Listening to him talk, you come away with the impression of a politician and golfer who enjoys himself thoroughly and is friendly with everybody including those who have hurt him badly in politics before. Solomon Ewuga confesses to having got his greatest ‘schooling’ under the late Privatization and Commercialization technocrat, Dr. Hamza Zayyad, and full of fire to serve and ideas that could turn the strategically located but not – too – well run Nasarawa state into wonderful cosmopolis (his word) if he had not been robbed of the opportunity – twice. Stoic, philosophical, he quipped: “A politician has no regrets; rather he has advancement of an interest. You can only change your strategy to fit into emergent scenarios.” EXCERPTS FROM AN ENCOUNTER:

Politically, you are a household name in Nasarawa state . Why have you abandoned your governorship ambition and are now heading for Senate, is it a sign of your disenchantment with the system?

It is actually my faith in the system that is making me contest. I am a politician that has learnt from tremendous experience in the field. I know what it is like to win and to lose an election in Nigeria. There are many unseemly issues arising from our political machinations. But these in no way have got me disenchanted; rather they encourage me to advance the interest which I represent. After all, the import of political activity is the advancement of whatever interests manifest. If not, I have no business getting engaged in politics. I am quite delighted I am running for Senate. I will always refer to the story of Surhato, who was the Minister of Petroleum for Indonesia and the longest-lasting minister in (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries) OPEC and he arrived at the airport one day and there was a cabinet reshuffle in which his Permanent Secretary became the Minister for Petroleum, while he (Suharto) was made Special Adviser to the Government on Petroleum matters.

And they asked him, “What will you do now that your Perm. Sec. is minister and you are Special Adviser?” And he answered, “I will serve my country in any capacity.” So, I will advance my interest in my community in any capacity!

Many political analysts around here believe that you won the gubernatorial election in Nasarawa state, but that it was wrongfully taken away from you. Looking back now, do you have any regrets especially given that you and the other candidate, alleged to have deprived you of that victory in that election, are today in the same political party?

A politician has no regrets; rather he has advancement of an interest. You can only change your strategy to  fit into emergent scenarios. When you get angry, anger does not put food on the table, it only beclouds your focus. What you do is to move in line with the trend and see how your interest can manifest. If know the experience of Abdoulaye Wade who is President of Senegal now, a position he finally attained at the age of 74...So, I have no personal problem with the present Governor. In 2006/2007 it was an Open Sesame, which all of us contested. The primaries may have been inconclusive, but he was declared. I went to ANPP, and we were winning but the same trend emerged. What I decided to do was to look up towards God and hear what He is telling me. In terms of relationship with the present Governor, I have known him since 1972. We have never had anything personal. In 2007, which like I said was Open Sesame, nothing really prevented me from running. If I run today, it would begin to look as if I have a very personal score which I want to settle. But he is old, much older than I am. I give him that respect. I want to run for Senate. That is where my short term opinion and quality lies for now. If at the end of I become Senator, fine! If I don’t, well, life in politics is about flip-flops. You fall, rise and you move again. Any politician who just got it straight on, you know, has little experience other than the fact that he wants to keep going and thinks that things come easy, nothing comes easy.You are likened in some quarters  to the Opposition leader in South Africa …….so people are saying it is perhaps better for you to continue to play that role, rather than crush the small lady that you just put there; that you should be seen to be playing the role of an elder and a kingmaker?Politics is about healthy adversity, and we are only engaging it as such. In the same way, let other people too experience some other thing. If this is my time, God bless it. If it is not, maybe I will still go through another experience, but please, let me just contest this Senate seat, and let us stop getting involved in sentiments.I would imagine that having run, she was in the House of Reps, she now a Senator, she would now give me the opportunity of advancing the kind of interest  that will provide continuous leadership.

If you look at the development on the national political platform, zoning is still a raging issue; what is your take on that?

Let me say one thing: any system that advances our political (development) must be encouraged. But whatever you want to develop must not foreclose the constitutionality of your action. Zoning has a limited interpretation to the party. As it is constitutional for anybody to contest, PDP zoning did not foreclose the interest of (late Abubakar) Rimi and Northern candidates in 1999, neither did it foreclose their own interest in 2003; people like (Barnabas) Gemade contested. In 2010, an unfortunate event took place that is now making Goodluck to run.  He has the constitutional capacity to run, zoning or no zoning. Two, outside the discussion, I have never seen where power flies (from) the hands of an incumbent.

It is believed that you actually defeated (former Governor) Abdullahi Adamu in the first coming, but that some people at the PDP Headquarters, particularly the then Chairman, [Babala?] robbed you.Have you forgiven?

There’s no one like that. Do you know one funny thing? I enjoy my life. I visit everybody. Some of them, you’d be shocked ... Last week, someone who was working at the PDP Headquarters in 2007 told me that they were the actors of the planning on how to snatch my election. He is a soldier, and he was telling me this as a friend of mine. So, what I am saying is that you must be very relaxed  about these things. When you begin to keep people in mind, you are being very unchristian, and totally irresponsible. If I didn’t move around and didn’t enjoy myself as much as I do, I wouldn’t get as much information as I have about what happened to me since 1998 till today. I am still moving around and getting a lot of information. Do you know, the more I get the information, the more I get inspired that one day, God should give me the strength and capacity to put down my memoirs, because they will be good for fledgling politicians , so that they

have the experience of what it takes to run and win or lose.  

What do  you want to do for Nasarawa state?

You know, every political gladiator must be governed by one supreme regime, the (passion) to service his (or her) community. If you are not governed by that basic attitude ,then you definitely have failed.Because you want to provide a service, you must be energized by the need to define the interest which you represent. I represent the interest of those who God has blessed with the energy to be educated and informed. The spirit through which you have developed an open orientation to things, because we are raising an open setting, has allowed me to absorb a lot of latitudes that will help if implemented in my state; and those things are still as cogent in my mind today as they were when I started very active politicking in 1995 in Nasarawa state. Don’t forget I represented the same constituency in the Constitutional Conference which made the Constitution which we are now using.

I am not somebody like that. I have done some things, for both my constituency and my state. I was the Secretary of the Committee for the Creation of Nasarawa State, and that meant my solid involvement in the (struggle for) the creation of the state. Ditto, when we were meeting for the creation of the state, I was very strong in the advancement of the interest of creation of the state, so you wouldn’t want emergence of a political entity without having the idea of how the entity will eventually be part of an on-going system.

And so, those things that have fired my zeal about the state are still subsisting today and they are things that will continuously... sometimes in normal times I tell the government these are things that can help and I got them by virtue of my position in office. I was in the Constitutional Conference; I was Minister, after being Deputy Governor. Those things are privileges that have offered me tremendous exposure to the system. Quite apart from having been Special Assistant to the (Prof.) Hamza Zayyad, at the (the Technical Committee on Privatization and Commercialization) TCPC...

Oh yeah?

Yes! I was in TCPC, and that was my greatest education in the world! There is no experience I didn’t have: we went to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), em... to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and to countries. We had many psychologists on development and some of them are relevant to my state. I will transpose what I learnt through this education into giving qualitative value to my own state and these are things that are unending. You know, no knowledge is lost.

Does that presuppose that there is a gap between what you would have wanted to see and what those representing the state now are offering in service?

That’s not what I am saying. What I am saying is that there is room in my life to provide service to the state. Whether what they are doing  right or wrong I am not judgemental about it. When Abraham Lincoln went through so many flip-flops in life when he was running for President, journalists asked him: “What is so unending in your life that is making you seek public office?” He said, “There is something in me I want to give, and people don’t know. And the only way to do it is to seek office and tell them this is what I am doing. And he has ended up being one of the greatest philosopher – Presidents in the US. So, all I’m saying is that there is an internal fire that is burning, which I think will dispose, will give me value to give service to our people. It does not criticize those who are on the stage.

Can we share concretely some of those developments that you want to bring to bear on the state?

Take education for example: it so key; education, and re-education. When you train a graduate you have a raw material. When you re-educate him you prepare him for leadership and the opportunity to help society. You develop people in niche areas that advance the cause of society. For example when you train a doctor, you are training him for general duties. When he is specialized, he comes to give you service in certain needs areas that advance the cause of society. When you train an engineer, you have given him general knowledge. When he becomes an aeronautic engineer, he has developed a needs area. So what you are going to do is, take it from one step to the other and then advance  it to the area that is contemporary today.  Emerging world phenomenon. We are  contingent on Abuja. Do you know what that means?  Between here and Keffi, you  can have a completely new cosmopolis, with its own airport, you know, and that  will be enough money for Nasarawa state. Between Mararaba and Keffi, a totally new cosmopolis, with a different developmental plan that will counter-position easily with Abuja, and yet have its own life and activity centre. Not people pouring into Abuja.

Will that not require national legislation?

There’s no (national) legislation there. It’s local legislation; this is all within Nasarawa state, it’s a state business! The ideas that we have to transpose into development in this state, you asked me to share some of them,  

okay?

But if we are talking about why I want to go to Senate, that’s a different matter.    

Okay what are the things you would like to do Senate?

Fiscal Responsibility is one thing. One American President said, “The virtue of governance is good conscience.” That, in itself, is a very wide spectrum of activity. You bring about fiscal responsibility; the laws about that in the country are very lax, right? That in itself creates value for the system. Look at it from any level. Two, you look and see how Nigeria will emerge in the Comity of Nations. You know, every experience is hands-on. I always like looking at things as I go in.  When you jump the scale, you leave a gap, which now hurts you. So my own attitude is that, let me go there. Everybody in my constituency knows that I can represent, because I have done it before. So, I always like listening to them and using it to advance ... because this thing about representation has some collateral value; the value is, listen to them and take it to the plans. When you listen to them, you will be surprised that they know more than you. That is the whole essence of representation.

Has your constituency been effectively represented so far in your opinion, say from 2007 to date?

My brother, what I will always tell you is this: I don’t want to be  judgemental on anybody. What I always want to say is that my going there will provide new fillip. 

But there must be a reason for change? Why should your constituency desire a change? Why would you ask your constituency to look for a new representative?

Because my presence there adds greater value to their representation.

A currently raging issue is that of fat salaries and allowances for legislators. What is your attitude to that, do you think they are justifiable?

I can neither prejudge nor advance the cause of a situation I am not in. But anything that is not equitable in the country, must be corrected, including the assessment of what the Legislature is doing. Anything, which is why I said I will work for Fiscal Responsibility, which is one thing that is going to be my primary concern.

What is your take on the amendment to the Electoral Act meant to make legislators automatic members of their party caucuses and therefore delegates at primaries?

Anything that is done which is not consistent with the Constitution cannot stand. Anything that precludes others is unconstitutional and so you can make a law that is self-serving, but the Constitution is there to guide the conduct of people, and I know that area will be challenged, so I don’t want to talk about an exercise in futility.

What is the current status of PDP in Nasarawa state, because in the time of Abdullahi Adamu, there was little or no opposition? Today the impression is  that the party is about to be swept away?

I was once in opposition to PDP. But we started the party in Nasarawa state. I opposed their conduct. Today, I am back in PDP and we are going to make PDP win again, because the greatest asset to any political activity is micro-management. That is the way I run my politics. I micro-manage my relationship with people and when you do that, it makes it easy for you to navigate your process of getting the people’s attention. So far, so good, and I am  grateful that in spite of the fact that I left office over ten years ago, I am still as relevant as I was when we started PDP in 1998 in Nasarawa state…. ….

One had wanted to get you to state things more directly, especially on the relevance of the input you are going to bring in. Are you satisfied with the level of delivery of the ‘dividends of democracy’ in the state, now?

Let me tell you one thing. In the course of events, people have expressed their disagreement with the way the conduct of leadership has manifested in Nasarawa state. That is the beauty of democracy. It allows you the room to challenge the course of events in the management of the resources of your state. If that does not happen, then we are not a democracy. That’s one.

Two, I told you in the early part of this interview that in 2006/2007 it was an Open Sesame, as we were succeeding a departing governor. In 2010/2011, I have no reason to want to challenge the present governor because it will become personal. Three, whether or not he is performing well, is a matter of judgement, which I can preserve to my own understanding of what he is doing. I believe he has consulted and requested me to facilitate his election in 2010/2011. I have agreed to support him and I am doing that, actively. I don’t see anything wrong. His performance is a judgemental matter on which anybody has a right to agree or disagree with. That, I cannot stop.

Is it true you have refused to contest the 2011guber elections because the

zoning formula does not favour you?

You see, in doing local things, so many things come into play and I have given you one (instance). I have no reason to contest with the governor because I have known him for so long and we have that personal relationship. That is one. Two, I have the option of first right of refusal on anything I want to do. I can decide I want to run for governorship. Now I want to contest Senate. You understand what I am saying? You see the beauty of politics at the level where I am playing it is your adjustment to reflect the quality of interests that emerge. And I think these are things that are so cardinal to the way politics is done. As Solomon Ewuga, I am not scared of anything. So, no one comes to tell me that it is because ofone reason or the other. I believe that God provides the leadership. We decide our course. At the end of it all, those of us who believe will say, “God ultimately provides the answer.”

What issues determine choice of candidates in your Senatorial District?  Rotation, candidate’s popularity?

It is a combination of popularity, zoning and elite and leadership interests. For example in my zone (Nasarawa North, Akwanga) one of the candidates who stepped down for me said, “I am not stepping down for you because you are Eggon, I am stepping down for you because you are deserving of it.”[General laughter]

You understand what I am saying? There is one of the areas that have never done, and rightly, their interest is deserving, but yet some of the people have agreed that anytime I am given an opportunity I prove myself, one. Two, I have also performed anytime I am given the opportunity. The last point is that I have suffered in the process of this matter. You build people, you have done a lot, in fact it is those who have benefitted from me most that have been my greatest advers