Tony Ogaga
Chief Solomon Ogbonna, the president, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos, has stated that it would only be fair for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to appoint Igbo into his cabinet due to their contributions to the state.
What is your take on the security situation in the country?
We need to start somewhere and we have already started. As the president of Ohanaeze, Lagos, what I did first when I came into office was to make sure that Igbo partake in Lagos State affairs and politics by endorsing the current governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu as our candidate. Every Igbo man in Lagos voted for him. We cannot be in the opposition all the time because we cannot achieve anything like that, which was why we gave the directive that every Igbo man who has the interest of Igbo at heart and who is resident in Lagos should vote Sanwo-Olu. The need to vote for someone who has the interest of the Igbo at heart cannot be overemphasised and that is what all sons and daughters resident in Lagos did. You cannot undermine the contributions of Igbo to the victory of All Progressives Congress (APC) during the governorship elections.
After that directive, a group countered it claiming that it was a scam. Post election, how did you resolve the issue?
The issue resolved itself because politics at the national level is completely different from the one at the local level. I also supported Nwodo for endorsing Atiku and Peter Obi but when the politics comes to the local level, I have the authority to say ‘Igbo, this is where we are going.’ You cannot come from anywhere or anyplace and determine the future of a man that is living in his own house. Atiku is a good candidate and so too is our own son, Peter Obi. I did not counter what the national body said. Rather, I refined their directive and that was because it was the only practical way to go because I am the one on ground feeling the pulse of Lagos.
In Lagos, Ohanaeze supported Sanwo-Olu who eventually won the election. Do you expect him as a mark of appreciation to appoint Igbo into his cabinet?
That is what we are expecting because after you work you also have to eat. We have worked and that is what we expect from him. I believe he is a wonderful man, a good Christian. We expect nothing less. As he begins his first term, I expect him to fulfil most of his campaign promises especially the promise he made about the road to Alaba International, Trade Fair and some areas in Apapa which are all some of the challenges affecting Igbo businesses which have been driving the economy of not just Lagos but Nigeria.
I am into artworks and I have done so many exhibitions with other tribes. I am talking about people from Benue, Kogi and the core north and that is where you find the most prolific art collectors that have made so much money from art work; they are art dealers and some of them I have known for over 20 years and all these years they have been living at Obalende in one room or a shop but they are building mountains in Kano and Kaduna and other parts of the North. It is only a few of us who are Igbo that are having as much as 85 per cent of our investments in Lagos.
Atiku has gone to the court, what is your advice to him?
I have no comment on that. That is not within my jurisdiction as president, Ohanaeze, Lagos. Let the courts decide; I have no comments.
Let us look at the issue of state police. What is your take?
Those asking for state police have a very genuine reason for that. If for instance we have state police in Enugu, that means they are in control of security in the state. It becomes easier to fight crime because you will be employing indigenes of the state who know the terrain and flash points. For me, if it can work, if it is well planned then, why not? Whatever can make us have improved security like it is in the western world is welcome. That is what everybody wants; in your house; in your family. Even as you are moving, you need security so whatever will resolve the security crisis in Nigeria I wholeheartedly support. It is only a criminal that will say he is not in support of a better security arrangement for Nigeria. I support state police.
The debate over 2023 has begun. Where do you stand on Igbo presidency?
That is a national issue but if you look at it yourself, you will notice that Igbo presidency is long overdue. If you look at the Igbo, you will notice that anywhere you travel to in Nigeria, they are there and they contribute a great deal to the development of any state than any other tribe, so we have done very well. If you talk about a united and one Nigeria, it is only the Igbo that are practicing it in Nigeria. They go to Kano, Abuja, Lagos and wherever and they build five star hotels which they don’t even have in Igbo land. Now, if they feel unsafe in their host communities, do you think they will do that? When you talk of ‘one united Nigeria,’ it is only the Igbo that are practicing it in the entire federation. So, talking about Igbo presidency, it is long overdue.