Dr Matthew Chima Amadi, Gburugburu and Founder of Mazi Foundation has revealed in this exclusive interview with Silvernews.com.ng why his foundation wants to institutionalize their humanitarian deeds.
Dr Amadi, who hails from Umuekwene in Ngor Okpala local government of Imo State said that the concerted efforts by the foundation is also aimed at ensuring that the right people are formally assisted in the communities across the State.
He however, countered the misconception in some quarters that the programme is politically motivated adding that he was only giving a connection to the activities of the foundation to the women during their August meeting.
His words: “I am a Political Economist and currently, I am a Doctorate Research Fellow and also a Businessman. I am the President and Founder of Gimat Group, with interest in Agric Business, Aviation, Pharmaceuticals, Commodities Exports, Asset Management, Property Development and the likes. You can call me a jack of many trades. That will aptly describe me.
“For development to happen, you have to mobilize the people to understand that it is a concerted thing. We are just trying to institutionalize what we have been doing over the years. My family foundation has done a lot but we have done this informally.
“But now what we are trying to do is to do it formerly and pass it through a channel and also to mobilize the community to find those that are deserving of that gesture. We have called people from every part of the state that will need the assistance of our foundation. These days you really can’t talk about micro-managing events.
“I was having a conversation with my people around the state during the women August meeting and I was trying to give a trace or connection to what they are doing to meeting that is going on in the State, especially in my State and the role of women in partnership between the public and private sector. I was saying that being a messenger, they should listen to me and that I can stand before then and talk about developments initiatives like this because I think, I have not stain myself.
“My people are always particular about not just the message but who is delivering the message and I thought that I am in a very good stead to deliver that message, giving my antecedent of integrity and not been involved in any activity that will bring shame to my state. I believe I should be in a position to advise that there should be a departure from the old and a consensus do things differently from how it is always been done.
“If they found me wanting, I will step away from making such calls. That is not to say that I was not conversant of the fact that my people are yearning for direction giving the various years of rejection. The political class have a lot of work to do to meet the aspirations of people. It was within the context that I was talking about as the messenger and the bearer of the message.”
On the political development in the State, he said that when the time is ripe, politics will be displayed in full swing.
“I believe that when you get to the level to play politics, water will find its level. I believe that at this point in time, the administration is still very new and very early to judge their performance.
“I believe that when the time comes for politics to be played, it will be definitely be a referendum if they have done well by the time the floodgates of campaign are open. We can wish them well and we want them to fulfill their campaign promises. What we are particular about is to support our women in different communities.”
He went further to speak on the issue of protest saying that government should listen to the demands of the people, particularly the youths.
“Protest are part of democracy. Wherever you are and everybody is agreeing with each other, then somebody is lying to each other. When you have protest and people that are agitating, it’s a form of vitupuerating your frustrations and allowing the system to appreciate your position and then come to the negotiating table to have a middle ground.
“Where there is a problem is when you deal with high-handedness, maybe with the police and killing protesters. The address by the President was able to capture some of these concerns and perhaps there is the reason why there is now calm.
“It behoves on the administration to look at the agitations and the concerns raised by the protesters, especially the young people, address them properly.”
The Political Economist decried the years of misrule by successive democratic dispensations since the return of civilian rule in the country and called on the leadership to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the masses.
“There have been some ups and downs. Nigerians may say that the enthusiasm that greeted the return to civilian rule, which some people will call democracy that their expectations have not been met in its entirety while some will argue that the fact that we have had uninterrupted democratic practice since 1999 till date is a sign that there has been progress.
“Depending on the metrics you want to use to measure progress, then you may want to ask yourself that, is the lot of Nigerians better now than in 1999 or under the military rule?
“If you are talking about imbibing democratic culture by the political class, or even the strengthening of institutions, I would also say it has been mixed because depending on the administration that comes.
“You have those that respect democratic culture of freedom of speech, freedom of thought and other freedoms that are associated with democracy. You have also some administrations that have not done particularly well in that regard. Overall, if you measure by the development of the human indicator, you may not be particularly impressed.
“I hope our democratic culture continues to deepen. Perhaps, as selections get more competitive, maybe it will throw up genuine leadership that may meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigeria people.”
