The late Michael Okpara, Premier of the then Eastern Region, acquitted himself very well that many years after his passing, his achievements are still a yardstick for successful administration.
Okpara made the Eastern Region self-reliant, resourceful and development-oriented, and his administration had a healthy competition with other regions.
From the regions, the federal government drew its lifeline to take care of its responsibilities on the exclusive list, particularly defence and foreign affairs.
Okpara popularised palm oil plantation, made agriculture the fulcrum of economic base by getting everyone; man, woman, children; to appreciate the dignity in farming.
What he did in the East was not different from what the late Obafemi Awolowo did in the West and the late Ahmadu Bello did in the North.
Unlike today’s governors, these great men of ideas of yesteryears made Nigeria proud, and they elevated the worth of their people by reducing hunger and starvation.
Awo tapped into cocoa, rubber. Bello did not allow groundnut, tin, columbite, and other God given natural resources in the North to waste.
They never went to the centre for handouts the way today’s governors do.
The South West has long keyed into the ideas of Awo and has done a lot to integrate its states into a thriving socio-economic and political entity. The South West proudly reminds itself of Awo’s saying that “he is first and foremost a Yoruba man before being a Nigerian.”
The same applies to the North, where governors and leaders call meetings to reflect on the future in line with the development trajectory Bello bequeathed.
Many developments in today’s Nigeria demand that South East governors and other leaders from the zone get serious about how the future of Ndigbo ought to be protected and projected.
That is why I was pleased watching the South East governors on television after their maiden meeting in Enugu since the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came into being.
They seem prepared to work together, going by feelers from that meeting. To me, the only way to summarise their preparedness to function as a team in the interest of their area is that they do not have a choice.
Past South East governors and other leaders of thought had shown “commitment” to the oneness of the people from the zone, but it remains to be seen how their efforts translated into something enduring.
Most of the time, they placed politics at the fore of our scale of preference to the detriment of development.
Unlike what you get from other zones where their governors and leaders do not compromise on social needs and development, despite their political leaning, the South East is a different ball game.
There are five states in the South East with three political parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) – in charge.
The time has come for the governors to eschew political inclination and work together to attend to the daunting legion of social and economic problems in the area.
Over the years, agitation for the creation of another state in the South East has gained ground, but the conspiracy from other sections of the country against Ndigbo on that justifiable demand has continued to mount.
Unless the governors work as brothers I do not see that demand being met in the foreseeable future.
What about maltreatment the average Igbo man or woman suffers in different parts of the country? From Sokoto to Minna to Kano to Kaduna to Uyo and Lagos, the story of hatred for Ndigbo is the same.
Our governors and leaders should put aside their parties’ loyalty to ensure the plan by some ethnic nationalities to exterminate the Igbo does not succeed.
This piece is not for Ndigbo to join issues with other ethnic nationalities where the Igbo are not treated kindly, but to drum it into the consciousness of the governors that the South East needs a system that will take care of its kit and kin without economic means to survive.
Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States have to work as a body, as no state can do it alone today. That way, they can minimise violence and tame the tide of instability in the region for the overall peace and well-being of Nigerians.
I am happy that Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, who spoke on behalf of the governors, harped on insecurity, kidnapping, robbery, poverty, displaced Igbo from the crisis-torn North due to Boko Haram insurgency, and of late, the transfer of Boko Haram prisoners to Anambra.
The governors should pursue the transfer of the insurgents to the South East with every energy at their disposal.
Also, they should not allow political jobbers and ethnic irredentists to continue to insult Ndigbo by making incendiary comments over the emergence of Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekwweremadu, whose election followed Senate rules and is based on his competence.
Several issues beg the attention of South East governors that would make them relegate politics to the background if they want to work for their people.
Why should Aba or Onitsha not be the economic hub of the South East and the rallying point for economic activities in the country?
Why should Owerri or Enugu not be developed as the tourist, medical and educational destination of the South East? Why should Ebonyi not be developed as the agricultural hub of the South East?
Rather than pursue individual development agenda, the governors should integrate such agenda based on the needs of our people and ensure regular peer review.
This has become necessary in view of the constant threat our people face in states like Lagos where, at every point, Igbo traders are driven out of their places of business, making them look like sheep without a shepherd.
The spirit of onyeaghala nwanneya and imi beme anya ebeme must be reenacted by this crop of governors.
Igbo spare parts traders, drug dealers and others could be encouraged to look the direction of the East if the environment is made conducive by the governors.
If our people, regarded as traders, can travel to the farthest parts of the world to buy wares, I do not see why Nigerians cannot go to the South East to buy such wares. That is the spirit that drives development.
There is nothing wrong if the governors bail themselves out in time of financial stress and other challenges that require they serve our people sincerely.
