Iheanacho Nwosu, Abuja

Former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani does not skirt around issues. A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he weighed in on a number of key national matters, including the race for the leadership of the National Assembly, the victory of APC at the last presidential election and the place of the Southeast in the current political configuration. He insisted that the zone deserves more appointments and attention. Excerpts:

Some people have dismissed the last general elections as one of the worst in the history of the country, do you subscribe to that?

 I don’t share such sentiment, it is a sweeping statement. The 2019 general elections, particularly the presidential and the National Assembly elections, went substantially well. There is hardly any perfect election anywhere, I dare say.

 

Is it because your party won?

 Yes, partly because my party won and partly because Mr President has demystified naysayers. I have had the privilege of leading, in some cases being a member of some election observation missions to some countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique. In our last general elections, there were many international and domestic observers. The majority of those observers if not all, adjudged the last Presidential and National Assembly elections as free, fair and credible. Based on my experiences in election observation missions, I concur with the observers. I did mention in one of our rallies during the campaign that the APC’s presidential candidate is the envy of other political parties. It was evident that no other candidate stood a chance against him. Our candidate’s personal attributes such as his strength of character and integrity stood him out quite distinctly and his general acceptability particularly in the far North, which has a large voting population made him an outstanding candidate difficult to beat.  So, given that our candidate commands a lot of loyalty in large populated areas like the Northwest, North-central and Northeast, many people thought that as a result of the unfortunate problems created by herdsmen and famers crisis, his popularity must have waned completely. It turned out that his popularity might have waned, but a little in some areas.  

 

But the US and some other international observers publicly picked hole in the election, especially its militarization, vote buying and ballot box stuffing. Are you saying their views did not reflect the true picture of the elections?

I read a statement credited to Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State congratulating President Muhammadu Buhari on his victory. I am not sure that the congratulatory message reflected the adverse comments implicit in your question.

 

Are you saying that you did not read the statement issued by the US Embassy in Nigeria about the election?

Yes, I read the statement by the US Ambassador, W. Stuart Symington on the Nigeria elections issued on February 25, 2019 just two days after the Presidential and National Assembly elections. I didn’t read the subsequent statement if that’s the one you are referring to. In the particular one I read, he congratulated millions of Nigerians who queued patiently to cast their votes. He praised Nigerian peoples’ commitment to elect their leaders and agreed with the international observers who in their preliminary reports agreed to the general peaceful conduct. He did observe that violence caused by few tended to cast shadow on the peaceful conduct of the elections. The ambassador stressed that there is a need to avoid any other body announcing results other than INEC. So, I read the statement and I would like to say that, there is no election that can be described as perfect. Election being an important part of democracy can only approach perfection when every stakeholder realizes that elections should not degenerate to warfare.  

 

Could recommendations of your committee on electoral reforms have made some difference in the elections if they had been accommodated in the electoral amendment and implemented?

Certainly, the recommendations of our committee on electoral reforms could have made a world of difference in the recent elections if the recommendations had been accommodated to a level of implementation. I gathered that the Electoral Act could not be altered given the proximity of the 2019 general elections. As things now stand, it will be necessary to go back and take a closer look at the recommendations of our Electoral Reforms Committee which not only made new inputs, but thoroughly reviewed Justice Uwais and other similar reports.  

 

As a former Senate President who understands the workings of the National Assembly, what do you make of the position of your party on the next leadership of the National Assembly ?

 My party’s position on the next leadership of the National Assembly makes a whole lot of sense. What transpired in the 2015 NASS leadership emergence was more of aberration. How the party goes about realizing its objectives this time around requires a careful handling and proper choice of words. I watched on the television the meeting of the National Working Committee of APC with the newly elected members of the House of Representatives. I also watched halfway, the address to the Senators-elect by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the party chairman. Most of the issues raised by the party chairman are quite instructive and in order. Regarding the National Assembly leadership by the dominant party – All Progressives Congress (APC) – it ought not generate controversy, if handled carefully. This is because all the National Assembly members of APC extraction got elected on the platform of APC. None ran as an independent candidate. But having been elected as senators and House of Reps members, they are now the Senators and House of Reps members of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Party matters are discussed mainly at the caucus meetings and not often on the floor of the National Assembly. The issues of party leadership of the National Assembly should be ironed out at the party caucus. Part of the essence of having a party caucus is to facilitate a proper dialogue between party leadership, Senators and House members. Such a meeting does not require a telecast. It is during such a caucus that the elected party members are urged to defend party positions on topical issues and the need for the National Assembly members to defend the party positions on both floors of the Senate and the House. The party caucus proceedings are not for public consumption and ought not be televised. In terms of Senate and House Committees, there are generally two special committees that are reserved for the opposition parties. These are Ethics/Petitions and Public Accounts. Other House and Senate Committees depend on the presiding officers and what they intend to achieve with the strategic appointments of the chairpersons of such committees. To achieve harmony and popular support of colleagues, the presiding officers may decide to use the appointment to committees in building a robust and cohesive National Assembly, which is needed to accelerate legislative business. Both the legislative and executive branches need harmonious and collaborative work environments if government business must not be impeded unduly. The way the House and the Senate elect their officers is circumscribed in the standing rules of both chambers. Convincing the members on whom to vote for, ought to be done in a kind of persuasive approach. One of the qualities of good legislature is ability to think independently. This is the more reason a persuasive approach will be more relevant and productive. Legislators struggle hard to protect their independence, but at the same time realizing the interdependence nature of the branches of government. No branch of government is completely independent of other branches.

 

Given that your party and to a large extent, the Presidency have narrowed the choice of the next Senate President to Ahmad Lawan, do you think it is a wise step especially in view of the fact that since 1999, anointed candidates of the executive have always not lasted on the seat? Is your party truly learning from past experiences?

I am not sure we are drawing much lessons from past experiences. Because if we are doing so, we would have observed that usually, it is best for the Chairman of the National Assembly, that is, the Senate President and his vice, the Speaker, to emerge from the ranks and not by mere pronouncement from the outside. Even if the outside will have influence on who emerges, such influence is exerted behind the scene. Mark my word, I emphasize persuasion. Subtle use of words appears to get down well with legislators and that is why persuasion is often the language of legislature. The Executive “directs” whereas the Judiciary “orders”. The language matters because if somebody is seen as being imposed on others, that very leader will not enjoy the support of quite a number of his colleagues. That one is a Senate President is just first among equals. Nobody comes to the National Assembly as a Senate President. They all come on the same platform – first as a senator. Zoning is indeed a good concept. This is because no zone has a monopoly of qualified persons to chair the National Assembly. Therefore, if party leadership has endorsed the zoning of National Assembly principals and especially the presiding officers’ positions, it is expected that the members (from such zone) would adhere to the zoning formula and limit their contest accordingly. Once members have reached agreement at party caucus, it becomes relatively easy to elect presiding officers. The acid test of party loyalty is the full implementation and adherence to party caucus decisions by the National Assembly members.  

 

What is your take on some sections of the country including your zone, Southeast insisting on getting plum positions like Senate President, Deputy Senate President and other key positions?

Once Mr President has been elected, the important fact is for Mr President to realize that he is the President of the whole country. He is the President of those who voted for him, as well as the President of those who did not vote for him. He is not just the leader of the APC, he is the leader of the country. The Chairman of the APC is the leader of the APC. The President is the leader of the entire country. In terms of distribution of positions, the dominant party (APC) takes into consideration the zones that gave it victory. You cannot relegate this fact to the background and say it doesn’t matter. It does matter because if people had not voted massively for it, APC would not have won the election in the first place. If you go on a hunting expedition and you fail to kill any animal, not even a rat, there will be nothing to share. So, the party is now zoning these positions with the expectation that the voters who played a major role in our victory should benefit. If you have not worked, why would you want to reap where you did not sow?  That’s the price to pay. However, looking at the 2019 Presidential and the National Assembly elections holistically, The Southeast is comparatively the most improved zone in terms of embracing APC. Given the 16 years of PDP entrenchment in the zone, any increment in votes gained by APC was like squeezing water out of granite. All the five states in the Southeast zone returned positive increase of votes for APC in 2019 than they did in 2015. To this end, the zone can’t be reasonably excluded from vying for National Assembly leadership positions. With encouragement, the zone will embrace APC further in future elections.  

 

But the same APC in 2015 said if they had even one person who won under the ticket of the APC, that person would have been supported to be the Senate President. So, why is it different now?

I am not sure APC gave such an undertaking. The Southeast zone is gradually taking a second look at national politics and with time will take its rightful position in the APC. Our neighbours, the Yoruba are not strictly PDP people, but they are not 100 per cent APC. They wisely divide their apples and oranges between various baskets. You either can say they are 60 per cent APC, 40 per cent PDP and ensures the 25 per cent threshold that is expected of most states. In this past general elections, the Southwest did not do as well as they did in 2015. The votes they got in 2019 are significantly less than what they returned in 2015. We even lost Oyo State to the opposition. But they still scored high in the sense that not only that they gave APC the required minimum of 25 per cent, but in many cases went by far more than that. But coming to Southeast, it looks to me that about three states, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi passed the threshold of 25 per cent to APC, which was not the case in 2015. So, there is appreciable improvement in three out of five Southeast states.

 

Are you saying that Southeast doesn’t deserve anything going by what it gave to APC in the last poll?

Southeast is an integral part of Nigeria. I expect the dominant party to now woo the Southeast and perhaps South-south and make the two zones see the need why they should support the APC fully. That will make sense to some people and would even change their voting patterns in future elections. You may use one hand in flogging a child and use the other one in drawing the child to yourself. You are telling the child, yes what you did is wrong, don’t do it again. That is the approach.

 

Taking into cognizance the issue of tripod and population, are you saying those things don’t matter again?

Certainly, they do matter. If there is any group in Nigeria that has contributed and still contributing tremendously towards the social and economic   development of Nigeria, it is the Southeast. The Southeast has investments all over the country. Other groups in Nigeria cannot claim as much. If you come to Enugu where I hail from, you cannot point to many buildings in the city or any major structures that are owned by non-Igbo. But there is no city in Nigeria you visit that you wouldn’t see huge direct investments, not portfolio investment, built by Igbo. The Igbo cannot carry these investments back to the Southeast with trailers. Go to Victoria Island, Lagos and you will see the type of heavy structures that the Igbo are putting up. The same is true here in Abuja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna and other major cities in Nigeria. If you take a cursory look at the hospitality industry, as well as automobile spare parts markets in Nigeria, you will readily agree with me that the southeasterners in particular are making real direct investments. They believe in one Nigeria and they are investing in all parts of Nigeria. So, I am not too sure there is any government that can reasonably ignore the role of the Igbo in economic and social development of Nigeria. But we haven’t gotten our politics right. We have more visible investments in Nigeria than other groups. I don’t think the Igbo are parochial in terms of social and economic development of our country. Therefore, it is left for us to participate maximally in national politics considering that there are instances where politics tend to be superior to economics.

 

As APC leader from the South zone, how do you take claims of many from the zone that President Buhari and his government hate Igbo?

 

I have no reason to believe that President Muhammadu Buhari and his government hate the people of Igbo extraction. It seems to me that Mr President is greatly being misunderstood. In several instances, while I was in office and when I left office, I have had numerous chances of talking with him on one-on-one basis. In each occasion, I left with the impression that he is an upright person with the interest of Nigeria at heart. Although looking at him from outside, it is difficult to believe how much humorous and cheerful he could be. No doubt, he is strict, but he does not come across to me as one who exudes hatred.

 

Before the elections, prominent APC members and government officials told the Southeast that if they support the party to win, the zone will be supported to produce president in 2023. From some developments since after the election, why do you think people from the zone still need to take the promise seriously?

Though there is a positive increase in votes coming out of the Southeast in the recent general elections, there is still more work to be done. The argument could be advanced that the Southeast has not shown sufficient support for APC, why would APC spend so much time and resources trying to foist a presidential candidate on the zone where the party has little or no support base? It will depend on many factors. After all, the former President Obasanjo did not enjoy a visible support base in the Southwest when he was first elected. The way things stand in Nigeria, no one ethnic group can win the Presidency without the active support of one or two other ethnic groups, including the North. The North will require either the South-south, Southeast, or Southwest. You cannot say because you are from the North, you can do it alone. Those of us from the Southeast, our own case is even more precarious because we have five states and we are the only zone with five states.

But our numerical strength is good enough because we are scattered all over the place. But if we are to come together, we would probably be the first or second ethnic group in Nigeria because there is no part of Nigeria that you will not meet Igbo-speaking persons in great numbers and they are usually not in a hurry to return home. In fact, at a point, some of them usually will start contesting the chieftaincy or other local posts in that place. No other group is doing that at least as of now.

 

As one of the leaders of Ohanaeze, what steps are being taken to heal the wounds inflicted on the regional body as a result of its endorsement of the PDP candidate?

I am one of those that bluntly condemned the concept of Ohanaeze, as the highest socio-cultural organization in Igbo land, coming out to endorse a particular candidate, regardless of whether of PDP or APC. I opposed it. I still think it was a wrong and disgraceful outing for Ohanaeze. However, we need Ohanaeze to remain the pinnacle of socio-cultural organization in Igbo land. It is good to have a rallying point for the Igbo. It has nothing to do with political affiliation and that’s why I thought it was very unfortunate for it to suddenly attempt to become a socio-political organization. There are many people who are in Ohanaeze who belong to different political parties and many of our sons and, in fact, one of our daughters, Oby Ezekwesili was in the race. Moghalu was also in the race. Peter Obi was a running mate to Turaki Adamawa. So, Ohanaeze  had no reason to identify with a particular person or a particular party because we have our sons and daughters in other political parties. Ohanaeze should have remained a socio-cultural organization as it has always been known, but not coming out as a socio-political organization and becoming more political than fully registered  political parties themselves. Perhaps Ohanaeze should now fall back to its natural role whereby all our people are accommodated whether you belong to party A, B or no party at all. We should now rally round to talk about the progress of Southeast and progress of Nigeria.  The success of Nigeria is the success of Southeast. Each of us in Ohanaeze, have his or her preferences in terms of political parties. So, to come and identify with one, I don’t think it was a good decision and it shouldn’t be made again. Ohanaeze ought to be above political sentiment. Ohanaeze is better off staying with our cultural settings and let it unite all the Igbo elements anywhere they are. A father does not discriminate among his children.  

 

 The President said he will use this term to correct some of his mistakes and he also talked about inclusiveness. What are the areas you think the President should really make amends?

Many of the boards of parastatals are yet to be constituted, even as of today. After elections, the government is now faced with governance. Most of the complaints are that people from Southeast are not adequately represented in the administration, apart from the statutory provisions of one minister per state and so many people have talked about the quality of ministry they occupy. Maybe not commensurate with the level of contributions the Igbo are making in Nigeria, the number and level of Igbo participants is the concern. So, I am inclined to believe that Mr President is most likely to find enough reasons to use his second and final term in giving every section of the country a strong sense of belonging. I have no doubt in my mind that Mr President is desirous of consolidating and indeed deepening national unity. Forget about the voting pattern for a moment, the Igbo themselves will at a point correct their voting tendencies. They will know that there is need to play national politics, not just local parochial type of politics, knowing that certain parastatals here at the federal are much bigger than two states or three in the Southeast. If you go through the budgets, take, for instance, the Ministry of Power, Housing and Works, look at the budget, which state in the Southeast is equal to this ministry in terms of budget? Look at NPA. Look at the Nigerian Railway. All these major parastatals, if you see their budget or their turnover, are more than many states in the Southeast. We in the Southeast don’t have what it takes to play opposition politics. There is no major corporation that has its headquarters in the Southeast. No bank nor insurance in Nigeria has its headquarters in the Southeast. Where will we get the revenue to remain in the opposition if we merely depend on monthly allocation from Abuja? Therefore, we need to look at the bigger picture. We cannot allow ourselves to be removed from the national politics, in a country where we have tremendous investments more than any other group. If you check the property in Abuja, quite a handsome percentage will go to the Southeast. If we have no faith in Nigeria, we will not be making such direct investments. We have faith in Jos, we have faith in Kano, we have faith everywhere in Nigeria. So, I am of the view that this second term will be used to lay a very strong legacy for which Mr President will be remembered many years after.