By Vera Wisdom-Bassey
Eze Chris Offai, Chairman, Council of Ndi-Eze Lagos State and Eze Ndigbo of Ibeju-Lekki makes a case for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023. He urges the federal government to take immediate action to curb insecurity in the country as it could lead to war if not well handled.
What is your take on the current security situation in the country?
As you can see, there is a lot of insecurity everywhere in this country now, and we all know that the insecurity situation in Nigeria initially started as a child’s play but has since been getting worse to the point that it becomes obvious that there is something behind it. I remember that initially, there were calls for people to take the insecurity seriously. But, unfortunately, and regrettably, nobody took the matter seriously; the government did not take the society seriously, and the society has become helpless; that is a serious danger, it’s like a time bomb waiting to explode.
How do you see the creation of the regional security outfit Egbubeagu by the South East Governors forum?
The truth is this, the governments of the South East states are not telling us the truth; they are not telling the people they govern the truth, that is why I see serious danger coming. Reference to the South East, I remember that for a long time people were calling on the South East politicians to set up a security outfit to take care of the zone, but they pretended not to hear. This security threat started with Fulani Herdsmen, the society is very helpless, and it is clear that war is looming in Nigeria; we are calling the international community to come and intervene. Honestly, our leaders are the number one suspect in this insecurity, they have never taken the people they govern seriously, they believe they have all the resources to take care of themselves if war breaks out.
Some people have called for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari over his failure to tackle the insecurity situation, what do you think?
Impeachment cannot solve our problems this time; there are several questions we need to ask the president, but unfortunately, the person we voted for cannot even address us. I have had the privilege of visiting Aso Rock, and at the end of the day, we never met him face to face. It is very sad that the President we voted for cannot talk to his people. There is something they know that they are not telling us. If we impeach President Buhari, then what, who will be there? Impeachment cannot solve our problems; it might lead to civil unrest. There are two things that will solve this problem, we need to give the South East the presidency in 2023, there are credible people there that can take charge of this country; it is either the presidency is given to the South East or allow them to go peacefully, we have been pushed to the wall.
There have been several cases of unknown gunmen operating unrestricted across the country, what do you make of it?
As far as I am concerned, it is the same cycle of insecurity that started some five years ago that is still going on. There is nothing like unknown gunmen; Boko Haram, cattle herders or other names they call them. Strangers have taken over Nigeria from Aso Rock to the streets. These strangers have their own agenda, it is not about the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), they are establishing their interest, and that is why the IPOB is crying that they should be allowed to go on their own. What is happening in the North is not different, a lot of people predicted it. During the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, it was predicted that there will be nothing like Nigeria in the next 15 years. IPOB has nothing to do with what is going on now in Nigeria, they don’t have the weapon to execute this kind of mayhem; they only stage a peaceful protest.
What is your take on the burning of police stations and killing of officers in the South East?
Those incidences are not different from what is happening in other states of the country. The government is not telling us the truth, they want to blame it on IPOB. How can IPOB burn Police Station, they don’t have weapons, nor have sponsors; many of them have never entered the airport before, but they are in the village protesting, some of them don’t have godfathers, because they are not in unity with the governors, but just propaganda that is going on.