Abuja-based politician and one of Igbo political leaders in the North, Edozie Ezeugwa, tells Assistant Editor (North), CHUKS EHIRIM, in this interview, of strategies of the Igbo at ensuring that the 2011 post-election violence in the North, which claimed many of their people, does not recur this time around.
Controversial meeting of some Igbo leaders at Agura Hotel
What we had was Izu Umunne in Igbo language. It is a summit of Igbo leaders from the North. It is not anything political at all. We met to review our common condition, especially within the Northern states. In 2011, immediately after the elections, some of our brothers and sisters lost their lives. Some of them had their properties destroyed.
Another general election is fast approaching. So it becomes necessary for us to come together and discuss within ourselves, so that what happened in 2011 will not repeat itself. Strategically, that was the reason we had that meeting. It was not a political gathering.
Strategising in the interest of Igbo people against repeat of 2011 mayhem
The most important thing is to ensure that after the election, there will still be life. That is what we are trying to do at the moment because when you look at what is going on in the country now, especially within the North, with the insurgency and all kinds of crisis going on, then it matters that one has to, first of all, be alive before, during and after the election. It is very important and very strategic. It is somebody who is alive that can talk about the future.
I believe that we are living in a free, democratic society where everybody has the choice to decide who to vote for, and you consider so many things whenever you are making your choice to vote. If you are now asking me, as a party member, where I belong to, then I can tell you my own stand on the issue. But as regards the Igbo summit that we had, it is basically non-political because we don’t have anything to do with politics. We know this is a political period where all manners of people will like to come in and hijack whatever you are doing and use it to do what they want. But we are going to resist any such move.
We know that there is an emerging trend for bringing up younger political leaders. So the Igbo can no longer play that role of the highest bidder getting their support. As far as we are concerned, we are trying to cement all the cracks within the Igbo nation as far as the Nigerian project is concerned.
Igbo endorsement of a particular candidate, hence attracting violence
What you should be reasoning or talking about is that you can stay in all parts of Nigeria and exercise your rights there. I don’t see any reason somebody should use instruments of violence against you because you made your choice. If the Igbo, on their own, or people from the South, decide to be doing this type of thing, what will Nigeria look like? What I hate in my life, what we hate, is this idea of ‘born to rule’; that you must do this or do that.
Nobodyhas the monopoly of violence. You cannot at this age be telling me that I must vote the person you like. Those intimidations are what we have consistently seen and we are saying they can no longer be tolerated. Not at this present time. People should be able to exercise their rights wherever they find themselves. There should be no undue pressure on people to do what they don’t want to do.
As Nigerians, they should vote for whoever they want. You decide the person you want to vote for and you should not be under pressure by anybody as to who to vote for.
Mass exodus, especially of the Igbo, from the North before the elections
In fact, part of the agenda of that summit was to review the security situation in the North, especially the far North. We have to interface with security authorities of this country, to make sure that they provide enough security, to protect them wherever a person chooses to be. It is the obligation of the government to do that.
If it has come to a stage where the government cannot guarantee my protection, as enshrined in the constitution, then, I will be left with no option other than self-help. And when we resort to that, only God knows what will happen. It is one thing for you to start crisis, another thing is for you to control it. That is one of the reasons we are now trying to talk to ourselves and strategise and ensure that they will not be travelling like that from their places of residence or relocating to elsewhere.
