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From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
The House of Representatives candidate in the February 25 National Assembly election for Ukwa East/West Federal Constituency of Abia State, under the platform of the Action People’s Party (APP), Chief Sylvanus Nwaji, has said that conceding the position of the Senate President to the South East, would address to some extent the issue marginalisation of the Igbo in Nigeria’s leadership and equally douse tension in the region. He decried the current vacillation by the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the issue, urging that it must be checked to preserve the unity of the country.
In this interview, he spoke extensively on the composition of incoming 10th national assembly leadership and other issues.
What’s your stand on the composition of the leadership of the 10th National Assembly? Which zone do you think should produce the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives?
It’s very unfortunate that Nigeria, a country we all know that is standing on a tripod as major stakeholders, will wake up one morning and decide that one of the pillars doesn’t matter anymore, and that it can stand on two. I’m saying this because if we trace the rotation of the mantle of leadership in this country to the return of democracy since 1999, you will see that some people are deliberately pretending that they don’t remember the existence of the Igbo anymore. The Igbo are marginalised and cheated in the affairs of this country. If other Nigerians believe that the Igbo nation is still part of this country, they should be sensitive enough to know that the next Senate President should come from the South East. It is not what we are supposed to have, because what we all thought was our turn and right to have is the presidency. The Senate President position should, therefore, not be debatable in a country, where people are sensitive and mindful of what makes up Nigeria. From what I can see, it’s obvious the political elites in other parts of Nigeria have ganged up against the Igbo. Even the South-South has had the positions of the vice president and president of the country as well. This leaves one with serious questions about what is really happening. If after the civil war, we heard that there was ‘No victor, no vanquished,’ why are the political elites creating this notion that the Igbo are not part of Nigeria? Why are they sending these wrong signals? This is an opportunity for the country to make the Igbo feel that they are part of it.
It’s morally wrong and politically unfair for somebody to begin to talk about the South-South becoming the Senate President at this point, when they should have been smart enough to see the way things are going and make things right a bit. I’m calling on all those involved in the decision making, who will determine the composition of the new leadership of the National Assembly to think about the unity of Nigeria first, before whatever political arithmetic they want to solve. The North, South West, and South-South should speak the truth now. If they think they don’t need Igbo to contribute to the political administration of this country, they should let them go and take care of themselves. This is why when you look at the agitation of Nnamdi Kanu, you will begin to see why he is agitating. You cannot reject people and still want to keep them under you, just for them to make up the numbers.
You can see that in the Bible, God instructed Abraham to allow Ishmael, the son of Sarah’s maid, to go because he didn’t belong to the real family. If they don’t want us; if they can’t allow us to be part of the country, they should allow us to go. If the civil war is actually over, they should stop creating wrong signals. I’m saying this because things are not right. I’m not happy. I’m an Igbo man and at my age and level, I believe that the proper thing should be done. I don’t understand why any reasonable Nigerian should question the love that the Igbo have for this country. Go all over Nigeria and see how the Igbo are building empires all over the country, developing places where even the locals will not dare to put any sign of development. How can someone wake up and say that such people are not part of the country, or cannot be trusted with power when they’re putting their investments in places that are not even their home? If the Igbo do not consider Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Maiduguri, Abuja and other parts of Nigeria as their home, why are they investing there and erecting mansions all over?
In fact, the Igbo are actually the ones showing Nigerians that they believe in this country more than any other tribe. So, it’s really unbelievable and disturbing to see how politicians will ignore all these obvious facts and figures, and still go ahead to make the Igbo appear as a people that are not part of Nigeria. This wrong signal must stop and the right thing should be done. Our people develop and live everywhere, but when it comes to governance, they make a mess of our efforts. The APC should think about Nigeria first, rather than talking about their political party. I believe in the unity of this country, but they should send the right signal to the younger ones.
In 2015, the APC said the South East didn’t have people for principal positions in the National Assembly. Now that the party has won many seats in the zone; why is the party not considering the South East?
What is happening is an elite conspiracy against the Igbo. I tell you this, even those who are leading this unfortunate marginalisation against the Igbo, are aware that they are not doing Nigeria any good in the long run. Majority of Nigerians in the last election voted for Mr. Peter Obi, but with the way things are going; that one cannot be our decision anymore. However, I don’t understand the excuse the APC wants to give to the South-East again. In 2015, they told the Igbo that they could not be given positions because the party was rejected in Igbo land and not voted for. Today, they have two governors in Ebonyi and Imo States. They have two senatorial seats in Imo State, three senatorial seats in Ebonyi State, a senatorial seat in Abia State, and notable House of Representatives seats in Imo and Ebonyi States. They even have a House of Representatives seat in Abia State as well. They have many, at least, over 20 House of Assembly members in Imo State and many others in Ebonyi State as well.
So, what justification do they have now to continue with their 2015 marginalisation? Even former Governor Rochas Okorocha, who helped to bring the party to the South East has been schemed out of consideration in whatever they are doing, and doesn’t even have a say anymore. A man from Igbo land, Peter Obi, contested an election and it’s his right to contest. Should that be a reason to continue to humiliate the Igbo politically? Why are the politicians cooking up unnecessary rancour that cannot lead this country anywhere? Where, in democracy, does one expect that everybody must vote for him? That’s why it’s a contest.
All of us must not belong to the APC. Okay, let’s analyze this: will President Bola Tinubu say that because he lost an election to Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar in Lagos and Osun States, he’ll not consider people from Lagos and Osun in his appointment? Lagos is his own state, but he lost there. Will he reject or deny them what’s due to them because they all didn’t vote for him? Why are Nigerian politicians bent on destroying this country with primordial politics? Who told them that the only way to show your power to people who voted for another person during an election is to deny them what’s their right? What was his overall performance like in the South West? Why singling out the Igbo for unnecessary marginalisation? They should do the right thing.
Do you subscribe to the notion that adopting equity in sharing political positions will help to calm tension in the South-East, and stem separatist moves?
Of course, if one is not in the corridor of power, how can he go and tell angry people that they belong to a place? Political office holders have a responsibility to play roles in calming down situations relating to the agitations. This is why I said that the Senate President position should come to the South East. If it’s not done, the unity of Nigeria will have a huge question mark in the South East. Let me reiterate that I and the majority of the Igbo, who have invested so much in this country, believe in its unity, but the political elites should help by showing evidence of that too, by doing the needful. When they are using their actions and inactions to give wrong signals that the Igbo are not part of Nigeria, it’s very difficult to convince the people, especially our youths, because the rejection is clear, except something is done with letting the Igbo occupy the Senate President position. It’s the least concession the political leaders of this country can make to bring the nation back, if they love Nigeria as much as they claim.
The position which the majority of the Igbo want in Nigeria today is the presidency; do you think they will really value any other position outside the office of the president?
There’s no doubt that our major interest is the president, but an election has been conducted and another person has been announced the winner and sworn in. Barring any other outcome, no Igbo man will say that because we are yet to get the president, which is our right, we don’t want any other thing; that’s not true. Anybody saying that is just trying to justify what they are wrongfully doing to Igbo in Nigeria. The Senate President position should stay in the South East. By all standards, we should have the presidency, but that is now an issue for the courts for now.
