Anambra needs inclusive governance, not alienation

From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

Ozo Japhet Ezechukwu Nweke, a political scientist, security expert and real estate developer is the candidate of Action Alliance (AA) for the November 8, 2025 governorship election in Anambra state. In this interview, he speaks on issues surrounding the election and other matters.

You’re contesting against an incumbent. Why did you decide to put your hat into the ring at this point in time?

You quite know that I’m from Anambra and the honest truth is that politics is a platform to make a positive change in the society like Soludo would say. I also believe that change is constant, that change flows like water that cleanses and washes away old ways, replacing it with new ways or new pattern. You quite well know that we as a people are always presented with the temptation that we want perfection in anything we are doing. In that case, we as human beings are always craving a better situation, better scenario. Having said this, I’m not saying that Soludo as governor is not doing well, the old ways were not bad either but there is nothing wrong in having multiple choices /options and that is what I represent. We are presenting to our people different strategies and ways of obtaining and getting to the particular goals we want in Anambra State. I still believe that in Anambra State where I’m a citizen, we want the best for our people and I believe I’m that person well positioned to bring the best in governance and that is why I’ve stepped out. Anambra State needs governance of inclusivity, not alienation. We shall bridge the gap between the government and the citizens when elected into office, to make people the centre of governance and not the other way round.

What are the new ways you can introduce into the system that are better than what we have presently in Anambra?

The system we are supposed to have in place in Anambra should be the one that should meet up with the context of the times, what is obtainable at the moment. If it is old, it needs to be revamped because you cannot use the old system to actualize what you want at this very particular point in time. Anambra State governance of today requires revamping in such a way that it has to meet with the current global trends of the modern era and I believe that this current government in place is not doing such. I have a plan, well detailed and implementable plan on how to meet up with this global trend in the affairs of Anambra, which will be unveiled soon.

There is an existing zoning arrangement in the state, though not written as a law. You are from Awka, the central zone. Don’t you think that this zoning arrangement is already an impediment for you?

You have rightly said that zoning in Anambra is not a constitutional matter. Besides, you know also that it is not a general consensus thing. The so-called zoning arrangement was only orchestrated by the APGA and there was never a time my party the AA consented to that arrangement. And by the way, this zoning arrangement enthrones mediocrity because the implication is that we are not going to have the best at a particular point in time if that best comes from a zone not favoured to be their turn. We cannot actualise our dream for the best if the way to do that is in the hands of other contestants going to come from another zone. I said it earlier that even if there is any arrangement at all for zoning, it is purely party-based and has nothing to do with the electorate. People are not reasoning today in Anambra based on the idea of zoning. People rather want to see who will give them what they want in terms of governance- who is going to govern them well, provide better infrastructure, better healthcare system and eventually give them an economy that will translate to the better livelihood for the people, that’s what they want, not zoning. We in AA believe that we have what it takes to give them that and they believe in us for that too. That is why we are coming out for the election; we don’t believe that the zoning system is going to work. It is not working; it has not worked before and will not work even at this political dispensation.

One catchy phrase dominating your bill boards is, “let the masses live”. What do you mean by that?

Yes, the masses are not living well in the entire country Nigeria, so it’s not even peculiar to Anambra State. Our message is that the masses must live well. You and I know that if you go to a place where the system is working very well, the system is geared towards ensuring that governance is producing such which will make the masses live a better life so that their standard of living will be high. But you will agree with me that corruption, which is at the topmost of whatever that has entrenched suffering and the major problems we are having in the society today, has eaten so much into the system that it has been designed now to benefit only the ruling class leaving the masses prostrate. AA as a party has as an agenda in its manifesto, a carefully designed strategy to ensure that governance is structured to cater for the interests of the masses. We are to serve the people and not to go there for personal enrichment and whatever goal we pursue will be pro-masses, enhancing the lives of the people, giving them quality standard of living. When you see the economy revamped and the GDP made to blossom, it will eventually translate to the rise in income per capital rate of Anambra people and you won’t need to go to the Bureau of Statistics to ascertain that because it will reflect immediately in the lives of the people. When we build good roads, provide quality education, top notch infrastructure, it will be for the service of the people and not that designed for the self-enrichment of those providing the services.

You are a security expert. What is your security agenda in Anambra?

Nigeria is bedevilled with security challenges all over and I don’t know whether it is right to say that Anambra’s own scenario is worse, but in all, the fact remains that the primary responsibility of government remains the provision of security and welfare for the people. It is our commitment that within the first three months of our being in office, insecurity would have been reduced by 80 per cent and this will be done by tackling the root cause of insecurity, which is unemployment. Our aim is to provide massive employment through agriculture and by the time this is done, crime will drastically reduce. When you have the greater percentage of our youths being engaged and employed, crime will automatically reduce because in most cases what we have in the system is crime of necessity but when those involved have been kept busy, they will not get involved anymore. For the smaller number of the habitual criminals, we would have designed the security apparatus like the police, DSS etc, in such a way that the state will be repositioned as a serious crime fighting institution. This will deter criminals immediately.

The August 16 bye-election witnessed high-level vote buying. What does it portend for the November 8 governorship election? And how do you think INEC can handle the situation to ensure free, fair credible election?

INEC is not the main actor in this vote buying issue. It is the party and candidate representatives and those backing them that are involved. The people accepting the monies for their votes are also the issue because it is a two-way thing. I think there is a lot of work to be done in this regard by all the political players in the exercise. There is need for serious enlightenment programmes to make our people understand the need to shun vote buying at all levels. That is fuelling the high level of corruption marring our democracy, making our democracy look like we are not serious as a people. On the other hand, the people accepting the money and are being influenced by this financial inducement are no more voting with their conscience. I am advising our people – if you sell your vote, where do you think the people buying this vote will take money to recover what they have spent? It is from the public fund, the public treasury. And when you sell your vote, you won’t have the moral authority to question why that infrastructure that your community needed so much was not fixed. It is for us to sensitise our people on the disadvantages that comes with selling their votes. The people who are buying and those selling are complicit. We need good governance in Anambra State, such that will provide for the people. What we are seeing is a situation where the people are driven to hunger and in the next dispensation, use the money to buy them again and the cycle continues. We have to shun vote buying at all level with all our might.

What is that core part of your manifesto that, if given the opportunity to govern Anambra, you will deploy to make a great difference?

That is in the area of Agriculture to revamp the economy, to provide food security in the state so that Anambra can be the hub of Agriculture in Nigeria. If you look at our GDP in Anambra State, you find out that agriculture and manufacturing provides only 20 per cent of the total GDP which is not supposed to be at that level at all. We have to be serious to revamp our economy. Such kind of economy cannot translate to better living condition for the citizens. We are going to work to make sure that with modern technologies, new farming systems, providing value chain for agriculture, that we are geared towards making sure that our GDP will have about 40 to 50 per cent of agriculture providing for it.

What is your central message to the people of Anambra as the election approaches?

We should tone down any rhetoric that will give a platform for violence in this very particular political dispensation. Fellow contestants and political party candidates should also desist from using derogatory words and statements against each other. I believe this contest is not a do-or-die affair, we are here to showcase how we are going to serve our people and our people are here to choose who will serve them better. Leadership is not meant solely for the ruling party, it is the ruling party and the opposition on it together. Let us go back to issue-based campaigns.