WHY I WONT CONTEST FOR ELECTIVE POST NOW-ABUJA BASED ANAMBRA INDUSTRIALIST, OBIORA OKONKWO...

Dr. Obiora Okonkwo is the leader of Nzuko Imeobi Idemili North and South, the apex socio-cultural and political organization of Idemili people in Anambra Central Senato­rial District. He is also the Political and Economic Adviser to the Arch­bishop of Onitsha & Metropolitan of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province. In this interview, he reasons that with a better vision, Anambra State will be positioned to lead the in­frastructural transformation of the South East. Okonkwo, who is also the President and Founder, Nigeria –Belgium Business Forum (NBBF) and board member, National Metal­lurgical Development Centre, Jos, speaks on various issues. Excerpts:
Anambra Central is the only place in the South East where the APC has lawmakers in both the state House of Assembly and the Nation­al Assembly. How would you assess the impact of APC representation especially in the National Assem­bly?
The impact of Senator Ngige of course goes beyond Idemili and as a matter of fact beyond Anambra, knowing that he is a senator of the Federal Republic; so it is not easy assessing him in that context. But maybe expectations from his immediate constituency have not been met or maybe the expectations were too high and that is why the yearning for a change is beginning to reverberate.


The people wish for a change in the House of Representatives for several reasons. Charles Odedo might have done well in certain areas but the Idemili area would wish for a change. We feel that we lost the opportunity to have credible representation and at a time, the stakehold­ers including myself met with him on this score and he explained how it took him a long time to scale the hurdles of litigation in going to the House of Representatives to regain his mandate. He begged for an opportunity to return there for a second term and make amends. He was obliged. But the people collectively have raised the question of zoning his seat. The federal constituency, which he represents is made up of two major councils and the other sec­tion from the North is saying it is their turn. I brokered that deal that he should return for a second term with the understanding that in the 2015 election, the Idemili North should produce the candidate. And we be­lieve that this is the reason the APC leader, Ngige was referring to when he said the man will not get the ticket because other people must be given a chance and this might be why he is now running back to the PDP. I give Ngige credit for sticking to that understanding reached after very tough negotiations.


So far, how would you assess the present APGA administration in the state?


Although it is still too early to make an assessment, I dare say that the signs we are seeing are promising and an indication of better things to come. If these indications are maintained, I think we might witness a major shift in focus. The governor, if well guarded and guided will discover that ruling Anambra is not as difficult as many people have been made to believe.


Anambra is a state where we have people, whose business turnover could be higher than the monthly earnings of the government. They obviously don’t need the money from the government; they just want to be involved. In the past, commu­nities in Anambra have built their roads, schools and hospitals and handed them over to the government. These are people who don’t know how to depend on govern­ment but if you alienate them, they will also alienate you.


Politically, it is usually said that Anam­bra is not getting it right. Is this something you think is correct?


There is no doubt that there was a politi­cal confusion that started in 2003 that is still affecting things. I put some of these things down to selfishness and greed of some politicians. We have made so much capital out of what is usually referred to as god-fatherism in politics. People have thrown loyalty to the people overboard and there are unnecessary and avoidable con­flicts. It goes on and on in different ways and the state suffers. Sometimes people don’t get what they expect out of situa­tions while others get more than what they deserve. The more we have people of in­tegrity, the more this will be whittled down and Anambra will begin to get it right.


How would you assess the role of Nzuko Imeobi during last year’s governorship election in Anam­bra State against the background that the organisation has become the rallying point for politicians in Anambra Central?


The organization is a grassroots move­ment, which is focused on enhancing the participation of the people of Idemili North and South, and beyond, in politics. The membership cuts across political divides, which makes it a non partisan organization. The resolve is that no matter who the po­litical parties present to them as their candi­dates, after all the political calculations and alignments, the people must have a say even when they are not members of that particular party. The concern and the point here is on the quality of the candidates and that is where the support is based.


In the last election, Nzuko Imeobi led the people of Idemili to understand that fairness, equity and justice should be the hallmark of our political development. These are the attributes communities need to coexist harmoniously. For that reason, we endorsed the power shift to Anambra North regardless of the fact that there were candidates from our zone in Anambra Cen­tral. We told the candidates that Anambra Central have had its fair share of political leadership at that level and for the sake of equity, it was time for things to change. The people listened, abided by that reality and in that election focused their attention on the candidates from the North in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).


To take a stand, we had several consul­tations with stakeholders and the parties. We met with the candidates and the parties and presented them with our own position paper, our roadmap for the development of the state. During the interactions, the candidates appreciated our roadmap and admitted that no other group had such a document. The roadmap is a document that enumerates the vision of Nzuko Imeobi for the development of Anambra and Ide­mili. The position we canvassed was not something exclusive to Idemili because we believe that what is good for the people of Idemili is also good for Anambra people in general. And we were not being parochial when in the end we had to ask, “so what is in it for the people of Idemili.”


We were aware that the former gover­nor and APGA had an obvious position, which was that during the administration of Dr. Chris Ngige, Idemili benefitted more than any other community and for that rea­son, it was not disguised that we deserved almost nothing in the last eight years. We were regularly told that, “Idemili people you already have enough.” Maybe we were favoured during Ngige’s era but we felt there were other political or personal rea­sons. Anyway, whatever they were, Idemili people paid for it.


In the process of supporting the candi­dates from the North, we reminded them that we have a strong candidate in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and since APGA had not done much to attract total sympathy in the area, we were faced with a hard sell. How do we just convince our people to vote APGA? We said that having decided to give power shift a chance, we have already given PDP and APGA a 50 – 50 chance of winning.


Seeing how in previous elections, similar groups like the Church had tried to influence the outcome of the elections, do you think the civil society groups should be so influen­tial in such circumstances?


The involvement and participation of civil society groups cannot be easily quan­tified. What we have done in the recent past in Anambra is to play what I call devel­opmental politics. In that regard, we have focused on individuals who have shown the potential of performing at the highest level and delivering to the people the often mentioned democracy dividends. This hasn’t worked as we anticipated because when these people are in the positions from where they will serve the people, they usu­ally disappoint and fall short of expecta­tions and this has led to so much frustration and despair amongst the people.


As a believer in the capacity of the civil society groups as change agents, I have used the platform to ensure the participa­tion of the people at the grassroots in the democratic process. Beside the Nzuko Imeobi, there is the Anambra State Good Governance Forum (ASGOFF). The focus is to ensure that politics should be noth­ing but service and we are ready at every point to influence things. It requires a high level of integrity to practice it, so we don’t believe that politics is dirty, maybe it is the kind of people who practice it that choose to make themselves dirty. I believe that there is still room for the right people to get involved. We are aware that sometimes the fear of the unknown has kept many good heads away from venturing into the race. This time around, we are trying a new ap­proach. In the past, the parties had picked the people and brought them to seek the support of the people. We want the people to raise their own candidates and convince the politicians to take them. The right people can be brought to the limelight, they can be exposed and charged with the responsibility of leading the people.


Have you not ever considered standing for elective office?


I have not because I believe that you can serve the people in different ways other than standing to be voted for. I have served them in various capacities and although I am a member of the PDP, I have not been partisan as a developmental politician. I have been involved in organizing things strategically in Anambra and this has been felt in many quarters. I don’t believe that you have to be in power to be of service. So we have been offering good service and useful activities to the communities without being involved in a partisan level. But as I said, this time around, we feel the time is right to get involved on a partisan level. I am not a practicing politician, which is a euphemism for being in politics without any other source of livelihood. I am fully engaged with my own entrepre­neurial activities. At the right time and with the collective determination of the people, I will get involved, I will seek an elective office, which will be guided by what the people want and what will be beneficial to them.


If you are asked to run for senato­rial seat, will you go and if you do, what will you do differently?


We usually say that the voice of the peo­ple is the voice of God. If my people make the call, I will respond knowing that they must have a reason for making the call. I will answer to the call if I believe I can deliver on their contract. Representation is not about you just as I wonder if people go to the National Assembly to solve their personal financial problems. I assume that they go there to serve their people. Without holding an elective post, I have at­tracted investors and federal projects to my constituency. I have built schools, offered scholarships to students in foreign and lo­cal universities, empowered the people, etc. Many people had expected me to run for office but I have always disappointed them over the years.