Obinna Odogwu, Awka
National President of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), Chief Alex Onukwue, has said that the continued agitation by the youth for the restoration of Biafra republic was as a result of the continued marginalization of Igbo people and their brothers in the Niger Delta by the Federal Government.
He said that persistent alienation of some Nigerians by the powers that be at the centre was the main reason the call for Biafra and other agitations by other Nigerian people has continued to rage.
In this interview with Daily Sun, he also spoke on other issues of national importance including the issue of Igbo presidency among others.
The 2021 governorship election in Anambra is not far from now. What type or quality of candidate would ASATU be looking out for in the next governor of the state?
The very first thing, in any case, the question as to who or the kind of candidate that would be succeeding Obiano will depend entirely on the Anambra electorate. They are the ones to determine who will be the next governor of Anambra State after Willie Obiano. However, on the side of ASATU, as the umbrella body of town unions in Anambra State, it is our wish that whoever that will succeed Obiano will be somebody who will continue with the good works he is doing; somebody who will ensure that security of lives and property of Ndi Anambra and indeed, of every person in Anambra State is sustained. It will be our wish in ASATU that whosoever that will take over from Obiano will continue with his massive drive for rural development because we can see that the governor is trying to open up the rural areas in Anambra State with investment in agriculture and things like that. We also wish that whosoever will continue after Obiano will not let down the things the governor has initiated. We believe that it will be good for Ndi Anambra to wear a discerning vest to be able to look clearly and perceive clearly so that they do not vote in who will come and derail the process and take Anambra State backwards. Having said that, I will also rush to say that here in ASATU, we think that the governorship of Anambra State will have to be rotational like we have always canvassed so that in 2021, the governorship seat will go to Anambra South Senatorial zone.
The issue of zoning is alien to Anambra State. But lately, some persons are promoting it. Would ASATU want a competent governor who comes from any senatorial zone or anybody that will come from a particular zone whether competent or not?
Well, I have already told you that as ASATU, we will hope that whosoever that will take after Obiano will continue with the good works he is doing. That is to say that actually we will want a competent person to take over from him. But then, even at that, zoning does not derogate from that because it is hard to say that there is any part of Anambra State where you will not find competent person that will be governor. There are competent persons in the North, South and in the Central. So, that the governorship is going to the South will not diminish the importance of competence in choosing who becomes the next governor because, I know that there are so many competent persons in the South senatorial zone.
The issue of Igbo presidency has been reverberating. But Ohanaeze Ndigbo which should be championing it appears to be more interested in restructuring. On which side of these do you stand; Igbo presidency, restructuring, or both?
Well, I stand for both. But the issue is that the two things will not happen the same day. Restructuring is a way of solving Nigeria’s problems permanently because when you restructure Nigeria, you allow the component parts to develop at their own pace. Now, there will be competition. People will now begin to work harder because you don’t have any alternative than to work harder; to look inwards to sustain your developments. Restructuring will do that. Restructuring will take governance closer to the people because the way it is now, too much power is concentrated in Abuja as it were. But if you take power closer to the people by way of regional arrangement or by states as they are now, it will bring governance closer to the people. People will have better meaning of democracy. That is what restructuring will do. But then, the issue is that restructuring Nigeria is not a thing you will say, if it doesn’t happen today, we will break it up. No. It is a process that you work for. What I think we will do for now is to go all out as Ndigbo and take the presidency of Nigeria. When we take the presidency of Nigeria, as people who actually know what restructuring will do for this country; as people who know that a call for restructuring is not a call for the disintegration of this country; as people who know that restructuring will benefit the people of this country more, all we need to do is to go now and take the presidency of Nigeria and use the instrumentality of that position to educate Nigerians better because those who are against restructuring today, do not even want to hear any explanation because power is in their hand. So, they go all out to tell people different stories and all of that; and then some people become afraid of restructuring for nothing. But when an Igbo man who knows the meaning of what we want to do takes over as president of Nigeria, he will now bring Nigerians together and look at the prospects of restructuring in a way that even a blind man will see; in a way that the naysayers will now agree and we have it. That’s why I say that we want both but both of them cannot happen at the same time. So, we will take the presidency of Nigeria in 2023 as God wills and then, we will use that as a way to prepare the minds of the Nigerian people for restructuring and that the Nigerian people will see that restructuring is not about dividing Nigeria but it is about making Nigeria a little more prosperous. That’s how I feel.
Many reasons have been given as to why the struggle for the realization of Sovereign State of Biafra has remained a burning issue in this country. In your view, why has the struggle for Biafra Republic remained consistent?
It is still an issue because of the approach to governance by those who have held powers all this while. The persistent alienation of some Nigerians by the powers that be is the main reason the call for Biafra is still reverberating. It is the main reason the Niger Delta militants are still agitating. It is the main reason the Oduduwas are still agitating. So, it is not only Biafra. It is not only in the South East. So, there is this problem, that people are excluded from the process and when you are excluded from the process that you should otherwise be part of, you are angry. So, the Nigerian setup has excluded so many people; the South East being number one; and then, some other ethnic nationalities. So, this is the major reason. Nobody wants to wake up one morning and say ‘oh I want to pull down my house’. But if a house you are supposed to be part of is now closed against you, you begin to find other ways to enter or to pull down the house. The problem is the exclusion of some people from the thing that we call Nigeria by the powers that have been so far; and that is the reason this agitation is still having currents. Otherwise, if everybody has been accepted; if what Gowon said after the war; ‘no victor, no vanquished’ had practical meanings, probably the issue of Biafra wouldn’t still be here today. But the continued marginalization and deprivation and all of that, has actually been the reason why these agitations have survived for too long.
How would you rate Governor Willie Obiano’s performance so far?
Governor Obiano has done excellently well. You see, there is a reason to come to be governor. The constitution recognizes security of lives and property, the wellbeing of the people as the reason the government exists; the fundamental reason anyway. Obiano came on board as governor and saw that the first thing to do was to restore security of lives and property to Ndi Anambra and he went on headlong and today, Anambra is about the most peaceful state in the country. And having done that, he started making efforts to bring investors into Anambra State. He said, ‘look, come in; the security of lives and property has been restored. Your investments are safe and you are safe.’ And they started coming in, in their droves. And today, Anambra is the second best performing economy in the country. Anambra has the highest per capita income in the country. Anambra has the lowest out of school children in the country. In the education sector, Anambra is the best. In the basic education system, our children are winning awards here and there. And then, of course, the youth are getting it better. With the discovery that agriculture is a big source of revenue for the state and for the people, so many people are now going into agriculture. Our youths are getting engaged. I can rate Obiano very highly.