ENYERIBE EJIOGU (enyeribee@yahoo.com)
Lagos based legal practitioner and key voice in the Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Pat Anyadubalu, has advised the governing and political elite in the South East to recognize the great need to rise above partisanship, sheath swords, close ranks and pursue a common agenda across party lines, to enable the Igbo become relevant again in the country’s scheme of things. Anyadubalu opined that personal ego and intrigues must give way for Igbo common good to be achieved. In this interview, he gives further insight on this and other issues.
As an emerging voice from the South East, are you satisfied with the tone of governance and the impact of this on socio-economic situation of the zone?
The major political issue confronting the South East is the issue of marginalization. We have suffered so much in this country, starting from the 1967 pogrom, which led to the civil war; then you have issue of inhumane policies directed against the Igbo after the defeat of Biafra. Though the General Yakubu Gowon regime announced a ‘No Victor, No Vanquished’ policy, the reality was that various governments at the federal and state levels began a programmed process of economic and political emasculation of the Igbo. First, there was the issue of abandoned property, through which Igbo who owned property in the Rivers State and elsewhere were dispossessed of such property without compensation. Then there was the indigenization decree, which was implemented at a time no Igbo person could participate in the process, because the people had been pauperized by the inhumane policy of giving Igbo people 20 pounds, no matter the amount of money the individual had in Nigerian banks prior to the civil war. That was another case of official robbery and despicable wealth transfer policy. These things were acts of calculated injustice, all aimed at ensuring that the Igbo remained subjugated in Nigeria. This is the template that has determined the way the Igbo are treated in Nigeria; it has been a policy of political asphyxiation and economic subjugation of people of the South East, whether under the military era or now that we are under a democratic system of government. It has been the same unpleasant experience for the Igbo.
Now that we have come into the era of democracy, we believe that the situation of the Igbo should change. From what we have seen so far, nothing has changed in respect of the situation of the people of the South East, we are still suffering the same fate. The prevalent agitation by certain people for the actualization of Biafra cannot be distanced from marginalization being suffered by the South East.
Of course, you cannot divorce politics from the economy, because the political marginalization has also been translated to the economic life of the South East. Look at the roads in the South East which are in very terrible state; do you talk about the dire deficiencies in power supply to the South East, a situation that has crippled the people’s self-help effort at industrialization. Without power, industries can never develop. Today, most of the small-scale industrial projects initiated by the people have practically ground to a halt, creating a horrible unemployment situation that has given rise to the pernicious blight of kidnapping for ransom, which unfortunately has now become a booming enterprise, and tearing the social fabric of the South East. The simple truth is that the South East is in a quagmire. In fact, some people say that the Igbo have been relegated to third class citizens. At one time we were playing the second fiddle. Now we are no longer playing any fiddle at all.
You just mentioned the power sector. We know that some states have executed or are still working on independent power projects to improve power generation and supply in their areas. We also know that a son of the South East, Sir Emeka Ofor, acquired the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Limited, which covers the whole of the South East. Why has it seemed impossible for the governments of the zone to come together, harmonise positions and find common ground to frog leap power supply to the South East, using the vaunted Igbo spirit of enterprise?
In as much as we can blame the federal government for the power situation in the South East, I believe our people carry the bigger blame. A number of factors can be attributed for this: dangerous intrigues, disagreement and infighting among themselves (the governors and elites). Look at the recent case between former Governor Peter Obi and Governor Willie Obiano. What played out in the media between them should not have happened at all. Senator Magatakarda Wamakko, former governor of Sokoto State handed over to Aminu Tambuwal, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and nobody has heard anything about the content of the handover notes, as to whether the state is liquid or not. It beats me how Obi and Obiano could allow the situation to degenerate to the extent of a media war. That partly explains why the governing elite in the South East have found it difficult to work together for the good of the zone. There is too much ego and distrust among them. Again, look at the case of Nkalagu cement factory, which Sir Ibeto acquired and was working to reactivate, but the former governor of Ebony State, Martins Elechi fought tooth and nail to prevent him. Imagine the sheer number of jobs, which the reactivation of the plant could have created. Or do you talk of the court battle between Sir Emeka Ofor (Enugu Electricity Distribution Company) and Prof Barth Nnaji (Geometric Power System Ltd) over power supply to the Ariaria ring-fenced zone? So essentially, we are our own biggest enemy.
Again, I believe that another cause of this is the issue of visionless on the part of some past and present governors of the South East. South East governors have woefully failed to sustain the vision of the late Michael Okpara. I want to ask, where is the Premier Breweries in old Anambra State and the Golden Guinea Breweries in Umuahia, Abia State? What is the situation of Adapalm in Imo State today? Okpara used revenue from palm oil to develop the South east. Where do we stand today in palm oil production? We could not even sustain the production of ordinary red palm oil, not to talk of the derivatives of palm olein for industrial use to produce a wide variety of products, just like Malaysia is doing today.
What would it take for the governors of the South East to economically re-develop the zone?
First of all, they must have a consensus ad idem. They need to have a common intention and agenda, and pocket their over-bloated ego, in-fighting and bickering among themselves. We have not forgotten that when Obi was the chairman of the South East Governors Forum, some of the governors refused to attend the meetings. They should keep politics out of the deliberations. You are today in APC, but tomorrow you could be in PDP or APGA. They should seek the common interest of the South East, always seeking for ways to synergise for the economic development of Igbo land. The Lagos State government built a gas turbine plant in Akute, Ogun State, to power the Iju Water works in Lagos State. Today, the power plant provides electricity to Akute community. That is an example of synergy.
It has been said repeatedly that the South East supported Goodluck Jonathan in vain? What is your view?
Let’s be honest, when Goodluck Jonathan was president, which major road project of the federal government benefited the South East? Is it Enugu-Port Harcourt road, Owaza-Obehia-Azumini road, which leads to the oil producing area of Abia State, which is now a death trap? The case of the second Niger Bridge is even more annoying. What makes it annoying is that Goodluck Jonathan was ‘adopted’ as our son – and he flaunted his names ‘Ebele’ and ‘Azikiwe’ so much. What happened? That is why when I am talking about empowerment, people think feel that we occupied the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF, through the appointment of Pius Anyim) or Chief of Army Staff (CAS) during Jonathan’s tenure that is not empowerment. The ordinary man, who travels from Awka to Enugu, is more interested in driving on a smooth road. He is not interested in Pius Anyim or General Ihejirika being the CAS. The ordinary man from the South East wants that position in the cabinet to be translated into federal government presence and projects in the South East. For instance, with Senator Chris Ngige in the cabinet as Minister of Labour and Employment, the average Igbo person, would want to know how many people from Igbo land will be affected by his presence in the federal cabinet. So when one is talking about empowerment, it should be related to actual development activities and projects. What exactly did Igbo land gain from supporting Jonathan? People don’t like it when you express a contrary view on our support for Jonathan.
Now our people will soon be going home for the Christmas. Many of them will sleep on the old Niger Bridge because of gridlock. Besides, motorists who pass through the proposed second Niger Bridge will pay tolls. Where in Nigeria has it happened? It is only in Igbo land that the federal government is proposing to charge tolls on a major bridge that connects the South East to the rest of the country. Does the government charge tolls on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos? The proposed second Niger Bridge is part of the marginalization of the Igbo in Nigeria.
How is the second Niger Bridge part of the discrimination of the Igbo?
When you consider the length of the Third Mainland Bridge, which is about 10 kilometres, do motorists pay tolls on it? The federal government constructed it with taxpayers’ money. Why should motorists pay tolls to use the proposed second Niger Bridge, which is just about two kilometers? Tell me about any bridge in Nigeria constructed by the federal government where motorists pay tolls on it?
Now that President Muhammadu Buhari, who promised Nigerians change is in-charge of governance at the federal level, do Igbo intelligentsia like you have any hope that the politics over the second Niger Bridge will end under his tenure, especially as former Governor Babatunde Fashola is the Minister of Works, Power and Housing?
Yes, we have hope that it will be done.
What gives you that hope?
The reason we have hope is because the Igbo are part of Nigeria and we are also part of the All Progressives Congress. Besides, government is a continuum. Hence, I expect the Buhari administration to continue with the project, execute it faithfully and expeditiously. If they abandon it, the N10 paid to the contractor for preparatory works and compensations to land owners would be a huge waste. And the cry of marginalization by the Igbo would continue. Buhari ran for office with a clear promise to end the waste of government resources. We’ll hold his feet to fire until the project is finished, but not as a toll bridge. No. Should Buhari finish the construction of the second Niger Bridge, he will be able to win the heart of Igbo land. Note that in the 30 non-statutory appointments he made (ministerial appointment is statutory), Buhari did not include any person from the South East. He did not embrace national character as the Constitution enjoins. I believe the president should use his subsequent non-statutory appointments to give the Igbo a sense of belonging. I also want him to end the politics over the second Niger Bridge. This will help those of us in the APC to market and promote the party in Igbo hinterland and quell the sentiment among the people that Buhari is angry with Igbo because they did not vote for him. It is erroneous to say that Igbo did not vote for Buhari. What of the Igbo in Lagos and elsewhere?
You must have heard that the Anambra State government is in the process of taking a N10 billion loan. How do you feel about this?
I cannot understand why the Anambra State government is taking a N10 billion loan. There is absolutely no reason for it, given the level of markets we have in the state and the level of revenue that could be generated from property tax in the state (or land use charge, as it is in Lagos State). Anambra State is a commercial area that provides the government opportunity for internally generated revenue. The problem is that the people do not want to do the job of maximizing generation of tax revenue, rather, they want the easy way out, which is to borrow N10 billion which will be tied to the statutory allocation accruing to the state from the Federation Account.
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