In last interview before his death, Audu Ogbeh said he ‘sees dangers ahead’ for Nigeria

Audu Ogbeh, a former minister of agriculture, spoke candidly on issues of national concern before his passing on Saturday. 

Ogbeh, an ex-national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), died at the age of 78.

In a Daily Trust interview published shortly before his family announced his death, Ogbeh expressed concerns over the future of the country, describing himself as a sad man who “tried” to find happiness.

“Believe me, I am a sad person. I tried to find happiness, but I am scared of the future. I may not be here [alive], I am way over 70, heading to 80, but I don’t like what I smell. It is very depressing,” he said.

The former minister warned that worsening poverty, neglect of agriculture, and the collapse of local government administration are ominous signs for the country.

“Well, I have one wife, five children and eight grandchildren. But I am a rather sad person because I can see dangers ahead,” he said.

“I don’t see why we are hoping that the younger generation would wake up one day and start dancing for joy.

“Each one of those young men is sending money home to his mother, a cousin or sister who believes that they are in Abuja, and therefore, have money.

“But they just don’t have money. And their number is increasing — they are leaving the villages for the cities.

“They arrive in the cities and the conditions are absolutely impossible. And they can’t go back to the village unless there are things that will actually call them back home.”

Ogbeh also weighed in on the clamour for a new constitution for the country, noting that the nation needs good governance instead.

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

The politician recounted surviving an assassination attempt in 1998, describing his escape as nothing short of a miracle.

“Oh yes. They broke down the door and came in. They had finished their bullets firing all over the place. They shot my guards. They shot me, left me in a pool of blood and went away. This eye nearly fell out,” he said.

“My domestic staff who were outside heard them chanting, ‘We don kill am’. They came back at 6am and took me to hospital. My head was very large and I was totally unconscious.

“Somehow, (they) managed me and I recovered. I had to leave the place and come to Abuja here, where Shehu Malami of Sokoto gave me a flat to stay as long as I could. I had no house.”

Ogbeh served as deputy speaker of the Benue state house of assembly after he joined politics in 1979.

He was PDP chairman from 2001 to 2005 and served as agriculture minister between 2015 and 2019.

Ogbeh was a federal minister of communications from 1982 to 1983 during the Shehu Shagari administration.