Counsel from the Palace: Why Nigerians don’t trust Jonathan on war against Boko Haram
Former Chairman, Eastern States Traditional Rulers Forum and Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers, Igwe Ezeoba Alex Nwokedi, is alarmed over the state of the nation.
The former Press Secretary to the Head of State during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo, sat on the throne in Achalla Kingdom where he told the reason Nigerians do not trust President Goodluck Jonathan’s claim of making progress on war against terror and called on him to commence a camera-show of his achievements on security for Nigerians.
He spoke also on why Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano, who he invariably called ‘my son’, should forget about probing his predecessor and face the business of governance with passion. Excerpts:
*The Achalla monarch playing host to Gov. Obiano and his entourage.
Your Majesty, in about three months time, will be 80. At this age, coming from the Nigeria of your days, are you not perturbed that Nigeria is what it is presently in terms of everything?
Have you read the comments by the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, in the papers today (Sunday September 14)? Professor Wole Soyinka is not a man to be taken lightly. He is very blunt in his comments; truthful and straight to the point.
So, talking about the state of the nation, the security at the moment is very poor. The professor said our president had been given the necessary information about some financiers of Boko Haram particularly the staffer of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and called for an international panel to look into the matter. What is happening at the moment is no more a joke. Those girls are still being held and it is very sad.
The president is assumed to be playing down the statements of Joseph Davis referred to by Soyinka. Why do you think the statements should be played low?
That is what I am saying, which the great professor was emphasizing. Why should that kind of thing be played down? That is where the traditional rulers stand. Let us work on those things emphasized by Wole Soyinka, which were raised in the Australian report. It is very sad to hear that the report is being played down.
Whenever I remember that those girls are still being held, I begin to weep because they are all my children. And from what I read, some of them were being raped to death, which was not impossible.
To the best of my knowledge, it was as a result of these elements of sadness that some people clamoured for a forum, National Conference, as, according to them, it is better to jaw-jaw rather than war-war. The reports of the conference are out and what is your opinion about how the conference reports should be treated?
First and foremost, you have to know the details of the report before you start talking about how it should be treated. What do the reports say?
There are a lot of issues raised in the reports ranging from creation of new states, derivation formula, roles of the traditional rulers and so on….
(Cuts in) New states should be created, I agree with that. But about the issue of giving powers to traditional rulers, let me ask; what type of powers do you want to give to the traditional rulers? Is it the type of powers, which the emirs enjoyed in those days in the North where people could be held at 5pm and jailed at 6pm? So, what sort of powers do you want to give to the traditional rulers?
I have always spoken about this issue and have always believed that traditional rulers should be made to ensure peace and order in their various communities. They should be made visitors to schools; colleges and higher institutions in their constituencies. This has always been my view.
But if you are talking of having another house for traditional rulers, I will tell you to rule it out. So, if you have house for traditional rulers, you have house for state, house for representatives, it will not work.
Traditional rulers should take care of their people and they are supposed to be servants of God in their areas.
But what they are saying is to be empowered to do their jobs…?
(Cuts in) Empowered to do what?
Empowered with portions of the state budget…?
Even the five percent of budget, which the Constitution gave to traditional rulers, is it ever implemented? I am asking you. That five percent is already in the Constitution but it is not being implemented. So, what again do you want, rather if that is implemented? That is why I said traditional rulers have been taken care of. What is left to be done is to enforce those provisions of the Constitution which make traditional rulers real servants of their people.
When I hear about giving powers to traditional rulers I am scared sometimes. There are many kings who cannot walk freely among his people and you say you want to give powers to those ones? You are here in my place and you saw how interacted with my people. In the morning children will come, so in the afternoon and evening. I want to have opportunity of ensuring that those children go to school regular and progress in their education. This is what I want traditional rulers to do; to take care of their localities.
If any of them is thinking about having a house of traditional rulers where they will now begin to fight for chairmanship position, he must be joking. How do you even want to make the house? South East House of Traditional House? South West House of Traditional Rulers? How?
Was there anything like that before; I mean like say South East House of Traditional Rulers, did it ever exist?
There was never any but we did have a similar thing with headquarters in Enugu and that one catered for Eastern states of Nigeria and I was chairman. It was called Eastern States Traditional Rulers Forum.
Which takes us now to your constituencies of South East and Anambra State. As a man of many parts, talk of being former General Manager, Public Affairs, NNPC; first Public Relations Manager, Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, ECN; former Chairman, Cricket Association of Nigeria; director of conglomerates and above all a big time traditional farmer, how would you say that politicians in the administrations of South East have fared in developing the region?
Generally speaking I want to say that the administrations have fared well. What is left is for them to sustain achievements and build on successes.
If we are talking about development, let me sincerely tell you that we are having many things free in our country. From the airport in Tokyo to the city you have about 25 toll gates. We should restore toll gates on some of our roads and use the proceeds from there to better the living system of our people and do repairs and expansions of those roads.
For example in Anambra State, I will advocate that Awka-Achalla-Aguileri road should be tolled. It should be made dual carriage road and the money made from the road be used to maintain the road.
Another thing is that, effort should be made by those administrations in the region to boost electricity, which is one of the major challenges facing us not only in the East but also in Nigeria.
Okay we said we sold the PHCN but what have we gained out of that sales?
But who is to blame for the electricity distributing companies, DISCOs, not functioning to expectation?
Let me tell you this, a friend of mind told me that he was interested in buying electricity purchase in Delta. I advised him that, “Do not go there and start telling people that from now on there will be regular supply of electricity.
First of all, tell people what you meet on the ground, how much it will cost you to fix those things you meet on the ground, how many days or years it will take to do the fixing and tell the people, also, about the personnel to do it and how you will train them.” I told him that it was when he finished those things that he could be telling people when to expect regular power supply.
You do not just go in there and start telling people that there will be regular power supply when you have not actually done your homework. We have a lot to learn in our country and so we have to go down to the basis.
I was once here in your palace when Chief Willie Obiano came here on one of your Iwaji festivals, publicly seeking your support for his election and promising development and other things. He is the governor now, how is he performing?
As I told you, I do not want to here complains. He is the governor and the former governor said he left some billions on the coffers of the state. What I am interested in is how we can all work together to raise funds and continue the business of government.
For example, you do not just come into a place and start working without first of all having to know what is on ground. There was an author, the last Egyptian President, who wrote in his book, “The People I Know”, that, “Unless you know where you are coming from, you will not know where you are going.” I am not interested in saying somebody who left had embezzled money or not. Look for money and develop what is on the ground.
That is what we are urging our governor to do because there is a lot to be done. The former governor has done his own and left and so, there is no need moaning over whether he did well or he did not do well. What is important now is what you are doing to improve what you met on the ground.
Generally speaking, what is your word for the government and the people of Nigeria?
My word to the government and people both of my state and Nigeria is that, this country belongs to all of us and we should all come together to salvage it. We should all come together to do out best and know what is our own duty and perform it. We should do what is right at all time so as to avoid blaming one another because passing bulk does not aid development and cannot help us.
All are well said but what about the politicians’ attitudes which may hamper the doability of what you are calling for, especially as more bulks are being passed already as 2015 elections are fast approaching?
Igwe Alex Nwokedi
Well, we first of all have to have a country before we have elections. How can we have elections in this king of situation where Boko Haram are declaring emirate somewhere and other militants are holding ground in another part of the country? We should have a country first, then we talk about having elections.
I feel somehow sometime when I read people on the papers boasting that whether crisis or not there must be elections. So, if they are rioting in my place, can I say I want to have an election? Do you understand what I mean?
So, first or all, we need to have peace in our country and all of us should come together for unity and then there will be peace and then we can say that we have a safe place for elections.
On the part of the terrorists they are talking prisoners swap to enable them stop their disturbances. Do you think this will bring peace and, if so, why can’t we try it?
Do you trust them? I mean do you trust the terrorists on their swap promises?
That is where my problem will likely be with the whole scenario…
But the government said that they are on top of the situation and that they have recaptured those places taken over by the terrorists.
Yes, but Nigerians are yet to be on the same page with that claim. What is missing?
What I will advice President Jonathan to do is to take cameras to those places he has captured to show Nigerians that he has actually captured the places. They should record on video those places and show us on television.
During my days as Press Secretary to General Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State, I took journalists to Chad and took them round to show them that the areas we said that had been recaptured were actually recaptured. We walked around the place and people could see us do so even with the head of state.
How can you say that you recaptured, for instance, Bama, and you cannot go there? Take your television there to convince the people because, it is now a matter between the people and the government.
Government says it has recaptured but the people are saying ‘no you have not recaptured’. We do not know who is deceiving who. Take television there and show us what you have recaptured. Then we know who is speaking the truth between the government and the people. What that tells you is that people should come together to work for the peace, unity and unified Nigeria. Then we can have elections. Anything short of that, I cannot see the 2015.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/counsel-palace-nigerians-dont-trust-jonathan-war-boko-haram-igwe-alex-nwokedi/#sthash.qgTswy9y.dpufShare this post