By Chioma Igbokwe
Gubernatorial candidate of the National Unity Party of Nigeria (NUPN) for the November 18 Anambra State election, Chief Amechi Justin Nnoli, in this interview said he would reposition the state on the part of development, if elected.
Why did you decide to join the race?
In the last 18years, the people of my area have not enjoyed the dividend of democracy. I intend to make our people know that the problems we are facing are not insurmountable. We have consistently been sidelined. It has been like a sectional thing from one government to another, we have been grossly marginalised. That is why I decided to join the race to liberate my people.
My party, the National Unity Party of Nigeria has been in existence for the past 12 years under the leadership of Perry Opara, the founder and National Chairman. Presently, the party has two slots in Bayelsa State, one at the State Assembly and the other at the local government level. We are not in the race because of the money. We know that the ruling party has what it takes to take back the power but God in his infinite mercy, will hand over the power to us, because the Anambra people have suffered for long. Take for instance, the person that brought Obiano is the same person that went out to get another person, Chief Obaze to run on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Obiano. All our past leaders in Anambra have failed the state.
How would you assess the leadership of Gov. Obiano?
He has done well in the area of security. But he is yet to do his best because if you are talking about security, you must first create jobs. By creating jobs, you have reduced the crime rate. When the youths are engaged there will be no crime. Most importantly any government that prioritises agriculture must definitely succeed.
Are you intimidated by your opponents?
Well, we have about seven registered political parties in Anambra State. The other day, we had a debate and 17 parties showed up. All I know is that even if we are a million, God’s wish must be done. He knows what is good for the good people of Anambra and you will see how it will manifest.
What are those changes that you intend to implement if elected?
We will look at education with a view to making it free from primary to secondary school levels or even up to tertiary level. Like I said before, we will concentrate much in creating jobs which will definitely enhance security. Claims that there is security in Anambra presently is false. If you go to the streets, you will shudder at the level of joblessness and that is what forced most of our youths into getting involved in criminal activities. This is exemplified by the large number of touts you see almost everywhere you go to in the state. IPOB is the creation of joblessness. We are talking of marginalisation when we are the people marginalising ourselves. If you say the present governor has done well in area of security in Anambra, what about road network. There is, unfortunately, a reasonable level of deceit in what they said they have done so far. The roads are so dilapidated that a journey of 30 minutes now takes hours because of the worsening condition of our roads.
Igbo on a daily basis claim they are marginalised, how true is that?
I think that Igbo should, first of all, get down to the east to develop their area. By so doing, they would be the pride, the beautiful bride that other Nigerians will be looking for. Through envy, they would now say okay, they want to associate with them. Not one leg up two legs out. Other tribes threaten Igbo because they know we don’t think about developing our homes. The number of Igbo outside our land is nothing compared with those inside. You can see the way we were treated over this IPOB matter; we have been taken 50 years back. Our leaders should be able to strategise and build a system that will be the envy of all in this country; a system that will compel our industrious sons and daughters to come back and invest massively in Igbo land. That is why I shudder when they say we are marginalised. We are not marginalised. We are the ones marginalising ourselves. What stops south- east governors from, first of all, putting things together?
A concerned government should be able to, for example, put heads together and build the second Niger Bridge, put toll gate there and recover your money. But our governors are not thinking about that. This is one of the areas I will look into if I get there by the grace of God.
Should Igbo support the agitation of IPOB?
From the start, Kanu never knew he could get to this height. It was Buhari that made Kanu. Buhari made Kanu a hero by getting him arrested. If I meet Kanu today, I will tell him he has tried by awakening the spirit of the Igbo to fight for freedom. But he did not consult properly before embarking on that exercise. He should have consulted with people that have the technical know- how to take over from where he stopped. Moreover, the kind of power he arrogated to himself caused the problem we are facing today. He did well but he did not do it right.
If Ohanaeze Ndigbo, as the father of all Igbo groups, had played the role of a father from the onset, things could not have gotten out of hand. My advice to the Igbo is that they should come back home, they should build our home; If we join our hands together, the idea of marginalisation will not come up again even though they are still seeing us as a superior race which we are. Let us all work together to remedy the bad situation of things in our state because it is said that together we stand, divided we fall.