Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
First Republic Minister of Aviation and one of the few surviving nationalists, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, has said that the present administration in Nigeria would not be able to defeat Boko Haram, claiming that the group has tacit support of the government.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday Sun, Amaechi berated Southeast governors, saying that they have betrayed Igboland.
He claimed that because of huge corruption and stealing, the governors are afraid of the EFCC and hence have refused to act to save their people. Excerpts:
The Miyetti Allah said recently that it would roll out 100,000 vigilantes across Nigeria, but here the governors of the Southeast have not been able to set up a regional security outfit like the Yoruba did with Amotekun. What signal is this latest move of the Miyetti Allah giving or what does it portends?
Well, I have been warning Nigerians for a very long time, for years now, this is what is happening, Boko Haram cannot be defeated. This is the reason it can never be defeated because Boko Haram is a problem. Two, I have been warning Nigeria about the plan to Islamize the country, particularly the Southern part of the country and they don’t want to take me seriously. Now, this people have perfected a programme, they are working with a definite programme, Usman Danfodio started this problem for islamization of the whole of what is now Nigeria. He succeeded in part of Northern Nigeria in 1804 before he died, he did not conquer Borno area, that is why you don’t have people like Emirs in Borno State because it’s wherever they conquer they install an Emir. So, when the Boko Haram came, it is a continuation of that struggle that is why people have believed the falsehood that the Boko Haram can be defeated by this government. They cannot be defeated by this government because Boko Haram has a tacit support of some, if not directly from the government, indirectly the government takes its eyes away when incidences are happening, when the people are being armed, when the people are being funded and when the people are being trained. Now, the programme for Southern Nigeria is what they have started. One is a short term programme and the other one is a long term programme. The short term programme is to have enclaves in the South, say in Anambra State they have enclave somewhere around Aguleri in that Anambra axis, they have enclave in the hinterland area of Anambra zones and the same thing in Enugu State and other states in the region. Now, they called themselves Fulani cattle rearers, they may have there 20 families, 20 families in 10 years of the Fulani with an average of four wives each will multiply to about 2,000 and as they grow they multiply like that. We the people of the South, we are shrinking while they are expanding because we are restricted by our religion to one wife and we stick to one wife and they stick to about four or five to about 10 wives. I have a friend from the Fulani area who has 53 children both from the divorced wives and those staying with him. The long term programme is that at a certain time, they will form Council Wards and in the next 20 or 30 years they start beating the indigenous people in elections, democratic elections because they have their population. Then they have already built mosques and so forth. Now, you have what they call the Almajiri, what are these Almajirai, small children who were born out of the secret way of having their wives and they grow out and they recruit them into where they study one two things, Arabic and Koran. When they study Arabic and Koran they are already indoctrinated that when they grow up as adults they become fanatics and they only do what they are told to do and they only do what the Koran has taught them to do. Our people have refused to learn. Now, they are sending strictly trained young men no longer the Almajirai, they are now sending able bodied young men, you see some of these trailers, the few of them that they arrested, you see them that they are able-bodied people, well trained and healthy looking young men between the ages of 20 and 30. These are well trained people, they have come down to places like Onitsha, the trailer offloads them in the night, they just make their ways into the communities. They are not expected in good houses and so on and eventually they find some forest areas where they are already inside. In those areas where the Chiefs are corrupt and allow them land, they go into such places till when the planners are ready they just issue them weapon because they have already been trained. And they do what they are asked to do. Now, something may happen in 2023, if a Southerner, if an Igbo man wins the presidential election, are sure he will be pronounced? Are you sure he will be allowed to take over? Are you sure that what happened to Abiola will not happen to him? You see, that is where the plan is going. About the leader of the Miyetti Allah, he has told you people the truth that their policy is to rule forever and they are not prepared to leave that power and that they will do anything to retain the power. So, you will have your peace between now and 2023, but in 2023 God knows what will happen.
But what do you think the people in the South here especially the East can do to checkmate this unforeseen ugly situation?
I must tell you I don’t know what is happening; the present people who are in politics and in power in Igbo land are not reflecting the original Igboness in every Igbo man. They are afraid. Because of the amount of corruption and stealing that are taking place, they are afraid of the EFCC, so they don’t want to talk, they don’t want act. Okay, look at what is happening, we read in the papers the other day that EFCC returned to Imo State government N6 billion from somebody which may be the one he voluntarily returned out of the money he stole; N6 billion and yet that are the kind of people who are making the laws of Nigeria, they are the senators of Nigeria. So, where do you think this country Nigeria is going as long as it is ruled by them? Then in Igbo land here, the cowardly people in the government are afraid of EFCC and they don’t want to act or they don’t know what to do. They are educated, they are intelligent enough to see and to know what is happening, but they are afraid to act. They don’t even want to consult those who can advise them on how to act without breaking the law. I want them to act within the law because as elected governors they have powers, they can act, let them act within their powers, but they don’t want to act because they are afraid of something.
You are a key member of Ime-Obi of Ohanaeze, is there nothing the ordinary people who are not governors can do maybe through Ohanaeze leadership in this circumstance?
I doubt if there is much that they can do when Ohanaeze itself is being starved of funds, when Ohanaeze is saying this and they look back they don’t even have the backing of their governors, you cannot even be sure of the backing of the government. Alright, look at this, the governors of Igbo land, Southeast held a meeting and formed their own security which is the ordinary vigilante to be manned and supervised by the police. The police that is owned, manned and controlled by the Fulani. Is that a security? So, when the policeman (IGP) got back to Abuja and told Abuja people what he is doing with this people, Abuja said no, then he reneged. So, the governors here said now he has reneged, we go back to him, we are going to do our own independent thing because this man has reneged, the man said no, okay I agree now with you. So, the governors have now agreed to have a security service to be under the command and supervision of the police, which is controlled by the Fulani, so what kind of security is that, it’s no security. They are afraid, they are betraying the Igbo land, but they will not succeed, God will not allow them succeed.
What is your advice for the people on what is happening now?
Well, I can only tell the Igbo people, when I was young I fought against the British government in Nigeria in spite of the power and might of the British government, we fought them to a standstill until we got independence. Today, the Igbo people should start how to organize to fight to defend themselves if their governors are not going to defend them. They should beware, there is too much infiltrations, you see the Fulani are already too much in Igbo land, they are already in occupation of so many places in Igbo land, so the people should either organize to save themselves or be perished.