The Candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Obinna Nwosu is one of the strongest contenders for the seat of Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in the forthcoming 2023 general election. The 31 year old accountant in this interview with our correspondent, Humphrey Nwosu unveils his dreams for the constituency.
Excerpts:
Why do you want to represent Ikwuano/Umuahia in the Federal House of Representatives?
That is the question everybody keeps asking me. Obinna what are you looking for in politics? It’s very risky, it’s like murky water, it’s time and money consuming. So why should Obinna Nwosu go into this dangerous territory? If all the good men decide to stay away from politics how then do we make the necessary changes we want for our society? When good men keep quiet there would be retrogression in the land. For me, this is a call to service. I have been around my constituency for years and I have seen the challenges that my people face on daily basis and as such I felt that the best avenue to improve their lives is through politics. That is why I deem it necessary to represent my people in order to bring good governance and dividends of democracy to them.
What gives you the confidence that you can actualize this your political ambition considering your young age?
As a matter of fact my age is an advantage to me. I have gone through the INEC data and it revealed that the youths make up about 71 per cent of voters demography. If I can go successfully project my progress-driven intentions to the youths, they have the capacity to swing the election in my favour. But I am not stopping at that, I am also reaching across to the entire populace. Also remember that with the passing into law of the new electoral act anything can happen as we have seen in recent elections across the country. In that regard, I am 100 per cent confident about my chances of coming out of the election in flying colours. It’s immaterial whether you are a greenhorn or not. So long as the people believe in my visions for them, I can tell you that my chances of emerging victorious are very bright. Remember this is the time Nigerian youths are advocating for a generational shift in leadership and this revolution must be driven by highly cerebral, progressive and innovative young leaders without greed.
Do you think you have the political structure to win the election?
It depends on what you mean by political structure and what makes up this structure? Those who have so far been following my political journey so far, will admit I have been connecting with different individuals, groups, organizations and fora to let them know about my candidacy and what I will be bringing to the table for the betterment of our people. The people are the structure. While we are strengthening our party in our constituency, we are also reaching out to as many people as possible. I am assuring you that we are building a solid and formidable people based structure to win the election. We have the youths, we have the men and we have the women behind us. So far so good things have been moving well. To God be the glory, at the end of everything, I believe God will crown all my efforts with success. I think I have what it takes to be a worthy representative of Ikwuano/Umuahia constituency.
What are your plans for the people of Ikwuano/Umuahia constituency if you are elected to represent them in the Federal House of Representatives?
First and foremost accountability. Even in the Bible it says, everyone shall give account to God. For a start I will make sure that my people enjoy accountability. My constituents will enjoy open book representation. In addition, I am going to be very accessible to the people of my constituency, regular townhall meetings and engagements across various digital platforms. I am one who is passionate about education. If you look at my educational background you will know that I am keen on education. There is something I have always advocated for which I hope to actualize when I get to the Green Chamber by God’s grace. One of those things is to push for a pay teachers first policy. I want a situation whereby the teachers are being paid before anybody else including the legislators and the executives. I believe it is wrong for a governor to receive his allowances while the teachers are yet to get theirs. This is important because education is the bedrock for nation-building. When we invest and prioritize our educational sectors then the students will be the direct beneficiaries, because a well motivated teacher will give the students the best. These are people we look up to as leaders of tomorrow. We must give education a priority not just at the national level but also in the state and within my constituency. I also have plan to put in place a youth seating at table policy in order to make sure that the youths are adequately represented in every table of decision making. There is a saying that, ” when you build the youths, you build the nation”. We should not ignore the fact that the youths are engine house of any functional society. Now that the campaign has commenced, it is an opportunity for us to put out our well-detailed and clearer manifesto to the people. I mean our roadmap, our ideas, our visions and what we generally plan to do in terms of building the constituency, attracting the right kind of investment and infrastructures.
Why did you choose to quit your job for politics?
If we must take some things serious, one of those things must be politics. This is because politics is a determining factor for a lot of things such as quality healthcare, welfare, education, security among others. Anybody that loves a functional society cannot ignore politics. Some of the challenges we have faced for so long in our society is that some of the best minds who are supposed to be involved in fixing our society have stayed away from politics. It would be a costly mistake if people like me stay away from politics. I have decided to grab the bull by the horns and get involved. I don’t think politics is limited to anyone. Being an accountant should not stop me from participating in politics. In fact, it should be a key reason why I should join politics and bring in the much needed accountability which has been the bane of our society. What really attracted me to politics is basically the cry of my people. If it is because of contentment or what I will eat I don’t think politics is where I should go to. I am going there to cover the loopholes that make water come out of the eyes of my people.
You just made some promises to your constituency if elected, Politicians are noted for telling the voters about beautiful things they want to do but when they get there it becomes a different ball game altogether. Is it going to be the same with you?
As a 31-year-old in the political race, my ultimate dream is to write my name in the history book of this country. I want to do something that is evergreen. I want to emulate great leaders like late Michael Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sam Mbakwe and a host of others who are still being celebrated because of their performances in the Eastern region and Nigeria at large. That is the kind of standard I want to set for myself and the next generation that would be coming after me. It’s time for us to change the system and correct the ills in our society. So I want to see things done differently and bring a paradigm shift. In summary, I want to be perceived as that politician who will be known for accountability, performance, excellence, engagement with the people and compassion. I am not going to be a promise and fail politician, rather I am going to be an examplary politician to future young leaders.
As a new party, do you think that your party African Democratic Congress (ADC) has what it takes to excel in the 2023 general elections?
In the federal level the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is not a relatively new party as such. A party that has won several national assembly positions deserve some measure of respect. For instance, ADC won six house of representatives and over 20 house of assembly seats in 2019. But I may agree with you that in Abia State the party is still new as it has not been in the forefront of discussion but we are beginning to change that now. We have so far been doing a good job in that regard. You can see it from the caliber of people the party has been able to attract and field for the upcoming general elections. In Abia state, We can now boast of some household names in our great party.
We term political parties as being progressives or conservative in nature,where does ADC belong?
2023 election would be a unique one because for the first time, Nigerians are publicly clamouring that they will be voting for individuals, not party. This may mean that Nigerians have given up on the ideologies of political parties and are rather more concerned about finding the right individuals and then voting for the party the individuals is running for election with. But to answer your question by textbook appraoch, I will refer you to what we call the ADC DNA in our party, which decribes various notable virtues that define the ADC as a political party.
