Barrister Orji Uchenna Orji is the Commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ebonyi State. In this interview, he speaks on the agitations for the 2023 presidency, among others.
The South-East has intensified agitations for presidency. Is this achievable in 2023?
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As a matter of fact, Ebonyi State believes in the corporate existence of Nigeria where there is equity, where there is equality, where there is peace and love and where there is justice. If you are talking about the presidency coming from the South-East, that is really justice, that is really equitable and that is really a sign that we are all equal before the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
What we need to know is that politics connotes negotiation, politics connotes reconciliation, politics connotes alliance so that you don’t have to do it alone. You have to rely on the strengths of other people to achieve what you want. So in the face of all of these, the idea of the governor is that Ebonyi State and indeed, the entire South-East states need to mainstream; to belong to the party at the centre to realise our dream.
Not only realising our dream in 2023 but for us as Ndigbo, as South-East to also have a fair share of the dividend of democracy of the present federal government.
And that is one of the reasons the governor decided to make sacrifice because PDP actually has marginalised the South-East.
In 1998, PDP was formed. In 1999, a democratically elected government was to be in place and the issue of where the presidency should be zoned was on the front burner and eventually, it went to the South-West. South-East continued to support the PDP until they lost out at the centre. What do we do other than pull out and join the party at the centre? That is the philosophy that has been helping us.
Azikiwe who is our founding father got this secret and he was never distracted, he would always mainstream, form an alliance with the party at the centre, with the North. So we have to beg them and negotiate, please, can you give us this opportunity? So that we can have a sense of belonging. So the governor had to really go to APC to show the PDP that it had been unfair to the South-East.
Some would say PDP has given us SGF or Senate president but any appointment that cannot translate into economic development in our place does not make an impact.
Some believe and are expressing worry that Nigeria would break-up under a president of Igbo extraction. What is your view?
We need to know the character of persons; we need to know the track records of persons. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was from the South-East, but he was one of the firm believers of the corporate existence of Nigeria, that is why the labour of our heroes past should not be in vain. If we allow Nigeria to disintegrate, it means the labour of our heroes past is now in vain.
The governor and the good people of Ebonyi State believe in one Nigeria; believe that we are one; we are brothers and sisters. So, whether you are from far away Maiduguri or from anywhere, we are one. We believe that together, we can make Nigeria great and we believe that if we are together we will maintain our position as the giant of Africa.
Yes, I believe and other people believe that Ndigbo have been marginalised, therefore, they need to separate, but the concept of the governor is a united, egalitarian and peaceful nation, whereby, no matter our tribes, we can see ourselves as brothers and sisters. And our governor believes in the nation and the Ndigbo cause. He believes in nationalism, he believes in patriotism. He believes that every section should have an opportunity to make an impact on the development of the nation.
There are speculations that the Ebonyi State governor is interested in taking a shot at the presidency in 2023. What is the true position?
It is neither here nor there? The governor is a man who believes that after elections, comes governance. In that governance, he believes that nothing can distract him until he completes the mandate the people gave him. In this case, elections have come and gone since 2019, and the governor is not giving attention to any other thing apart from how to deliver; how to give his people the best, so that tomorrow, they will say when that man was there, he delivered.
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