Abia: Why Ikpeazu should re-contest-Ikoh

Chief Ndukwe Ikoh is an industrialist and prominent political figure in Abia State. He had contested as a candidate on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) for the governorship and House of Representative seat respectively. He speaks on the importance of maintaining zoning arrangement in the country, saying it would enhance political stability in Nigeria. He also proffers solutions to the increasing rate of insecurity across the country.

There has been an increase in killings allegedly by Fulani herdsmen in many parts of the country and the critics of the administration say that the government has not shown any serious commitment towards addressing the issue. Do you agree?

I do not dispute the fact that the President has not handled the issue of the killings properly, maybe because he is a Fulani man, but at the same time, I also know that there is no northern president that would ever address the issue of Fulani herdsmen properly because of northern sentiments when it comes to culture and religion. This makes it very difficult for them to change to new cultures because they are very conservative. The belief of the northern politician is that if you go against the Fulani, you are going against your base and that is the reason there has been very slow and almost non-existent action against foreign cattle rearing activities in the country. Nigeria is not the country with the largest number of cows and I do not think that we are anywhere near the countries that have developed that aspect of their agricultural economy. The government is not doing enough to curb the killings and they would never do enough and that is the fact.

The cattle rearers are doing their private businesses and I do not see why they would not take care of all that is required to do the business successfully. The Nigerian government should not be involved in that, but we now have a situation where the government is supporting people doing their private businesses because they are cattle rearers. If you analyse the situation properly, you would see that people are bound to be angry.

Are you implying that no northern president would have the political will to tackle the issue of herdsmen’s killings?

With the way things stand today, it would be difficult for a northern president to back a policy that will put a stop to these clashes between nomadic cattle rearers and their host communities. Cattle is not the only livestock that farmers rear; there are pigs, fish, snail, poultry etc. and you don’t see people going out of their boundaries to infringe on other people’s rights to coexist. However, because we live in a dynamic world, I want to believe that with time, people would get to understand that there are other ways that you can do this business without conflict.

On the issue of establishing cattle colonies, I will tell you why people are not comfortable with it. A lot of people ask why there is always crisis in states like Plateau, Kaduna, Benue between people who were originally there as settlers and the indigenes of the place. First, these people came as visitors and as time went by; they became a community and installed their own traditional rulers. They bring in their culture and tradition and before you know it, they overrun the original indigenes of that area (aborigines). That is the story of Nigeria and that is why people are being fearful about establishing colonies. Northerners don’t operate alone; when you employ one person, that person starts by bringing in his relative one after the other and before you know it, they have become a community. If colonies are established, maybe 10 to 20 people would settle there first, and because you would not be there to monitor those who come in, before you know it, they would have grown in number. The next thing they would do is to install an Emir, then they would hoist a flag, then they would begin to influence the aborigines with their own culture and before you know it, they would want to take over your state. That is why Nigerians, especially those from the south, are not comfortable with the idea of setting up cattle colonies in their states. No right thinking southern governor would approve the establishment of colonies because of the culture of these people.

My father told me about some communities in the north who eat pork and welcomed northern settlers from other communities who abhor pork to settle in their land. Gradually, the eating of pork became a source of conflict among the indigenes of that community and the settlers. These sorts of issues abound and even the presidency knows that it is the main reason people are afraid to have cattle colonies unless we want to live in denial. There are also economic implications of establishing colonies. The north has more land for grazing than the south, so it would be difficult for a zone like the south-east that is looking for land to build industries and corporations to now donate land free of charge to Fulani herdsmen. Even if it is not free of charge, it is the right of the owners of the land to choose to sell their land or not. The government has to find a modern way of doing this business that would not necessitate people moving from place to place.

Not long ago, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a letter to President Buhari asking him not to contest the 2019 election, just as he accused him of non-performance. He also condemned both the APC and the PDP, saying that a third force would win the presidency. Do you think it is possible for a third force to win the presidential election?

Obasanjo is one of the very few Nigerians that I have great respect for because I see him as a detribalised statesman and someone that you have to take seriously anytime he speaks. A lot of Nigerians see him as a sinful preacher of a righteous message. When you talk about Obasanjo, people would start mentioning how badly he performed as president and they cite the incidences of Zak Ibiam, Odi and other atrocities that happened in the country under his watch. If you ask the founding members of the PDP, they would tell you that there was an internal zoning arrangement within the party that a president would do a four-year term and the presidency would move to another zone. That means that at the end of six tenures, all the zones would have produced a president; but when Obasanjo completed his first tenure, he found out that he could not do much because of the country’s complex problems, then he got a second tenure. Atiku wanted to run against him, but he eventually stepped down for Obasanjo. After the second tenure, he was not still satisfied with performance, so he wanted a third tenure.

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