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Ndigbo can produce president through alliance –Nnabuchi

Hon. Nkwo Nnabuchi is a former member of the House of Representatives and ex-Commissioner for Works and Environment in Anambra State. In this interview with PAULINUS ONAH, he speaks on the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election and sundry issues. Excerpts:

What is your view on the state of the nation?

It is unfortunate we took certain steps that destroyed some fundamental principles of the Federal Government from 1999 to date. Firstly, the 4th Republic -was predicated on balkanization of the federation. You would recall that Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, at some points in time, said they will be the last president of this country. You will agree with me that that statement alone portends danger.

Nigerians should ask themselves, why did they said so? It was because there was an attempt to balkanize Nigeria. It was as result of this that northerners got on board, and every effort was also made to bring Muhammadu Buhari to arrest corruption, but unfortunately he could not because he had some shortcomings and is unable to arrest the drift because he accepted the peace agreement under Abdulsalami Abubakar, which to me, was to continue the continuity.

Secondly, northerners who were brought on board saw the level of corruption and queued in. So, when Buhari was unable to fight corruption; it continued, and when certain ugly developments are allowed to continue for so long, they would definitely get to the point of no return. That is the bane of what we are seeing today.

Corruption started under the Obasanjo administration and it continued under Jonathan. You will also recall that most members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were former members of the PDP. The same people, who continued with corruption, accelerated it to this point.

You are concerned and specific about the drift. Could you please give clarifications on what you mean by drift sir?

It is corruption that gave rise to all these things we now call Boko Haram, ethnic agitation, particularly that of the lgbo agitation. It is the corruption in the South-East that created the scenario, which is being interpreted as marginalization. But if you look at it closely you find out that our government failed us and that is the price we are paying today.

The lgbo governors failed us. There are two things in wealth management, one is personal and the other is community wealth from the state or region. Why is it that throughout the 16 years of PDP government, there was no single infrastructural development in the South-East? There was visionary evidence of development in the South-West. Why didn’t our people do some thing then or are Igbos not in PDP even up to this moment. What have they done; what did we gain?

Are you saying that Obasanjo, Jonathan and Yar’Adua are corrupt?

I did not say so. What I said was that Obasanjo said he will be the last Nigerian president and Jonathan also said so. What did they have in mind if not for the balkanization of the country?

Now that Nigerians are calling for restructuring of the country, do you subscribe to that line of argument as a solution to the nation’s multiple problems?

There is nothing like restructuring. It is corruption that put us where we are. Are none Igbos governing any of the South-East states? What have we done ourselves? If you are observant, you will find out that Aba and Onitsha markets have been moved to Lagos. Where is that thing Ndigbo have done in the South-East to fall back on even if they secede from Nigeria? We are making noise and talking about secession; how can we exist in an enclave when we cannot feed ourselves. We don’t have any industry, so how do we exist. I once asked somebody what will happen if Nigerians brakes up and he said that the Igbos will not go to school for the next five years. Where will they get the money to go to school? After the war, we declared that we are going to be the Taiwan of Africa. Are we now Taiwan? We also said that we are going to move mountains but we were deceiving ourselves. What is secession? How many Igbos are outside Igbo land? How many Igbos make their money in Igbo land. We make money from Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Abuja. How can you be talking about secession even when there are no perimeters for you to go? Where will you put the capital to start with? Where is the infrastructure to sustain the South-East? l have it on good authority that Ndigbo pay N4 billion tithe to Pentecostal churches and other religious bodies yearly. Why can’t they do it in our place? Anybody that controls your religious outfit controls you spiritually and materially, so they are being controlled by the South-West.

What is the correlation between politics and the religious picture you just painted, especially as it concerns Ndigbo?

I will advise Ndigbo to go back to their root if they want to derive power and compete with other Nigerians. The problem is not Nigeria, it is the Igbo people. When Ike Ekweremadu was the Deputy President of the Senate; a very powerful seat, what did they bring to the South-East? When they were citing projects in their states, how many did they cite in our state? How many did we see in Aba, Enugu and Awka, among other towns in the South-East? Are we going to blame the Hausa/Fulani or Yoruba? Are our people not in the National Assembly, where the budget is made and what did they do? If the Yoruba are having projects in Lagos, why don’t we have in the South-East?

What is your take on the clamourby Ndigbo to produce Nigeria’s next president in the 2023?

Power is in Abuja and if you want power, you must queue up in Abuja. Let it be clear that Nigeria is being ruled by the North and South. In 1960, we formed an alliance with the North. In 1964, the West drove the Igbos out and remained in that alliance with the North. It is our alliance with the North that can give power to Ndigbo. We can only get power in 2023 if we are in alliance with the North because our southern brothers will not support us. I was ashamed when I read what they said at the Southern Governors’ Forum meeting that held in Lagos. I asked myself what was the basis of that forum. In this 4th Republic, the South-West has had power for eight years, while the South-South had it for years. Why didn’t Igbo governors open their mouth and tell them that it is their time if not that they have been compromised? If they feel that Ndigbo are part of the South, why didn’t they rise and say that the presidency this time is theirs?

What is your thinking about the lgbo presidency project and how feasible is it?

I have been consistent that it is the turn of Ndigbo to produce the next president of Nigeria and I still stand by that. But my pain is that our leaders have not made any effort. Ndigbo should learn how to play inclusive politics. They should share their votes, so that they will have stake in every government. That is what the Yoruba are doing. The ratio each time is 48/52. We continue to remain in PDP with nothing to show for it. The same Buhari you are saying is marginalizing us is today building the 2nd Niger Bridge. Ndigbo must play inclusive politics because if you don’t do that, how do you get to power. If in the party structure, Igbos are not there, they cannot be part of the party’s policy makers. Let us also recall that the late Chuba Okadigbo was picked and Edwin Umezeoke were picked as vice presidential candidates by Buhari. So, why do we say we are being edged out?

What is the way forward for Ndigbo?

The point I want to make is that millions of Nigerians did not know how Buhari emerged. It is not mainly the population. The Igbos have a population. They control 40 per cent of Lagos population but how many of them are cabinet members there? Ndigbo have a substantial percentage of investments in Lagos. In Kano, they own about 25 per cent of infrastructure in Kano. In Abuja, it is about 12 per cent of Igbo population but we must belong to the caucuses of the political parties for us to have a say.

The people of Anambra State will go to poll on November 6, to elect a new governor. Which of the parties do you think will deliver on its promise to the people?

None of the candidates is qualified to be the governor of Anambra State. If you take a close look at the list of candidates for the election, you find out that they are all looking for an opportunity to loot the treasury of Anambra State. They are all living outside the state and country, so as soon as they grab what they are looking for, they will go back to their the bases.

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