From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Awka
Godwin Ezeemo was Anambra State governorship candidate of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in 2013 election. He speaks in this interview, on various issues and urges the Federal Government to engage capable experts to fix the economy.
The Anambra governorship election is almost here; will you still contest again?
I will not say yes or no at the moment. I cannot confirm it but time will tell. So, when we get to that bridge, we will cross it.
How do you assess the present administration in the state?
It has succeeded in giving us temporary security which is not sustainable and commiserate with what we are getting as far as I am concerned; it is only security and nothing more in the state.
Which area do you think that the present administration should concentrate on to give Anambrans good governance?
They should work towards generating job for the youths, they should engage them in sports, agriculture and creative conducive atmosphere for investors to provide jobs for the youths, to make Anambrans who are outside the state to come home to invest in their fatherland.
What is the way out of this economic recession?
The Federal Government should employ capable hands to build our economy, people that are knowledgeable about the economy in terms of fiscal planning of the economy and who can manage the economy very well. There are certain decisions they cannot take now, by saying that Nigeria should stop importing some goods while they know that Nigeria cannot produce those things right now; it will not work. It should be a gradual process to stop importation of some products or food items because we are not yet there; it will take some time. They should encourage farming and local production of food to conserve foreign exchange. The banning of importation of rice is not good at this point in time because we don’t have enough, we don’t produce rice. What we should do now is to say let everybody go to the farm and give them one year to farm after which you can now ban the importation of rice. The government should buy the equipment needed for the farming, because we can’t achieve that manually. The way out is mechanize agriculture where we can produce food in large quantity to serve our population. For us to achieve that, government should procure equipment because no individual can afford to buy the machines. I have been to USA, Israel, Italy and Thailand. In those places, it is only government that sponsors and provide those equipment for massive production of food. Government can lease the machines out and allocate lands to farmers and recovers the money they used in procurement of the equipment. They should also secure improved seedlings that give large yield during the harvest period. When they give any palliative or grant for agriculture, they should be able to supervise it to ensure that it is being utilized for the purpose. Not people in government raising non-existent companies to collect the loans and at the end, they don’t have any land for farming; government should monitor them. There are certain areas government should allow free import duties to encourage the farmers and other industrialists.
Some people are calling for restructuring of the country while others are calling for secession like the Biafrans and Niger Delta militants, what is your advice?
We want restructuring but it shouldn’t boil down to splitting the entire nation from my opinion. We should practise real federalism where every unit should be independent of its own competitively. For instance, Anambra State should be able to produce the food that can feed the entire nation. There is need for restructuring so that states can focus on those things they are known for and grow their own economy. I had suggested that history should be reintroduced in secondary schools to enable the youth to know when, where and how the country started to know what brought us together because some youths don’t know the history of this country; some say without us, there won’t be Nigeria. Some boys are agitating that the crude oil belongs to them without knowing that the food they eat comes from the North which they use oil money to buy to feed themselves. So, there must be balance in the system because every region is blessed with one thing or the other.
We cannot be an island and survive; no, we must coexist to survive and that is why I clamour for real federalism so that we can review the power at the centre. I’m not in support of dividing based on states and ethnicity. There is advantage for Nigeria to live together because it will be a very large market. Look at USA, as big as they are, they are still living as one country even as big as a continent. Look at Europe trying to live and work as a unit; it is because of advantage accruing from living together. Nigeria will be a very big market and whatever we want to sell, we have the market to sell them without going out, it is an advantage. We should not be saying that I am from here or there, this is my tribe, I am from this region or state, no, there is no gain. The government must as matter of urgency reflect the federal character in appointment and job employment and review it but if they fail to do that, it is the beginning and fall of this nation. They should look for merit and somebody who knows the job to be appointed in a position and not because he is representing his state whether he knows the job or not, he must remain there to fill the position for his state. Appointment should be on merit and who knows the job and representation.
What is your advice generally to people of the state and Nigeria?
My advice for Anambrians is to change their mentality, they should face reality, when you face the reality, you look for a solution. It is when you appreciate that you have a problem and face it squarely that solution will come. But when you have problem and say don’t worry, we don’t have problem, it will elude you. We have to tell ourselves the simple truth and facts; we have a problem and we should tackle it.