President of the Global One Love Foundation, and civil rights crusader, Chief Patrick Eholor in this exclusive chat speaks on several trending issues.
Excerpts:
On Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy
I have instructed my lawyers to write to the National Human Rights Commission, the Presidency and the National Security Agency. This is a matter of national security. For a serving minister to be on the watch list of the American government is not in the interest of the country. I have gone ahead to ask questions, profile the minister, look at his past and present activities etc. It is a shame that such a man who said that whenever the lives of Christians is taken he is not pained. He also said that he supported Osama Bin Ladin and that he was going to meet somebody in Cape Town to mobilise support for the jihadists. This is a disservice to the nation.
The Global One Love Foundation will soon be issuing a communique where we will go give him 72 hours to resign from the federal cabinet and to also apologise to Nigerians. We are also telling Mr. President that he cannot treat this with kid gloves and sweep it under the carpet like other issues. That Nigeria is not a Fulani country. This is Nigeria and the country belongs to all of us. We have in the past his selective appointments and his loopsided style of governance. What’s happening now is giving us credence. He is telling the world that he is a sectional leader with his agenda of fulanisation to ensure that Fulani hippies who are roaming about without a home have a home in Nigeria which we are against.
On the debt profile of the Edo State Government
The Global One Love Foundation wants to know the debt profile of Edo State. That’s why I have spoken with my lawyer, Barrister Douglas Ogbankwa, to enquire from the Edo State Government about their debt profile. Governor Godwin Obaseki did something commendable recently when he accused the federal government of printing excessive money to the tune of about N60billion which the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) have reacted to that the federal government have the right to do so. Godwin Obaseki’s concern on the issue is commendable. The message he sent was clear that if something is not done to address the issue Nigeria may just go into extinction.
As the federal government is borrowing so also are the state governments borrowing. So, what’s the fate of Edo State since it is said that charity begins at home I am more concerned about Edo State. I want to know how much Godwin Obaseki has received since he became governor. How much he has so far borrowed. How much he inherited from his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. How much Comrade Oshiomhole was owing. If Obaseki has borrowed money by what means did he do so; what were the collaterals; were people aware of it and was it subject to debate by the House of Assembly? He cannot use veto power to borrow money. If he has that power it means that we are in trouble.
These questions are very fundamental. I have instructed Barrister Ogbankwa to write to the Edo State Government so that we can know its debt profile.
On the just concluded 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) Edo 2020
Edo State Government has been very economical with the truth. They have not been honest to the people. The state House of Assembly is very docile. Just about 9 out of a maximum of 24 members are in the legislative chambers. They’re all Yes men to the governor. There has never been a robust debate from the House of Assembly. If there is an issue like that you want to get the right information from the legislature but because there is no proactive legislative arm it is all about the executive such that the governor is acting like a sole administrator. He has refused to appoint commissioners six months into his second tenure. I have not trusted Godwin Obaseki in the past and I don’t have a convincing reason to trust him now. Very soon we will find out from the federal government how much the 20th National Sports Festival cost tax payers.
The festival was not planned well. There should have been a place to show case the rich cultural heritage of Edo people. There should have been vendors stand where people would have sold food, beverages etc. You cannot do a national festival at a high cost and the people in the state do not benefit from it.
On University of Benin’s refusal to pay its contractors
I am glad to hear the issue of the contractor that handled the University of Benin’s contract at the NUJ premises. He is suffering what the other contractors are also suffering. Recently, I did a contract at the University of Benin (Uniben) which I got from the institution’s former Vice Chancellor, Professor Faraday Osasere Orumwense. Before his tenure there was Professor Oshodin whom we also partnered with to handle millennium projects for the institution. As a Nigerian who meets all the condition to be called a good citizen I am qualified to bid for any contract and execute it if I succeed in been awarded the contract.
The Uniben, as an institution, has been very notorious. No bank would give them a loan facility because of several negative experiences over the years. At a time I had to write a letter to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Lilian Salami to ask for payment for a contract I did to help the institution address its dilapidated condition. I committed my funds to execute the contract. I wrote a letter to her praising her in it as I have nothing against her. I respect her a lot. As a matter of fact, she is occupying an enviable position. My philosophy is that women should be given opportunity to serve. Most men have failed us. Surprisingly, she did not respond to the letter which I sent to her through courier service.
I had an experience one day when I visited one of Uniben’s restrooms. My pant was down to my knees when a lady burst into me. I asked her what brought her to the male section. Her response was that the female section was not functioning. I wrote an article about that experience. I and Professor Salami belong to at least three forums where we interact and proffer suggestions on how to build lasting legacies. She posted the letter that I wrote and sent to her privately on one of the forums. Thank God that I didn’t say anything unusual in the letter. All I did was to ask her for payment of what the institution is owing me. She discredited and malign my person describing me as ‘one so called Patrick Eholor’ forgetting that I am a chief. She also alleged that I wanted to blackmail her.
I do not see the offence I committed by canvassing for students to study in a conducive environment. I also mentioned some lecturers who in their hunger for sex demand sex for grade. She didn’t see anything serious about what I wrote to her. Rather, she engaged her internet dogs to attack me. A lot of personalities have expressed the need for the issue to be amicably resolved.
I recall a time that she was at the Benin Palace and some chiefs were correcting her on how to greet the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II. I defended her all through when a report of the incident was published by a credible media outfit. She did not condemn me for doing that. I was surprised that she posted my private letter to her on social media platform to malign, insult and down grade me. I will not respond to her in a similar manner because she is a woman that I respect. My mother is a woman, I have a daughter and I have a wife. However, I have no apology for the letter I wrote to her because I did it to give her my support. I will also instruct my lawyer to write to the institution officially to information about its debt profile. I want to know how much she met; how much she has borrowed and what she has done. I want to know the institution’s contractors and how much they are been owed.
What she did that I found repulsive is telling me to go and hold her predecessors responsible for what I am going through regards my payment as she did not give me any contract. I want to remind her that she works for an institution whose activities are continuous. She inherited everything from her predecessors. She cannot choose whom to pay or not to pay. I may take her to court where she would be compelled to pay me all that I incurred in the court process plus whatever the institution is owing me. She should pay all the contractors their money or they should consider shutting down the school if she cannot run it well.
On the call to hire mercenaries to prosecute the war against insurgency, kidnapping etc.
We don’t need mercenaries. What we need is state police and improving on our local vigilante. We need to change the idea of a commissioner of police for instance from Sokoto to Benin. He doesn’t know the environment. We have enough smart police officers from the south-south region that can be used as police commissioners. They can support the vigilante; take their biometrics; take their mugshots and give them all necessary modern equipments. The centre should be broken. The Abuja police cannot cover the whole country. Let’s have something similar to the Metropolitan Police in London; the Scotland Yard; the New York Police Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) etc. The state should have its own police likewise the central in support of the state police. Governors should not be allowed to have undue power over the activities of the state police.
On security implications of shady deals at the airports
It is a risky thing. God forbids that kidnappers, bandits, terrorists and others have access into an aeroplane to carry out their operations. Planes will start dropping from the sky and we would be in a serious trouble. Our aviation system, like our borders, is very porous. People working in the ticketing office at the airports connive with the security agents to hoard tickets just to make profit. For instance, if I go to the airport they will tell me that there is no more ticket. They’ll now present a ticket with a fictitious name and ID to me to buy at a high rate. The security agents who are part of the action will give me a clearance to board the flight.
I have petitioned the relevant authorities about it and asked them to act fast before it becomes too late and result in chaos. I am willing to offer my services to the security agencies without any fees attached so as to avert any misfortune.
