Chief Godwin Ezeemo is a governorship aspirant in Anambra State on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). In this interview with Nwanosike Onu, he speaks on his ambition and chances at the poll.
You’RE running once again for Anambra governorship in November. Where are you getting your inspiration?
I am planning to contest the seat of governorship of our great state, Anambra, for real on the platform of Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), because I feel I have a call of service to my people. I sincerely feel that I need to give back to the society that made me what I am today. I have had a golden opportunity to leave the shores of this country and having lived in a Western country and passed through their system of leadership that made things workable for them, I feel obliged to replicate same for my dear people.
Are you not afraid of dominant parties like the APC, the APGA and the PDP?
It is not the name of a political party that drives it in the real sense, where politics is meant to be for the good of the people. Rather, it is the programmes, ideology and commitment to giving live a meaning for the poor, giving voice to the voiceless and hope to the blind, by providing with seeing aids. It is also about giving hope to the aged, to those who have given up in life and creating an enabling environment for the generality of the people to work on and survive.
I can tell you that as small as the PPA may be, it is a party to beat, because of its inherent tendencies of human face in its political arrangement. I am not really bothered about big parties. What I am really worried about is the political culture of our people. What makes those parties big in the first place? Is it their rigging habits? Is it the politics of do or die or I-must-win? No, I am not scared by people of such quality.
The APC, the PDP or the APGA do not scare me, because they are not really as big as people think. With a level-playing ground, they can easily be defeated. What happened in the recent Rivers election is an example. The real people who are big are the voters, because they decide who gets what, how and when. So, if we have active political culture where candidates are placed side by side of what they have done to bless humanity, I tell you, the PPA will win all the way. Anyway, I am trusting INEC in its recent reforms, which shows that it is not going to be business as usual or money bag politics; it is the people that will decide. The ball is in the court of the electorates to choose between politics of materialism or welfare.
Why did you choose PPA?
Yes, it is workable if our people toe the line of sound political philosophy, which is simply voting for people because of what they can offer you; not what the party can bring. I am in the PPA, because of its political ideology. I feel that they operate closely to what is obtainable from where I am coming from, where internal democracy plays role, where ideology is the watchword. It is possible; I can win on the PPA platform; it has the good of the people at heart.
What is your greatest challenge in politics?
My greatest worry is the high-level of political insincerity; some people do not stand up for the right decision, because of the quest for materialism. They compromise their future a lot for porridge. It is unfortunate that our people are not looking for a party with direction, solution and capability. We should be looking at the people vying for political positions, not their political party; the individual should be the decisive factor, not the party he represents.
In PPA, you have people who are technocrats in various fields of human endeavour. With this, I can say confidently that I don’t fear any political figure that claim to be mighty, because where do they drive their power and strength from? From the common purse our resources, through their holding one political office or the other.
I am also worried by the level of unemployed persons taking to politics. So, politics is now a profession? People see it as a chance to become rich; not a call to service, as we have it in the Western world. We need people who are self-made, through the dint of their hard work.
