Former Anambra State governor and member of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr. CHUKWUEMEKA EZEIFE, in this interview with Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, recalls some developments at the concluded National Conference and why the National Assembly has no role to play on the draft constitution from the confab. He also explains why the north is against restructuring the country.
Major challenge of the concluded National conference
The idea of the Confab was the first challenge. Many people like us have been demanding a National Conference. I was lucky to be part of it. We went to Lagos for Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly meeting. It was there that I pressed further for the Confab. I told Nigerians to press on the President who is the focal point of Nigeria’s sovereignty and force him to convoke the Confab. I am not saying that this was the cause but just two weeks after that the President of the Senate, David Mark joined in supporting the National Confab and we added more pressure through the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly by publishing another demand; saying that the Confab should start immediately and Mr. President eventually accepted it, though, he had been reluctant over the idea. There were other obstacles. The northern elders especially those who have been responsible for the under-development in the north did not want the conference to hold. For those of us from the south, we were not interested to do something against the north but we were out to do something for the permanence of Nigeria. My objective and that of Anambra, South East and Southern Peoples and well-meaning Nigerians was for the permanence of one Nigeria. Our concern was to address what might make Nigeria to break up.
If you were in the position of the north, you would react the same way they had reacted. Why? They have advantages in the country. The south said that there are structural imbalances in Nigeria and who are the people benefiting from the structural imbalances? It is the north especially the North-West that has seven (7) states. South East has five (5) states; Kano has 44 local governments while Lagos has 20. If you combine the total number of local governments in Katsina State and Kano it has out- numbered the total number in the South East. So the north has that advantage and there is nobody in the history of politics that has an advantage and wishes to give it out easily. So if a southern person is angry and casts aspersion on northern leaders, that person is wrong. So, we need to understand ourselves. It is just that there are differential advantages.
In the conference, I made the statement that time was running out on the unfair advantages heaped on the north by their military leaders like Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha where they distributed the states and local governments to the north. Nigeria is made up of north and the south but today, north dominates political scene. If you go to the National Assembly, because of the structural imbalance they are in the majority. If you take anything to the National Assembly that is unfavourable to the north you must think about it. That is why many of them are saying, there is National Assembly, so why the call for conference? For them the national assembly will do the job. This was part of the challenges we encountered in the Confab.
NASS has no role in approving recommendations of the Confab
They should have no role to play in the recommendations of the Confab which have been put in a draft constitution, whatever name you may call it. The paper given to us was called a draft constitution and that was why we came to produce it and show to the people which after approval, becomes a constitution – ‘that we the people of Nigeria make and give unto ourselves’. The reason for most people participating in the conference was to produce a draft constitution and it has been produced.
Creation and feasibility of more states
The Confab also set out criteria for deciding on state creation. If we had found ways of avoiding that, I would have been happy. We came to the conference hoping to make the geo-political zones federating units not the states. And if we had made the geo-political zones federating units each geo-political zone would have gone home to resolve all its internal conflicts and the need for the creation of states would not have arisen. But because of those internal problems in the geo-political zones, there are people who don’t want the sun being blocked by taller trees; they wanted new states to be created. And those states may be difficult. For me, the 36 states in the country are unviable and I would have preferred six federating units, six governments which have doubled what we had before.
A case for geo-political zones as federating units
We want meaningful development for our people, meaningful generation of electricity, employment, distribution of social amenities to the communities and meaningful fight against ecological problems which come in zonal formation. The South-East as a whole has the same ecological problem while the north has the same. Ecological problem comes in large scale which the states cannot solve. There is economy of scale which says producing for a larger number will give you a lower unit cost than producing for a smaller number. If we generate power for the whole of South East, it will come at a lower unit cost for anybody using it than producing for Anambra State because it will be too small. This is what people don’t understand. They are playing politics because they believe that they will have more governors and representatives who will be powerful. The reason for the existence of government is for the welfare of the ordinary members of the society, not for creating governors.
Confab resolving crisis that may arise in 2015 general elections
I don’t know about 2015 general elections. If the president as usual is guided by God and he finds a way to implement the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, a new Nigeria will be born from it – a Nigeria where there is greater feeling of belonging with sense of fairness, equity and justice; a Nigeria where there is more equality for citizens. Don’t mind all sort of talks by the side. Out of anger some people said the southerners should go home. Where is the home for southerners? And where is home for northerners? If I am leaving Kano where do I stop, to Lokoja? Have I left the north? Some people are talking without thinking. Nigeria is best for an Igbo man, Hausa, Yoruba and the minority groups.
This is the time for us to extend love for each other, especially the Igbo that live everywhere in the country. Whatever the Yoruba can do for the people let them do it. The Igbo have civilised the whole country. We have commercialised the whole country. We were in the process of industrialising the whole country before we were attacked. And we wanted to go on our own but they drove us back to Nigeria. Perhaps, if Biafra had stayed today, going to Biafra would have been like going to New York or London. Somebody said that if we leave Nigeria that we are going to lose properties worth trillions of Dollars. That is nonsense. We created those properties, we will create a better one if our home is organised.
Only four groups are recognised by the America as the builders of the United States of America and Igbo is one of them. That is why we have Igbo Village in Virginia. Anybody that thinks that we have developed too much for them and that they can take and run away with it, is being myopic. When we take over the leadership of this country as the president, Nigeria will change drastically.
Expectations from South East in 2015 general elections
Everybody from the South-East and friends of the South-East should be concerned about the candidate emerging for the contest of gubernatorial elections in Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Imo. We want to rebuild Igboland for our people. We don’t want candidates with doubtful background to emerge as our governors in any part of the South-East. We want both the rich and the poor to be free at home without intimidation or fear of being intimidated by kidnappers and armed robbers. We want the best for the South-East in 2015. We want people that have the spirit to promote their people and Nigeria. This is why I like people with sound minds, educated and philanthropists to be the governors of the five states in the South-East. We don’t want drug pushers or fraudsters chasing everybody in the villages. Our people should learn how to vote for progress. They should not go for money, though, they can be enticed with money which they are free to collect and still vote for the right candidate. After all, the money some people give during elections was stolen from the people directly or indirectly. So, the people can still collect the money and vote accordingly. Money offered to the voters during elections is like drug which expires with a definite date. If it requires that voters must take an oath and collect money, let them do that because oath in politics does not kill but justice kills. It is your conscience that will kill you if you do something wrong. The person that is giving you money so that you can vote for him is trying to cheat you of your right and conscience. Take the money and vote according to your conscience and cheat the cheat. So, if anybody offers you money collect it and vote for the right candidate that will bring meaningful development to the society.
South East is politically matured for this kind of ideology
Maturity comes from education. We did not come from our mother’s womb knowing everything. If this idea is repeated constantly and people find it to be the truth, the ideology will live with the people for a long time.
X-raying President Jonathan’s administration and peoples’ perception
People might have judged President Jonathan in one way or the other. People have seen him in action. Most people think that he does not know what is happening in the country and he does not react fast enough but we have seen that Jonathan appears to be a tool in the hands of God to do God’s will in Nigeria. Until he finishes doing the purpose of God for which he is here, you may not judge him correctly. In 2015, if it is the will of God that Jonathan should be there, then he should remain there.
Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, taking APGA mandate to APC
Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha is my friend but by his action he has made himself my enemy. There was no abiding sense in his action of dropping APGA to join APC. He is not thinking about Igbo interest. He is thinking about Rochas’ interest alone. And that is why I cannot be in support of what he did. I see the advertisement he is putting all over. He is gifted and charismatic; he can eat and wine with anybody without minding his status. He is the kind of person that can make good politics but good politics must come from honesty of purpose. I don’t see APC making progress in Nigeria unless the presidential candidate is Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu. That is where they can have a foot hold in the country.