I’ll never succumb to intimidation –Dickson

In the last few weeks, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson has
been under pressure over the rumoured plot to unseat him
and the series of attacks over alleged lull in the economy of
the State.
In this interview tagged “One Hour with Dickson” the Bayelsa
State helmsman bares his mind to journalists on a wide range
of issues. Excerpts:
Febuary 14 will make it your third year in office. While study­
ing some of your statements and body languages, it seems
you are uneasy. Can you identify the challenges you have
faced and how you have been squaring up to them?
I have been in political service for quite some time and I had
been exposed to service for our people even before I ventured
into partisan politics. At no time did I believe that being the
governor of Bayelsa State was going to be a bed of roses. I
knew clearly what the challenges were but there are things I
have come to find out that I didn’t imagine before. For
example, the cynicism of much of the Bayelsa public, the
negative mindset and the passion for believing negative
rumours and blackmail, and the way false propaganda
spreads in this state. Some of these things I had a fair idea of
but I didn’t know the extent and you won’t even know until
you are a governor.
When we came in, the revenue situation was not as bad, it
was far better during the days of my predecessor at least
towards the end of his tenure. But then I didn’t also imagine
that some time down the line, we will be managing deductions
from our monthly revenue such that as at today, what we
presently receive is about 40 per cent, even going to less than
40 per cent of what we received when I started.
When I came in and I looked at my programmes and the
available funds, I thought I had funds to embark on these
ambitious programmes in every sector but I didn’t imagine
that about a year down the line, funds will dry up such that
today we are receiving just about 40 per cent of what we
started with. So, these are clear challenges. The political
challenges are always there, even challenges you didn’t expect
will come from every quarter. Again, one thing I have
discovered is that unlike other states, our people are used to
pulling somebody down, to imagining negative things, stories
and even saying negative things. We don’t know much about
how to support somebody to succeed; it is as if in leading the
state to the next level, they don’t have any role to play.
When you look at the way they behave; even leaders, elected
officials, and the way they take governance as if it is the
responsibility of only one man, the governor, it is simply
amazing. If you are in the National Assembly, you don’t owe
any obligation to anybody, to your state and even that much
to your constituency. If you are a Minister you just stay far
away and do your job, in whatever office. Even within the
state our attitude is to stay far from the problem and then
worse still, throw bricks at the governor and the government.
We do not have the intention of sharing the vision and
supporting anyone who is steering the ship of state.
If you are at any level and you think that your people are poor,
do something about it; so where are the houses, schools you
have built for them, the hospitals, roads you have developed
for them, the industries and even human beings you have
built. So, we don’t have that shared vision of service delivery,
it is the responsibility of only one man. I am not just talking
about people outside the government, that is the attitude from
people within. They are the same people who earn the
salaries, the same people through whom jobs are executed
month after month; contractors are paid through them, they
know the true state of the finances and then when they go
out, either they don’t relate with their people and just
concentrate on themselves and families and think of how
many cars to buy and houses to build; and they portray the
government inadvertently or sometimes even deliberately in
that type of negative light, whereas in other places where even
salaries are lower, appointees are fewer, government bills are
far less, people have shared vision.
If you are in the National Assembly, you think of how many
roads you will put on the federal budget, if you are having a
position of influence, you do so but when you see this small
state and the opportunities we have at other levels and you
sit down here as governor grappling with these developmental
challenges, you are trying your best and you turn around and
all you see and hear are complaints. What of all these other
people? So nobody owes responsibility for development of our
people except the governor? So, we don’t have this shared
vision of promoting development.
Recently, I received a number of vehicles from a Bayelsan
leader, Chief Dan Etete, former Petroleum Minister. He drove
then to the state; he didn’t give them to his friends and
supporters, he didn’t form an NGO or a political group; he
came and gave them to the state. He said “ have this to
support your public transportation system”. That is the
attitude of the old school. So I want to appreciate him for
what he did and say to other indigenes of Bayelsa. ‘if you are
doing well, don’t keep your money only for politics’ because
from the attitude and the reports that I see, from the
intelligence available, there are people who boast about how
much money that they have saved only to fight elections.
Some will spend it to subvert and undermine their own state
government but they don’t boast about money they have
spent to build the life of the people, that is part of the discon­
nect that the allies, leaders, people who have benefited from
this state have done. Most of them don’t even have houses,
they stay away from Bayelsa, they have no direct connection,
they don’t even stay here, their children don’t even come here;
they stay in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt, that is the closest.
This is the season of politics and Bayelsa is no exception.
What is the government doing to ensure the delivery of free,
fair and credible election in Baylesa State?
This state has less political challenges. We are far more stable
politically than many other states around and the reason is
obvious. Firstly, because of our mature tolerance and
approach to handling political issues. Secondly, the political
calendar is such that the governorship election is not coming
up right now and sometimes that is why we wonder why some
people have started getting unduly excited. After all, there is
no governorship election or nominations right now to take
place in this state. All those who mean well for this state
should be rallying round me as leader of the PDP, the
President’s party, to solidify the home-base and then mobilise
support for the President. But unfortunately, you are aware of
the deliberate acts of distraction that are going on. But as I
said we are not distracted, we are committed to doing what is
right and proper. I am a tolerant politician and a democrat. I
have always believed in the fact that people should be
encouraged to exercise their franchise freely and that has been
demonstrated in so many ways unlike the situation that
existed before we came. People were attacked at political
rallies even within the same political parties; thugs were after
people. You knew what happened, for example, when in 2011
the CPC Presidential candidate now APC Presidential
candidate visited Bayelsa, you know what the government at
that time did and how that rally was disrupted. In contrast,
you saw the steps my government took to ensure their safety
and guarantee their right under the laws and constitution and
thus peacefully had their political rally. Any other outcome
would not have sent out the right message to Nigeria from
the President’s home state. You can see what is going on in
other states which we condemn but you can imagine what
would have happened if there had been some violence right
here. They would have used whatever would have happened
here as a justification.
That is why sometimes I say many of our people are yet to
fully understand the quality of leadership that I am giving
here. Human memory is very short; they have forgotten their
past experiences when people who disagreed with the powers-
that-be then would not be allowed entry into Baylesa. You
can see how people who disagree with us are operating freely
in the state and my only requirement is that they should do so
within the confines of the law because there is a difference
between opposition politics and subversion and even treason.
So as a government, we will do everything to support the
exercise of the free franchise of our people. There is no one
who will tell you in this state, either within our party or the
opposition elements that I have failed to protect and
guarantee their lives. No one is running away from Bayelsa. I
myself faced a commission of enquiry in this state; I faced
warrant of arrest. For two years, I came into Bayelsa secretly
because of the prevailing climate. But the environment we
have created is such that everybody comes around; it’s our
state and that was why I said don’t banish anybody from any
community. All those who couldn’t go to their communities in
the past as a result of that disruptive politics as I came in I
directed that they should return. So, we are committed as a
government to support the fact that people should freely come
out and cast their votes for candidates of their choice without
intimidation and violence and we are working with the security
agents to ensure that happens.
Now in this state, we have done far better than most other
states in terms of the percentage of collection of the PVCs. I
believe your statistics are wrong because the last briefing I
received on this issue of the collection rate of PVCs, it was
about 80-85 per cent.