Daniel Kanu
The National Coordinator, Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG),Comrade Joseph Evah, is not one that parries reporter’s questions no matter how sensitive. In this engaging interview with Sunday Sun, he went into memory lane to recall how Bayelsa out-going governor, Seriake Dickson approached him to beg former President Goodluck Jonathan to make him governor, saying that he was disappointed following his recent disrespect for Jonathan.
He also expressed disappointment in the state of insecurity, demanding that the Service Chiefs need to resign. He re-echoed his stand on restructuring, saying that the country as a matter of necessity is gradually doing it through the back door.
He said he does not believe President Buhari has a Fulanisation agenda.
Other issues concerning the attack on Jonathan’s country home, de-registration of political parties and corruption war were all carefully dissected. Excerpt:
In the penultimate week, some Nigerians that were traveling to Maiduguri, Borno State were ambushed by the Boko Haram terrorists, over 30 of them were burnt, including cars, buses and long trucks…?
(Cuts in) It shows that the government is not winning the insecurity war. As a citizen one of my uncles, a Colonel lost one of his legs during the civil war, so my family has paid painful sacrifice, my family members who went to the war did not come back, to keep Nigeria one, we sacrificed in our family to keep Nigeria one. This war that is going on, these security people, the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Defence Staff, Airforce and Inspector-General of Police name them, all of them are joking with us. So, I think all pastors in Nigeria should pray for President Buhari to open his eyes and sack these people he calls Security Chiefs. If he sacks the Security Chiefs it will also go a long way. Every day the drama that we are seeing in this war, we are no more fighting a war, let the Army or Armed Forces give us the name of what they are doing. We want them to tell us what is happening, even the civil war or the world war never had the drama that we are witnessing now. Look at the carnage of what happened, how those passengers were burnt, all papers carried it on their front page. That carnage gave everybody that saw it sleepless night coupled with the type of stories that the security people are telling us. They are simply taking us for a ride, they are taking the whole country for a ride, I mean the Service Chiefs, I expected all of them to resign, Buhari doesn’t need to tell them. Why can’t we for once become a responsible country? I expected them to resign and say: we are human beings, we are ashamed of this job that we are doing so we resign. Let their pastors, emirs, and imams tell them to resign because from what we have seen recently, from what has been happening it is a shame for them to continue to remain there as Service Chiefs.
INEC deregistered over 73 political parties. What is your take on it?
I am in full support, they should even reduce it the more. Political parties are making nonsense of the entire electoral process with such a list of parties, that are jesters, some with no offices of known address. More political parties mean more confusion for us, so we need to prune even more.
How did you feel about the attack on former President Jonathan’s country home?
It is condemnable and we all condemned it that young people within our Bayelsa will plan and go and attack the residence of a former president, it is an attack on the whole Ijaw nation. We are expecting the Inspector-General of Police to parade those behind it. We expected the I.G, the Chief Police officer, we expected the Service Chiefs to even visit the former president, but they did not. They owe us an apology. They must ensure that all those behind it are fished out and dealt with accordingly.
Different geopolitical groups have intensified effort with the idea of coming up with their own regional security network since the Southwest launched Amotekun. Do you have fears that as some do that it may bring about the disintegration of Nigeria?
No, it will not. What is happening will not cause the break-up of Nigeria, rather it will strengthen Nigeria’s unity. It will be proper for every region to come up with their own because of the situation we find ourselves now calls for it. There is an urgent need to re-organise the country’s security architecture as the current structure has not been able to protect the lives and property of Nigerians. The truth is that security architecture is faulty. It appears we have the wrong people heading our security network and there is no synergy between them. You can see that the governors of the Southwest states have decided to take the destiny of their people in their own hands. They have decided to take the bull by the horns and confront the monster head-on by forming their security network code-named Operation Amotekun. We must salute them. They have always been pacesetters. It is this unitary system that we are operating that we are calling federalism that is deceiving us. In real fact, we are operating a unitary system. It is this system that we are operating that has actually affected the development of the Southwest. If we had been practicing 1953, the 1960 constitution on regionalism the Southwest would have developed more just like other regions would have joined in the development. By now Southwest would have been competing with Malaysia. When the Southwest adopted Amotekun and some of our reactionary forces tried to blackmail them we kicked against it and told them they cannot stop it. I am happy with the Southwest politicians, people like Fayemi and others who despite that it is the APC government, their government that still wanted to blackmail them, but they went ahead, knowing the reality on the ground. They refused to succumb to the blackmail. I am happy with the Southwest politicians. What they did is the way to go and this is what I am telling our, sorry to say, coward politicians from the South-South, especially the governors. I have been fighting our South-South politicians, especially the governors, if they are bold like the Southwest governors, remember that it is the Southwest governors that are in the Federal Government and they were able to face through the media, pushing out their position for the world to see. They used the media to stop all the blackmail because they know what they were doing, they are the ones feeling the pain, they know where the shoe pinches, so could not bow to blackmail, they confronted it. Our Southwest governors appreciate the power of the media, but my South-South governors don’t know the value of the media. So, if our South-South governors can learn every bit of what the Southwest is doing they will be victorious in their demands, especially, since they are genuine demands. I remember when Ikemba Ojukwu died, I mobilised more than 5,000 people in Lagos to organise a farewell to Ojukwu and re-echoing the Aburi Accord, so it is not disintegration, it is to strengthen us believing in your integrity and belief in the destiny of your people. We can combine so many destinies and say we are one and work sincerely as one, for the progress of all, but like the United Nations, which says: let us come together for world peace, yet all countries are still independent within the umbrella. So, we are telling, especially our South-South governors, to wake up from their slumber. Even as we are talking now, they are still afraid despite the light that the Southwest has shown they are still behaving cowardly. So, in all, what I am saying is that all these regional initiatives will not destroy Nigeria, rather it will strengthen our unity. You must guide the lives of your people in other to have a human being to manage. If there are no human being who will you rule either as a governor or president? People are dying, people are carelessly killed, no security, so if you do not secure your place you will have yourself to blame and regret at last. Even in your house, you have burglary everywhere, do you say because we have the Nigeria police you will not have a burglary in the house? Security is uppermost because you have to be alive to enjoy what is in it. Every region, every geo-political zone should go and have their outfit.
Some say restructuring is indirectly being implemented. Do you share in the view?
Yes, restructuring is already here, but those people who felt that because Nigeria is fake, the fake federalism they are feeding on it and because of that they want it to stay, they have no option because the time for restructuring is due and now, so they have no option than to face the truth. It is just like the Berlin Wall, it will fall no option (laughs). Even the Soviet Union broke into pieces when the time was due. There is time for everything. But as far as I am concerned, I like the way Nigeria is big, there is a huge advantage given our size and population, there are huge benefits, we should stay as a country, but we should not break up. I don’t want a break-up, but our problem is that in all parts of Nigeria, everywhere in Nigeria is full of greedy politicians, our politicians are so greedy and wicked, doing internal colonization. Look at what my Bayelsa governor did, somebody that made you a governor, just after eight years you don’t regard him again. In fact, that is still mysterious to me, it makes me wonder about the wicked nature of our politicians. I am worried because this governor (Seriake Dickson) came to me to go and beg Jonathan (former president) to make him governor, Dickson begged me to go and meet Jonathan to make him governor; so, for me to now see him disrespecting Jonathan, carrying out air of arrogance is shocking to me and you can imagine how I will feel. There were other people who contributed to making him governor, but he came with his two legs to come and beg me that I should go and talk to Jonathan to add his voice. Of course, he knows what Jonathan can do, his contact and influence. Then after eight years, this very individual is disregarding, disrespecting Jonathan. Human beings are indeed terrible. Politicians in Nigeria need spiritual deliverance. From what happened to this my friend and Dickson, who came to me to add a voice that I should go and beg Jonathan and today he is behaving this way. I can say it anywhere that Jonathan singlehandedly made him governor, today he is bragging, disrespecting Jonathan, behaving as if he is too clever. The disrespect he gave to Jonathan gave me sleepless nights. If I was not involved, if he did not come to me to go and beg Jonathan to make him governor I wouldn’t have felt this way. Sorry for the digression, my take is that I don’t want Nigeria to break up. Our politicians are terrible people and they are the problem. In fact, I am sorry to say, it has reached the point that I nearly called them animals in human flesh. Look at somebody like Rochas Okorocha; he wanted to make his son-in-law governor, what is his problem? A son-in-law that served you as Chief of Staff, that enjoyed the system everywhere, what is his character that you want to insist that he must be a governor? Even if the entire Imo State will crash all he wanted was for his son-in-law to be governor. Is this the people you want to give a republic? Let us remain in Nigeria as one, let us manage ourselves well, let us have leaders that will be fair to all, justice to all. My worry is that the greed that is in the spirit of our politicians if you divide Nigeria into 700 countries this greed will still flow and the people will still be the worst for it.
There is so much hype in the media that Governor Dickson performed creditably well in terms of infrastructure. Is it true?
Yes, I am satisfied with Dickson on his performance. In terms of performance: building infrastructure, building educational facilities and all that he did a good investment and I give him kudos for that. But I must point out that his government did not invest satisfactorily on manpower development. My problem with him was in going against our (Ijaw) tradition of disrespecting an elder; you don’t bite the finger that feeds or have fed you. It is not done anywhere, even in the Bible Peter came to Jesus and said: those of us who have left everything to follow you, where is our gain? Do you know that the deputy governor to Dickson is a General, but Dickson disgraced him, who is Dickson to disgrace a man with such stature? They have a joint ticket, but Dickson used the fund of the government to disgrace the man. That is not part of the Ijaw culture, there is a need for respect, and there is a need for integrity.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said what Nigerians are witnessing is a Fulanisation agenda. Do you believe such a view?
No. I don’t see it from that angle. This is because if you look at Buhari when he was sick he went to London, it was the head of Anglican Communion worldwide that was praying for him and when he wanted to return to office again it was Rev Father Mbaka, another Christian, that he will meet to pray for him. Look there are three important things in Buhari’s life now. The first is his family, his wife and lovely family, second is his health and the third one is the political office he is holding as the head of state. So, the second and third issue, his health and the polity, it is Christians that he is always inviting to come and pray for him, so those two Christians, Father Mbaka and head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury, they are Christians, they know those secrets better than me so they have not told us that Buhari has such an agenda. So, we are waiting for two of them to tell us because they are in a better position for such information.
Do you think the Federal Government is winning the corruption war which is one of the trusts of the Buhari-led APC government?
Well, the Federal Government says they are winning the corruption war, but I want to critically assess it by the end of this year, but now security matter is the most important. Lives are being wasted, lives that we cannot create. People are dying. It is the security matter that I have been following up since and it’s biting me hard. The Service Chiefs are making themselves so glorious, parading themselves with military general ranks, we have to confront them, put the heat on them, let them resign on their own if Buhari cannot tell them to go. No Nigerian is satisfied with the security situation in the country today unless those with the agenda and benefitting from it. I think the Chief of Defence Staff is from Kebbi, the Chief of Army Staff is from Borno yet their places are ravaged and I learnt that they cannot even go home because they are scared. This last carnage we witnessed shows that they are all confused and outsiders are laughing at us. No politician should talk for us, PDP cannot talk for us, Nigerians have to rise if we are waiting for politicians to talk for us our situation will get worse off.