Some people want the six
geo-political zones to serve as federating units. Some want the states as
federating units. What is your view?
I happen to have attended conferences
where this issue of federating units has
been discussed. At the South east summit, the Southern Nigeria People’s Assembly, at Asaba in February this year, which involved the
been discussed. At the South east summit, the Southern Nigeria People’s Assembly, at Asaba in February this year, which involved the
South east, South west, South south , the whole Southern
Nigeria agreed that the six geo political zones should be the federating units.
I think it will reduce the cost of governance. That will bring parity between
the North and South. Instead of the present 19 states in the North and 17 in
the South with Abuja with the status of a state, the equation will change.
Abuja has a Senate seat and House of Representatives seat. I don’t know what
the national conference will decide. I hear that the committee in charge is
recommending that the states should be the federating unit.
I want us to look at the National census. Census conducted in the
past ended up in controversies. The North has always claimed to be more in
number. One of the governors even repeated it recently. What do you think?
Census figures have been subjected to
political manipulations. Census has been taken away from what it should be,
mainly for economic planning of the country. This started in 1962 and I
happened to have led the walk out in parliament when Waziri Ibrahim brought his
census figures; manipulated figures. I said no, this cannot be. I produced
evidence of the voting pattern of the 1959 election, and it was the British
that conducted it. We had evidence where the British authorities deliberately
manipulated things to pave the way for Northern domination of the country. My
attitude is that in 1962 when they brought it, it did not go. The prime
minister just woke up without presenting it to the cabinet for deliberation,
went ahead to present it straight to the parliament. To the surprise of
everybody he brought it to parliament and said these are census figures for
Nigeria. And I said no. The NCNC and AG delegation staged a walk out. I led
that, even though I was a parliamentary secretary with a seat in government. Another
one was done when Akintola was collaborating with the North, and they cooked up
figures and again it was rejected. In the memorandum we sent to the president
by my committee, we observed that the population estimates of the South east
has been declining. It is the only part of the country where the population
figures have been declining instead of increasing. Others are increasing.
Census should not be politicized. It is unfortunate, that an Igbo man who was appointed
chairman of the population commission began to talk almost irresponsibly. That
was the same man who lost a key position because he came out openly to support
the third term agenda of Obasanjo. He behaved in a typical color. I do hope
that the present board of the commission should come out with a scientific
figure and they should take it away from politics.
The next census is approaching. Should the south boycott it?
I don’t advocate a boycott as long as
we are in the country. But if the census is manipulated, it should be arranged
in such a way that imagined or real superiority should not be abused. This
should be a democratic process. It should not be abused to truncate equity and
balance. For example, India, China, America has the largest populations in the
world, yet in the United Nations, countries like Togo, Benin are still there
and take their votes.
Let’s go back home now. In the South east, the PDP controls three
out of five states. As we approach 2015, do you think it is wise for Ndigbo to
go for one party?
Honestly I don’t see what the Igbos
should gain by saying one political party is Igbo party. I have never been a
sympathizer of that myopic and narrow ambition. What will a party that calls
itself Igbo achieve in Nigeria? Where will it go? Where will it lead them?
Assuming that an Igbo party controls the entire South east and they are not
anywhere in the North, what impact will it make? My own understanding of party
politics is not as narrow as that. As for the fact that APC is in control of
Imo State, is it only APC? That somebody won election on the platform of one
political party and after he assumed office, announced that he now belongs to
another political party can that really make that state an APC state? It does
not. As a matter of fact that person should have left that office. That is the
law of the country. If a political party sponsors you to win an election on its
platform, the law of the country is that if you leave that party and join
another one, you should resign and contest or seek mandate on the ticket of
your new party. But in Nigeria, laws are not respected when it concerns big
people. That is why there is no peace in this country, because there is no
justice. There can never be peace when there is no justice. So, the country is
now genuinely split between the PDP and APC. I don’t know. If I were still in
politics, I would view the situation that APC is essentially a Yoruba party in
alliance with the conservative section of the North. Even though they call
themselves progressives, it does not hold. Look at Dr Ngige of Anambra State
for example. Ngige did a very good job when he was governor and is very
popular. If he had stood for the last election as in independent candidate he
would have won. But he lost election because he identified himself with APC.
That was why he lost the election. The PDP in Anambra State is dead and gone.
APGA, yes, but where will APGA in one state lead Ndigbo? To be continued
tomorrow…
Culled
from Sunday sun
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