Panafricreports in this exclusive interview in Abakaliki, Architect Christain Asaga Nwali, Managing Director of C-Sagas Group of Companies, explained to our reporter, Alex Odeh that helping people was not a new thing. He said even if he is owing bank or that his business was not moving well, it would not stop him from his passion to help people. He spoke also on rumour about his political aspiration, Tinubu’s administration amongst other societal matters. Excerpts:
You have displayed enormous charity. It is like it is limited to your area alone?
Well, let me start with, you asked whether what we do for people, whether is it only for my local government or why are we doing it. So now, the issue is that everybody has different views about life. And for me, giving most times is not because anyone has.
It is an act that is driven by your passion in life. So it’s not because if I give somebody, maybe help somebody in the hospital, it’s not necessarily because I have money. And there is nothing new that we are doing that we haven’t been doing.
There is a rumour that what you are doing is tailored towards an ambition?
When there is a rumor, like you’re saying, is trending, the most important thing is what we are doing, we didn’t just wake up today to start doing any of them. We’ve been doing them. Example is when my company, C-Sagas Project, did their 10-year anniversary. That is seven years ago. We gave out 10 vehicles to people, okay. Now, seven years ago, was I contesting any election? Are you getting me?
But before then, it’s something we’ve been doing. For me, I take it as a pleasure and a great honor to at least, no matter what, assist those that are around me. Assist at least the immediate people that are around me. My securities, my gate men, people working in my house, and all those immediately around me. I take pleasure doing it. And I don’t struggle to do it.
Are you saying you are ready to help despite any odds?
Even if I’m owing bank, even if my business is not moving well, I still feel that it does not have anything to do with making people around me happy. That’s the way the thing started, okay. So now, as we keep living, then, of course, the thing keep increasing. It keep increasing. Most of you that knows, knows that almost every year, we give out vehicles to people. Now, we build buildings for people. We donate buildings for churches. We donate buildings for maybe women in the villages.And people that cannot afford this. We’re doing this sincerely with open heart, without thinking anything, okay.
This gestures of yours started long time ago. Why the sudden vested attention?
What just started looking as if something is trending is, you know, when the magnitude of what we’re doing is actually increasing. And these things are being received by human beings, not animals. And the people receiving these things, they have brothers, they have families, they have friends, they have well-wishers, okay. So when they start talking, you begin to see that there are chains of people talking.
If this person talk, this person will talk, this person will talk, this person will talk, you know. And it will be, oh, this person is doing well. So I think that is just what is happening.
And you see, in also a political environment, because the rumor is being carried by politicians. So in political environments also, it is not out of place that they begin to scheme, you understand. They begin to scheme.
But what is important is, did we just wake up and start doing what we’re doing? The answer is no. This is all we’ve been doing. Are you getting it now? So there is nothing absolutely new apart from that we are increasing every day, we are developing every day.
What are your plans to further improve on your achievements?
We’ve tried to unify more with people of like minds, okay. Now, and what we do also, it’s also helping the government also, because those that have benefited, you know, will not now join in committing crime. You understand what I’m saying? And so currently, we just kind of unified ourselves more.
And now, into C-Sagas Charity Foundation. And we have a lot of good personalities that feel that, oh, it is good we partner in contributing to making the society a better place. That is the token we can do, aside all the government is doing.
Don’t you think your charitable deeds would be miscontured by some political actors in the state?
And so, if any political class or political group start feeling threatened, I don’t see how it is my business. You understand? So my eyes is on the ball, and we are focused on trying to contribute our own quota in trying to making the society a better place and making humanity around us feel the impact of what we can do.
I just want to ask officially, if you are contesting for anything in 2027?
Oh, you want to ask if I’m contesting 2007? Okay, what I can say is that, for me, I’m not thinking of election currently. And 2007 is still very far. And I don’t think it is nice for anybody to just wake up and say you want to contest election.
In every environment, there are leaders. In every environment, people play major role in determining who want to contest or who doesn’t want to contest election. And so, everybody also is qualified to contest.
Some people at my age, even those below my age, are you getting me? They are qualified in all ramifications to contest. So I do not see how me coming to say I want to contest election should become an headache. You understand what I’m saying? Because it’s completely out of discourse.
I have told you that schemers can scheme, okay? But you can see that they are scheming based on our record, based on what we are doing, which we didn’t start doing today. I have tracked back to seven years ago. I didn’t want to talk about what have happened before the seven years ago.
So there is nothing absolutely new that we are doing in the society to help people, to help the community that have not been doing. So it’s not an issue of did I want to, you should have asked me did I want to contest election maybe seven years ago when I rollef out a whole lot of things for the people. Now, 2027 is still far.
Should in case you decide to contest, are you optimistic that you will win any election?
Well, like I said, issue of election is something that I am not thinking about right now. And I don’t want to say it should in case, because I’m not thinking about it. Are you getting me? I’m not thinking about it. The people are there. The leaders are there. The decisions are completely theirs. You understand? It is the leaders, the people that take all these decisions. But I am mindful of my target.
Are you getting me? So I don’t take all routes to my destination because I’m very mindful of my target. And my target is to reach out to people as much as possible and to also collaborate with people of like mind in trying to change the society. So that is a lot of job for me. That is a lot of job for me, for me to start thinking of 2027.
How do you describe the achievements of the present administration under Tinubu and Nwifuru?
For me, you see, the present administration, for me, starting from the President, Mr. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, you see, granted that when he came on board, few weeks after he came on board, there seemed to be high inflation, okay? Caused by possibly removal of a subsidy. But you can see that almost all the major contestants, as at then, promised Nigeria that they’re going to remove subsidy.
There was not any of the major presidential contestants that didn’t say he’s going to remove subsidy. And so immediately he won election, he removed subsidy, and then everything, as if it changed, okay? Now, there’s a lot of blame, there’s a lot of blame. But then, the issue is, which of these contestants, the major ones, didn’t promise to remove subsidy? Are you getting me?
And then gradually, gradually, gradually, you will see that new things are beginning to happen. Why? Because if you check the indices that is used in checking the economy, you talk of the GDP, you understand. Now, you talk of the inflation, okay? You will see that currently, the GDP is already increasing.
Are you getting me? And the inflation seems to be reducing from the statistics that is on ground. So, it means that gradually, gradually, gradually, the economy will stabilize. That is from what I am saying.
And so, I give him kudos for taking that bold step in removing the subsidy. Because there are a lot of controversies, a lot of issues that is behind the subsidy removal. So, it takes someone that has courage to do what he has done.
And from the indices, and from the way the things is tickling and moving and moving, I could see that there will be a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. So, I give him kudos.
I’m coming to Ebonyi too, to Ebonyi State, you know, with the Governor, His Excellency, the Right Honorable Francis Obgbonna Nwifuru. The same thing is also happening. You see that there is a lot of unity. There’s a lot of peace.
You cannot have development in any place there is no peace. You cannot have development in a coerced environment. And so, he’s been able to also go a long way to establish tranquility, high level of peace sustained in the state.
And so, it will also be affecting other economic indices. So, for me, that is a lot of achievement and I give him kudos. And you see, even in the human capital development, he has also invested so much, so, so much in it. And in infrastructure, in education, in health, he’s living a lot of landmark achievement. For me, I give him kudos.
