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By Chukwudi Nweje
Senator Ebenezer Ikeyina, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) insists that for peace, justice, and equity in Nigeria, the South East should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari. He says the country needs a president that has courage, capacity, and empathy, which he has in abundance. He also spoke on other national issues.
You are a very strong advocate of a president of South-East extraction, is that the reason you threw your hat into the ring?
Beyond regional sentiments, my love for a united Nigeria inspired me to take the decision to run for office as president of Nigeria. It is true that the South-East region has been greatly marginalised and for us to have unity in the country and for the citizens to live in peace, and have a sense of belonging, we need to address some of the burning issues. We cannot pretend that all is well with the country when the problem is glaring and staring at us straight in the face. We used to have a Nigeria where you had a Fulani man as a mayor in Enugu. We want to get to the level where a graduate will have a job offer before he or she writes the final exams in the university. At that time, companies go to the university to seek graduates to join their workforce, but now, a graduate who left school 10 or more years ago is still unemployed and even when the person tries to start something on his or her own, the infrastructure is not on ground to enable that to happen. There is a need to address all these issues. We cannot be servicing our debts with 80 percent of our revenue and sit down and say all is well. The killings across the country are frightening; we need to be concerned. It is true that I have been advocating for a president of South-East extraction because if there is no equity, fairness, and justice, there is bound to strive. We have three major tribes in Nigeria and two, Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba have tested power at the highest political level in the country, while the third one which is the Igbo nation has not, it is not fair. However, my party elected me as the flag bearer in rancour-free primaries not on the basis of ethnic or religious leanings, but on the basis of capacity. My party has a national outlook, the chairman of our great party, Chief Supo Shonibare is not from South East and we have other members of our party spread across Nigeria.
The SDP is not as popular as the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); how do you think you can win the election?
How do you measure popularity? The SDP may not be popular in the context of being in control of states, but the party is known, and I can tell you that Nigerians are tired of the two parties that you referred to as popular; they want a party that is populated by men and women who are concerned about the plight of Nigerians, the party that will present a candidate with courage, capacity and empathy. President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor should have courage, capacity and empathy, and he should be worried about the killings across the country and should be ready and courageous to stop them. SDP is a party that has national outlook and it is prepared to address the challenges confronting Nigeria with all sense of commitment.
How ready are you to face other opponents in the race?
What I will tell you is that it is not about what some people will call a popular politician. At the state that we are in now, in this country, Nigerians are tired of these recycled politicians. They want to see real change. They want to see the killings stopped, they want to see their children go to school and they want improvements in the economy. We cannot be servicing our debts with 80 per cent of our revenue and still be talking about gurus in the contest, people who are used to the game of politicking, people who have been in government before. We should be talking about people who have the capacity to do the job. The ordinary Nigerian should be concerned about the capacity of candidates to positively affect their lives. We should be concerned about candidates who understand roadmaps to tackle the country’s multifaceted socio-economic challenges. Nigerians must not just be contented with the assumption that a politician means well. The demand this time must be meaning well and being able to do well. People have made a lot of promises in the past that they did not fulfill. We should be concerned about visionary leaders. Nigeria at the moment needs a courageous leader; this involves the ability to make the best decisions in the interest of the country without fear or favour, not a leader who will look at his people before making decisions at the expense of the nation or other regions. I can emerge the president of Nigeria with the support of Nigerians. It doesn’t matter who is contesting in the race, what matters is whether Nigerians are behind you and I will conveniently tell you that in the 2023 general election, there will be lots of surprises because people will reject the status quo. The voters are wiser now; they will reject money bags and vote for the candidate that will lead them to the Nigeria of their dreams.
You have never been elected to a position where you exercised executive powers, how do you want Nigerians to assess your capacity and courage, which you cite as qualities to look out for in the next president?
You don’t have to be a governor to be seen as competent and courageous. We have governors who want to be president of this country but we have not really seen that level of change that we desire in the states they govern. I have been a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I know my contributions in the Senate at that time. I have held leadership positions of my association, the surveyors association at national and continental levels and I know the impact that I have made. I have held so many other leadership positions and my legacy is still there. I am a selfless Nigerian and a nationalist. I believe in one great and united Nigeria. I am concerned about the state of the nation. We are really drifting as a nation too fast which is the reason I am an advocate of a restructured Nigeria. People need to have a sense of belonging.
The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has taken a stand that the 13 states Middle Belt, South West, South East and South South will not vote any political party that presents a candidate from the North. Is your optimism based on that position?
There is no right thinking Nigerian who will not support power shift in this country. It has been guiding our peaceful co-existence, harmony and unity as a nation. We cannot shift the goal post at the middle of the game. No peace loving Nigerian will want a Northerner to succeed Buhari. We must do everything in our power to sustain the unity of this country. The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum under the leadership of Chief Edwin Clark has done the right thing by the decision they have taken. It has encouraged some of us to still believe that there are people who are committed to ensuring that Nigeria remains a united indivisible nation. We need to have Nigeria before we talk about a President of Nigeria.
You have at different fora expressed support for true federalism; if elected president, how do you intend to make it happen?
It has not happened because the political office holders don’t have the political will to make it happen, and that is why I said that Buhari’s successor should be courageous and have empathy. My dream is to have a restructured Nigeria where every state will grow at its own pace. There is no state in this country that doesn’t have the mineral resources that can sustain it, if we have true federalism, the rancour we witness across the country today will stop. Oil is not the only mineral resource that we have. We had the era of the groundnut pyramids, we had palm oil plantations, just name them. Let us go back to the period. Again, we need to have state and local government police to fight insecurity. You cannot have a Federal Government controlled police defeat insurgency. Fighting insecurity should be localised. If you have traditional rulers, and the locals as stakeholders in the fight against insecurity, you will get positive results. Of course, the use of technology is also necessary but intelligence is the key in the fight against insurgency. If you create jobs for young people, they will be too busy to consider getting involved in crime. Restructuring will open the economy and states will be buoyant enough to take care of their people. SDP as a party has been singing restructuring for years and when we get into power, we will restructure Nigeria.
