Chief Ugochukwu Okeke is a chieftain of the people democratic party[PDP] and in this interview with JONATHAN NDA- ISAIAH said the two major parties APC and PDP should zone the presidency to the southeast and he also spoke on some other issues.
The Anambra elections have come and gone. What lessons should Nigerians learn from it
Anambra has always been a pacesetter. I am the secretary of the organizing committee for the PDP gubernatorial elections in my state. I will say that the elections were free and fair, our people came out to vote even though there was fear because of the unknown gunmen and IPOB issues which instill fear in the heart of many voters. I have to give kudos to INEC but, we have to look at the issue of vote-buying. Anambra people spoke their minds. I do believe if more people had come out to vote that day, the PDP would have won. The voter apathy affected us mostly in the PDP. in my place, Ihiala, a lot of our notable politicians did not come home to vote which also affected our fortunes. Beyond that, people must learn that elections are not a do-or-die affair. Another lesson people must learn is that votes do count. People that registered in Anambra were over 2 million yet, only about three hundred or four hundred thousand came out to vote. What it means is that anybody that comes and enlightens five hundred thousand voters will win the elections. So if you are blaming the leaders, why not the followers? It was their turn to come out and vote.
Were you surprised when Prof. Soludo won the elections
I was surprised because going by the performance of the outgoing governor aside from the airport which we all commend him for, we thought our candidate of the PDP will win and align with the federal. The outgoing governor has not done that but, we hope soludo will do that for us. The airport is being managed by FAAN. Governance is holistic, it is not about just the airport. When Peter Obi left before he join PDP WAS FAR better than what Obiano is leaving. By and large, APGA is the party ruling and so the power of incumbency placed a role. Beyond that, I am surprised that Soludo won even though he is qualified. He has a good track record but Valentine Ozibo was more popular. The poor turnout affected us. We have a governor-elect now and he is Charles Soludo and we will join hands to work with him. Our concern is Anambra and we pray he will develop and move the state forward. Mr. Obi was fortunate he has a good relationship with then-President Jonathan. I believe Soludo will defend himself and work with the Federal government.
Anambra is another state that has been bedeviled by insecurity. What is the situation now
It is all over the country now. Whatever is happening there is what is happening all over Nigeria. It almost affected the elections. I think the whole situation is not being handled well. everybody is culpable. The state governors of the south/eastern states have allowed the issue of IPOB and ESN to be wrongly handled. What creates this angst among the youths is that they feel they are not part of the system. Everybody wants to be part of the system. It has grown beyond what the government thinks. People now obey the order given by these youths than the sitting government. It means something is amiss. These young men are not unreachable. You don’t use force to reach them. There must be a continuous discussion. Our governors must work together irrespective of party. We must start asking questions to know if we are good the way we are as a nation.
Is Nigerian unity negotiable
Yes, everything is negotiable. We can renegotiate our existence as a nation. People are afraid when you mention a word like that, it doesn’t mean that we will part ways but, we must negotiate the law of competitive advantage. We must sit down and look at what is best for the north and what is best for the south. We have six Geo-political zones, even within the zones, there are divisions. That is why we must enthrone zoning in whatever we do. Not because zoning is the best but, we are not as mature as we should be, that is why we must maintain zoning for now. But in going round, you must bring out the best, you must do it based on merit.
Given the opportunity to advise the FG on how to bring about peace to the south/east, what will it be
We must find a way to get to these boys through discussion. Some of these boys were once armed by politicians before they grew wings. So we have to narrow it down, go to the communities, sue for peace. Don’t use force because the guns you are taking to fight them, they also have guns. Suppression will not work. We must come together to find a lasting solution. We haven’t done well in managing these crises.
Can you say that the government of Buhari is doing well in managing insecurity across the nation
I don’t think so because if they are, it won’t be this bad. As a retired general, people believe that he should know other ways of handling insecurity but, using just force will not work. Recently there were reports that a military school in Biu WAS OVER RAN by Boko haram. It is unheard of. If our bastion of hope can be overrun, then what hope does the common man has? I think we have politicized insecurity and that is why it is getting worst. We need to look at Nigeria beyond what it is now. Everybody must do something about it. Our problem is that we don’t have a strong institution that can handle the situations. What we have in Nigeria is strong men, not institutions. Things must be done based on merit. Look at how Britains are criticizing their prime minister for attending a party under covid but, it cannot happen here in Nigeria. If it’s here, even the media will attend the party.
Going back to politics, the PDP seems to have zoned the presidency to the south. What does it portent for the south/east
I am not sure if the party has to zone it to the south. I am a member of the party. They have not spelled out what they want to do. They haven’t come out clearly to zone it to the south. But for me, what equity does, it throws everything open. It is time I believe for us to do something better to ensure that all the major political parties produced southerners for the presidency. For example, in my state, Peter Obi deliberately made an effort directed at ensuring that, the candidate of the party comes from the north. That is why Obiano emerged. So now APGA zone it to the south. we believe after 8years, it will go to the central. When you do things like that, everybody gets a sense of belonging. I am disappointed at the leadership of the nation across the board. They have not done the right thing. There is nothing wrong with Buhari coming out to say, their presidential candidate will come from the southeast because the southwest has given us Obasanjo, the north has brought Buhari and Yaradua and the south/south has brought Jonathan. What is wrong in taking deliberate steps to ensure that an Igbo man emerged? The average Igbo man believes in competition, throws the ball on the football field and the best will score the goal. Igbos are everywhere in Nigeria. Go to the nook and cranny of Nigeria, you must see an Igbo man and he buys land and settle there. We have contributed our quota to nation-building. We must shun these issues of tribalism and religious sentiments. It doesn’t produce the best. In all the developed countries our leaders visit, they don’t talk about tribe or religion. Look at Obama, even Boris of Britain. They chose people based on merit and ensure that everybody has a sense of belonging. Today Obama can die for America because he was given a sense of belonging.
There is a general belief that the Igbos are not united and, if the presidency is zoned to the east, they will end up fighting themselves. What is your take on this
We believe in merit and so our people will throw themselves up. We also know that for us to achieve our dreams, we must be united. All these are words they use to marginalized the Igbo. Let PDP and APC both produce Igbo men for the presidency and you will see how people will vote.
Now that you mention INEC, do you think the electoral empire can give Nigeria, free, fair, and credible elections
Yes but they must do it in concert with the state. For example the issue of security, I give kudos to the security agencies during the gubernatorial elections, most of them protect the sanctity of the elections and also protect the people. People were scared to come out and vote. INEC device machine is wonderful. If they can use it during the general elections, then there won’t be rigging because the numbers must tally. If the government can allow INEC to conduct the elections without interference, then we will get a near-perfect election.
Coming back to the economy, are you concerned with the high rate of inflation and its effects on the conman man
Inflation has its positive and negative sides. The resources coming to Nigerians now are meager, That is why the government must be firm in deregulating the economy. We must deregulate the economy. For example, look at the telecom industry, I bought my mtn card for #30.000 in 1999 but now the sim card is almost free. So let government remove its hands from business and allow market forces to decide, initially it will be high but it will eventually come down
Does it means you are in support of the FG plans to remove subsidy
Yes but there must be a deliberate attempt to cushion the effects. Government must have the political will to do the right thing. Government must deregulate now. It won’t be palatable but with time, Nigerians will benefit from it. Deregulation allows for a free market. Our problem is that the people have lost confidence in the government. They no longer relive anything the government says. But if the people can be made to trust the government and you tell them you will see fuel for #500, they will believe you because of the knowledge you will use gain to work for them. Unfortunately, almost all our budget ow goes for debt servicing
Though the government has not come out to confirm it, it is obvious that the naira has been devalued. What is the impact on the economy
I am not an economist but some believe that when you devalue the naira, goods become cheap. Another thing is because we don’t produce anything, we must devalue our naira to access loans. Unfortunately, we don’t have power yet, we flare gas. We are wasting gas in Nigeria and this is something some countries fight about. If we can harness the gas sector and ensure that power is available, Nigeria will develop fast. The right people must also be put in place to manage the critical sectors. We must shun tribalism and religious sentiments when appointing people to many sectors. Nigeria is the way it is because of sentiments. There is a need for us to use merit and enthrone democracy in Nigeria. Look at the banking industry, in the past when you want to open an account, you must open an account with money but now, you can open an acct with nothing. It’s people that are driving these changes. We need to put the right people in the right place. You cannot borrow money from the world bank without abiding by their terms and one is devaluation. Every good leader must also shun sycophants. Sycophancy is more dangerous than a gunshot.
Returning to you now, what are your plans for 2023
I have been in PDP from inception and will continue to be in PDP. The PDP remains the best option for Nigeria. If we can, let’s get a good candidate, a person that has the capacity and a person that can deliver. We need bold people, that will decide without fear. For me now, I will work hard to ensure that PDP comes back to the center and the right candidate emerged. The up to down approach must stop. We must produce leaders that will have character, content, and capacity. Things must start from down to the top. We must understand the language that the people speak. Nigeria is very important to the world because of its population. The western world must ensure that Nigeria is safe and secure because anything that festers out of Nigeria will affect the world.
Credit: Leadership