Chibuike Nwokeukwu, a lawyer and former commissioner in Abia State, in this interview, takes a look at the state’s journey so far, achievements of Governor Theodore Orji, the political gains of zoning the 2015 governorship seat to Abia South senatorial zone, the National Conference and the performance of INEC at the just concluded gubernatorial election in Osun State. He spoke with GODFREY OFURUM. Excerpts:
How will you rate Abia in the last 23 years in terms of development?
Abia was created out of the old Imo State; Imo State was created out of the old East Central State, while East Central State was created out of the old Eastern region.
When Michael Okpara was in charge of Eastern Nigeria, a lot happened in this part of the country. But when the Nigeria/Biafra war was declared in 1967, the area now known as Abia, which was part of Eastern Nigeria, became a theater of war. That thing called Nigeria/Biafra war was concentrated in the area today known as Abia State.
So, everything done in terms of infrastructure was destroyed during that war. After the war, we started from the scratch again.
So, other states saw development earlier than us. And that was the situation until the demand for the creation of more states started.
Those of us in the old Imo State saw the need to fight hard to have another state created out of the old East Central State in order to drag development nearer home. The founding fathers of the state then succeeded and we had Imo created and Owerri was made capital and not any of the major towns in today’s Abia State.
So, development concentrated around the Owerri area where the capital was, because Owerri was seriously underdeveloped by the time it was made a capital.
Therefore, all the resources were concentrated in Owerri to develop the area into a modern state capital. We were not seeing development around as much as we deserved and again began agitation for the creation of another state.
There was the demand for the creation of Abia State, there was also another demand for the creation of Aba State, but that is another chapter of this story. But at the end of it, the demand for the creation of Abia State won the battle and Abia State was created, out of the old Imo State. And the two brothers, who became Abia State, were the old Aba Division and the old Bende Division.
And when the first military administrator came, in fairness to him, he had the zeal to develop Abia State, but his tenure was short-lived. And those who came after him did not show the same zeal as we saw in the first military administrator. This is my personal opinion.
Then came the first civilian governor of the old Abia State and by that time, part of the areas known as Ebonyi today were part of Abia State and that area produced the first civilian governor of Abia State. He tried his best, but his best was not the much the people of the old Abia State deserved and got at that time.
What we saw was Abia dream. They were in a blue print but never really realised. We remained dreamers until that administration ended. After that, the military again came in and we didn’t see much. Then came the government of Orji Uzor Kalu. And in fairness to him, he met Abia in ruins. There was a need therefore to lay a solid foundation for the development of Abia State.
The resources available to him in terms of allocation were not big enough to confront the challenges we had at that time.
So, the solution we ought to have gotten from his administration in terms of laying solid foundation for the development of Abia State, Abians didn’t get much of it. Then came the present administration led by Governor Theodore Orji that also met the state in ruins.
Before you erect any structure, you need a solid foundation. So, the present administration cannot build effectively on a non-foundation, not to talk of a weak foundation.
The foundation Governor Theodore Orji inherited was so weak and he has gone on now to lay the foundation. In the last seven years, going to the eight, the administration has been involved in laying the foundation for a real practical take-off of a modern Abia State. He has also started the infrastructural development of Abia State, by what the administration termed, “Legacy Projects.” He has now laid the foundation and if you take in terms of a practical building, he has left the DPC level and it is now moving and very soon it is hitting the first floor.
And by the time he hands over to another person, that person will no longer start from the foundation, he will now build on the foundation already laid by the Governor.
Let me give you practical example, you won’t believe it that Abia State Government House is still operating in the old building we inherited from the old Eastern Nigeria up till now, but the present government has now done a new Government House that will meet the taste of the day, modern-day Government House. The governor that will take over from him, no longer requires building a Government House.
This administration has also built an International conference centre that will now enable the state to host international events. The new governor that will come in 2015 will no longer build a conference centre.
The Theodore Orji-led administration also constructed an ultra-modern secretariat complex for civil servants, an e-library and provision of road infrastructure in all parts of the state.
The administration also embarked on the construction of new model school blocks and transformation of the health sector with the construction and establishment of health centres in all the local government areas of the state, the diagnostic centres in Aba and Umuahia, the dialysis and eye specialist centres in Umuahia as well as the Specialist Hospital at Amachara, also in Umuahia.
The decision of Governor Orji to zone the 2015 governorship seat to Abia South senatorial zone is likened to what Pieter Botha did in apartheid South Africa. What is your take on this?
Like I said when I started, Abia came from agitation of two brothers-old Bende and old Aba Divisions. And we had what was then known as the “Charter of Equity,” where it was agreed that all principal offices in the state will be shared between these two zones. If a governor comes from old Bende Division, the deputy will come from old Aba Division and vice versa.
But that never worked. Those who operated the government and those at the background, never allowed that to happen. For the period of 23 years that Abia has existed, all the governors, except the military, all came from the old Bende Division. It has never come to the old Aba Division.
But recently, the incumbent governor of the state, Orji now said that it is only equitable that two sections of the state should have a taste of the pudding. But he didn’t go about it by way of Abia Charter of Equity to say old Bende and old Aba Divisions. He preferred the modern trend of rotating it among the three senatorial zones of the state.
Former governor, Orji Uzor Kalu is from Abia North, while the incumbent governor is from Abia Central senatorial zone; so the only zone that has never been represented in the Government House of the state, is Abia South. So, he now thought that it is equitable to allow it to go to the zone that has not produced a governor for the first time.
But for me, originally that was not the way I wanted it as a person. I belong to the class who said it should be on the basis of Abia Equity, which is to rotate governorship seat between the old Bende and old Aba Divisions.
By that my calculation, the governorship seat for 2015 should have been for Ukwa-Ngwa area, which is still the old Aba Division. That would have given opportunity for those of us from the Ngwa section in Abia central senatorial zone to be part of the game.
I was of the opinion that we should have been allowed to participate in the struggle to produce the next governor of the state. But I have succumbed to superior argument as made by the governor that the area that has not tested should be given an opportunity.
I have also succumbed to superior argument that the governor, who is from Abia Central cannot hand over to his brother of the same Central senatorial zone. Therefore, those of us who are Ngwas in Abia Central Senatorial zone, we have been asked to wait, exercise patience, only one person can be governor at a time. And after his tenure, power must move to another zone.
May be, when it leaves there, the Ngwa section of the central senatorial zone that is not part of Abia South senatorial zone, will take their turn. or even if it goes up to the North and by the time it will return to the Central senatorial zone, the Umuahia man will not ask for it again, because his brother from the Aba Division has never been there. It is a matter of time.
We will not all die the same day, we will not all live forever. But if we are not here by the time it returns for my people, it must be an Ngwa man from Abia Central that will hold the office.
What is your advice to some of your kinsmen from your part of Ngwa Land in Abia Central that are kicking against the decision of the governor and the PDP in the state, to zone the governorship seat to Abia South Senatorial zone?
They should support the governor. We have been here for 23 years and this is the nearest we have had a promise fulfilled. When in 2003, we wanted to be governor, the Ukwa-Ngwa area produced our son, who ran for us in 2003, by the time we were campaigning for him, elder statesmen of Abia origin appealed to us, because I was at the forefront of that struggle that an Ukwa-Ngwa man should become the next governor then, they told us not to worry, that we should allow Orji Uzo Kalu to complete his term after which it will be our turn.
When Uzor kalu was contesting for governorship in 2003, we had our brothers from Ukwa-Ngwa extraction, who also wanted to be governors at that time. But the elders of Abia state appealed to Dan Nwankwo, a strong contender at that election, to leave it for Orji Uzor Kalu. That Kalu will be there just for four years. I served as a commissioner in that government and heard my governor at that time say he was only going to be governor for four years, but at the end of the forth year, he opted to go for a second term.
Well, that was his right to do so, but that was not the promise. Our people were asked to wait and we waited. And by the time he was rounding-off, we now said he should fulfill the promise he made to us, but he and others were unable to fulfill the promise and we were also asked to wait.
Now, this is the time, the incumbent governor has said, I will hand over to an Ngwa man, but my focus will be on the area that has not tested it and I agree with that. So, my advice to my brothers from Abia Central and other parts of the state that are interested in running for the office, is that it is a turn by turn thing. Let us exercise patience, let’s cooperate with the governor, let us not make the governor to change his mind, even though it is not the governor that will select who his successor will be, it is the party that will do that.
I will like to use the old English adage that says that ‘a tree cannot make a forest’, but I like to say that a tree can give an indication where a forest will be.
So, the governor cannot do it, but the governor is the leader of the party and having said it and what he said is supported by the generality of members of the party and anything contrary will amount to anti-party activity. And sanctioning any person at this stage will be overheating the polity, but disobeying party guideline, disobeying party decision is capable of attracting penalty and that penalty will amount o sanction and that sanction may overheat the polity. And so to avoid all that, let us obey the party’s decision.
What in your opinion will be the political gain of Ukwa-Ngwa people from this decision of Governor Orji to zone the governorship seat to that part of the state?
If the governorship seat of Abia State in 2015 goes to another area, different from the Ukwa-Ngwa area, the people from this area won’t be happy. And they may express their anger in so many ways and they may also not be loyal to government. I don’t know what meaning you’ll attach to the word loyalty. They may not be loyal to the government of the day.
They will do in their own little way, things that may not permit or allow for good governance in the state. But now that it is going to that area, it is equitable. And the people of that area in turn, owe it to the government to be loyal, they owe it to the government to be supportive of the government and there will be peace and tranquility in the state.
Again, any person who is governor must have come from one village. And so one of the first things he would do is to ensure that the governor comes out from his House to the government house on a good road. And everybody in that community will benefit from that because it is not only the governor that will use the road.
The governor will like to take trusted friends and relations to serve with his government. And these are some of the gains. If the governor keeps coming from one area, development will be concentrated along that area to the detriment of other areas. So, it will also make room for even development of the state. And there will be happiness for the people, as they will all support government.
How do you rate the performance of INEC at the just concluded governorship election in Osun State?
I think INEC has done well and I still believe if they continue, especially in the way they handled the Osun governorship election, better days are ahead and I ask them to go ahead.
However, my fear is that in 2015 elections will be conducted simultaneously in all the 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. I do not know whether we have enough security to be divided and posted in all the states the way it was done in Osun State, because election will be held simultaneously in all the states.
That is the area I am worried about. But I am not an apostle of staggered election, because the band wagon effect will also be undemocratic. All we have to do in my opinion-I don’t know how many policemen and soldiers we have, the government can afford to train another set of security men or let us have a high-breed of police and army, so that we can have enough security in all the states where these elections will be conducted in 2015.
Without security, I do not think the result we had in Osun would have been the same. So, I think that the area we need to concentrate on now, is further training for INEC staff, further training for INEC ad hoc staff and much more training for or security personnel. So, by that I think we’ll be able to get somewhere.
Is there anything like over-policing or over-militarisation during elections?
There is nothing like over-policing. Over-policing will come when you are at the losing end. That is the time you’ll tag it over-policing. Police is police, they are doing their job, but if you have an ill motive and the police or security stops you or nips it in the board, it becomes over-policing or over-security. But there is nothing like that. It is like salutation, if I see you in the morning, I say good morning and I see you in the afternoon, I tell you good afternoon. There is nothing like over-greeting. In fact, we even need more security to get the real dividend of democracy in the country.
Do you think it was proper for the President to institute a National Conference at this time of our development? And how do you see the utterances of some members of the conference?
I endorse what the President did, because there are gaps in our constitution. And there are those that are not adequately provided for. There is need to close the gap. And what he has done is an opportunity for all areas in Nigeria to bring out their grievances, table them and let us find out how we can solve these problems and live harmoniously as one nation.
I agree with the President completely. But the only area I didn’t agree is the composition of members of the national conference. There are so many old men in the conference and I do not think we needed as much old men as there were at the National Conference. We are now fashioning a constitution that will govern this country from now on.
I am not the keeper of those old men, but I know that some of them, if we go by natural trends, have limited number of years to be here. But there are those coming up- you and I- who by the grace of God, still have more time to spend here, why should we now entrust our future into the hands of these old men, who could not take care of their own future at their time.
We need their wisdom so that they will tell us how they got it wrong at their time, so that we can correct it in our own time. But we don’t need as many old men to tell us. About eight or ten of them would have been enough to say, gentlemen, don’t make this mistake we made in our time. Then the middle-aged men in their 50’s and 60’s will take it off from there, because they have more time to stay here. And the much younger ones in their 30’s and 40’s, who are there, will now finish it up and fashion out a constitution that will represent all the strata of the society.
On the issue of a draft constitution, I think those who raised alarm some days ago, overreacted. But that over reaction started from the title of that document. We never talked about a new constitution, so why would you give us a document that has that title, it will agitate everybody. But, if they had exercised patients to know the actual content of the document, before reacting, it wouldn’t have gotten to that extent.
We are expecting that they would round-off well, but the area that I am bothered about as a person is how the product of that confab becomes law. Do we take it back to the national assembly, which is the body that has the constitutional right to amend the constitution or do we go by referendum? And if we go by referendum, does the constitution allow referendum as a means of amending the constitution. But I think there are legal experts over there, who will further advice the Attorney General of the Federation to further advice the President on how to get out of it, because if they do it without legal foundation, authorizing that document to become an amended constitution, then it will be a wasted effort.
How will you rate the youth empowerment programme of the present administration in Abia State?
It is a wonderful programme. If you were here in 2009 to 2010 and part of 2011, you will have noticed that it was a near civil war. Kidnapping, armed robbery and murder were perpetuated by countless number of youths.
Most of them who had the luck of not dying in the process, but were arrested by the police and had the opportunity to speak before the law took its turn, said that they went into such heinous crime, because they didn’t have anything that they were doing. Those of them, who were students or ex-students, who came out said they studied, passed out but there was no job. Artisans said they learnt their trades, wanted to establish, but no money and devil came in.
However, the youth empowerment scheme as introduced by Governor Theodore Orji has started tackling that problem. I will not say that it has completely solved it, but no problem is solved in one day. But if it is built upon, you will now see that in the next one or two years, youth will be gainfully employed.
Anybody who works hard, with the little you get from the state government, you’ll be able to develop yourself. So, I think the governor has done well in this direction. He requires to be congratulated. He needs to be encouraged. There are still more youths yet to receive this largesse; so, the more he does it, depending on the resources available to the State, people will continue to praise him and God will continue to bless him.
What qualities do you expect from the next governor of Abia State in 2015?
First and foremost, I will want an Ukwa-Ngwa man to succeed him. Secondly, I will want an intelligent person to succeed him, a focused person, a good spirited person, a God fearing person and above all, I want a person, who has the interest of Abians and Nigeria to succeed him. These are my expectations and I believe that God will give us such a person.
Governor Theodore Orji has laid a solid foundation. I want the next governor to be a good vessel that will build upon this foundation. Let us see a better Abia.
