Brigadier General Samuel Oviawe is the oldest surviving child of a Christian father who had lost eight children before the birth of Samuel, on 01 September 1947. He was named Samuel at baptism because he was seen as God’s answer to the father’s fervent prayers. He was therefore raised in the fear of God based on christian values. He went through schools up to university, as a matter of course, graduating with a BEng degree in Mechanical from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1972. He was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Lieutenant in August 1972 after ashort pupillage stints at the Federal Ministry of Works and an oil Company. He was retired from the Army as a Brigadier General in 1998 after an 11month detention for an unsubstantiated charge. He thereafter tried his hand at contracting business and finally settled into quary business. He also delvded into political activism in the struggle of the people of the South South for the Presidency of Nigeria. He is an unrepentant believer that a President of South have. South extraction is most likely to unite the Nigerian people and build a Nigerian Nation out of the fragmented Country that we presently have.
How would you rate this administration?
Rating the present administration isnt difficult. I believe that it has tried because it couldnt have been expected to do better because their Party is a gathering of strange bed fellows with the majority of principal members being fraudulent.
Do you think the Government is genuine with the announced Coronavirus data in Nigeria?
I believe that the government is genuine with the announced Covid 19 data because of the available testing capacity.
In your opinion how can we win the war against this pandemic?
In my opinion, we can win the war against the pandemic by focussing more on finding a local cure instead of waiting for the development of vaccine by others.
As a retired Brigadier General is the government sincere in the fight against bokoharam?
As a soldier, I do not believe that we have been given the true picture of the bokoharam issue. I can’t claim to know the true picture but as a soldier, I believe that we have had enough time to build enough intelligence on bokoharam to have enabled us to contain and liquidate the outfit. I am therefore tempted to believe that there are people on our side who are interested in the prolongation of the conflict for their perceived benefits.
A lot of politicians are sharing palliatives, is that the best approach to fight Covid 19?
Sharing of palliatives isnt a fight against Covid-19. I have not done anything to assist the government in the fight against Covid-19
Do you belong to any political party and do you have any future political plans?
I dont belong to any political party and ,No, I don’t have any future political plans, not with the prevailing circumstances.
How do you spend your leisure?
I spend my leisure thinking about the future of Nigeria and Nigerians.
Words of encouragement to the youths..
The youths should seek knowledge which they should apply positively for the common good of all. They should stop lending themselves to unscrupulous politicians for negative activities. They should understand that every ill or negative actions has injurious consequencies.
Thank you for your time sir…
Thank you for having me.