By Vincent Ukpong Kalu egbebereugobere@yahoo.com
The President of C-21, a pan Igbo socio-political organisation, Senator Clement Annie Okonkwo, has advocated for equal sharing of revenue among the six geo-political zones. Sen. Okonkwo, who represented Anambra Central in the sixth Senate on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the call is necessary if the agitation for equal number of states for all the zones does not materialize. In an interview with Saturday Sun, Sen. Okonkwo gave reasons why he dumped PDP for All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and said the time has come for Nigerians to seat and decide on how to live together. Excerpts: What is C21? C21 was formed to reposition the Igbo man in the mainstream of Nigerian politics. A lot of people are saying that we are marginalized and indeed, we are. We are no where in the scheme of things today. We are nowhere in the executive and the legislature, and will go nowhere with this kind of position. So, our people believe that there is urgent need for us to come together and restrategize. The group is all encompassing, because very notable people are involved. We started by seeking the face of God for His mercy because we believe that what is happening to us is not ordinary. More so, with God, all things are possible. We involved the Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) members from South East in this direction. A lot of people may be calling for the disintegration of this country, but we in C-21 believe that the more united we are, the more greatness we can achieve. We can see that Europe is trying to be united, while America is united already. So, we also must unite in order to achieve greatness as a nation. We need to fashion out a situation whereby everybody would have a sense of belonging and not a society where a particular tribe would believe that it is more privileged than other regions of the country. We as Nigerians, at this moment, should combine our strength and weaknesses, so that we can stay together. That is what C-21 stands for. We still want to make sure that no zone is relegated to the background in Nigerian affairs. You said Nigeria stands to benefit if united but there are agitations from various component parts. Boko Haram in the North is fighting for the Islamization of the region. How do you reconcile this? The truth about the state of the nation is that we need to sit down and discuss, but if you are on the other side, that is the National Assembly, you would oppose it, you will argue that there are already elected people in the National Assembly who can do that. But the bottom line is that what is happening in this country is not normal. We can not pretend that every thing is okay. The Boko Haram, is not only affecting the north, it is affecting the whole country. For instance, we are talking about direct foreign investment, but with the situation, foreign investor would not like to come to Nigeria after hearing about the activities of Boko Haram. It is just like asking someone to go to Afghanistan or Iraq and invest. Boko Haram has caused more damage to the country. So, we need to sit down and discuss. You remember what happened when militants rose in agitation, the government discussed with them and they were given amnesty. And today there is peace in that region. I still think that we must sit down and agree on how we can live. This I believe would be a solution to the violent agitations we have been encountering as a people. Is there synergy between C-21 and other pan Igbo socio-political groups like Ohaneze and Aka Ikenga? Yes there is, because C-21 is all encompassing. Some members of Ohaneze and Aka Ikenga are members of C-21. But our group has force and would be more forceful in our agitation. We want to change the approach that had been employed in the past in the quest for socio-political relevance of the region. We are carrying all concerned members of the South East along. It is no longer a lip service thing; we are going about this now with more vigour and determination. There has been agitation for more states for the South East. Now the Constitution is about to be amended. What is your group doing in concrete terms to achieve this? Secondly is the Igbo presidency in 2015 achievable? It is a big challenge to us, because there are two things that we want to happen from the review. The first is that there must be parity of states in each of the zones. A lot of people may try to kick against it, but South East needs one state. If they are not going to create another additional state for the region, then the revenue accruable to this country must be shared among the six geo-political zones. So, each zone can home to divide its own among the component states and councils. But we can no longer accept this disparity. People should not take the South East for granted because we have been quiet in the past. This time around, its either we get one more state like other regions or they share the revenue based on the six geo-political zones. On the Igbo presidency, people may be thinking that we are not taking the 2015 agenda serious, but the truth is that we are more united for Igbo presidency in 2015 under C-21. We would go round and talk to other zones to make them realise that we deserve the presidency in 2015. That is why I said that we are strategizing on this. It would only be fair that somebody from the South East is given the opportunity. You spoke about two options and these are constitutional issues, because the constitution did not state the revenue should be shared on zonal basis? I want you to realise that the Igbo are every where in this country, more than any other ethnic group. Our reach covers every part of the country. It will be a shocker for anyone that will think that we are not reaching out. The first and important aspect of the agenda is to ensure that our people are united, which we have done and are still doing. It is easy now to get other zones to support our agenda, because we are the only tribe that is everywhere. For instance, the Igbos constitute about 40 percent of the population in Lagos today. What we are saying is that we should speak with one voice and C-21 has provided that platform. Yes, I agree that the state thing is constitutional, but the truth is that the South East deserves one more state and we are in the process of amending the constitution and these are the points we would put before them. If they don’t agree, there would be options. What is the meaning of C-21 and who are the people involved? At what point did you people realise that there was need for such group? What have you realised now that you are outside the Senate because before now, you were a quiet and calculative politician but you have become more militant now. What informed that transformation? The ‘C’ is like an acronym and we are more than 21. It is just the name of the platform. We have members like the governor of Imo State, who is the Director of mobilisation and myself as the president. We are just concerned stakeholders in the region. We can not keep quiet and agree that everything is right with the Igbo man economically, politically and socially in the country today. We are no where. So, we need to start repositioning our region. It is better for us to define our agenda and vision as a zone in this country. That informed the formation of this platform. We have started mobilising our people; every body in the zone is involved. We have the market women, the Keke Napep operators, Okada riders, drivers and other strata of the society. So, it is not an elitist agenda, the C-21 is a South East platform for the transformation of the region and for socio-political relevance. Someone recently reminded me that the Niger Delta militants agitated for resource control and got the presidency and today Boko Haram are agitating and may get something, and the person further asked me if the Igbo would turn to militancy before they get the presidency of this country. My answer was ‘No’, because we are not violent people. We would negotiate and dialogue with our God-given strength and ability. We don’t need to shoot guns to achieve our aim. Maybe I would say that not going back to the Senate was a blessing because it gave me an opportunity for this task because I am serving my people today for a noble cause. And I am happy with the response we are getting from our people; their massive support is encouraging us. I want to know what your group will do about some Igbo men and women, who always scuttle the collective dream of the Igbo nation? You were a member of police committee in the Senate, what can you say about the insecurity in the country? We know that there are saboteurs. We are mindful that we are going to tackle that problem. I will say that we know these people who have constituted a stumbling block to the Igbo dream because of their personal ambition. One thing I can assure you is that our strength lies in our determination to adopt a different approach to our agitation. We have dedicated this group to God and He would grant us our desires. I did not campaign nor contest for the presidency of this group, God brought us together to deliver our people from socio-political stagnation. I believe that we will be able to identify this people and deal with them the way we can. We would continue to do our best, so that by 2015 people will agree that we have achieved something better for our people. It is sad that security is degenerating everyday and it is unfortunate that the government is claiming to be on top of the situation, but they are not putting the resources to fight it the way they are supposed to. On the issue of corruption, the truth is that government is not fighting corruption. As I have always said in the Police Affairs committee, the establishment of the EFCC and ICPC simply means creating job for the boys, because we know the police, which is constitutionally established to fight cases like corruption and others will do that if well equipped. What does it imply to create EFCC and ICPC that would be managed by policemen? Also, these police officers would now be more funded than the conventional policemen, thereby causing disaffection among the rank and file. The creation of these arms to fight corruption has political undertone. The best way is to equip and professionalize the police for them to do t better. That is the only way we can fight corruption. All of you are aware of the fuel subsidy scam and yet no body is in jail about it. All we are hearing is about someone giving bribe and another person receiving. And the person, who allegedly gave and receive bribe are walking freely and people are claiming that it is a set up. Is that how to fight corruption? We have to tell ourselves the truth and stop paying lip service to the issue of anti-corruption. I am being very honest, because if we want to be sincere with ourselves we must ensure that people, who stole the nation blind, are brought to book. It is sad that all the government does is to set up probe after probe. As far as I am concerned, the inability to fight corruption is causing insecurity. We should all rise and call a spade a spade. Don’t you think that the current crisis rocking APGA would have a negative effect on the quest for Igbo presidency in 2015? As far as I am concerned, APGA is passing through restructuring and repositioning. What is happening now is part of transformation and it remains a strong party to contend with now and come 2015. There are some people who do not want APGA to survive, but they have failed because the party is waxing stronger. It is unfortunate for them that we have got C-21 that is ready to rescue and reposition APGA. I want to reassure you that APGA will be a party to beat in this country. The crisis in APGA does not have to do with anybody’s ambition. Like I said, some people are not happy with the progress the party is making. People can have ambition but that does not mean that they will all fly the party’s flag during elections. For anybody to come out to destroy the party in a bid that the South East does not have a strong political platform can’t work. There is a stage that one gets to in life and he will decide to embrace a particular cause. My major concern is how we can become very relevant in the mainstream of Nigerian politics. For me, our dream in C-21 is a continuous journey that requires sacrifice and dedication. Why did you dump PDP for APGA? Good politics thrives in free associations, just as honest political associations breed true leadership that sustains them. APGA today represent the credible platform to continue my bond with service to our people without the blackmail by professional intrigue peddlers. A new lease of hope I can assure all is here in APGA for every lover of creative good governance in Igbo land and Nigeria. What is delaying South East economic reintegration? Regional integration is one of the challenges we have. The South West has an agenda they are working for. The South South has also gone beyond agitating for resource control. If you look at the North, you will discover that they also have regional aim. It is only the South East that had been without agenda in the past. That is why C-21 has decided to surmount that challenge headlong. With due respect to all our governors in the zone, we have to know that we have problems. For instance, indigenes of the other states working in Abia State were sacked and asked to go back to their sates because they are not from Abia. What does that say about the unity in the zone? The essence of our platform is to change all these things happening in the South East. We must unite and achieve a common goal as a people. A situation where Anambra will have its own economic agenda, Imo will have a different one, while Enugu. Abia and Ebonyi have theirs does not mean well for the collective dreams of Ndigbo.
SOURCE: 4 August 2012.
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