Theodore Ahamefule Orji, Abia State Governor and chairman, South East Governors Forum, is known for application of humour and intellect in approaching questions, no matter how tough they may seem. Such is his disposition in this interaction with Editor, Politics/Features, EMEKA ALEX DURU; Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, and South East/South South Bureau Chief, BEN DURU, as he talks on South East agenda at the national conference, 2015 politics, (in)security in the land and his succession plan in Abia, among other issues.
Theodore Ahamefule Orji
You were recently elected chairman, South East Governors’ Forum. How does it make you feel? What also is your agenda to the people?
It makes me feel happy and proud that my colleagues have a lot of confidence in me. Of course, I have agenda. Issues bordering on infrastructure and our economy as well as security must be given priority.
What do you think as a person about the on-going national conference? Is there any South East agenda that you are presenting there as a people?
Personally and among us, the South East governors, we feel the national conference is worth doing; that we have to discuss. It is only when we discuss our problems that we can find solutions to them. Now that Nigerians are being invited, each zone is bringing out its best, they will bring their peculiar problems at the conference, so that we can corporately discuss them and find solutions to them. I think it is a good idea and I am sure a lot of people appreciate it. For us in the zone, we met before our delegates left and we harmonised with the Ohanaeze Ndigbo position.
Every item included there is essential to us in the South, like the issue of state creation in our zone where the marginalisation is glaring in the number of states in the South East. We have to be at par in the number of states that we have before we start to talk on other issues. We are bringing the issue of resource control on the table, revenue sharing, the issue of local government, security etc that are peculiar to us. They were all itemised and I am sure our delegates will champion them there.
Do you have confidence in the ability of delegates from South East to deliver?
Yes, of course; I have confidence in them. Most of them I know very well. We know their antecedents in terms of what they are going to face. So we are very confident in the delegates that we have chosen. Every state brought its delegates, and as far as I am concerned, they brought their best. Even when we were selecting their leaders, it was on consensus. Most of those people had attended a lot of similar conferences; so their experience will come to bear, hoping that this conference will be a different one in terms of action. Some of the things they are going to discuss had been discussed before. So, it will be a question of modification and implementation. I am hopeful there will be a difference.
This is not the first time we are going to have such dialogue. Abacha, Babangida and Obasanjo also did and all ended under the carpet. So what makes you confident that this one will be different?
What has made me to be confident that this one will be different is that those you have mentioned, like Abacha and Babangida, were all military men who ruled with military fiat. But now, this is democracy and democracy is all about discussion; it is all about agreeing and disagreeing. At least, we have advanced as a nation. From 1999 till now, we have made headway; therefore, we believe also that that headway will come to bear in this conference. Don’t forget that it is a different person that is now piloting the affairs of this nation.
Sceptics have said that what is going on as a confab is merely an agenda for President Jonathan’s 2015 ambition. How do you react to this?
No; it is not correct. It has nothing to do with President Jonathan’s agenda for 2015; it has something to do with the corporate existence and the moving forward of Nigeria. The President has said he has no personal agenda and we should believe him.
But he nominated a large number of nominees at the conference?
Yes, the federal government has its nominations; but a large number is from us, the people from different states, including the organised labour. Of course, the federal government had to make an input, but because the federal government nominated them does not mean that it has given them an agenda. Government also felt it could send people it feels would discuss Nigeria’s issue intelligently and arrive at the best option for Nigeria. There is no Jonathan or government agenda in the conference; it is an agenda for Nigeria.
In 2011, the South East and South South governors stood behind Jonathan. Again, they have made it clear that the same support will be given to him as we move towards 2015. Do you think the South East really got the benefit for its support? Why must the zone support Jonathan again?
I think we have benefits that we can flaunt for our support for Jonathan. Of course, you will agree with me that all political animals, and by extension the people, are usually insatiable. But when you compare what Jonathan has done for the South East and what others before him had done for the zone, you will see that Jonathan is a man to be trusted. He gives you a promise and ensures he fulfils such promise. In terms of appointments, we are better than what it used to be. In terms of projects, we have benefited. It is under him that we realised the Akanu Ibiam Airport as international airport; it had been a local airport all along. The Onitsha/Owerri Road has taken another shape which is now a smooth ride. We have been complaining on the Enugu/Port Harcourt Road, but work is on-going there today. What of the second Niger Bridge? These are some of the visible things we can be happy about. Jonathan has kept his promises for us and I know he will do more for us by the time we give him another massive support.
But in the event of Jonathan not making it, wouldn’t this support put Ndigbo in grave disadvantage?
We don’t want to hear in the event of him not making it (laughs); he will make it and his making it is the best option for us and Nigeria.
Are you so confident that PDP will give him the ticket?
Yes. With whom is he competing with in the primaries?
Where does that leave Ndigbo in terms of producing Nigerian President in 2015? In July 2011, Jonathan reportedly promised to do one term.
Well, that is what people say that he said; that he was going to do one term. Some people even said that he had an agreement with them, that he will do one term, yet we have not seen the agreement. Forget about what people are saying and claiming that he said. On the issue of Igbo President, yes, we know we will be President; there is no doubt that a President of Igbo extraction will emerge one day. But it is good for us to go when the time is propitious.
When do you think the time will be ripe for an Igbo to emerge as the President of Nigeria?
Let us just allow Jonathan to finish his second term; then we can start discussing a President of Igbo extraction.
Are you not qualified to be the President of Nigeria?
The constitution has spelt out the qualifications and I am qualified just like other Nigerians. But it is not merely on question of your qualification. It is not your qualification that puts you into power; it is the people that will vote you into power because this is democracy and it is a game of numbers. And for a President of Igbo extraction to emerge, you have to get the support of the other zones that make up the country. At the appropriate time, Nigerians will know that it is the turn of the Igbo and nobody will come to disturb us.
By being so openly anti-APC, the opposition party and pro-PDP, pro-Jonathan, don’t you think that Ndigbo are putting their eggs in one basket, assuming, for instance, APC wins?
We, Ndigbo, are putting our eggs in a basket that is safe. It is a basket that is protected where the eggs will not break. You deal with the people you trust. Our people’s impression about the APC is such that they will not vote for them. If our people loved APC, they would have won in Anambra. The impression here is that APC is an ethnic party. We want where we will be safe, where we will have a voice, and it is the PDP that does not have ethnic coloration. Can Igbo man be the national chairman of APC? Just look at the hierarchy of the APC and tell me how many Igbo are there.
Some Northerners are insisting that power must go back to their zone. Are you not considering Jonathan’s emergence affecting the unity of the country?
It will not, in any way, affect the unity of the country. This country must remain corporate. These things are coming up because we are going for election. Once he wins, everything will vanish. We did not break up when we fought a civil war, so why now?
Members of the opposition insist that the PDP has not done well in government since 1999 and they have qualified Jonathan as clueless and running the most corrupt administration in the history of this country. How do you react to this?
Of course, what do you expect the type of opposition we have to say? They must say something. Do you expect them to come and clap for Jonathan? They want to unseat him; therefore, they will do everything possible to blackmail him. Even those who have ruled this country cannot march him in terms of what he has done and the commitment to do more.
Will you be surprised if the outcome of the confab tilts towards the break-up of Nigeria?
Well, I don’t expect that to happen. The only agenda that the federal government set for those people is that the issue of break-up is a no-go area; they can discuss other things but not the unity of Nigeria. The best option for Nigeria is being together.
Do you ever have fears for Nigeria?
Fears of what?
The way things are going; the level of insecurity where people will wake up and go to a secondary school and murder students; a situation where people went for job interview and 19 of them died? Do you ever have fears for Nigeria that since 1960 we ought not to be where we are?
I believe that all these will soon pass. I see some of these things as part of our growing up challenges and we will learn from the experiences. It is for us to sit tight and find the situation. That, to me, is the solution. Is there any country in the world that has not got its own challenges at certain periods in its history?
The Senate seems to have become retirement benefit for state governors, when they must have exhausted their terms as governor. In 2015, are you going to the Senate?
Go and ask my people and hear what they are saying (laughs). The pressure has been overwhelming. It has gone even beyond Abia Central Senatorial Zone where I come from. Abia South, Abia North, name them are all urging me to go to the Senate.
What is your succession plan and what are you doing to ensure you have a seamless transition?
We hope to have a seamless and peaceful transition in Abia, and that is what is in the mind of every sitting governor who is doing his last tenure right now.
Are you still looking towards Abia South to produce the next governor?
Of course, yes. It is not peculiar to Abia. It is so in other states. We want to bring equity and fair play into politics.
You have been identified with a lot of legacy projects so far. Which one are you passionate about and what has been the secret of your performance, given the lean resources of the state?
I am passionate about all my legacy projects, and they are in all sectors. There are two types of legacy projects: visible and invisible legacy projects of which I will be remembered for. The invisible one, you will not see, but it remains the unity that we have in Abia; the breaking of polarisation in Abia, the coming out from domination and intimidation because we can now stay on our own and take decision without unnecessary influence from outside. We have taken the face of Abia towards God and no longer to any effigy. These are certain things that people overlooked which held us down for a long time. Of course, the visible ones you can locate in all sectors, communities and towns. In terms of secret of performance, it is just being focused, determined and prudent.
