By Sunday Ani
Sir Chukwuanugo Ejikeme is a lawyer and public affairs analyst. In this interview, he says the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo has the personality to lead the country, but regretted that the cabal at the seat of power is trying to dictate to him.
What would be your reaction to the quit notice given to the Igbo in the north by Arewa youths?
The issue is that the quit notice does not hold any water. As far as I am concerned as a lawyer, it is a non-issue but why it has to be taken seriously is because of the personality or the background of those who are issuing it. To start with, they don’t have the right under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because the law as enshrined in our constitution gives everyone the right to live anywhere in Nigeria. So, they don’t have the right to ask people to leave the northern part of Nigeria. And the Igbo too don’t have the right to ask the Hausa to leave the Southern part of Nigeria or South-East part of Nigeria.
The only fear I personally feel is that there are behaviours associated with some people in the north. I can foresee violence because this is not the first time. Remember that the Igbo living in the north were massacred in 1966. And you recall too that even where ethnic groups and the Hausa have issues in the north, they will go to the Igbo and vent their anger. The young men who are making this call will want to execute it. You can make reference to the Fulani herdsmen who are killing people. They are doing everything with impunity. They are unchecked; nobody is arresting anybody. It is the same thing with Arewa youths. The government has not come out to categorically say anything in protection of the Igbo. There is no categorical statement. No arrest has been made. That utterance to me amounts to treason; it is a very serious offence. You are trying to dislocate people. Sending hate messages can lead to war. The present government doesn’t seem to be ready to protect the Igbo, I must confess.
The IPOB is a non-violent organisation which is saying that they have been marginalised in the contraption called Nigeria and wants to go because they are not benefitting in the arrangement and you are there telling me to leave your place. There is no relationship. Probably, their target is the investment of the Igbo as it happened during the civil war.
Some people are saying that Buhari should throw in the towel considering the state of his health. Are you in support of that?
The first thing I want to say on that is that anybody can be sick. The truth is that Buhari is an old man. The constitution says if you are incapable of discharging your duties, you should resign. There are speculations; all we are saying are speculations. We are just going back to the circle of what happened during the Yar’Adua era. Nobody knows the level of his sickness; it is all speculations. It is shrouded in secrecy but the truth is that the constitution says if he is incapable of discharging his duties as he is showing now, he should resign. If you read what Gov. Ayo Fayose said some days ago, it was said that he is on life support machine. So, he is even incapable of resigning. The constitution takes care of that. If he is incapable of functioning what we ought to do is for the executive to do the needful. It is not proper for us to go the same circle we went through during Yar’Adua. My take is that if President Buhari is sick to the extent that he cannot discharge his duties and that he cannot resign on his own, the constitution should be invoked and it is clear; it is provided there.
The north is not happy about it and if Buhari remains on life support that can last for two years; they don’t mind manipulating the system until two years for another election. But I have a personal problem; is it that some key government officials can’t access the hospital in London? Or are we saying that it is the conspiracy on the part of Britain to keep him while Nigeria is going the way it is going? It should be imperialism. They should better shut their mouth about human rights because the absence of the president is affecting the governance of this country. The vice president is just there probably discharging the functions the cabal wants him to do. The country is not moving forward. So, I believe that the British government is part of this conspiracy to destroy this country. What is happening now is an international conspiracy for the north to hold this country hostage. And there is the insinuation that not even the wife had the privilege of seeing him in London when she went there. So, you understand that it is a high-powered conspiracy by the British government to keep Nigeria the way we are. They brought this contraption called Nigeria, yet they refuse to assist us to grow.
In November, Anambra people will be going to the poll to elect another governor. What do you expect from them?
Without doubt, the present government in Anambra has done well in some aspects. They have done very well in security. After the Chris Ngige era, Peter Obi did wonderfully well in terms of infrastructure like roads, schools, hospitals and security too. But this man seems to work only on security. The tempo with which Chris Ngige and Peter Obi used to rule Anambra State is a little bit reduced. But, you can’t take away the fact that Obiano has been paying salaries, which is wonderful; the indebtedness is minimal. So, he is good but what I am saying is that compared to the former governors, he seems not to have maintained the tempo. So, Anambra people should vote according to their conscience. But we have a problem again. The IPOB has issued a threat that people should tear their voters’ cards. Ohanaeze has reacted to that and said that they are not part of it and they don’t have the right to issue such a threat. They can’t be described as Igbo leaders. My own advice is that IPOB should as a matter of necessity restrain itself from making certain utterances.
What is your reaction to the clamour for restructuring?
I support it wholeheartedly because I prefer it to Biafra State, the bigger the better. Nigeria, as it is now, may have been found on a wrong concept; it may not be working well but with good restructuring, things will work well. We need to devolve power to the states where the federal government will be less buoyant. The states that work hard will earn more and do very well, based on their wealth. So, in restructuring, first security should be restructured. There should be state police.