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2011: APGA’s party to beat in South East – Umeh[/size]

By SEYE OJO
Sunday, August 08, 2010


There was a time Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State was besieged. Parlous security situation, hostile political gladiators who wanted to take his seat, and many other challenges. Everything that has a beginning must come to an end and that period is now history according to Chief Maja Umeh, Commisioner for Information and Culture in Anambra State.

He says things are looking up in the state disclosing that most of the former political adversaries, including Chief Andy Ubah, have closed ranks with the governor, and the state is moving forward, with a new spirit suffusing the landscape.

But what of Dr Chris Ngige of the Action Congress (AC), who is still in court against the governor? He says “Ngige will soon key into the vision, just as his supporters have done”. Excerpts…

Anambra State had serious security challenges in the recent past. What is the position now?
Yes, in the past, we’ve had challenges with security, but to the glory of God, things are getting better. The Federal Government has stepped in, we thank President Goodluck Jonathan, and the Inspector-General of Police Ogbonna Onovo.

Also, Gov Peter Obi is supporting the security agencies. He gives funds for security to villages to fund their vigilante. Two, the resolve of Anambra people in line with the vision of His Excellency to stamp out kidnapping, is very strong. So, all these have resulted in the place being more secure than it was in the past.

I can assure you that in the past two weeks or more, we have not had any case of kidnapping. If anything, we are hearing cases of arrest and parade here and there because the police is really working, everybody is working, the okada people are working, the local vigilante people are working, the communities are working.
What is going on now is that if we find your house or any house being used for kidnap purposes, the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) will be revoked. We also hold traditional rulers and town union presidents responsible for any kidnap in their area.

Do you feel vindicated that kidnapping has gone beyond Anambra?
I thank you for that question. You see, in the past when we had those challenges, some politicians were trying to play politics with it. But eventually the truth has prevailed.

One, we kept telling them that it is the primary responsibility of the federal government of Nigeria to provide security of lives and property to all parts of the federation. It will be wrong for anybody to start calling on the state governor or blaming him for insecurity when he’s not in control of any security apparatus in the country. But because it was a political and electioneering year, people were making politics of it. Today, the truth has emerged and the federal government is now tackling the problem head-on.

But the truth of the matter was that federal legislators from South East were not living up to their bidding. I have said that before, they did not do what they ought to have done. When we had this security challenge, they were busy politicking with it. I will give you an example. When we had militancy challenge in the Niger Delta, it was the legislators from Niger Delta that brought it to national focus. And so the government had to tackle that matter as a federal government. Today, they even have a Niger Delta Ministry addressing the problems of Niger Delta because they have good representation at the federal level.

When Boko Haram happened, it was a security challenge to the country. It was the legislators from the North East that drew the national attention to it and got the federal government to do something about it and they curtailed it. Even the recent Jos crisis, legislators from there who are at the federal level attracted the federal government’s attention to it.

The legislators from the South East, especially Anambra State, could not use their positions to get the federal government to address this security challenge in Anambra and its environs. So, it’s a failure on their part.

The South East governors have said none of them would run as president, none of them would run as vice president. A number of people from the South East are not very comfortable with that, how would you defend that decision of the governors?
Well, it is not a problem. I want to say that for the first time, Igbos are becoming more and more directional in our approach to national politics. I will describe that as a beginning of the political emancipation of Ibo land in national politics.

When these governors sat, they did something very noble because for the first time, the unity among these governors is highly commendable. The drive and direction they are giving to Ibo people is highly commendable. What they have said is a very simple thing; five of us are not contesting this election either as Vice President or President because it will be a distraction, there are certain things we believe that we can use our position to do for our people to be better positioned in the context of Nigerian politics. In other words, there are several things we need to address, we need to bring to national focus to address.

There is no way you can come and explain to your son that out of the six geo-political zones in the country, it is only the South East that has five states, the rest has six, even one has seven. That is a major problem facing the South East and I think that is a structural difference that must be addressed. You cannot address this when you are allowing the presidency to distract you.
There is enormous erosion problem, major erosion challenge in the South East. So, people keep talking about infrastructure. Look at Onitsha, from Bridge Head to Enugu is a federal road, look at the mess. There is also the second Niger Bridge.

So, these are the things that you need to get together, get yourselves together and then psychologically get your people motivated to begin to work as a team just like the governors are working as a team now. Ensure that at the end of the period, you would have repositioned your people in a better position to make that presidential demand. So, together you can now go into necessary alliances with fellow Nigerians on how to produce the president.

So, the most important thing is to get your house in order. When your house is in order, then you can discuss with other core interest groups. But as long as the people are like this, it will be wrong for the state governors to start embarking on actualisation of the presidential ambition or vice presidential ambition. I think it is a very noble thing because for the first time, leaders are thinking beyond themselves. That is what we call selfless leadership.
Now, APGA rules Anambra, do you think that party is strong enough to make more impact politically?
Well, it is a very simple thing, that is part of the things we are talking about. If you watch the whole South East, you’ll discover that APGA won the election in all the South East states in 2003.

Are you making a definite statement?
That was the way it was and that is why anywhere the governors are, we are challenging them. And if you watch the ruling in the tribunals, they are more of technical matters and all that. But the report being made here is that the whole of South East is essentially APGA, you can feel it in the street, you can feel it in the people because it is their own party.

Granted that we have electoral challenges that enthroned PDP leadership here and there in the South East, that is beginning to phase out because as long as votes count in the South East, APGA will win election any day, anytime.

APGA’s fortunes have been improved by Obi’s excellent governance. He has led an exemplary governance for the people of Anambra and then neighbours have seen what is happening and said, yes this is what we mean by the kind of leadership that we should have everywhere in the South East. So, we are going to join that party that Obi is in. And you know our national leader remains the father of everybody. He is one man no Ibo man will say he doesn’t know anytime; that is Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Governor Obi’s relationship with the state House of Assembly used to be so turbulent but in recent time, we have not heard much of restiveness between the House and the governor. What is the secret?
Well, it is a very simple thing. I hope you remember that song: We are the world (A song by Michael Jackson and other artistes performed by USA for Africa). In fact, it tells you that there comes a time when we heed a certain call, when the whole world must come together as one.

There is a new spirit in Anambra State introduced by the vision and style of leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Peter Obi. He has taught our people about statesmanship. I have said it severally that he’s not a politician, that he’s a statesman because a politician thinks about the next election, a statesman thinks about the next generation.
So, when initially the leaders of the House of Assembly were scuffling with him, people were actually protecting their party, their various group interests. That was when we had that problem.

When everybody started seeing that this governor meant well, that he’s taking a step ahead, they saw the international acclaim of the government, they saw the progress being made, of course they are from Anambra, they all like good things. So they quickly keyed into the vision of new Anambra State and that vision has permeated everywhere.

You could see the same spirit throughout in the February 6 election; there was no violence anywhere. If anything, people had civilised debate and immediately after the election majority of the contestants went to congratulate the victor; that is a new Anambra State. In the past, we were known for violence, thuggery, Okija shrines and all that, but today we have come back as a light of the nation courtesy of Peter Obi because he has introduced a lot of decency into our politics.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/powergame/2010/aug/08/powergame-08-08-2010-002.htm

As long as we have free and fair elections next year, all will be well in the south east. We elect men of good character who would represent us well.
I can't wait for next year.

Just watch, any politician who cannot fit into APGA world view will not be accommodated in APGA. I see some of them who joined APGA last two weeks starting to negotiate with PDP (Chukwumerije, to my greatest shock for one), I don't see APGA bending the rules for anybody.