Bassey Udoh is a very sound personality who knows what he wants and how to get things done for the good of his people. In this interview with Thomas Thomas and Uduak Akai, the UK based Nsit Ibom security expert expresses why he wants to become the Chairman of his Local Government in the forthcoming local government area poll. Excerpts:
Good morning Sir, please can we meet you?
My name is Bassey Israel Udo. I am from Afaha Ntup in Afaha Nsit community, Mbiaso Ward 6 of Nsit Ibom Local Government Area. My village is where we have College of Education.
Your educational background and work experience?
Educationally I have passed through the university. My primary school was in the Demonstration Primary School, Afaha Nsit; then Comprehensive Secondary School, Ndiya. I happened to be the third batch of students that passed out from that school. Then I joined the Navy and while in the Navy, I had a study leave.
I went to the famous Obafemi Awolowo University and that was where I had my BSc in International Relations and did my Master degree in International Relations, also there. But my political life was such that it was a mix of disappointment, like it has happened to other politicians.
I resigned from the military (the Navy) in 2001and joined politics; I lost the House of Assembly. That was in 2003. Then 2004, I moved to the United Kingdom (UK) to further my studies. There I went to Oxford Business School where I had my MSc in International Trade and Logistics. So ever since, I have been coming and going, but I have been very much on ground. When it comes to the ward politics, I have been actively involved and my ward chairman can attest to this.
Sir, why would you want to become Nsit Ibom Local Government Chairman?
Since my early days in politics I have always wanted to help out in my own little ways. And sometimes I feel the only platform I have to use is having the power. And with that, I can do a lot. Because in my own little way I have studied the situation. It is not just easy for you to jump out from the blues and say you want to change things. You have to be part of the system to change. So I have always wanted to be in the government system to be able to effect changes and create the impact.
Sir, I heard you said that there are things you want to change; that there are things you want to do differently, can you hint us on those things you will do to better the lives of Nsit Ibom people ?
Great! That’s a very good question. One, in aligning with ARISE Agenda of the present administration, I will change the fortunes of Nsit Ibom through agriculture, and mechanised agriculture. Because already, I am seriously in talks with some expatriates that I’m willing to bring in. And it is not all about the allocation that we are looking for. They are coming with their own hard cash. All they need is the platform for them to operate.
Apart from that, we have two schools in my village – Afaha Nsit. The College of Education is there and there is also Maurid Polytechnic, and we cannot boast of one very good ICT centre. And I’ll be willing to do that; to replicate that in the two divides; in almost all the wards. And establishing an ICT centre will definitely help to groom the young ones. Some of them don’t even know anything about computer. They don’t even know what it looks like, they have never touched it and if this is done, it will help them to be able to access and even in writing UTME and WASCE, which in the nearest future everything might be computer-based. It will help them. And also, they can derive a lot of money by getting access and being able to use the platform. So I look at that and feel I should bring some change for my people, because the world today everything is technological and development. I will like to go into that. And then you might ask, how do you plan to power the system?
There are a lot of ways we can do that. It is either we go the solar way, or we go the hydro way because we have some large rivers which we can dam in the two divides of the local government. And this will definitely help.
Apart from that, in terms of skills acquisition, I plan to do a lot. And also by creating opportunities for those that want to go do anything abroad, I have my partners which I can link up, with a very, very little fee, which the council can afford to pay to move them to get them well trained and then come back and distribute knowledge; and by so doing, so many families would have been helped off the street; so many young people off the street. So, apart from these three ideas, I still have some other things which we could do even in terms of sports, because you can only give what you have.
Okay, you have mentioned that you resigned from Navy, since then what have you been engaged in?
I left the military because I had wanted to be in politics. Since it did not favour me, I had to venture into so many things. I have been doing so many other things. I worked with SouthGate Maritime Limited, Lagos, where I was the trainer and also was in charge of ships supply operations.I did that for a while and then I got a job with UPS. I was the country security manager. I was in Lagos but I controlled what happens in the sea security-wise in the whole country, and that was what I was doing. So getting me into the system (the government) is, or will be a kind of “buy one and get another one free.” I have the abilities and the knowledge with a very good expertise in logistics operations. So I call myself a man of many parts – I have many parts in me.
You know local government election seems to be a game of godfatherism, do you have one?
At the moment I don’t have a godfather. I don’t have anybody I can say I am answerable to this person. And with the little knowledge from the UK, if you want to be free, you don’t need a godfather. I don’t want to start a fight that I will not be able to end tomorrow. So I feel I will be able to work with the people directly than working with a godfather and every allocation he would be telling me what to do. I want to have a name. I want to have a say in the running of my local government.
Sir will you say the governor is doing well?
The governor is doing very well. He is in the right direction and that is why I want to be part of what he is doing. And in my own little way in my local government, I want to take it a bit further because I have the expertise, I have the experience and I have the links. So I really want to buy into the ARISE Agenda and definitely I will be very loyal to the system. I have a lot of things and ideas I will partner with the State Givernment to do.There are certain things that you start and the state government will buy into what you are doing. But if you don’t even have that idea, Governor Umo Eno will not even talk to you about it.
But if you bring up that idea, say, this is what I want to do, or let him even hear, that oh, last month, Nsit Ibom was able to send five people abroad to go and learn this or to go and learn that, he will ask you, he will look for you. You can build an edifice for something, maybe library, after building it you go to him and say Sir, we’ve done this, we need your help in furnishings.
So you cannot give what you don’t have. So once this man sees that you have done something, definitely the state government will come to your aid. They will come in.
The Governor wants every Chairman to live in his local government area, do you buy the idea?
It is a very good idea. You will see that some people will run away from governance. They will run away from that council without being able to live in there because if you are not good to the people, you cannot dwell in their midst. There is no way you would have a house and it is only your own that is a concrete building while other houses surrounding you are all mud/thatch houses and you think or feel that you are safe. So for him to say that all the local government chairmen must reside in their council areas is one of the best things that he has done. Let so many people go and live there in their villages and survive let us see. Every morning you would see line- up of people coming with their diverse complaints/problems, and how do you solve them? This is not something that you run away from. Because we’ve had people who run away from problems of their communities and would rather go and stay aloof somewhere else and talk. So I am very much in support of that grassroots operation. I am willing and ready to operate from my community. And when you do well, nobody will kill you in your community but when you don’t do well, you will answer questions. So there are so many things the governor has proposed and has done that I buy into. And with the ideas that I have garnered from outside, I am completely in support of what Governor Umo Eno has done.
Thank you Sir.