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| Chief E.K Clark |
By: Ibifuro Tatua
BOSS: Sir, let us start with
your thoughts on the attitude of politicians of the past as compared to the
attitude of today’s politicians.
E.K Cl
Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark Officer of The Order Of Federal Republic (OFR) and Commander Of The Order of Niger (CON). is a prominent player in Nigerian politics. Clark has no parallel in the South-South region; he is simply referred to as THE LEADER.
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Edwin Clark is Chairman of the Delta State Elders’ Forum and has campaigned for Ijaw rights in the ethnically volatile Niger Delta. He is respected even at federal level. His residences, either in Lagos, Kiagbodo or Abuja are Mecca of sought for politicians, contractors, militants, jurists, Diplomats, Civil servants, and All. At 86, Chief Clark still has terrific memories, infact, photographic memories as his ability to recall names, words, events, people, numbers and dates with extreme precision baffles many as he can recall details of 30 and beyond years ago. What set Clark apart cannot be explained but obviously, he has a good pedigree, his brothers distinguished themselves, Prof. J. P. Clark is respected in literary world, Ambassador B. A. Clark rose to the pinnacle of his career as the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, his other brother retired as a General in the Nigerian Army.
Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark has great credentials.
As a young man, he worked hard as a headmaster and community development officer contributing to the development of education and the mobilization of the people for community development. He has held various local, regional and national positions, he is senior colleague at the bar; an alumnus at the Holbom College of Law, London, who was later, called to the Bar in England as a member of the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple and as solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Born on 25 May1932 in Kiagbodo, Bendel State
Education: African Church School, Effurun, 1939; Native Authority School, Okrika, 1940; Native Authority School, Akugbene, 1940-45; Holborn College of Law, United Kingdom, 1961-64
Career: Headmaster, Local Authority School, Ofoni, Western Ijaw; Headmaster, Local Authority School, Bomadi, 1954; Headmaster, Secondary Modern School, Bomadi, 1955-57; Assistant Community Development Officer, 1957-61; Director, Asaba Textile Mill 1967; Commissioner for Education, Mid-Western State, 1968-71; Commissioner for Finance and Establishment, Bendel State, 1972-75; Minister for Information, 1975; Chairman of Council and Pro-Chancellor, University of Benin, 1970-75; Director, Bendel Brewery, 1972-74; Chairman, Bendel Line, 1973-74; joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), 1979; Pro-Chancellor, University of Technology, Minna, 1983; Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979-83; Leader, Delta State Elders’ Forum.
Clark is not afraid to say what he wants to say. In this interview with Ibifuro Tatua and Henry Ebireri, Clark speaks about his family, Politics, the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan and the need for a united Nigeria.
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| From L-R: Henry Ebireri, Chief E.K Clark and Publisher of Boss Africa Magazine Ibifuro Tatua |
Cark: Well, they are all different. The politicians
of the First Republic were different from Second Republic ones, who were
themselves different from the politicians of today. We saw that the politicians
of the First Republic were more nationalistic; in other words, they were more
patriotic and dedicated to Nigeria. Compared to what we have today, the lowest
they could go was to fight for their own state and region. But today, a politician
fights more for his own family and how to benefit his family even before he can
talk about the state where he comes from. Nigeria comes last. That was not the
politics of yesterday.
BOSS:What might be responsible
for this?
E.K CLARK: Over ambition, corruption.
People want to be wealthy; they want to drive so many cars at the same time and
they want to sleep on so many beds at the same time, which is not possible. Why
should they want to live a life greater or higher than what they should belong
to? So you find exactly that there is indiscipline, because quite a number of
people did not pass through the family system. Their duty is to grab, grab,
grab. I think that is what it is turning into today; there is less devotion –
no nationalism and patriotism is not there.
BOSS: Sir, what does this
portend for the Nigerian state?
E.K CLARK: It is sad; that is what we
are saying today. People talk about corruption and this corruption has been
growing over the years. Today, we now find corruption in the judiciary,
corruption in the legislature and the executive. There is nowhere to go. I
think that is the problem and it means that there is need for immediate
eradication of corruption. Corruption is the greatest evil in the society
today.
BOSS: Looking back at your days
in government, how would you assess your experience then?
E.K CLARK: Well, I do not know what you
mean by that. Anyone who is 18 years old is qualified to vote and be voted for.
At the age of 25, you could be a member of the Assembly, that is, the
legislature. So it is not the age or the experience that matters a great deal;
what matters is your upbringing, then the society. These are the two things. If
you belong to a sober society, a society where less value is placed on money, a
society where merit is the order of the day, then the people would be attuned
to that. Everybody growing up would grow up to that. But today, we see young
men praying every day in their houses; every morning they organize prayer
sessions whereas they do a different thing completely. It is all camouflage, so
that they can give people the impression that they can never be corrupt.
BOSS:But, sir, can you recall
your time in government and compare it to today’s system?
E.K CLARK: They are not comparable; you cannot compare
them. I was commissioner for education in General Ogbemudia’s government from
1968-1971. You could commend my area for what I did, because there was only one
grammar school in the whole of Western Ijaw, which was a Catholic grammar
school. However, when I took over, I found out that my people did not have much
education. It was a big disadvantage, so I went ahead to the governor and told
him, “If you want me to do this job, these are some of the things I want to do
for the people.” And he said, “Go ahead.”
By the time I left the ministry of education
we already had nine more grammar schools in the area. Primary education was
free in order to bring the girls up. Then the only grammar school that was
there before we changed it to a government college and everybody in that school
was on scholarship. So this was directed at a people who were backward. Then,
at the state level, we were able to establish the University of Benin; we were
able to establish a headmasters’ institute and we were able to establish more
grammar schools in other places. And we had the scholarship scheme. Then I
moved to the ministry of finance. I was there when they reformed the tax
system. Then I went to the Federal Ministry of Information; the story is there.
I was the pro-chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (the
founding pro-chancellor), an awarding pro-chancellor in the University of Benin
and chairman of the governing council for about five years. There is nothing I
can compare in my time with today.
BOSS: So your own time was
service-oriented while the current day...?
E.K CLARK: My own period was
service-oriented; what these other people are looking for, I do not know.
BOSS: Sir, maybe we need to go
back and look at all these many years as commissioner -- from education down to
finance and even to information. Do you have any regrets at all?
E.K CLARK: I have no regrets because I
was happy that I was serving my people and the question whether I did well or
not is not for me. But, personally, I know I was serving and hearing what
people were saying. It means that they were somehow satisfied with what I was
doing.
BOSS: Sir, in the thick of the
Niger Delta crises, we thought that very few people would want to stick out
their neck as the leader of a particular area, but you were up as the key
leader of the Ijaw nation. Looking back, do you feel satisfied as the leader of
the Ijaw nation that you have been able to help reposition Ijaw people and the
ijaw nation within the Nigerian landscape?
E.K CLARK: In everything you do, there is always a limit;
no man can satisfy everybody. I do contribute my quota where my leadership is
required to. Today I sit down here very much satisfied that a minority man has
become the president of Nigeria, which is a thing that was forbidden in the
past. This is an achievement the south-south people, the Niger Delta people
cannot forget. That is why sometimes when you make statements, people feel that
we have appeared and that we are overreacting. All that we are doing is saying,
“Please, you have been there for years and we have followed you. Why not allow
us to have what GOD has given to us?”
That is what we are seeing
from time to time, so as far as I am concerned, the Ijaw man today is far
better from what the Ijaw man was perhaps five years ago. Even though Mr.
President may not be able to touch the heart of every Ijaw man, the mere fact
that you have the president of Nigeria from your area makes you feel some sense
of belonging and satisfaction and you can now be reckoned with.
You do not have to get
anything from Mr. President, because the influence of being part of a
government alone that you would win from time to time is enough satisfaction.
Politically, we are going to move forward. If we have to be with the man who is
the president, we must also move our politics up. So, today, we have our people
as the head of affairs of the party everywhere. You cannot compare the Ijaw man
of five years ago to the Ijaw man of today; you cannot compare the Niger Delta
and the south-south man of five years ago to the south-south man of today.
BOSS: Sir, maybe we need to take
the thing beyond the Ijaw nation and focus on the Niger Delta region completely
in terms of the agitation of many years ago. Some say infrastructure, some are
concerned about oil revenue; some are concerned about participation in
politics. In the area of politics, how would you assess the level of
development in the Niger Delta?
E.K CLARK: Well, that is the problem.
The area has been one of the most undeveloped, neglected areas. Oil was first
found in Oloibiri; today you see Oloibiri and you cannot even recognize it.
Today, you go to that area and you would be sad. Amnesty was granted to our
boys who were fighting for their own freedom, who were fighting for this
neglect we were talking about. There were two aspects to the amnesty. Kingsley
Kuku, the special adviser on Niger Delta has asked, “What next after amnesty?”
Have we got enough development after amnesty? The answer is NO, because the
president is focusing his attention on the whole nation.
We have not got much area
and I remember there were three things mentioned when the amnesty came into
play. Some of us took part in the negotiations. There was a bill for a coastal
railroad from Calabar to Warri, Benin and Lagos via Ibadan. There was to be a
coastal road, which many of us felt would not be necessary if the East-West
Road is completed. But you now find that the East-West road is moving very
slowly. We are worried that the most important economic road in Nigeria now
being developed is not yet completed, but we do hope that by 2014 that road
would have been completed. We also discovered that apart from the Niger Delta
ministry, the Niger Delta Commission (NDDC) has not been able to tackle the
problems of the Niger Delta. So, in these areas therefore, we are still very
much behind but we do hope before the end of 2015, when Mr. President may be
doing his second term, more attention would be paid to the Niger Delta by way
of physical development.
BOSS: Sir, many young people
from the Ijaw nation are currently in government and many of them believe that
whatever they are doing in government, your support has always helped them to
record big achievements. One of them is Oronto Douglas. Kingsley Kuku is also
there and there are some other Ijaw people who also believe in you. Are you
satisfied with their performance in government?
E.K CLARK: Well, it is not my duty to
write the testimonial of any individual. But put together, they are doing very
well -- I think Kingsley Kuku in particular. Well, I said hello to Mr. Douglas
last night; he is one of the advisors to Mr. President on documentation.
Kingsley Kuku has been responsible for the training of our boys and girls and I
know that all of them, knowing where they come from, would be able to perform
before the end of the government.
BOSS: Well, this is 2013 and in
the next two years, we should be talking about 2015. What is your position on President
Goodluck Jonathan?
E.K CLARK: What do you mean by that?
BOSS: What I mean by that?
E.K CLARK: Yes.
BOSS: 2015 is near the corner
and the people in the north are saying power should shift there. However, many
southerners believe this is President Jonathan’s first term and he must run for
a second term.
E.K CLARK: I think you would get that if you are involved
in day-today politics. If there is anybody talking about President Goodluck
Jonathan for 2015 in today’s papers, it is me; I started it. I made it clear
that the 1999 Constitution provides for two terms for the president. You must
contest for two elections after every four years and Jonathan has contested
only one election. He has one more election to go; therefore, he is qualified
to contest. In 1979, Shagari contested election and in 1983, he also contested
another election, but it was Buhari and his co-soldiers who removed him from
power. If he had not been removed from power, he would have remained there for
another four years making eight years. Obasanjo remained in power for eight
years; he contested for power two times -- 1999 and 2003 -- and he ended up in
2007. There is no new constitution that has been written since that time; it is
the same 1999 Constitution, so Jonathan is therefore qualified to contest
another election in 2015 and then someone else would come in 2019.
BOSS: Beyond constitutional
requirements, why should Nigerians vote for Jonathan in 2015 election?
E.K CLARK: Jonathan has performed more
than any other president elected in this country. It is the conspiracy of our
detractors. Those who feel it is their right, the right of the majority to
govern this country forever. Jonathan’s time is the first time that we have
been included. The trains and the railways in Nigeria stopped running 15 years
ago, but we have trains running from Edo, Lagos to Kano -- all done by
Jonathan.
When Jonathan took over,
the power situation in this country was almost at a standstill. I remember that
in 1999 Obasanjo appointed the late Bola Ige as minister of power. Bola Ige
said that within 6 months they would be able change the case of Nigeria but he
did not know at that time there were many huge cases. But in Jonathan’s time he
has been able to identify the problems: distribution, transmission and
generation. These are problems that are being sorted out and he is tackling
them one by one. Today what no government had the courage to do; he has done,
that is, privatizing power. So it is only transmission we are now dealing with,
and before the end of this year we are confident that they would be able to
provide 10 thousand megawatts in this country. For eight years Obasanjo was in
office and Shagari got us nowhere, but today Jonathan has awarded contracts.
Today I was able to drive from Benin to Ore within an hour and a half because
the road is very good. That has always been a bad road, right? In this country,
within a short time educationally, youths who had never gone to school in their
life and who had no food to eat are being taken out by Jonathan’s government. About 5 billion
naira has been paid to schools, starting with Sokoto. In Jonathan’s time 12 new
federal universities have been established, with nine of them in the north and
only three of them in the south. That is the handiwork of Jonathan. He has done
only two years and he is still going and by the end of 2015 he would have
achieved more. Very soon, the railway would be running from Port Harcourt to
Makurdi and to Maiduguri. Elections are now properly held in this country. In
2011, when Jonathan said, “I do not want anybody to die because you are voting
for me”, for the first time a party in power lost three states because of
proper organization of elections. Today Edo, Ondo and Anambra states had their
elections. Peter won in Anambra (not PDP), Oshiomhole won in Edo (not PDP) and
Mimiko won in Ondo (not PDP). Therefore, to allow people to cast their vote
according to their conscience is one of the greatest achievements of this
government. If you want more, I will continue telling you.
BOSS: Speculations are rife that
some people are conspiring against the president on the second-term election.
As somebody that is close to Mr. President, what are you doing in that area?
E.K CLARK: At 86, I do not have to go to Jonathan to tell
him, “This is what we are doing”. We are already educating and telling
Nigerians that this is Jonathan’s time.
Jonathan has one more term; that Jonathan has taken two oats does not
supersede the constitutional provision that he has two elections to contest.
BOSS: Sir, what about
bridge-building with other ethnic groups?
E.K CLARK: We are having meetings with various people; you
must have heard that we went to Mr. President with leaders of the middle belt
last week. We are also having meetings with the south-west, south-east and the
south-south people where we come from. We are building bridges, so no one can
impose anybody on anybody. The Ijaws alone cannot make a president and the
south-south alone cannot make a president. You need the cooperation of other
people and you cannot force them to do it, so you need to educate them; you
have to lobby.
BOSS: You are very confident
that Jonathan will win the 2015 presidential election?
E.K CLARK: If winning an election is to depend upon
performance, he is already there.
BOSS:Ok, sir. Maybe we would
need to take you from Abuja to Delta State, because there have been so many
issues. Sometimes it is power shift; sometimes it is the Ijaw leader rejecting
a minister who wants to run for 20...
E.K CLARK: I do not go into those things because they are
too minor for me. What I said is that Mr. President does not want to talk about
2015 now. And he gave instructions to all his ministers and appointees that
nobody should go to his state to cause political trouble until he declares and
that anybody who does so will be doing it at his own risk. What am I going to
get from a minister? I should be able to speak the truth, to tell people that
the time has not come but when the time comes elections would be held. Whoever
wants to declare would declare so. I do not want to make any statements.
BOSS: Nigerians can see what
Jonathan is doing. What is your advice for them?
E.K CLARK: Well, my advice to Nigerians
is to be patient. Nigerians should be tolerant and we should also have feelings
for others. This country belongs to all of us and we have no other country to
go to. You can only talk about one country, a united Nigeria in which everybody
is qualified, competent, educated, transparent and is allowed to attain the
highest office in this country by his own merit and not because you are
minority or majority or whatsoever reason. Every Nigerian has equal right to
contest for any position that he wants to contest for and there should be no
restrictions. Restrictions should be on the basis of non-qualification owing to
criminality or other things.
BOSS: Did you struggle at any
point or you just had everything handed to you?
E.K CLARK: I did not lobby for anything
and I was appointed based on merit as a commissioner of education and finance.
But I contested an election to become a senator.
BOSS: On a lighter note, we just
want to congratulate you on your recent marriage.
E.K CLARK: You can see that sign on me. I feel very, very
happy. Well, thank you very much.
BOSS: Thank you very much, sir.
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