Chief Augustine Amaechi, President Ohanaeze Ndigbo in 19 northern states and Abuja, at the recent reception of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo President General, Prof George Obiozor, speaks in interview with EMEKA NZE, on insecurity in the South East, the quest for a president of Nigeria of Igbo extraction, the relationship between Igbos and their host communities in the north and performances of governors of the zone
What is the essence of this event today?
The event is the reception of the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador George Obiozor, by Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the 19 northern states. All Ezes and all the people of Igbo extraction resident in the 19 northern states are receiving him today to show him our love, regard and respect.
What is this meeting aimed to achieve?
We want to appreciate the victory of Professor Obiozor who emerged victorious as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo at a recent election. We want to tell the whole world that he is the leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and we don’t have any faction or anybody competing with him, he is the leader of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Worldwide.
What will be the take home for those who are here today?
The take home for them is Igbo unity, respect for the leadership and listening to the command and control of Igbo nation.
Has Ohanaeze Ndigbo as a group been able to hold the Igbo together, especially, in the northern states?
Igbos are republican by nature; they have the freedom to speak their minds but generally, all of us are under one umbrella of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. There may be those who share different opinions, no doubt, but the truth of the matter is that all of us are under the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide and we are bound to follow it.
What do you make out of this clash or conflicting approach between the security outfit, Ebubeagu, recently floated by the governors of the South East and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in the fight against insecurity in the zone?
The authoritative security outfit of the Igbos is Ebubeagu, set up by the elected governors of Southeastern Nigeria. ESN is a backdoor security outfit and I don’t want to remind you that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that formed it is not recognised by the Federal Government of Nigeria. So if you want to ask for the authoritative security outfit, you look up to Ebubeagu. We are in support of governments of South East and what they have set up. We are in support of the governors and Ebubeagu.
Are Igbo in the north feeling secured or worried by insecurity in their zone capable of attracting reprisal attack in their places of residence?
I have said this several times that the north is one of the most secured places for the Igbos. Let me take you back a little bit in history. After the civil war, Igbos returned to the north, the northerners handed over all their property to them. There was no abandoned property in the north. Today Igbos are prospering economically in the north. Yes I must admit the fact that, occasionally, there have been some disturbances, there have been some violence and it’s expected in a developing economy. I have to assure you as the leader of Igbos in the north that north has been a good host for the Igbos politically and economically and we have enjoyed it. Yes there is insecurity in the north but even in Maiduguri, there are Igbos in there.
What is your expectation of Ebubeagu; what makes it different from the previous ones the South East governors have in their states?
In the past they didn’t set up any security outfit. They wanted to have community policing which failed and then that led them to set up Ebubeagu. I expect that Ebubeagu will be an outfit that will protect all Nigerians, irrespective of colour or religion or tribe. We are Nigerians, not only Nigerians, in fact, all residents of south east should be secured, I expect the south east to be a secured place and I expect Ebubeagu to be handled by wise leadership.
Do you think it’s time to negotiate or dialogue with Nnamdi Kanu?
Nnamdi Kanu is our son; He is the son of Igbo land, and his agitation, we are going to tell him to listen to the elders. Our people said that when a child lifts his father up, the father’s cloth will cover his face. Our elders are saying even if you people are agitated, you are angry, you have to also listen to the elders and the elders are saying, we need a restructured Nigeria, we need a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction and we are not asking for division of Nigeria.
Does it worry you that Kanu appears to be gaining the attention of the youth, particularly in the South east?
That returns quickly if Nigeria considers us fit to occupy the post of presidency. The youth are agitated because of their economic situation in the country -lack of job, insecurity and some of the problems they are noticing. Look, we igbos are traders mainly, we need the larger Nigeria to survive as traders and you can’t go to your village and sell your goods and make the money you are making in Alaba market in Lagos. We need Nigeria just like Nigeria needs us.
As the President of Ohanaeze in the 19 northern states and Abuja, what are you doing to galvanise the entire north to actualise the Igbo presidency being agitated for?
There is nothing like Igbo presidency; what we are going to have is a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. That president is going to be a Nigerian president and he is going to take care of all Nigerians, whether they are Igbos or Yoruba or Hausa or Tiv or Idoma or wherever the person comes from and we are rejecting any Igbo president but we are accepting a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. On the second segment of your question which is what we are doing to galvanise our brothers and sisters in the north to ensure that we get a president of Igbo extraction. We want to, first of all, appeal to the two major political parties, the APC and PDP, to please remember to field an Igbo man as their presidential candidate. Once this is done, and I want to tell you that we have Igbos who are married to northerners, we can’t forget this, and they have children, we have businesses in the north and we have friends. We are calling on all our friends and all our business partners, all our daughters that are married to northerners, all our children that came out of such marriages to remember that we need an Igbo man to be next president of Nigeria and we are assuring them that president will be a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction that would see to the economic prosperity of Nigeria and Nigerians.
In your calculation, is president of Nigeria of Igbo extraction a reality or a ruse?
A Nigerian President of Igbo extraction is going to be a reality because Nigerians have realised that Igbo also have their own talent and we have prospered economically. I’m telling you, if you give us Sahara desert as Igbos, we are going to turn it into the Dubai of Africa. God has given us the talent to manage economic resources. Some of us came to the north with bathroom slippers but today, we have mansions in the north. So don’t you expect that such people with such talent can turn the economic fortunes of Nigeria around and that’s what we are saying, to do so for the benefit of all Nigerians, religious and ethnic background notwithstanding.
Other parts of Nigeria say that Igbo are not united and that they cannot afford to present one person to the rest of Nigeria, do you agree?
No. I don’t agree. There’s no part of Nigeria that was so united and nominated one person to be the president. Let’s go back to 1999. Obasanjo came out and Falae also contested against him. The Yoruba did not nominate one person. Let’s return to the north, there has never been a time when the northerners presented one person. Even during the Shagari era, you, saw the Aminu Kano of blessed memory, you see so many other northerners. But among all, the aspirant coming out must be a standing figure and that figure is what we are looking at. I don’t foresee a situation where all Igbos will gather ourselves together and say we need one person, no. But we want the best among those coming out. We are assuring Nigerians that he will be a Nigerian president that will turn the economic fortunes around for good.
Would you be disappointed if a president of Igbo extraction is not actualised in 2023?
There are so many posts in Nigeria, apart from the president of Nigeria. If you read “Because I’m Involved”, written by late Odimegwu Ojukwu, you realise that he pointed out other positions that also can be occupied, the Senate President, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, etc. These are positions Igbos should look up to. It doesn’t just have to be that if you don’t get the presidency of Nigeria, Nigeria divides, no. Even if we don’t get it in 2023, there’s still going to be another four years for another Igbo man to try. We are asking you people who are journalists to please tell our brothers and sisters that we going to do well as president, give us a chance. If after four years the man didn’t do well, then we go back to the polls and then change him, that is the joy of democracy.
How will rate the performance of the South east governors so far?
Some of them have not performed very well, some of them have performed well. Some of them are handicapped, not necessarily by finance but by the fact that their predecessors in office didn’t do well and they had to start from the scratch. I give you an example, in Abia state, the government of about 16 years laid little or no foundation and the present governor had to start virtually from the scratch, such that the little effort he has made has not become pronounced. In Ebony state, he has done very well in terms of road construction, he is an engineer and that has manifested in the things he has done in Ebonyi state. Generally, they have performed averagely, if you ask me to assess them.
