Magnus Eze, Enugu
Chris Agu, an activist, lived for about 30 years in parts of northern Nigeria; a former northern director of the Amnesty International, he was actively involved in the struggle against military dictatorship.
In this interview, Agu speaks on Atiku Abubakar’s relationship with the family of his benefactor; Late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, why the Enugu Youths Movement celebrates Asiwaju Bola Tinubu every year, just as he set agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term in office.
You had predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari would defeat Atiku Abubakar; what actually informed your projection?
My advice to Nigerians was that they should not sell their police dog and purchase monkey, if they did that or tried it; we will be in very big problem. You see, if President Buhari completes his four years again; then the Igbo people have hope and chance, and Buhari has assured us that it is just four years and after the four years, by 2023, we have competent Igbo people that will come up to be the president of Nigeria and I have been telling people that from now till 2023, something positive or negative must happen. I don’t know how it would be, but this is a revelation, let us allow Buhari to complete his four years. Again, Atiku has a problem that he has not solved.
What is the nature of the problem?
Sometime in 2005 to be precise, I said that the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua’s spirit was fighting Atiku and up till now he has not done anything to solve that problem. Betraying his mentor and his master while Gen. Yar’Adua was in detention was his sin. Atiku was parleying with Gen Sani Abacha. Some of our members contacted him to support the amnesty work when we were holding what we called in Amnesty International ‘Urgent Action’, we were calling for urgent release; that Gen. Yar’Adua should not be executed, but Atiku refused to support the human rights moves. For instance, I visited Gen. Yar’Adua at Abakiliki prison and that was two months before his death. That time, Atiku told people we sent to him that Abacha warned him to support him else he will deal ruthlessly with him; that his children were still small and he didn’t want to die early. So, such a man that abandoned his master and was participating in the politics of that time; the late Gen. Yar’Adua of course, is not happy with him wherever his is. That was why I said in 2005, watch it; that Atiku will continue to run into troubled waters; politically, he will never find his feet. I said it and it was published in The Sun Newspaper then. You can check from 2005 till date whether Atiku has stabilised at all. He left PDP, when PDP gave ticket to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, Atiku left the party and contested in another party, he lost; next, he came back, contested the PDP presidential primary with Jonathan, he lost and moved again to APC where he lost to Buhari in Lagos. He then went back to PDP, so you can see what I said that time is what is happening to this man and he never cared to know how to solve the problem. So, the civil society in Nigeria should know all these, it’s just that we have poor memory, if not; people are supposed to know the kind of man Atiku is, he can’t lead Nigeria to any place, he is not firm and it is unfortunate that somebody like Peter Obi who is our eye, who is loved by the Igbo became his running mate. But I maintain that the will of God will happen in Nigeria but not with Atiku.
If you are to send agenda for President Buhari, what were the issues you will be looking at?
The second tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari of course will commence on May 29. Therefore, I’ll advise him to ensure that the local government areas be granted autonomy in Nigeria; if it’s done, then he has freed Nigerians from captivity and slavery. For many years now, many governors have abused the local government funds; they behave as if they’re thin gods. Governors dictate the pace and tune of every local government. So, if he can liberate Nigerians from that ugly situation, then he has achieved a lot and he’ll go down in history as the Joshua that led the Israelites to the Promised Land.
He should also rejig the fight against corruption. Nigeria needs this fight now more than before, there should be no sacred cow at all. Here again, the construction works on our roads in the South East; the one from Enugu to Onitsha is under construction by his government, we want it speed up so that there’ll be quick accomplishment because some of the roads there, they’ve not touched it but they have done some areas within Ninth Mile axis and other areas. Also, they should speed up work on the ongoing Enugu-Port Harcourt express road, if this is done, and then the people of South East will be happier. Besides, he should include the South East in his cabinet by way of political appointments, he should not look the other way that he didn’t secure certain votes in the zone because as the president, he should see himself as the father of the country. Once he does that, soon the people of South East will realise that their eggs shouldn’t be put in one basket. It’s with prayer and hard work, they’ll realise this. Notwithstanding the preaching to the people of the South East during the last election, it fell on deaf ears. In spite of that, the president should know that there was increment in the total number of votes he scored in 2019 when compared with that of 2015. So, gradually the people are beginning to understand him better. Let him include the people of South East in strategic areas of the government, they’ll deliver; especially his disciples, there are people that so much love him; they so much believe in him in the South East. If those people are put in strategic positions, they’ll deliver.
What of the APC’s position on the composition of the National Assembly leadership; where the South East is somewhat being excluded, what do you say to that?
Yes, naturally, if I have something to share, I’ll look for those who believe in the party, who believe in me; those that worked hard for the party to reach where they’re today. In the South East, they actually tried during the elections; if they can give the zone Senate President, it will be fine. But if the Senate President eludes the zone, let the Deputy Senate President not elude South East because they can’t go empty handed. Luckily for us, the zone was able to produce a senator. That’s my take on that.
Why does your group celebrate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu every year?
Since 2005; I always go to church with friends and members of Enugu Youth Movement to give thanks to God for giving Nigeria Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, he is a gift to mankind, gift to Nigeria. When I was in AD, I contested for the Chairmanship of Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State in 2004. I discovered that Senator Tinubu was the only man left in AD that was interested in the welfare of the party nationwide. So, what he did for us in Kaduna made me vow that such a personality, a gift to Nigeria must be celebrated or appreciated by going to God in prayer to protect him; to fight all his battles, spiritually and physically. Since 2005; we have been doing this and even when I relocated to Enugu; at Heavenly Grace Mission here in Enugu, every year we go to give God thanks for Senator Tinubu especially during his birthdays. We go there to pray for him. He is a man you can trust, he’s a man that when he is holding anything in common with you or sharing idea with you, he will be thinking of how to improve you not how to defraud or cheat you. Let me also say this; during our Amnesty International days; those days when NADECO (National Democratic Coalition) and other activists were hunted by the Abacha Government, although Tinubu went on exile, he was very supportive of the course. So, when I learnt that he had taken over the campaign of President Buhari as the Chairman of his campaign, I said ‘God thank you because this is a man of good luck.’