A chieftain of The All Progressives Grand Alliance, Ndubuisi Enechionyia, tells FAVOUR MIKE-EWEWIE that President Muhammadu Buhari should campaign based on his achievements instead of linking his re-election to the Igbo presidency
Do you agree with President Muhammadu Buhari that the Igbo should support his ambition for his second-term bid so that the plan by the Igbo to produce a president will be a reality?
As far as I’m concerned, that is political talk. What that tells me is that the Buhari that we elected is talking like every other politician. That is my personal opinion because I don’t believe in zoning; I believe that the best person should rule. After all, we have had (Olusegun) Obasanjo for eight years. Ota and Abeokuta are not the best places in Nigeria. We had (Goodluck) Jonathan for five to six years. The South-South people are still complaining. Leaders from Katsina State have ruled us through (the late Umaru Musa) Yar’Adua and Buhari, for many years but Katsina is not a haven yet. So, the idea of zoning does not necessarily bring out the best person. That is why I describe it as political talk.
If the Igbo refuse to vote for Buhari for a second term and another person emerges, don’t you think that the Igbo will not have a president until after 2023?
I have just told you that the people who have had presidents have not necessarily created havens for their people. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups; if development is related to when your person becomes president, it means some ethnic groups will wait for 250 cycles. The issue really is not about an Igbo president; it is about a Nigerian president that will take us to the path of growth and development.
But in reality, do you trust Buhari, that if you support him now, he will support the Igbo to produce the president in 2023?
I think that if Buhari has ruled for three years like he has done and he wants re-election, he should be campaigning on what he has done and how he wants to build on it. When you start talking about Igbo supporting you, the suspicion is that you have nothing else to tell yourself. If he has ruled for three years, he should be able to say, ‘This is what I have done; this is where I am going; allow me to continue so that I can finish it.’ It has nothing to do with the Igbo supporting him or not.
What is your own take about the Igbo producing a president? Do you think the Igbo should have a president now or wait till another time?
I have already told you that I don’t believe in zoning. I believe that whoever wants to rule should present himself, market himself and then people should choose the best candidate.
But are you not worried that the Igbo have not produced a president in a democratic Nigeria?
The people who have produced presidents have not necessarily become better than the Igbo. Katsina is not a haven if you’ve been there; they have had two presidents, same with Bayelsa and Ogun states. So, your having a president is neither here nor there. Moreover, presidents are leaders of the country and not leaders of any particular ethnic group. We must move away from all these sentiments of this person producing president and that person producing president and find somebody who can move us to a path of development. How long are we going to be talking about this thing? It is 2018 and we are still talking about Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. Is this country going for war?
The elder statesmen in the Middle Belt and the southern leaders have been strategising to work together to support whoever will carry out restructuring in 2019. Are you also in line with the position of these leaders?
The first problem I have is that these same leaders we talk about have supported all the past presidents that we have had. From the first, which was (Olusegun) Obasanjo, these same southern leaders have supported them. What it means for me is that these people are no longer capable of taking the right decision for us. So, if political situations don’t favour them, they congregate to take decisions that benefit them. Where are the youth in all of these?
There are two schools of thought among the Igbo. The first believes in restructuring, while the second believes that the only way out is by having Biafra. What is your position in all of these?
There are many schools of thought in the East. It depends on who you are listening to. My own position is that first, the Igbo are better off in Nigeria. I think that if you see the nature of the Igbo, the Igbo live wherever they find themselves, invest wherever they are. Those are not the kind of people you want to restrict to a particular region but all these allegations are reactions to what we perceive as bad governance.
So, you are not supporting the idea of a regional system of government?
I said if it is generally acceptable, I support it but what I do not agree with, which is the argument of some people, is that each of the ethnic groups should rule themselves, by going their separate ways and having individual countries.
What is the guarantee that if you get Biafra, and have a south-easterner ruling, that he will do well? Those are not the guarantees. We need to put structures in place to ensure that the country is going in a particular direction. As long as those structures are not there, restructuring or no restructuring is neither here nor there. If you talk about state police for example, there are arguments for and against. Some people will tell you that the governors will hijack it. But those are processes and procedures that evolve over time. If you don’t have structures to control things, we won’t get it right.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: theeditor@punchng.com
from Punch Newspapers https://ift.tt/2LFyub7
No comments:
Post a Comment