EGBONA TO APC: LET OUR ONGOING REGISTRATION EXERCISE UNITE, NOT DIVIDE US

IN the wake of ongoing discussions at the National Assembly regarding the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, the fundamental issue of restructuring, which the All Progressives Congress, APC, promised in its manifesto, in preparation for the 2015 general election, has continued to loom large.
In this interview, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), and member representing Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency of Cross River State, Dr. Alex Egbona, aligns with the recommendations of the Malam Nasir el-Rufai Committee which the APC set up to deliberate on issue of restructuring.
It is very simple. And I think there is a correlation with what I have been talking about since the beginning of this interview. I do not support criminal activities, no matter the guise. And I also believe that nobody has the right to use his business to destroy another person’s business or source of livelihood. People should know that where their right stops is where the right of others begins. Why should some people in the name of cattle rearing invade other people’s farmlands, destroy the same and in some cases, kill the owners of the farm or rape their women if they resist their actions? That is unfair and cannot be tolerated by anybody with conscience. But it still boils down to the issue of character and attitude. I believe that anybody who wants to do his rearing business should negotiate with owners of the lands they are interested in, buy them if necessary, lease if necessary, hire if necessary and use them based on the terms of agreement. If the herder respects the rights of the owners of farmlands and the farm owners also respect the rights of the herders, the clashes we are hearing of will cease. We must change in our disposition towards one another.
He posits that the report should be implemented now just as he speaks on the establishment of a federal polytechnic in Cross River and other relevant issues. Excerpt:
The clamour for restructuring of the country has continued to resound. How will the National Assembly look at this burning issue?
I suppose that you are aware that I am a member of the APC and our party is seriously in sup- port of restructuring. That was why the party set up a high pow- ered committee led by the gover- nor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai. The committee has since submitted its report. The party, to the best of my knowledge, is con- sidering what the el-Rufai commit- tee did. Having said that, let me add that apart from the APC as a party, I doubt if there is anybody in this country who does not believe in the theory of restructuring. The only area of disagreement, if you ask me, is in the modalities. There are people who argue that the six regional structures of the country should be changed. There are those who argue that each state should be allowed to take care of themselves and make due returns to the centre. There are people who believe that the country is too big to allow deci- sions to be taken by the centre, on behalf of the states. Some people want what they call true federalism. I have taken a look at the report of the el-Rufai committee and I am aware that some of these concerns were addressed by the committee. What is remaining now is for a definite statement to be made by the government at the centre on some of the issues. For me, we need to restructure. And the first point of call should be our character and attitude. I read recent reports where the immediate past president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, was quoted as saying that Nigerians needed to restructure their mindset first. I agree with him, somehow. But I will add that Nigerians need to restructure their character and attitude first, while we wait for other forms of restructuring to happen. You see, Nigerians have a way of shouting about restructuring, about this and that. Again, people have started calling for the birth of state police as a way of tacking insecurity in the country. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said so recently. Even el-Rufai has also talked about it. I think that was a few days ago. But what I have noticed is this, if Nigerians find the need to restructure their attitude and character, particularly in the way they deal with fellow human beings, crime rate will reduce;

forms of social vices will reduce. If a man considers that it is wrong and a crime against a fellow human being, to plot to kidnap him, or kill him, or defraud him, he will not contemplate doing those things and, of course, the police and other security agencies will have less work to do. What that means is that there will be no clamour for state police or no state police. Have you noticed that the man on the street who is shouting about restructuring and state police is the same person who will disobey traffic, the same man who will drive against traffic, the same man who will produce fake drugs and sell to members of the public as original; then his fellow human being will take the drugs and die, while they smile to the bank and continue shouting about restructuring. The character and attitude of a lot of Nigerians stink. I truly support restructuring. I will support state police, only with a caveat, that governors will not use the same state police to deal with all their perceived and real political opponents. You can imagine what the governors are doing  with state independent electoral commissions. Tell me, which state in Nigeria have you seen a proper local government election? The governors do whatever they want and at the end of the day, the electoral commission will announce some names as winners and they will, more often than not, all are members of the ruling party in the state. Yet, these governors will also be shouting about restructuring. It does appear that we do not really know what we want as a people, or we are pretending.
So, still talking about restructuring, what would you recommend specifically, especially in the aspect of de- volution of powers from the centre to the states?
It boils down to what I said earlier. It is important for us to restructure our character and attitude, and that includes our governors, local government chairmen, councillors, parliamentarians at the highest lev- el and so on. Those with executive powers need to restructure their character and attitude. What do you make of a state governor who does not want to see other leaders from his state because he is not a member of his party? Or what do you make of a governor who re- fuses to touch abandoned projects of his predecessor, just because he wants to take the glory for projects he started and completed. Some of our leaders are power mongers. And it is a matter of character and attitude. The day our leaders, especially those in executive positions, who believe they are on top of the world, people who see themselves as demigods, the day they restructure their character and attitude towards others, this country will be better. Even the youths from some sections of this country who keep shouting about devolution of power, have you not heard what some of them who were militant leaders are doing to the monies paid to them by the amnesty office for their boys? There are reports that some of them either take all the money and pay nothing to their boys, or they would take a portion and give the remaining to their boys. And they are the same people that will shout about devolution of power. So, you can imagine if power is given to those human beings, what they will do with the power. So, until we all decide to restructure our character and attitude, we will only continue to scream about restructuring and nothing will change. Believe me. However, I do know that leaders of the National Assembly have a very deep passion for the good of this country
If we have documents presented to the National Assembly in forms of motions, bills etc, as we resume, I am very sure that the leadership will do justice to it. All we want is a better Nigeria. But it begins with everybody taking responsibility and playing their part.
There are security challenges in the country now because of the activities of herders. What do you think is the way forward?
It is very simple. And I think there is a correlation with what I have been talking about since the beginning of this interview. I do not support criminal activities, no matter the guise. And I also believe that nobody has the right to use his business to destroy another person’s business or source of livelihood. People should know that where their right stops is where the right of others begins. Why should some people in the name of cattle rearing invade other people’s farmlands, destroy the same and in some cases, kill the owners of the farm or rape their women if they resist their actions? That is unfair and cannot be tolerated by anybody with conscience. But it still boils down to the issue of character and attitude. I believe that anybody who wants to do his rearing business should negotiate with owners of the lands they are interested in, buy them if necessary, lease if necessary, hire if necessary and use them based on the terms of agreement. If the herder respects the rights of the owners of farmlands and the farm owners also respect the rights of the herders, the clashes we are hearing of will cease. We must change in our disposition towards one another.
The Federal Government has just approved a new poly- technic for your constituency. What does this mean to you?

.It means a lot to the people of Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency. It means a lot to the people of Cross River State. You must have heard that I sponsored a bill for the establishment of a federal polytechnic in my constituency. I took this as a project and the bill has already passed through the second reading. As a politician and parliamentarian, I believe in lobbying, I believe in the principle of give and take. The ultimate goal for every politician is to get results for their people. While the legislative processes were ongoing, I had some information about the Federal Government’s plans to establish some polytechnics. So, I had to consult major stakeholders in my state and constituency on how to ensure that we did not miss it. Everybody walked in unity for the common goal of getting the federal polytechnic to be located in the constituency. I wanted it in Ekureku, because we have so much land and the people were willing and ready to offer their land. Other people wanted the polytechnic in their land. It is politics and it is all about interest. So, we were all interested in getting the school to our various places. But you see, if we had insisted on our interests, may- be we would have missed it. So, at a point, we all agreed that it should go to Ugep, the political headquarters of the federal constituency. Don’t forget that before now, the Obol Lopon Ugep, who is also the paramount ruler of Yakurr Local Government, His Royal Majesty, Ofem Clement Ubana, had written to Mr President, telling him about

the need for the school to be sited in Ugep. So, with his backing, one of Ugep’s sons in whom I am well pleased, Barrister Okoi Obono Obla joined me as we moved to all the necessary offices in Abuja to pursue the matter. Mind you, past members of the National Assembly from the area had also played one role or the other at different times, to ensure that a federal polytechnic comes to our state. Immediate past and present ministers from the state also played tremendous roles. It was a teamwork and I am happy that we have got a higher institution of that magnitude to our senatorial district. There is one thing I keep saying: Mr President must have considered and approved this polytechnic for Ugep as reward for the people’s resilience and support for the APC. Remember that Cross River is a PDP state. So, PDP wanted to take all available positions in the state. But Abi/Yakurr people stood their grounds and at the end of the day,we noncaseating the House of Representatives and I was declared winner, to represent the people. That was during the general election. The election was nullified and a rerun ordered. That rerun was like war. PDP came with all their arsenals. They wanted to take the seat, but my people said it wouldn’t happen. That was when I saw the real colour of unity and love. People like Senator John Owan Enoh, Senator Victor Ndo- ma Egba who are not even from that federal constituency stood by us and made sure that APC won. A lot of people from the PDP who be- lieved in my capacity also stood by me and supported the Abi/Yakurr people. We won the rerun and I returned to the National Assembly. So, part of what Mr President was told was that look, this federal constituency stood their grounds and supported the APC. So, let this be a reward for their dedication to the party. Thank God Mr President listened and hearkened to the pleas of our people and today, we have a federal polytechnic. Interestingly, apart from approving Ugep as the location, Mr President also approved N2 billion for the take-off. So, we are full of gratitude to Mr President. I am personally grateful to all those who played different roles in making this happen. The next thing is for us to remain united in doing all that we need to do so that the school can take off in October
October.
IN the wake of ongoing discussions at the National Assembly regarding the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, the fundamental issue of restructuring, which the All Progressives Congress, APC, promised in its manifesto, in preparation for the 2015 general election, has continued to loom large.
In this interview, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), and member representing Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency of Cross River State, Dr. Alex Egbona, aligns with the recommendations of the Malam Nasir el-Rufai Committee which the APC set up to deliberate on issue of restructuring.
It is very simple. And I think there is a correlation with what I have been talking about since the beginning of this interview. I do not support criminal activities, no matter the guise. And I also be- lieve that nobody has the right to use his business to destroy another person’s business or source of livelihood. People should know that where their right stops is where the right of others begins. Why should some people in the name of cattle rearing invade other people’s farmlands, destroy the same and in some cases, kill the owners of the farm or rape their women if they resist their actions? That is unfair and cannot be tolerated by anybody with conscience. But it still boils down to the issue of character and attitude. I believe that anybody who wants to do his rearing business should negotiate with owners of the lands they are interested in, buy them if necessary, lease if necessary, hire if necessary and use them based on the terms of agreement. If the herder respects the rights of the owners of farmlands and the farm owners also respect the rights of the herders, the clashes we are hearing of will cease. We must change in our disposition towards one another.
He posits that the report should be implemented now just as he speaks on the establishment of a federal polytechnic in Cross River and other relevant issues. Excerpt:
The clamour for restructuring of the country has continued to resound. How will the National Assembly look at this burning issue?
I suppose that you are aware that I am a member of the APC and our party is seriously in support of restructuring. That was why the party set up a high-powered committee led by the governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai. The committee has since submitted its report. The party, to the best of my knowledge, is considering what the el-Rufai committee did. Having said that, let me add that apart from the APC as a party, I doubt if there is anybody in this country who does not believe in the theory of restructuring. The only area of disagreement, if you ask me, is in the modalities. There are people who argue that the six regional structures of the country should be changed. There are those who argue that each state should be allowed to take care of themselves and make due returns to the centre. There are people who believe that the country is too big to allow decisions to be taken by the centre, on behalf of the states. Some people want what they call true federalism. I have taken a look at the report of the el-Rufai committee and I am aware that some of these concerns were addressed by the committee. What is remaining now is for a definite statement to be made by the government at the centre on some of the issues. For me, we need to restructure. And the first point of call should be our character and attitude. I read recent reports where the immediate past president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, was quoted as saying that Nigerians needed to restructure their mindset first. I agree with him, somehow. But I will add that Nigerians need to restructure their character and attitude first, while we wait for other forms of restructuring to happen. You see, Nigerians have a way of shouting about restructuring, about this and that. Again, people have started calling for the birth of state police as a way of tacking insecurity in the country. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said so recently. Even el-Rufai has also talked about it. I think that was a few days ago. But what I have noticed is this, if Nigerians find the need to restructure their attitude and character, particularly in the way they deal with fellow human beings, crime rate will reduce; other
• Egbona forms of social vices will reduce. If a man considers that it is wrong and a crime against a fellow human being, to plot to kidnap him, or kill him, or defraud him, he will not contemplate doing those things and, of course, the police and other security agencies will have less work to do. What that means is that there will be no clamour for state police or no state police. Have you noticed that the man on the street who is shouting about restructuring and state police is the same person who will disobey traffic, the same man who will drive against traffic, the same man who will produce fake drugs and sell to members of the public as original; then his fellow human being will take the drugs and die, while they smile to the bank and continue shouting about restructuring. The character and attitude of a lot of Nigerians stink. I truly support restructuring. I will support state police, only with a caveat, that governors will not use the same state police to deal with all their perceived and real political opponents. You can imagine what the governors are doing with state independent electoral commissions. Tell me, which state in Nigeria have you seen a proper local government election? The governors do whatever they want and at the end of the day, the electoral commission will announce some names as winners and they will, more often than not, all are members of the ruling party in the state. Yet, these governors will also be shouting about restructuring. It does appear that we do not really know what we want as a people, or we are pretending.
So, still talking about restructuring, what would you recommend specifically, especially in the aspect of de- volution of powers from the centre to the states?
It boils down to what I said earlier. It is important for us to restructure our character and attitude, and that includes our governors, local government chairmen, councillors, parliamentarians at the highest lev- el and so on. Those with executive powers need to restructure their character and attitude. What do you make of a state governor who does not want to see other leaders from his state because he is not a member of his party? Or what do you make of a governor who re- fuses to touch abandoned projects of his predecessor, just because he wants to take the glory for projects he started and completed. Some of our leaders are power mongers. And it is a matter of character and attitude. The day our leaders, especially those in executive positions, who believe they are on top of the world, people who see themselves as demigods, the day they restructure their character and attitude towards others, this country will be better. Even the youths from some sections of this country who keep shouting about devolution of power, have you not heard what some of them who were militant leaders are doing to the monies paid to them by the amnesty office for their boys? There are reports that some of them either take all the money and pay nothing to their boys, or they would take a portion and give the remaining to their boys. And they are the same people that will shout about devolution of power. So, you can imagine if power is given to those human beings, what they will do with the power. So, until we all decide to restructure our character and attitude, we will only continue to scream about restructuring and nothing will change. Believe me. However, I do know that leaders of the National Assembly have a very deep pas- sion for the good of this country.
The Federal Government has just approved a new poly- technic for your constituency. What does this mean to you?
Itmeansalottome.It means a lot to the people of Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency. It means a lot to the people of Cross River State. You must have heard that I sponsored a bill for the establishment of a federal polytechnic in my constituency. I took this as a project and the bill has already passed through the second reading. As a politician and parliamentarian, I believe in lobbying, I believe in the principle of give and take. The ultimate goal for every politician is to get results for their people. While the legislative processes were ongoing, I had some information about the Federal Government’s plans to establish some polytechnics. So, I had to consult major stakeholders in my state and constituency on how to ensure that we did not miss it. Everybody walked in unity for the common goal of getting the federal polytechnic to be located in the constituency. I wanted it in Ekureku, because we have so much land and the people were willing and ready to offer their land. Other people wanted the polytechnic in their land. It is politics and it is all about interest. So, we were all interested in getting the school to our various places. But you see, if we had insisted on our interests, maybe we would have missed it. So, at a point, we all agreed that it should go to Ugep, the political headquarters of the federal constituency. Don’t forget that before now, the Obol Lopon Ugep, who is also the paramount ruler of Yakurr Local Government, His Royal Majesty, Ofem Clement Ubana, had written to Mr President, telling him about
How is the fresh registration for APC members going in your area?
It is going on very well. Some of us who are leaders are mobilising our followers and the people of our constituency to either register as new members or revalidate their membership as old members. It is actually an opportunity for us to evangelise, if you like, and boost our membership. In my constituency, it is even more of a necessity for us to get more of our people to join the party because we are seeing development projects from the Federal Government. My only concern is that we should avoid any form of crisis as a result of the ongoing exercise. The registration exercise should unite and not divide us. There have been stories of clashes here and there in some parts of the country. We do not want to experience this in Cross River. I urge all my people to go about this business peacefully and in peace.