Amaechi spoke at the public presentation of the compilation of his administration’s achievements in Lagos. The book “Dynamics of Change: The Amaechi Years” is edited by Dr Chidi Amuta and Dr Yemi Ogunbiyi.
Amaechi said he knew that he would be in trouble if change did not happen in Nigeria and was prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen.
“I knew I was going to be in trouble. Anything that would cause that change not to take place, I was ready to make that sacrifice. The federal government sent out a signal that if they won nobody should let me out of Nigeria from any airport. One day Asiwaju got angry with me. He was very angry. I went to his house with Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and knelt down, saying ‘please let’s not disagree, let’s win first and then we can disagree’.”
“I lost my passport in Ghana and went to the High Commission. They gave me a certificate but the Ambassador was given a query for doing so. I later applied for a passport and they gave me green, not red. Now they have given it to me – two weeks ago,” Amaechi said.The governor said while his battle with President Goodluck Jonathan lasted, many of his friends either abandoned or took care not to be seen with him in public. He said he was mostly preoccupied with bringing change to Nigeria and not about what to get from the government.
“I told Asiwaju that what is important is to make a history of the first civilian coup in Nigeria when your children and grandchildren read the history with your name as one of the people who helped bring about change in Nigeria.
“I said, let us focus on the victory. I remember the day of the convention, there were so many intrigues, there will be convention, there won’t be convention, I said my leader, if we don’t do the convention we are finished, the press will say APC cannot hold a convention, lead us now, there must be convention and election. So, he turned to me and said look for Tunde (Fashola), let us go.”
The event which was well-attended by chieftains of the APC was a time of tributes and eulogies for Amaechi by his friends and colleagues. Some of those present included: APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, former interim chairman, Chief Bisi Akande and Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka.
-The Nation
