Tinubu Sold Himself To Igbos Long Before Today, He’ll Win South East – Uju Kennedy

Mrs Uju Kennedy was the only female presidential aspirant who contested for the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress during its primary in June.

She is a lawyer who found passion in building and serving the people, a reason she established primary and secondary schools.  It’s also the reason she started her own NGO where she is giving back to society out of the abundance “God has done for her.”

In this interview with THE WHISTLER, the former presidential aspirant spoke about the quality of the APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, his chances and what makes him the candidate to beat.

Tell Us About What Prompted You To Challenge  The Strong Men In Your Party For The Presidential Ticket?

There’s a major thing I do that really gives me joy. And that is my NGO , where through that means pay tithe to God and appreciate my God for what He has done for me. I use it to touch lives. I use it to donate to health centres across the nation. I build, equip, and donate to the local governments, where they run them for the poor masses. I usually do this in places where they don’t even have access roads, let alone hospitals.

So, somewhere like my own state, which is Anambra and my village, I never did that there because they have a lot – a lot of hospitals and so many people are equally ready to even build more. So why should I go and do that there just to get people to think I’m probably rich or good?

But I did build some in Kogi, Nasarawa Kano, Kaduna, Imo state. So many other places. These are places that even have access roads.

So, in the course of doing these with the acquisition centres, which I equally donated to these people, I found out that a lot of people are downtrodden and are very unhappy. They are voiceless. They don’t have money, they can’t treat themselves. So, what did I do? How far can an individual go? How far can I touch their lives while so many others are dying in abject poverty?

So, I decided to join politics and I came out as a presidential aspirant under the APC and found out that there was no way a woman could get through (right now). And when I found out that, I now decided to step down for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu because I discussed with him before I stepped down and I found out that we have the same vision.

He has even been in this thing so many years back. He used to pay NECO bills for many. When he was the governor of Lagos State, he was paying for almost all the poor people in the state. If you want to go to school, he will list your name. Asiwaju will pay for your NECO, your WAEC and train you in school.

If you have twins, you don’t have money to separate them, he sends you overseas to separate them. These are my visions.

So, when I looked at it, I said to myself, no, this is the man I should follow. Because I know if he wins, he will give me a position where I will be able to touch these lives as I’ve always wanted. All those reasons I decided to come out and fight for the presidency, he’s going to give me such opportunities to touch those people’s lives and work with them.

So that was the main reason I got into politics and the main reason I stepped down. I chose Asiwaju and decided to step down.

Would You Say All The Presidential Aspirants In Your Party Are Supporting Him?

All of us that stepped down for Tinubu are still supporting him. Why not?

But A Meeting Of Former Aspirants Called Twice Did No Hold? Don’t You Feel There’s Something Wrong?

No, the meeting didn’t work out because of the timing not because of anything. Then after the timing did not work out, we felt it was time to just do our work internally. Politics of today is not the normal politics you used to see or used to experience. The politics we’re doing (now) is one -on- one with the electorate.

It’s not when you see me as a big woman or a big man, you carry money for the electorates of the region and say, ‘Take this for the electorates’. No. We are doing it one -on- one, showing them love, telling them that making them belong in what we’re doing. We don’t really need so many meetings to achieve that.

So after the meeting failed because the aspirant that organized the meeting was in the United States (he came back after a couple of days) so we couldn’t put together one or two things that was the only reason it failed. It didn’t really fail, like he just decided to postpone it. So, in the course of the postponement, we had a meeting (together) and decided that we shouldn’t waste our time on that.

We have work to do. We have people that are suffering that we need to touch their lives. We need to show love to Nigerians. We need the youth to understand that that is part of what we are doing. The government did so well. I’m not saying that they couldn’t have done better. And the new government that would come in by God’s Grace will do much better.

So, the aspirants are together to make sure my party doesn’t have any problems at all. If not you would have been seeing it all over the media.

You Once Raised An Alarm That They Wanted To Push You Out Of APC In The Lead Up To The Presidential Primary Election. Have Things Changed? What Did You Do To Change It?

When you come in initially into a system that they’re not used to having a woman, they would definitely be looking at you. What can she do? Not about changing it, I changed it immediately. I didn’t give them that room. I made them realize as much as I am a woman, I am as strong as a man and what a man can do, most times a woman can do better.

When they realised this, we had equal footing. They showed me a lot of care,  they were even referring to me as Adanne. Adanne means our first daughter. And when there are issues, I usually come in as a mother. I assume the mother of all of them.

You Were Quoted As Saying The APC Failed Especially In The Area of insecurity Which Was Why You Joined The Presidential Race To Correct It. One wonders Why You’re Still In The Party You Claimed Failed?

No, I could not have said that about my party because whatever is happening today did not come from my party. It has been there. This is the third person apart from Obasanjo. After Goodluck is President Buhari. I couldn’t have said that because the insecurity and all these things were there before Buhari came on board. They were there. So why should I say that about my party?

I remember the UN (building) was bombed. I remember Nyanya (motor park) was bombed. A lot of bus stations were bombed. So many people died. A lot of mosques (too). Those things are not happening. So, there’s no way I could have mentioned my party because it was not my party that caused the security.

And they did their best, at least they stopped the bombing. You can walk around the streets now, nobody will bomb you. But we (now) know specific places that are still thriving in insecurity. But of course you can see the efforts that have been put in place. So, my party has nothing to do with insecurity.

You’re from The South East Where Peter Obi Of The Labour Party Appears To Be Most Popular. What Are The Chances Of APC There? How Are You Finding It Campaigning For Tinubu In The Zone?

I’m not even challenged by my brother’s position as a presidential candidate. I’m equally an Igbo woman, a well-known woman who has really touched a lot of lives across the board.

So, as he is there, striving to win and become the president, I am equally here in APC striving to get my people to belong because I am representing my zone in the party through this Asiwaju’s candidacy.

 So, my people will put into consideration who amongst us will pay them more, who amongst both of us, will love them more, help them more or carry them along. That is where the votes will depend not because you are a presidential candidate.

I am equally in a place where if he wins, I would have a huge position that I could be like a president in my place and do what a president could have done for them. I’ll be able to do it for them. I will have such an opportunity. So I have a lot of them who believe in me and they will vote  Asiwaju because as far as they are voting, they are voting for me.

The Niger bridge to my place today is done. This is something that has been promised to us for so many, many years, today, it’s finished.

The Enugu/Onitsha road used to take us seven hours. Enugu to Awka, was a 30 minutes journey. It took us 7 hours to come from Enugu to Awka.  Today, it is tarred all the way to that place. From Enugu to Port Harcourt, has been done. Where do I start from?

So, Igbos, my people have really benefited from this government, we hope to benefit more. That is why I’m there representing my people because I want them to equally be shown more love, more care.

So, It Has Been Easy Selling Him In The South-East? Has The Response Been Good And Encouraging To Show That They Will Vote For Him?

Asiwaju has sold himself positively before now. This game did not start today. Over the years even as a governor, he employed Igbo people. Over the years, he has been giving Igbo people appointments. He is somebody who doesn’t care about tribe, female, gender or anything or religion, he doesn’t care about those things. If he feels you are able to give him what he wants, he gives you the job. And that’s exactly what you do as a president. There is nobody you can link up with that will do better than this man. Somebody who doesn’t care.

People used to say ‘your boss is very tribalistic, oh, Igbos, they can’t leave their tribe’ – this man doesn’t care about any of these things. He does what is right and he’s going to give this country exactly what they need.

Today, I have my people in the Ministry of Finance as DG. It was Asiwaju’s quota, he gave it to them because he felt the man would deliver.

I am an Igbo person. Look at me, I am not a very well- known person in politics. He made me the vice chairman of South-East, that can tell you how his mind works.

There’s something he sees in anybody. What he sees is not a tribe or religious agenda, he sees what you can achieve for him. So, selling him is as easy as anything. He’s a sellable material. It is not a difficult thing to sell this man.

It Is Difficult To Pin Down Your Candidate On What He Will Do As President. In One Breath He Will Say He Will Continue Buhari’s legacy. In Another Breath He Will Deny It When Challenged To React To Alleged Failures Of Buhari’s Government. Can You Explain Why?

It is not even right that we will do the same thing. We are not supposed to say you are going to continue from there. The party has a manifesto and every individual has a style. You could still continue but in your style. Why are you going to just limit yourself to a particular thing when everybody knows that this is APC?

He must not say it.  He has his style. He has brought out what he wants to achieve. I don’t know why people are more particular about whether he mentions this and mentions that, let them focus on what he wants to achieve. Focus on his ability to be able to achieve those things. Isn’t that the most important thing? And inside those things, he needs to achieve when you look at it you will judge for yourself.

What  Responses Are You Getting Particular From The Women And Youths As You Sell Your Candidate? Are You Connecting With Them?

I am connecting with the electorates, people eligible to vote and selling my candidates to them. I am not doing the over generalised kind of campaign where I will call the chief of the town and give him huge money and say mobilise for me. No, I am mobilising them one- on- one. So, for the first time the electorate will feel a sense of belonging. The voiceless will feel they have a voice in this campaign. That is my style.

Are You Worried About The Non-inclusion Of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo And His Wife In The APC Presidential Campaign? Is That A Sign That Reconciliation Has Failed?

We all know our vice president is a very kind gentleman. He doesn’t want issues. Has no problem. He said after now he’s retiring; he doesn’t care, he just wants to go back to his pastoral job.

He is with Asiwaju very well. The president can’t be on the field and the vice will be on the field. Asiwaju’s wife with the wife of President Buhari will be busy all through the period. Who mans our excellency, Aisha Buhar’s office? Who  man’s it if they equally involve  the vice president’s office?

The President said at our inauguration he’s going round with us for this campaign. And he mentioned that he can’t be out and the vice president, Osinbajo will be out.

He even told ministers ‘you can’t leave your job because of a campaign’, they have to deliver to Nigerians. They have work to deliver to Nigerians.

What Is Your Opinion About What A Section Of The APC Is Saying That Osinbajo Would Have Been A Better Candidate To Market? That He Could Have Given APC Better Chance To Win The Election Than Tinubu?

I don’t know what to say about this because that is not my opinion. I have a different opinion altogether and I have already shown my support and where my opinion lies. So, I wouldn’t want to talk about other people’s opinions because I don’t know their reasons.

Talk About Specific Things As Contained In The APC Manifesto With Regards To The Economy That You Feel Will Bring Nigeria Out Of The Woods.

The pipeline from Nigeria to Europe will curtail theft of oil and gas, because it will go directly to Europe. The strong room will show every movement of oil. These people will pay the country directly and the country will make huge amounts of money and change for good.

Are You Ok With Tinubu’s Manifesto To Curtail Insecurity? Does That Align With Your Vision?

He wants to bring the police closer to the communities, employing more policemen (we have very limited police to police the number of people we have in the country). If we increase the number of policemen, some of the people you call bandits can join the police and start protecting you instead of being bandits.

Bandits, how long do they last to die? If you have a good job and you are well paid, why should you get deceived by people to go out there and be messing around to be killed one day?

Asiwaju has promised to improve the lives of our military and other security outfits. He has promised to do that. And during his time as a governor, he was the only state that they were not paying anything(federal allocation), but and every policeman in that state had Asiwaju’s salary aside from federal government salary.

The man has sold himself. He is a saleable material very easy to market.

Is the APC leadership from the NWC and NEC members which you are a member now firmly supporting the party’s candidate? No more crisis?

I have not noticed anything. All I’m seeing is unity, a lot. See what is happening in the PDP and other parties. Even as we speak, is the Labour Party not having issues? We are not having any issues. So, it’s people’s assumptions.