you went to speak to, he may even laugh at you as you turn your back and say: “Look at this fool…”

You mentioned late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as your mentor. What is the attraction?

He was my dad’s bosom friend; he got to know me through him and he remained a friend of the family until my dad’s passing. During my dad’s burial, he was there. I love his policy and style. I was little boy when the war broke out but I have read a lot about the war and also gathered a lot from my late father. All the things he did during the war are things that I admire and all that endeared him to me. Also, his outspokenness is unparalleled. His tenacity of purpose, honesty and a whole of other positive things he possessed. As a young man growing up, I admired him and the Great Zik a lot. They are people that were close to my late father and I learnt a lot from their imprints. Late Dim is simply a different thing to different people. You cannot finish describing him. It depends on the angle you see him from.

What will be your promise to the people of Anambra State if you win?

Simply put, service.

•Photo shows Barrister Idigo.

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