Former Imo State governor, Chief Achike Udenwa has said that a restructured Nigeria will benefit the Igbo more than the Presidency. In this interview, he said among others that having a president of Igbo extraction in the present day Nigeria would not help people of the South East or even the nation at large.
Nigeria recently celebrated her 59th Independence anniversary which, many feel, has become a mere ritual considering the challenges facing the nation. Some people believe that Nigeria is retrogressing and has no reason to celebrate that date, do you agree?
If anybody looks at where we were before independence, you would say that we have recorded a lot of progress but somewhere along the line, I do not know what happened. It looks as if we have got it wrong again and we have gone far behind where we started. Things have not worked well. There is no national cohesion, unity and progress. Jobs are being lost and no new jobs being created. These are some of the things that make everyone feel so depressed about the way the country is going. That is why a lot of us have suggested that we find solutions to our problems. We have to look at the system completely or is there anything wrong with us as a people. Both the rulers and the ruled have blames to share. This is because most of the people who are ruling us are not supposed to be there. It means that our system is so weak and our institutions have also turned to be very weak. Look at our electoral system, judicial system; all these institutions have become very weak. We as individuals are not also helping matters. All these have culminated in very retrogressive actions that we are taking of late. We are supposed to feel concerned about what is happening to our country. Economically, structurally and in every sphere of life, we have not done so well. So, on the issue of the 59th Independence anniversary, we have nothing to celebrate. Probably we can only celebrate that we are still a country. Some are surprised that we are still together.
The security situation has not yet improved. Many would say it has even got worse as some governors now negotiate with bandits. How do you feel about the development?
Governors discussing with bandits shows you the level of desperation of the chief executives. We are in a very precarious situation. Like I said earlier, it means that our institutions have broken down. The security agencies have collapsed and it is regrettable. What are we doing to the bandits; how can you talk about going to discuss with bandits. Is that not ridiculous? So, tomorrow when new bandits come up, we go and discuss with them again and try to see how we can pacify them. The whole situation is regrettable and we have mixed everything up with tribalism and religion. These are very sensitive issues. How can you be talking about a nation and you are talking about tribalism and religion. It makes matters worse and no country has survived it. Look at what is happening in most of the Arab countries where religion has become so volatile. That is what has continued to cause crises there and that is where we are heading to. To me, we have not done well because the basic duty of a government is to protect lives and property. Once a government has failed to protect lives and property, it has failed. There are no two ways about it. That is the first responsibility of a government. So, we have failed as a people and our government has failed in those things that will uplift this country. Look at where the other countries are going to. See where many of the developing countries are now. Look at Malaysia, India, Singapore, Brazil and even China that just entered the free-trade economy. All these tell you that we have failed. Rather than think of progress, we are here discussing things like Boko Haram, banditry, herdsmen/farmers clashes and so on whereas, others are discussing Hitech. So, it brings you to what we have been talking about that we must sit down as a country and ask ourselves, what can make us survive? We have had conferences which have been attended by all sections of the country. I was in the last National conference and there was no tribe, region, religion and even organization in this country that was not represented and we came out with recommendations. We have failed to implement these recommendations. So, who are we blaming? It looks as if some people have ulterior and selfish motives instead of serving the country. So, I do not know where Nigeria is heading to. Whatever happens to our country today, we have ourselves to blame. We cannot blame the British that left us 59 years ago. Something is wrong with us. I was watching a video yesterday(Thursday, October 10) of a primary school in one of the states of the country, Dekina local government area of Kogi State to be precise and when you watch it, you would shed tears. The children were inside one rickety building. They did not even have a blackboard and tomorrow, you expect these children to excel when in other places, they are talking of technology. So, we have ourselves to blame.
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Many prominent people in Nigeria, including people of other regions are expressing support for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023; what is your view on that?
My own position is that I wish we have an Igbo president in a restructured Nigeria. I will be very happy. Anything short of that, I am not interested or excited. In the present rot we have in the country, I do not see what I would gain from an Igbo president. Ask yourself, what would Igbo presidency do for us if what is happening today continues? Are we now putting an Igbo man there to go and restructure the country? For us to develop our country and move forward, we must, first of all, restructure this country. At that time, I will be very happy if you are talking about the Igbo presidency. I am not excited now when you are talking of Igbo presidency. Let us give every part of this country a sense of belonging and for every part of the country to take care of its challenges and exploit its own resources. Let the regions look inwards and see what is their own priorities. What could be a priority to people of Cross River State is not the same with Kogi State; what is priority in Anambra is not the same with that of Sokoto and so on and so forth. It could be in education, commerce, industry and every other aspect. So, if we restructure this country, every state should exploit its resources. Zamfara State today I understand has gold in commercial quantity and this resource is being mined illegally. Let us remove all impediments and let the Zamfara people, for instance, be able to mine the gold in their place and use it to develop their area. That is my own suggestion and it is the only way Nigeria can move forward. Some are feeling that some parts of the country would be richer than others because they have oil but oil now is going down. In the South East, only two states have anything called oil but the South East can look inwards and see how they can exploit other options like human resources. Every region must not be endowed with the same type of resources. Let regions exploit their own and use it to fix their problems. As it is with resources, so it is also with problems of people. Educationally, some states are suffering from a lack of enrolment in schools. Some places are suffering from inadequate school infrastructure. Some are suffering from a lack of teachers. So, you go back and fix your own. I am sure if we go that way, every state will develop educationally. It is so economically; some people are good in agriculture; some are endowed with mineral resources and some with human resources. Go and exploit your own and we can complement one another. We will still remain one country and what you do not have, I have and I can give it to you. But in a situation where we have one giant person called the Federal Government operating somewhere and determining what will happen in a diversified Nigeria, can never work. That is the root of our problems.
What is your take on the infrastructural decay in the South East with particular reference to the closure of the Enugu International airport servicing the whole zone?
Generally speaking about infrastructure, the South East has a lot of deficits in roads, rail transportation and any other area of development. We are completely in deficit and that is the essence of the restructuring I am talking about. It is so that when we go back to the South East, we determine our priorities and move ahead. If we are waiting for justice from the Federal Government to fix all these infrastructure, it may not happen. Talking specifically about Enugu airport, they said Enugu airport was closed because the runway was not good and that there were too many buildings and structures close to the airport and that for safety purposes, they needed to close it and we said okay. But now, it is regrettable to be hearing that up till now, nothing has happened. I had expected that by the time that airport is being closed, plans would have been there and contracts would have been awarded and the work would have started immediately. That did not happen and nobody has come to explain to us what is the cause of the delay. So, when you look at some of these things, you get so frustrated and you begin to ask yourself questions. You are talking of the airways; what about the railways? We have an ongoing contract from Lagos to Kano; that is one line. We know that originally, there were two lines in this country that took into consideration the economy of Nigeria-the movement of goods and services. That is from Lagos to Kano, and Port Harcourt through Kaduna to Maiduguri. These were the two main lines that served this country. But now, you can see how the development is going. I am even hearing now that they are now talking about another one from Calabar to Port Harcourt to Benin and everyone sees how it is skewed against the South East. Nobody is talking about the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri line which is very important. You ask yourself why this circumventing the line. Everyone agrees that first and foremost, we should rehabilitate the two most important lines in this country.
Source: SUN NEWS
