Edegwa Joseph Ogheneovo, the author of the book, 'Road Map to a New Nigeria' hails from Owhelogbo in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta state, but based in Lagos.
He speaks with Isoko Mirror on how governance in Nigeria and Africa at large, can be changed for the benefit of all citizens through his book.
Do tell us about this book...
I received three heavenly visitors who delivered the book, "Road Map to a New Nigeria" to me. It has to do with a holistically balanced solution to the Nigerian age-long affliction of bad leadership that everyone is tired of.
We are all aware that Nigeria is a land of plenty but nothing less than 98 per cent are living in extreme poverty. And this is the paradox that the book jas come to address. Because we cannot be on the shore of an o ean and be looking for our spittle to drink as water, when water is in abundance.
That is why I took it seriously that anything that we be of great service to the countey be given priority attention. I am non partisan, non religious, non ethical, non political, non tribal, but I am on my own. According to my name, I am standing alone with God.
I looked at it that this divine assignment has to be put on debate to test the strengths and weaknesses of the message the book carries.
There are other books, but this is the one that is completed. They in three parts. Part one and two won international laurels that have been internationally acclaimed ro be rhe best political book from Africa. I left the part three because of copycats. Now, the part three has been included to make it whole.
In the process of testing the strengths and weaknesses of the book, I sent copies to the North, it was received by Professor Adamu Adamu, a former Minister of Education, and he said this is the best thing that can ever happen to this country. He introduced me to the Department that handles National Education curriculum. Before I got there he had already sent an introductory letter of me to them.
I sent copies to Ohaneze N'digbo through their President in Lagos when he went for their meeting at Enugu. He came back with a report that if Nigeria can accept this as our home grown original political machinery, that there is no need for Biafra.
I also went to the West, Late Dr. Faseun, he was a voice in the West. We had some intera tions and he told me that this was the best thing that can ever happen to the country. I was only trying to test rhe strengths, tbe degree of acceptability and I got it. Not only here, but also internationally.
I visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I discovered that the system needs a lot of change. I visited late Major General Ejoor, more than 10 to 15 years ago.
I started writing this book around 2004/2005. I kept looking at itbwith the thought that there were so many educated people and so let it be well debated upon before it comes into the open.
Another man that inspired me is Professor Jerry Agada from Markurdi, he drew my attention to the Education Ministry. He said such book should be included in the National curriculum because Nigerians have poor reading culture. That the only place where we can get reorientation b
was through the formal and informal education. But it requires money at the federal level. But in Asaba, they said 'on the merit of what we have seen, it is included". So by next session they will start using it.
It was not because of this I came to Warri. It was a divine Commission that God gave to me that I should go to a particular place in Warri, stand and preach the message of salvation to the people.
As I was preparing to come to Warri, my wife took ill in form of a stroke. Someone told us that there was a prophet that would cast it away. I said 'okay'. He came prayed and prayed. As he was about going out, he returned. He said God told him that there is a book he delivered to this house. That the book is the solution to this country's problem of bad leadership. You are covering it, that you are not known, you don't have money to promote it. The nation will continue to go down until there would be serious war that would last for not less than 20 years. Thereafter, God will set you aside and look for somebody else to send.
When I got here, the place is called Mciver, a market. I met some people and told them God sent me to preach the message of salvation to them. The admitted that they had been expecting me. They started touching me. This was around 2015.
Because of the book that has been highly rated, anything God tells me, I do it. I drew my strength from the level of acceptance of the book.
My target audience is the whole of the country. But for it to gain wide spread acceptance, it has to go through both the formal and informal education system. At the same time, I am looking at how we can get a political party that keys into the vision for a change that benefits everybody.
Because of the several debates we had and the book being rated the best locally here, they recommended me to the organisers of the African Summit, which I see as an agency of the African Union, African Farmers Summit, where I treated the topic: "Why has Africa failed to involve, evolve an agriculture led economy despite her vast geographical landmass".
How can we get our leaders to start buying into these laudable ideas?
Apart from introducing these into the formal education system, one of my suggestion is that an existing registered political party that is proactive to good governance can be instrumental to promoting this vision to reality. Because since 1960, we have been recycling the same manifesto just to deceive the people. No President of this country has been able to diversify the economy despite her enormous resources. It is such a pitiable situation.
What are the chances of negotiating with the popular political parties to embrace and implement this vision?
The chances are very slim because they have their agenda already. There are certain phenomena that have been engendering the reoccurring bad governance; that if they are not removed or downplayed will not allow them to repent.
One, partisan politics should be demonetised. When you remove funding of political parties, politics will now be based on merit. But the moment politics is monetised that makes it an investment for them. And that mindset can't be changed except there are certain ways we come up with mechanisms that will get rid of crisis engendering phenomenon which include partisan politics; our social diversities which are about six...
The mindset of the people to run governance as a revolving mega contract can only be corrected with this vision. And so, not until this vision is allowed to supplant the existing log-jam will any politician's mindset be changed.
There must be a mechanism that will take that dirty psyche from them without war and that has to do with a vision that is holistically balanced, that will favour both the rich and the poor.
If you sell it (the vision contained on the book) to them (political parties), they will still manipulate it. But from my little experiment on Facebook it resonated with millions of Nigerians saying this is what we have to do.
We need preferably, a new political party that is proactive to good governance and ready to key into this vision for a change that will benefit all Nigerians.
What is ypur message Nigerians, both the leadership and governed, in respect ofthehard times?
It is like a national tragedy, that times are hard. It is due to bad leadership. And the leaders we have are not amenable. They are stubborn, recalcitrant, they don't want to listen to this solution and implement it because of the wrong focus on politics of self-aggrandisement, politics of individualism. The political class have usurped the sovereignty that exclusively belongs to the people and personalised it, so that you have no avenue to which you cry to and get results. If you complain to the National Assembly, you won't get result because it is rubber stamp.
The only thing that can save us is for us to have a game changer, somebody who has a vision like this, somebody who has a political party, somebody who has the people's love at heart and somebody who is ready to put the country above a political party.
