Its Time for Igbo Presidency

[Richard Akindele]

Almost every society has an oppressed minority. In Nigeria, it's the Igbo that is underrepresented in government. It's also the Igbo that bears the brunt of northern religious aggression.

Given the fact that there are fewer Igbo people in Nigeria, most of whom are of the christian faith, do you see an Igbo being president anytime soon?

Nigerians unfortunately do not vote for a candidate based on mandate. Instead, it's almost always based on tribal and religious affiliations. That makes it next to impossible for a minority group like the Igbo to ascend to higher political heights in Nigeria.

This is so unfair, since Nigeria is supposed to belong to Nigerians. The problem is most pronounced among northern muslims who stay aloof and refuse to associate with other Nigerians.

Nigeria practices what I call pseudo-democracy. In a true democracy, votes are cast based on a candidates promises, not merely where he/she emanates from, or what religion he subscribes to.

Are we going to see an Igbo president anytime soon?

[Richard Akindele]

Governor Achike Udenwa of Imo State, recently fielded questions from newsmen at the Governor's Lodge, Owerri, Imo State where he spoke on burning national issues, his presidential ambition, his battle with the Abuja politicians of Imo extraction, his running battle with Sen. Arthur Nzeribe and the Igbo presidency.

Why were other Igbo governors absent at the Owerri Igbo summit?

Two of my colleagues were in Abuja and could not be here, because there was a meeting. I was supposed to be at Abuja also. If I wasn't the host governor, I would not have been at the summit. Again, the Chairman of the South-East Governor's Forum ( Peter Obi), could have been here but he was battling with some security problems in his state. But be that as it may, it does not diminish the status of the summit. It was not a government organized summit. It was a purely Igbo patriot affair, bringing together all the Igbo organizations.

There are insinuations that you opted to host the summit after other South-east governors refused to host the meeting.

No! Its not true that other governors refused to host the conference. The organizers came straight to me and said they wanted me to host it. They never went to any other South-east governor. What we did was just to provide the venue and some logistics. Then, they took it from there. The follow-up summit will be in any other South-eastern state.

The summit has been described by observers as another wild goose chase. How do you react to that?

What we did was nothing new. It has happened before, severally. That's the society for you. Human society is not such that you say what are the sanctions? It is more persuasive than saying that if you do this, you 'll be penalized. Even if you put up sanctions for the other failed summits, how do you implement these sanctions?

What is important is to raise the consciousness of our people. I don't believe that what is happening today in Nigeria, hurts every Igbo man. It's not just that you are a politician, it's not just for politicians. It's for everybody, even you as journalists. It concerns everybody. So, it's not a question of asking us for assurance that it won't happen again. It may happen again, if we are as docile as we have been in the past. What is important now is for all of us, to join hands together. It can never be propelled by government. Even the organizers themselves cannot ensure that this works, they cannot give us the assurance that the Igbo can come together and make sure that we achieve the goal.

But it should be the resolve of all of us, individually and collectively, to say that what has happened in the past should not repeat itself and we all work very hard to achieve this. Let's all play our own roles. We are talking about the future of a people, so it has nothing to do with the government. Government will come and go, but the Igbo race, I believe, must remain. This very movement must be supported by all, and all of us must work to see to the success of this movement. It doesn't have to be politicians or the so-called leaders.

What is your view about the arrest of council chairmen in the state?

What happened is not new. I'm sure all of us were aware that Senator Arthur Nzeribe, who represents not just a part of this state, but also my home senatorial district, wrote a petition to the Senate, saying that monies belonging to the 774 local governments in Nigeria, were being misappropriated by the state governments and he used Imo as an example and mentioned a particular road contract that the local government chairmen were executing. He made about five requests, the Senate turned down four, and then referred the investigation to the (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) EFCC for the fifth plea.

I don't see anything strange about it. You and I, as citizens, can petition the EFCC on any particular issue and we take it up from there. I think what EFCC needs now is to investigate and justify, or get whoever made that allegation to substantiate his allegation. That's the stage where EFCC is now. I don't want to comment much on this issue, but I'm sure that all of us are aware, and know what Sen. Arthur Nzeribe can do. So, you 'll not be shocked or surprised, but I think that he's coming to the end of it all. He cannot continue like this. He represents the people and I am sure he cannot continue to take the people for granted. He should remember.

Let me go back a little bit. The main course of the matter was state creation, nothing more than that, where a senator was part and parcel of his own constituency demanding for a state. As that process was going on, he went behind to now carve out another area for himself to challenge the one that his constituency, including him, had earlier demanded. So, some people said, No! He can't do that, he can't continue to take us for granted. That's the origin of it all, but let's see where it ends. They (chairmen) are still under investigation. It doesn't mean anything. You can investigate anybody, and let's leave it at that.

How are you coping with the opposition?

Well, if the party is comfortable with the other people living in Abuja, I think the test will come during the elections. No party can be comfortable if you don't win elections. So, it's at the time of elections that we shall know how comfortable.

Continued: http://allafrica.com/stories/200606290229.html