The Convener of Ihe Abia Organisation, Ichie Emeka Okpara has called on the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Abia State to tow the line of equity and ensure that it does not do anything that will rob the party of victory in the 2023 governorship election. Okpara spoke to journalists in Enugu during a Thanksgiving Service to mark his 46th birthday. Below are excerpts from the interview.
What reasons do you have to celebrate especially at this time when the economy is not friendly to Nigerians?
The reason I am celebrating my birthday is just to thank Almighty God for His protection, guidance, provision, goodness and mercy in my life. At this age, many friends and people I met along the way have gone to the great beyond. That I am alive is a sign of God’s love for me and since I cannot give him gold or silver, the only thing I can offer him is the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Having said that, it is also right to say that celebrating a birthday or any merry-making for an average Nigerian only comes from a joyful heart because the economic reality will not permit many people to celebrate. Why do I say this? I say this because people just celebrate to make themselves happy in the face of excruciating hardship inflicted on them by the governments at all levels and not because they stumbled on good fortune made possible by good governance. Far from it. The basic necessities of life are beyond the reach of the average Nigerian. Food is expensive, so are gas, fuel and kerosene. Universities are closed down because the teachers are on strike. Parents are counting their losses daily. Many hospitals are under lock and key either because workers are on strikes or because they are no drugs and doctors. Insecurity has enveloped the entire country. Uncertainty stares everyone in the face. Nobody is sure of what will happen tomorrow. Under this horrible condition, there is nothing to celebrate except to thank God for being alive today.
Why do you put the blame on the governments?
One of the primary reasons governments exist is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Beyond that, they also exist to provide the basic amenities for citizens and in cases where they can’t, at least provide an enabling environment for people to do that for themselves. A situation where the government fails on both counts means that it has lost the legitimacy to govern. That is exactly the situation we have found ourselves in Nigeria today. The national government led by the All Progressives Congress, APC has failed in almost every aspect of governance. The woes I listed existed before their ascent to government in 2015, but rather than tackle the problems the APC allowed the woes assume astonishing proportions that should give every well-meaning Nigerian cause for serious concern. At the State and Local Government levels, the cases are not different. So the blame is squarely on the government because they have mismanaged our God-given resources.
Talking about State governments, how do you rate the performance of the government in Abia State?
Many States in Nigeria are struggling to survive as a result of the irresponsible and unique form of federalism we practice. We should restructure and practice true fiscal federalism. That is the only way out of our problems. Unfortunately, while some States are struggling to redefine themselves in the light of economic opportunities within their locality, the case of Abia in all honesty is different. We have not made noticeable progress since 1999. I have said it before that Aba in Abia has the potential of making Abia one of the richest States in Nigeria. Aba used to be a trading and manufacturing hub in the South East. It lost that position, thanks to serial neglect by previous and present governments. It can still reinvent itself. What we need to do is to enthrone a good government in 2023 because the life of this administration is almost gone and no magic can undo the havoc and mistakes of the past seven years. Abia deserves better and we will work with other stakeholders to make that happen. The Abia PDP should be careful not to make itself lose the governorship in 2023.
With the squabbles surrounding the zoning of the governorship to two senatorial zones, do you think it is possible to enthrone good government in Abia come 2023?
There has always been squabbles in politics of who gets what, how and why. Why this case is different is because those who are supposed to moderate and modulate the squabbles to arrive at a consensus that satisfies all yearnings and aspirations are the very ones fueling it. It is strange that the present governor from Ngwa land would aspire to replace himself with his kinsman without minding the consequences and expect others to keep silent. It is absurd, untenable, destructive, disruptive of the Abia Charter of Equity and amounts to ethnic conspiracy which Ndi Abia will resist. It is clear to every sensible man that the next governor of Abia should come from Abia North. When it is zoned to Abia North, the stakeholders will then sit and decide which of the clusters will produce; be it Ohafia, Umunneochi, Isuikwuato or Arochukwu since Bende has done eight years in Orji Uzor Kalu. That is the right thing to do rather than setting up the system for failure from the onset. I assure you, the ethnic succession plan won’t work. It’s dead on arrival. The leadership of the PDP should advise itself and reverse the double zoning and zone it to Abia North. Not doing so will only serve to destroy Abia. Like I said earlier, Abia deserves better and should not be destroyed by those that are supposed to build it.
Do you think the Nigerian president of Igbo extraction is possible since the main opposition party,PDP has thrown open its doors to aspirants from all across the country and the APC doesn’t have a stronghold in the South East?
The Nigerian president of Igbo extraction is very possible given the circumstances that produced former presidents. It is a matter of narrowing down the aspirants and tickets of the two national parties to the South East. We have done it before in this country. People should stop making the South East look like beggars for what rightfully belongs to them. What strength did the South West have when Olusegun Obasanjo became the president? Same as the South South in 2011 when Goodluck Jonathan became the president? Given the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, no particular zone can single-handedly produce the president. Now that the unwritten accord says that the president should rotate to the South, it is natural that the South East should have it since the South West and South South have all had their chances. Anybody that is planning anything to the contrary should be mindful of the dangerous consequences that follow denying an ethnic group their rightful position.
What advice do you have for leaders at all levels of government?
Common sense is not for sale. God gave it to everybody including leaders. The leaders know what to do. The problem is that they do not want to do it. God gave us what will satisfy every Nigerian. If you take a material count of what Nigeria has, you will discover that the word poverty ha no place in Nigerian dictionaries. No Nigeria should be poor. We have more than enough to go round. Our leaders should stop being selfish, greedy and wicked. Accountability and good governance is not rocket science. They all know what to do. They should muster and mobilise the political will to lead aright.
Source: Drumnewsonline
