Interview with Comrade Vivian Ebele Bello

SV:  Good day Comrade Vivian Welcome Comrade

Who is Comrade Vivian Ebele Bello?

Vivian: Vivian Ebele Bello is a Nigerian Woman. She is a one-time Journalist and Rights. An activist who has devoted her life to the cause of the emancipation of the downtrodden, the oppressed and the marginalized of Society. She believes strongly in the cause of Justice, Freedom Equity and respect for the Rights of members of society and of course the Environment. And let me add that she doesn’t just hold these beliefs, but she acts these beliefs in real life.

SV: What are the things you think are responsible for the suffering of ordinary people in Nigeria?

Vivian: I think the suffering the ordinary people are going through in Nigeria today to a very large extent has Corruption at the root of it all, and then of course lack of fear of God. This is because some people are wont to quickly say, oh it’s our leaders, the leaders of the country, etc etc well, to me that is facing a problem from the surface. Because the thing is; these leaders did not emerge from the moon; how did we end up with successive leaders under whose watch Nigeria has remained constantly bleak in all the Development Indicators? In Standard of Living, in Education, in Healthcare both maternal and neonatal, in Security, name it. For every single process we circumvent in the electoral process, right from Party primaries, to election proper, etc. For every kobo, favour or sentiment one takes or deploys to compromise the system and or the qualified persons in the electoral process in the country, (be it even by taking two or three thousand Naira to exchange for votes), we are willfully lowering the lids to let in, into the leadership, individuals, characters and systems that act purely on the basis and after the manner of the system that brought them in. That’s where we are, that’s the debacle we are facing today, and that’s what’s largely at the root of the woes Nigerians face today.

SV: Ahead of 2023, you’ve declared your intention to run for president of Nigeria. What are your motivations?

Vivian: My motivating factor in declaring to run for President is simply Nigeria and Nigerians. I am irrevocably convinced that Nigeria can work for Nigerians. The woes that we face today with widespread poverty across the land, collapsed educational system, crippled healthcare, industries, infrastructures etc, do NOT have to be this way, it shouldn’t be this way, and God helping my emergence as President, it will no longer be this way. Nigeria can work again for Nigerians. The time when our public schools were beautiful brides, courted by students and parents from different countries of the world, today, they’re mere shadows of themselves, gasping for breath. The same goes for our health facilities; why do countries like the United Kingdom, UAE (Dubai), Germany, the U.S etc have to be making fortune on us, on our resources drawing our elite countrymen and women in droves to access quality healthcare there while leaving the teeming ordinary masses to their fate with largely poorly equipped hospitals with equally poorly motivated and remunerated and medical workers who you do not expect to perform any magic in the circumstances. Ordinary Nigerians die in droves for ailments that are ordinarily treatable but for which many of the hospitals lack the requisite equipment, and where they manage to be, are priced out of their reach and access. Many deaths recorded in this country today are purely avoidable. Again I say, it doesn’t have to be this way; we have got the resources, we have got the men, we have got the capacity. All we need is to summon the WILL, roll up our sleeves and get to work; without fear or favour, dispense goods and service and we will see a reset of our country. I am here for this and by the mercies of God and the support of Nigerians, this country will once again work for Nigerians.

SV: What program do you have that’s different from the present arrangements?

Vivian: My Blueprint is hinged on a Six-Point Program of Action;

– Educational Revolution

– Industrial and Infrastructural Revolution

– Security Restoration

– Restructuring along the lines of True Federalism

– Addressing Insecurity and the Vulnerabilities of Women and Youth

– Climate Change and Green Economy.

These six focal points will see deliberate, sustained and measurable actions in all, that will both in the immediate as well as in long term, have a perceivable impact on the quality of lives and living standards of the masses. There is no reason for instance, why Nigeria should appallingly be designated as the country with the highest number of out-of-school children, (over 11 million), as the U.N has just recently so designated the country. This is a calamitous failure of the system for which the entire country will pay dearly. We are already doing so as it were, in the hands of some of our young people, who left uncared for by society, have taken to criminality and all sorts of anti-social vices, which still fall back on virtually every member of society.

SV: As a developmental expert, what can you say about the pro-women bill rejected by the National Assembly members?

Vivian: The posture of the national assembly towards that gender bill is very disappointing. If anything, it throws up again and this time in a very potent and glaring manner, the manifest bias that still exists against the woman in Nigeria. The defeat of the bill was a very sad event and day in the annals of the history of Women’s struggle in Nigeria. But I’m glad some reasonable second thought is being given to it now.

SV: Do you think that women should reject this attack on women with their votes?

Vivian: Of course, you have clearly seen that women with our voices loudly and clearly reject this anti-gender action by NASS and come 2023, I believe that as women we have learnt our lessons and will stand as one to use our votes to further express this by putting our votes where our mouth is.

SV: You seem to be involved in climate change and environmental degradation, do you think this can be welcomed positively in our country?

Vivian: There is no question of whether Environment and Climate change issues will be welcomed in the country, the Environment as everyone knows is the forbearer, the mother of all lives. It follows therefore that every effort to nurture, safeguard and protect it MUST be accorded priority attention. Toying with this is as good as toying with lives, and the Environment supports life en mass and so any careless action towards it will also lead to mass destruction. We have seen these occur in many parts of the world, including even our own society, with the flood disasters, desertification and etc we have been having to deal with.  I have been on the frontline of the struggle for Environmental Protection. I believe that you do not have to destroy Mother Earth and poor local communities’ livelihoods in your quest to exploit mineral resources. I believe in going, Green. I believe in shifting our orientation and practices away from resources that pollute the environment and destroy bio-diversity, towards Clean and Pro-Climate Alternatives that work for both Humans and the Environment. These principles and solutions I will actively pursue if elected, and there is no question of “Will it be welcomed” it is an action that needs to be taken and decisions on issues of the Environment will not be put off to a later time.