He used to be vibrant in the political scene, even if on the side of commentators. But for quite some time now, Chyka Ibeku, Chairman of Phinger Hurt and Partners Limited (a construction firm) who aspired to represent Ikwuano-Umuahia, Abia State, in the House of Representatives, has been lying low.
Dressed in a resplendent suit in his cosy office in Ojota, Lagos, during an encounter with TheNiche, he was, as usual, very blunt in his responses as he dissected political developments in the country.
Ibeku said although President Muhammadu Buhari seems to mean well for Nigeria, given his change mantra, he is yet to translate his vision into visible gains for the average Nigerian.
On the appointments made by the president so far, Ibeku said he is displeased, as he sees it as lopsided. However, he believes Mr. President still has time to make amends, if he values public opinion.
“We have noticed that President Muhammadu Buhari is interested in moving this country forward. But considering his appointments, most people are not satisfied because the whole thing is lopsided.
“This is an appointment that is supposed to be spread through the (six) geopolitical zones, irrespective of who voted for him or not. He is the president of the country and not president of his party. People are disappointed because they expected him to spread it round. But it is majorly from the North.
“Also, all the arms of government are headed by people from the North – Senate President from the North, Speaker of the House of Representatives from the North and the Judiciary is headed by a Northerner. It is not supposed to be so. He is the president of a united Nigeria and not a president of a section. That is the area Buhari got it wrong.
Ibeku said since Buhari took power over four months ago, he has not put anything in place to have a functional government, though his anti-corruption crusade is acceptable. “He kept his ministerial list for too long. But he is supposed to have set the government in motion first, so that in the process, he can now move in on corrupt people.”
The engineer-turned-politician, however, picked holes in Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade.
“Corruption is not supposed to be blown open. You are supposed to carry out these investigations secretly.
“Also, fighting corruption should go round and not selective. The probe on corruption should at least start from the 1999 democratic regime, which is the only way you can assuage the concern of people.
“Most importantly, the Buhari government should publish the names of whoever they are investigating, and whatever they recover from such persons should be made public.
“His anti-corruption war should not spare past governors, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 1999 to date,” he told TheNiche.
Ibeku does not subscribe to the bail-out arrangement of the federal government for the states, as he believes that most of those states were reckless with their resources.
“I have kicked against the bail-out arrangement. It is not the best. Before now, we have not had the situation where states come out to say they could not pay salaries. The reason for this is that they invested state’s money on campaign seeking re-election, or their governors using it in their scramble for the Senate. So I totally disagree with this bail-out. They had the money and spent it recklessly,” he asserted.
And he poured the blame on the states’ legislature. “It is the fault of the House of Assembly. They are supposed to serve as checks, but they have been bought over and only acting as rubberstamp. Constitutionally, there are certain contracts governors cannot award without approval of the House of Assembly. But in this case, governors approve contracts with reckless abandon. Nobody checks them.”
According to him, former President Goodluck Jonathan lost his re-election bid because most Nigerians were disenchanted with his government and needed a change from what his regime offered.
But he argued that Jonathan as a person was sincere and meant well for the country.
His words: “There are many reasons former President Jonathan lost the election. One, people were disappointed at the government. The rate of corruption during the Jonathan period was higher than expected. It looked as if Jonathan either ignored it or was not aware. Second reason is that the Northerners were bent on taking back power. Even members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his party, voted against the PDP, primarily because they wanted power returned to the North. So the two major reasons Jonathan lost was corruption and North’s quest for power. Otherwise, Jonathan meant well for this country.
“He was out to develop this country. Look at the power sector. It was his effort that made it possible for the improved power situation. After all, Buhari has not added anything to the sector.”
Ibeku still gave Jonathan kudos for his statesmanship in congratulating Buhari even before the counting of the votes was over. He said if the former president was crazy for power, he would have looked for a good political excuse to truncate the election and remain in office.
Said Ibeku: “Jonathan demonstrated the act of statesmanship because very few presidents would accept defeat as incumbents. When Jonathan saw that he was losing the election, he congratulated Buhari and said he was done. He has played his part and showed the statesmanship that very few leaders in Africa, would show.”
As an Abian, Ibeku said Governor Okezie Ikpeazu must stop at nothing to ensure that his state gets real development. “He must go beyond what the other governors before him did if he wants to win the hearts of Abians. Much still needs to be done in the state, and Okezie must rise up to the challenge.”
Some weeks ago, while Nigerians were waiting to know who Buhari would pick as ministers, Ibeku had predicted that there would be nothing new.
