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Elder Godsday Orubebe Reveals: God Called Me Into Politics

Elder-GodsDay-OrubebeFormer Minister of Niger Delta, Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe, bares his mind on politics, his relationship with God and aspirations in a recent interview  with selected journalists… ORUKPE NELSON was there.

How has life been since you left office?

Not many people know that I am of the clergy sector; I run a church. The third year anniversary of the church, Glory Sanctuary Christian Centre (GSCC), Ogbogbagbene, Burutu Local Government, Delta State was held recently while the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was the guest speaker at the event. The vision to establish the sanctuary came in 1998 to preach the gospel and win souls in the creeks of the Niger Delta and beyond. I have been busy with the work of God, not full-time though. I am also busy attending to the needs of my people. I tell you, you don’t need to serve your people only when you are in office, as service goes beyond that. God has been so wonderful to me. I brought the people of my community closer to God by establishing Glory Sanctuary Christian Centre in Ogbogbagbene. The importance of the church which has a capacity for no fewer than 10,000 worshippers is that it has not only provided a worship centre for the people of Ogbogbagbene community but those from the surrounding communities, including Burutu people who also worship in the church.

I never lobbied to become minister; instead, I went to God in prayers, and God told me I was advertising Him. I did not come into politics by accident or through the assistance of some benevolent personalities; no! I actually started from the grass roots in a hard way, through the divine guidance of God. As a young man, I had the opportunity to work in five different organisations, which include the Nigeria Police and Nigerian Customs Service but I turned down the offers because I had a calling from God to go into politics and serve my people. The challenge then was where I would raise the money to contest for political office, as a young school leaver, I had no financial means to achieve all this.

How far with your aspiration to be the next governor of Delta State?

I am consulting with God and my leaders, from the councillor level to the presidency level, to declare to the good people of Delta State that I am humbly willing to come and offload what God has deposited in me.

How was your journey into politics?

I was born to play politics. I started right from my school days. While at the University of Lagos, I served as the Student Union leader, Public Relations Officer and a member of the Parliament. Going back to the roots, I started as a supervisory councillor in Burutu Local Government Area and second member of the state Education Board. I later became the chairman of Burutu Local Government Area, Delta State. As the chairman of Burutu Local Government Area, I facilitated developmental changes to the area by ensuring the development of infrastructure such as schools, rural electrification, water, roads and health care. The health care centre I built in 1992 is still serving the indigenes of the area.

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I was the Special Adviser to Governor James Ibori on Urban and Regional Planning from 2004 – 2005. My modest achievements during this period of service included developing, planning and implementing strategic and useful policies and modalities for urban poverty intervention and rural area development, with the sole aim of increasing the socio-economic activities for the betterment of the people. I also submitted a bill on urban development to the governor, which was passed into law and is still in operation in the state. It also serves as a model for other states. Between 2007 and 2008, I served as the Honourable Minister, Special Duties to President Umaru Yar’Adua. While working with the President, I contributed to his Seven – Point Agenda through a series of routine comprehensive reports on government activities. During this period, I was also a member of a special committee saddled with the responsibility to oversee the Amnesty Act under the supervision of then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, who worked on the Amnesty act seeking an end to the Niger Delta crisis.

The amnesty programme saw the light of the day and is still being implemented and has restored peace to the region. My tenure as Special Duties minister also saw an unparalleled increase in revenue generation to the management of the National Lottery. Perhaps I must also humbly say here that my modest achievements must have directly or indirectly led to my being appointed Honorable Minister, National Planning Commission and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Council. We were able to focus on organisational development and restructuring of the Commission for optimal efficiency and effectiveness. I also contributed to the formulation of developmental oriented policies which formed the backbone of the late President’s governance in terms of administrative policies.

How do you view President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘Transformation Agenda’

Under President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria is experiencing unprecedented developments as being witnessed in the revived railway system in the country. There is peace and security in the Niger Delta, cutting down  corruption in the civil service by the introduction of an automatic payment system which is exposing government waste in over payment and the existence of ghost workers, roads construction which the East-West Road falls under. In agriculture, thousands of jobs have been created for young and old Nigerians and recently, we were all witnesses to the successful privatisation of the PHCN which millions of Nigerians have unilaterally expressed their support for the President’s action, seeing that he is on the right track to rescue Nigeria from the decay of the past.

What will you say was was your major achievement as Niger Delta minister?

I must humbly say that my tenure as Minister of Niger Delta was quite rewarding and beneficial to the people of the Niger Delta. On the list was the opportunity and encouragement given to me by Mr. President to personally generate funds for the development of the region; hence the progress on the East West Road as at today. This has been made possible by the bold step taken by the Ministry of Niger Delta and President Jonathan to ensure a future of hope for the present, future and unborn generations. I can only urge Nigerians to be more tolerant, wait on God and be patient with their leaders so that all aspirations on policies and implementations can be actualised. I can confidently tell you all that under President Jonathan’s administration, Nigerians now have access to information from the government which was an impossible thing in the past; this has placed this administration as the most transparent in the history of Nigeria. Also, I must say that the present Nigerian economy is the fastest growing economy in Africa since the assumption of office by President Jonathan.

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Tell us about Delta Peoples Forum

Delta Peoples Forum symbolises a new era of handling political issues. Gone are the days of declaration without vision in the Niger Delta. This is an era of peace, hope, transformation, development and above all, security for the people and the society. DPF will ensure transparency in governance and also promote an ‘All-inclusive’ method of public service which is targeted at placing the Niger Delta in her place of glory. I am personally endorsing and supporting the vision of DPF because it is geared towards ensuring good governance, transparency and integrity. It will deliver to the people unending support for nation building in empowering women in the society to become good ambassadors of peace and societal development. DPF as an NGO will ensure that everyone will regain confidence in government as the highest level of integrity will be followed and maintained. A new era is born because of the caliber of growth that is about to be experienced.

Tell us about your political ‘calling’

God directed me to go and contest election as a councilor in my local community. I could not believe it because I had no money to obtain the registration form, not to talk of money to spend in the electioneering process. But I obeyed His command and everything just fell in line as I committed my all to the hands of God who called me. At my first political attempt, it was my people from Ogbogbagbene Community of Burutu Local Government Area, Delta State who gathered in solidarity to sponsor my councillorship election. My coming into politics was divinely planned by God.

My story is that of grass to grace. Initially, I had no money to even purchase the registration form not to talk of money to spend in the electioneering process. I obeyed God and everything fell into place. Consequently, my divine callings and high achievements are evident in my good works in the light of human capital and socio economic development we are all witnessing in the Niger Delta today.

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What lesson has life taught you?

Life has taught me so many things but I can say that the two major ones are faith in God and focus. Life has taught me to be absolutely faithful to God, to be unapologetic about total submission and belief in Him. Secondly, life has taught me to be very focused in whatever I set out to do. Politically, I have refused to be distracted or discouraged. I have set out to serve my people and up till today, I have never for a day considered stepping aside or pulling out. It amuses me when I hear statements connoting me as an accidental politician. I laugh because I am not an accidental politician. A politician is one experienced in the art of science of government, devoted to advancement in public office, a statesman engaged in civil administration and I ask you, can the office of Minister of the Niger-Delta be run by a rookie politician?

I called myself ‘double minister’ when I was a minister of the Federal Republic and also a Minister of God. I like to be seen as a man with deep love of God, a man of God who has whole heartedly contributed to his immediate community in drawing the lost souls to the salvation of God. As a starting point and as a man who believes in the teachings of God, it has created opportunity for the people to come closer to God and directly spread the message of love and peace among them which had invariably made the once volatile Niger Delta environment for all to live together peacefully. Also, and as a minister of the Federal Republic overseeing the affairs of the Niger Delta, I have worked hard to establish a good foundation required for the ministry to change the neglect and under development of the region which can be seen in the light of human capital and infrastructural development. I have created a peaceful and conductive environment for the oil companies to operate in and as thus led to an increase in oil production through my youth empowerment programme.

How do you relax?

Sure, I unwind… I am a ‘home boy’ to the core. If I am not preaching, you will see me enjoying my golf but my best way to relax is to eat my local kpokpogarri with fish and ‘madiga’ with my childhood friends, all of whom I grew up together with. Anytime I am in my village, I invite them all and we all sit down to eat kpokpogarri.