Former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, in this interview with OLUWOLE AKINLOYE, speaks of the capability of an Igboman to be a better president, the imperative of a national conference, among other national issues. Excerpts:
What was your immediate reaction to the military take-over in November 1993 when you were governor of Anambra State?
It was a disaster because I became governor of Anambra State after I had retired as a permanent secretary. My motivation for becoming governor was to perform very well in the state. I told the Anambra people that I would bring about development and make the state the envy of others. My motive of becoming governor was to pave the way for me to be the president of Nigeria. I knew it would not be easy to become president and I decided to set an example of what I can do as president through my works in Anambra. I thought with my performance, I would make footprints for people in other states to stand by me, so, people would say, let him come and do something for Nigeria as whole. That was my reason of becoming the governor of the state. However, as governor, I never used security details. I never collected salary or other money that accrued to me. To me, the position of governor was not an achievement; it was just to be a stepping stone to become the president. I started very well, because if you have this kind of idea, then you must plan it very well. To help me, I partnered with some universities, especially those that participated in the engineering works during the civil war. Experts in industries were also invited, as well as our indigenes in the field of education in the United States and United Kingdom. I brought all of them back to help me plan a viable industrial revolution. We had started working and everything was going on well, but unfortunately, the military struck and everything stopped. It was a big disappointment for me. Eventually, I ran for the office of president twice, but there was nothing to show the people of what I could do because I was not able to finish my job in Anambra. If I had spent eight years as governor, nobody would have been able to contest the presidency with me. I would simply tell the people to go to Anambra and see what I did there, and if they liked what they saw, they would vote for me for president. That was my intention; that was my plan, but the military ruined everything.
After 14 years of return to civil rule, do you think Nigeria is on the right track?
Nigeria has never been on the right track because the country has never for once manifested its destiny. We are the largest black nation in the world and we should be seen as showing direction to other black countries. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get things right ourselves. Blacks taught the rest of the world all they know — Mathematics, technology, science, etc, all started in Africa. They started in Egypt. The authoritative idea about origin started in Africa; it was written by Saint Augustine the great. The Pythagora’s Theory started from Africa and the ancient knowledge stated that everything good originated from Africa, and here, we have Nigeria as the largest black nation in the world, which is supposed to show the way to other blacks. Unfortunately, we have been going the wrong way from the beginning, because our leaders - the politicians - were emphasising on things that divide us rather than things that unite us.
It was a disaster because I became governor of Anambra State after I had retired as a permanent secretary. My motivation for becoming governor was to perform very well in the state. I told the Anambra people that I would bring about development and make the state the envy of others. My motive of becoming governor was to pave the way for me to be the president of Nigeria. I knew it would not be easy to become president and I decided to set an example of what I can do as president through my works in Anambra. I thought with my performance, I would make footprints for people in other states to stand by me, so, people would say, let him come and do something for Nigeria as whole. That was my reason of becoming the governor of the state. However, as governor, I never used security details. I never collected salary or other money that accrued to me. To me, the position of governor was not an achievement; it was just to be a stepping stone to become the president. I started very well, because if you have this kind of idea, then you must plan it very well. To help me, I partnered with some universities, especially those that participated in the engineering works during the civil war. Experts in industries were also invited, as well as our indigenes in the field of education in the United States and United Kingdom. I brought all of them back to help me plan a viable industrial revolution. We had started working and everything was going on well, but unfortunately, the military struck and everything stopped. It was a big disappointment for me. Eventually, I ran for the office of president twice, but there was nothing to show the people of what I could do because I was not able to finish my job in Anambra. If I had spent eight years as governor, nobody would have been able to contest the presidency with me. I would simply tell the people to go to Anambra and see what I did there, and if they liked what they saw, they would vote for me for president. That was my intention; that was my plan, but the military ruined everything.
After 14 years of return to civil rule, do you think Nigeria is on the right track?
Nigeria has never been on the right track because the country has never for once manifested its destiny. We are the largest black nation in the world and we should be seen as showing direction to other black countries. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get things right ourselves. Blacks taught the rest of the world all they know — Mathematics, technology, science, etc, all started in Africa. They started in Egypt. The authoritative idea about origin started in Africa; it was written by Saint Augustine the great. The Pythagora’s Theory started from Africa and the ancient knowledge stated that everything good originated from Africa, and here, we have Nigeria as the largest black nation in the world, which is supposed to show the way to other blacks. Unfortunately, we have been going the wrong way from the beginning, because our leaders - the politicians - were emphasising on things that divide us rather than things that unite us.
Talking about religious differences, Christianity and Islam are the same. It is just that we fail to recognise ourselves as one. What is the difference between Jesus and Isah, Dawud and David, Abraham and Ibrahim, Yusuf and Joseph? No religion approves suicide, whether suicide killing or killing yourself alone. Suicide takes the person to hell. There is no repentance in the grave. However, our leaders use religion and ethnicity to create confusion among us for their own selfish gains and that has stopped us from achieving our manifest destiny.
What is our manifest destiny? It is to develop into a global super power and protect the dignity of Africans.
Although some say the 1914 amalgamation was the work of the British, God intended it to be so, so that we could be the big brother to all black nations; a rallying point.
Although some say the 1914 amalgamation was the work of the British, God intended it to be so, so that we could be the big brother to all black nations; a rallying point.
God used the instrument of the British imperialism to create one Nigeria, and we should have done the right thing; accepting His purpose of creating Nigeria and focusing on those things that unite us. If we had focused on attaining economic power, no country will be looking down on us today, and don’t forget that by nature, we are superior to other countries of the world. Our soccer players abroad are always the best; not only soccer players, but other professionals. God gave us the potential, but Nigerian leaders have not risen up to show the country the right direction. I was surprised that President Goodluck Jonathan is using the word ‘transformation’, which means changing from one level to the other; that is, transforming Nigeria from being a shipwreck to something that works. What Nigeria needs now is real change. So, if we are talking about 14 years of civil rule, and even all the years of military rule, none has brought the desired development to the country.
You blamed the problem of the country on the leadership, but you are one of them. When you were the governor of Anambra State, what impact did you make?
When you go to Anambra, you will find an example of selfless, purposeful, economic-minded leadership with social concern. My first act as governor was to change the maternity leave, because those children that we raise with cow milk are not fully human. My first act was to change maternity leave system from three months to six months after delivery. For a male child, I introduced a compulsory breastfeeding programme for a year and six months, while one year compulsory breast feeding programme was for the female child.
You blamed the problem of the country on the leadership, but you are one of them. When you were the governor of Anambra State, what impact did you make?
When you go to Anambra, you will find an example of selfless, purposeful, economic-minded leadership with social concern. My first act as governor was to change the maternity leave, because those children that we raise with cow milk are not fully human. My first act was to change maternity leave system from three months to six months after delivery. For a male child, I introduced a compulsory breastfeeding programme for a year and six months, while one year compulsory breast feeding programme was for the female child.
As a leader, you must lead by example. You can see how people are coming here for all kinds of help. So, my policy is uniting Nigeria; making sure the Igbo, the Yoruba and the Hausa are one. The Igbo and the Yoruba used to be like parallel lines and I saw that the only way to change this was by identifying with the Yoruba and the Hausa, and till today, my policy has not changed. I was a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), but when it was time to nominate the presidential candidate, the AD said they were going to support (former President Olusegun) Obasanjo and that there was no vacancy for president on their platform. It was only then that I left the party.
When MKO Abiola was alive, anywhere he went to in the East, he had Anambra State security details with him, and anywhere he was making public speech, I was always with him. When he won, I was with him until the time the unfortunate thing happened. I took the risk of supporting him. I went to my friend, Ibrahim Babaginda, told him to hand over to Abiola. IBB asked me: ‘Emeka, if you were in my position, what would you do?’ I told him I would hand over, but he said if he had handed over, he and Abiola would have been killed. But I told him that it was his job to protect himself and Abiola. Unfortunately, he didn’t yield to my advice, but later he appreciated what I told him.
So, apart from the fact that I did my best in my state, I also worked, and I am still working for the unity of the country. However, if I had become president, I would have done more. There would have been zero tolerance for corruption. Unfortunately, I didn’t become president, but I believe power comes from God. I feel maybe Nigeria was too ripe for me or I was over-ripe for Nigeria.
You mentioned the transformation agenda of the Jonathan administration earlier. Is the agenda really working?
Transformation from shipwreck, transformation where nothing works, transformation where the raw materials are transformed to industrial use, transformation from darkness to light. This is what I like about the word ‘transformation’. Has Jonathan really transformed Nigeria? President Jonathan came out with the word ‘transformation’, but how do we assess his achievement? Difficult. Yes, I know that there is a little improvement in power supply, and the rail system is improving, federal roads are good in the West and North, but they are death traps in the East. There is greater sincerity on the part of the president. This is the first time we have a democracy where the votes of human beings count, and that was the promise of Jonathan. He brought somebody he did not know, Professor Attahiru Jega, to man the affairs of the electoral body, and they worked hand in hand to give Nigerians a free and fair election for the first time in the history of the country. With that, are Nigerians very happy? The answer is no.
You mentioned the transformation agenda of the Jonathan administration earlier. Is the agenda really working?
Transformation from shipwreck, transformation where nothing works, transformation where the raw materials are transformed to industrial use, transformation from darkness to light. This is what I like about the word ‘transformation’. Has Jonathan really transformed Nigeria? President Jonathan came out with the word ‘transformation’, but how do we assess his achievement? Difficult. Yes, I know that there is a little improvement in power supply, and the rail system is improving, federal roads are good in the West and North, but they are death traps in the East. There is greater sincerity on the part of the president. This is the first time we have a democracy where the votes of human beings count, and that was the promise of Jonathan. He brought somebody he did not know, Professor Attahiru Jega, to man the affairs of the electoral body, and they worked hand in hand to give Nigerians a free and fair election for the first time in the history of the country. With that, are Nigerians very happy? The answer is no.
This is so because the government has not done what is expected of it. Why has the government not done enough? The government lacks ruthlessness in dealing with people who are threatening it.
Understanding the circumstances, you cannot compare Jonathan with Obasanjo. Obasanjo did not perform as well as Jonathan even without Boko Haram. You cannot compare Jonathan with IBB. And you cannot compare them with Abacha, who organised a two- million people march. The two-million man march only opened the eyes of the people who produce the oil and then we had problems with that. In other words, the circumstances of each leader are not the same. However, I like the transformation agenda of President Jonathan and I approve it. The consistency, with which he is pursuing it despite the challenges, is commendable.
You said earlier that former President Obasanjo did not do well, but you served as his special adviser on political matters...
I joined Obasanjo as a political adviser. After one week in office, I wrote a trajectory, the direction in which I thought we should go and my boss queried every part of the trajectory. You know that when you are appointed at the federal level, you are not representing only yourself, so, I had to stay on. Eventually, I resigned. I later wrote an objective and brotherly advice letter to President Obasanjo, but you can blame me by saying that you don’t write a letter to your brother on the pages of newspapers. What I did was to write an open letter to President Obasanjo. He did not like it, of course. You remember when he said (Chris) Ngige was rigged in and asked him to resign. He said it in print, in the newspapers. There was a controversy between us over his election in his own state and I told him to lead by example; that he should resign. He didn’t like it at all and said he would deal with me anytime. Notwithstanding, Obasanjo is a good person for Nigeria. He understands how to solve Nigeria’s problems. We Ndigbo people need him to advise us. Nigeria as a whole needs him. He is the only person who has made Nigerians believe that they are Nigerians. Some people in the country believe that they are above others; that they were born to rule, but Obasanjo has since changed that.
Though President Jonathan has not said that he will contest in 2015, feelers from those around him point to the fact that he is likely to do so. This is against the insistence of the North that the presidency should go back to the region. How do we resolve this?
There is no problem about that. We Ndigbo shall play a game of cooperation with President Jonathan. We recognise that the man we made president by our votes has the constitutional right to a second term, but second term is not automatic. If he does well, he should go for second term and if he doesn’t do well, we can do the second term for him. However, my advice to my own people is this: it is not our job to hound him out of office. We should play a game of cooperation with him and campaign for Igbo presidency. We should campaign for him for his second term and as well campaign for Igbo presidency. Before the primaries, we will meet and compare notes about our chances. He will support us if we have better chances, but if he can win, we will support him. That is the game of cooperation I mean. But with the state of emergency rule in some states and with the new things he is doing, the field is becoming clearer for him for a second term.
You said that if he does not perform well to deserve a second term, you Ndigbo will step in...
(cuts in) We will beg him to support us.
In the event of that happening, are you saying that the Igbo can face the Northerners in a contest?
Are they not human beings? We have always worked with the North. We have no hatred for them. An Igbo man believes in fairness. You may not know it, but we are egalitarians. We believe in equality. Let nobody lord it over the other. I like Northerners as a people. So, if we tell the Northerners to wait till after 2015 or even 2019, we are only being reasonable.
You said earlier that former President Obasanjo did not do well, but you served as his special adviser on political matters...
I joined Obasanjo as a political adviser. After one week in office, I wrote a trajectory, the direction in which I thought we should go and my boss queried every part of the trajectory. You know that when you are appointed at the federal level, you are not representing only yourself, so, I had to stay on. Eventually, I resigned. I later wrote an objective and brotherly advice letter to President Obasanjo, but you can blame me by saying that you don’t write a letter to your brother on the pages of newspapers. What I did was to write an open letter to President Obasanjo. He did not like it, of course. You remember when he said (Chris) Ngige was rigged in and asked him to resign. He said it in print, in the newspapers. There was a controversy between us over his election in his own state and I told him to lead by example; that he should resign. He didn’t like it at all and said he would deal with me anytime. Notwithstanding, Obasanjo is a good person for Nigeria. He understands how to solve Nigeria’s problems. We Ndigbo people need him to advise us. Nigeria as a whole needs him. He is the only person who has made Nigerians believe that they are Nigerians. Some people in the country believe that they are above others; that they were born to rule, but Obasanjo has since changed that.
Though President Jonathan has not said that he will contest in 2015, feelers from those around him point to the fact that he is likely to do so. This is against the insistence of the North that the presidency should go back to the region. How do we resolve this?
There is no problem about that. We Ndigbo shall play a game of cooperation with President Jonathan. We recognise that the man we made president by our votes has the constitutional right to a second term, but second term is not automatic. If he does well, he should go for second term and if he doesn’t do well, we can do the second term for him. However, my advice to my own people is this: it is not our job to hound him out of office. We should play a game of cooperation with him and campaign for Igbo presidency. We should campaign for him for his second term and as well campaign for Igbo presidency. Before the primaries, we will meet and compare notes about our chances. He will support us if we have better chances, but if he can win, we will support him. That is the game of cooperation I mean. But with the state of emergency rule in some states and with the new things he is doing, the field is becoming clearer for him for a second term.
You said that if he does not perform well to deserve a second term, you Ndigbo will step in...
(cuts in) We will beg him to support us.
In the event of that happening, are you saying that the Igbo can face the Northerners in a contest?
Are they not human beings? We have always worked with the North. We have no hatred for them. An Igbo man believes in fairness. You may not know it, but we are egalitarians. We believe in equality. Let nobody lord it over the other. I like Northerners as a people. So, if we tell the Northerners to wait till after 2015 or even 2019, we are only being reasonable.
After all, of the 53 years of governance after independence, the North had been there for over 38 years. Denying Igbo the presidency is denying Nigeria progress and development. An Igbo man succeeds where others are failing and it should not be different in an Igbo man ruling the country.
Recently, the Southern Nigeria People’s Assembly met in Lagos, and at the end of the day, it called for a national conference before January 2014. How realistic is this call?
The best thing President Jonathan can do for this country is to convene a national conference. We cannot continue with the way the country is structured without calling on its people to come together and talk about how we want the future to be. Why is it that after many years of independence, we have not achieved much? There should be a referendum to say, we the people of Nigeria want this. Therefore, the national conference is highly important. However, the question is: who should convene it? We must ensure that the ordinary people have a say in the national conference. We shouldn’t just come up with an elite group, whose opinion will be at variance with those at the grassroots. Therefore, President Jonathan, just as he has done with the state of emergency rule in three states, should give Nigeria a national conference. Even if the National Assembly refuses to allocate money for the conference, the president can appeal to different organisations and corporate Nigeria for assistance. We really need a national conference now.
There was an election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum which resulted in crisis among the governors. If 36 governors could not conduct an election successfully, then what hope do we have for democracy in the country?
Recently, the Southern Nigeria People’s Assembly met in Lagos, and at the end of the day, it called for a national conference before January 2014. How realistic is this call?
The best thing President Jonathan can do for this country is to convene a national conference. We cannot continue with the way the country is structured without calling on its people to come together and talk about how we want the future to be. Why is it that after many years of independence, we have not achieved much? There should be a referendum to say, we the people of Nigeria want this. Therefore, the national conference is highly important. However, the question is: who should convene it? We must ensure that the ordinary people have a say in the national conference. We shouldn’t just come up with an elite group, whose opinion will be at variance with those at the grassroots. Therefore, President Jonathan, just as he has done with the state of emergency rule in three states, should give Nigeria a national conference. Even if the National Assembly refuses to allocate money for the conference, the president can appeal to different organisations and corporate Nigeria for assistance. We really need a national conference now.
There was an election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum which resulted in crisis among the governors. If 36 governors could not conduct an election successfully, then what hope do we have for democracy in the country?
I am utterly disappointed by the development. This is not good for democracy at all. First and foremost, there should not have been any election. And if they wanted to have election, it should have been properly organised, and the election should have been held under a returning officer, and not under the chairmanship of the governors’ forum. Now, having conducted the election, somebody won. A winner is a winner; that is democracy, but to hear of the crisis that the election is generating is saddening. I am, therefore, appealing to the governors to sheathe their swords and come together to work for the progress of the country.
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