<p></p>



<p><em><strong>Barrister Uche Achi-Okpaga, the </strong></em><strong><em>National Publicity Secretary of Igbo apex socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in this exclusive interview with </em>OpenLife’s<em> Staff Writer, </em>Isaac Ngumah,<em> speaks on developments in the Nigeria polity ahead 2023 general election</em></strong></p>



<p><strong>What is your assessment of the
insecurity in the country?</strong></p>



<p>A former
Head of State, late Gen Sani Abacha, once said that any insurgency that lasts
for more than twenty-four hours has government patronage. </p>



<p>Recall also
that prior to PMB&#8217;s ascendancy to the presidency, he had said that killing of Boko
Haram is killing the North. Today, we hear from grapevine that soldiers are
punished and locked in underground cells for killing Boko Haram members. You
find it difficult to assume that it is not true as it lends credence to
Abacha&#8217;s vindication and connects to PMB&#8217;s statement as above. </p>



<p>The sum
total is that something is deliberately wrong somewhere which the government is
capable of fixing if it so desires. </p>



<p><strong>Some analysts say infrastructural
decay in the country is alarming. Do you agree?</strong></p>



<p>It is a
deliberate ploy to keep the developmental pace of the southeast in check. No appreciable
Federal roads, no functional rail line, sea port and international airport. All
tailored to stifle and retard our glowing and unassailable capacity in trade
and commerce. </p>



<p>I do not see
the tide changing because the present government did not mince words in the
outset about the Northern 97% and the Eastern 5% votes. </p>



<p><strong>50 years after the civil war, do you
think the wounds have been properly healed?</strong></p>



<p>The principle
of &#8220;no victor, ; no vanquished&#8221;
was a mere rhetoric. The concept of rehabilitation, reconstruction and
reconciliation was abandoned in the dustbin of history as early as it was said.
It is only the Almighty God, who is always with us, that has brought is this
far. There is no gainsaying that during the war the plan was to clear the Igbos
from the dust of the earth. It was not to be anyway, but it has continued like
that since then. The Igboman is he that must not be allowed to have his way in
all ramifications. Today, there is a move through the NASS to establish an
agency for the Boko Haram who are still killing Nigerian soldier and innocent
civilians in tens and hundreds while the armless and harmless IPOB is termed a
terrorist group. It smells to high heavens. </p>



<p>So, nothing
has changed. </p>



<p><strong>Do you support presidency in 2023?</strong></p>



<p> ;Igbo presidency in 2023 would be most apt.
Only a man without conscience would discredit it. Mind you, it is only an
Igboman that can fix Nigeria. In every nook and cranny of the country you must
find an Igboman trying to contribute his quota in developing that area
forgetting his own home. That is our natural penchant. It is inherent in us and
that is the spirit with which an Igboman will govern Nigeria. The height or
proportion of ethno religious chauvinism enthrenched by the &#8220;body
language&#8221; of this present administration is at an alarming crescendo and
the more the lgbos are denied the opportunity the faster we thread the verge of
colossal and irretrievable disintegration. </p>



<p>It is Igbo
presidency that will completely douse the agitations for self determination
from various pro Biafran groups because the youths were not only told, they
have seen the criminal marginalisation of Ndigbo. </p>



<p><strong>For Igbo President to
be achieved, many feel the geo-political zone should properly align with  ;the ruling party to actualize their dream. Do
you agree?</strong></p>



<p>On choice of
party, the beauty of democracy is that people have freedom to belong to any
party they have chosen. It would be undemocratic to restrict people to a given
political party. Instead, the party should woo the people by offering of juicy
packages to them. Note that any party that wins election becomes the ruling
party ( in power). PDP was the party in power. Today, APC is the party in
power. ; The issue of ruling party has to
do with currency and not permanency.</p>



<p><strong>Do you support the clamour for
regional security force like Amotekun?</strong></p>



<p>The degree
of insecurity in the country has the tendency to defy all local arrangements in
sight. It is only apt that States should harness a collaborative efforts
regionally to check the menace of ferocious miscreants, bandits, insurgents
and/or killer herdsmen as the case may be. We do not have to ; wait until we are severely subdued and that
is why the Amotekun initiative is welcome. The kidnapping and killer herdsmen
were at the verge of holding the entire southwest standstill on insecurity. The
Amotekun idea is a soothing balm to the psychological trauma that the people of
the region have been through.</p>



<p>The
implication is that the people&#8217;s confidence in the respective state governments
in protecting their lives and property are been restored. </p>



<p>On Igbo
security outfit, you know that if you show people the eye with which you see
they will prick you to blindness. </p>



<p>That is the
way it is for Igbo security. I am pretty confident that with what is on the
security pipeline the people will be happier and better for it. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://openlife.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Achi-2-1024x666.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2610"/><figcaption><strong>Ohanaeze Ndibgo</strong></figcaption></figure>



<p><strong>Do you believe in restructuring?</strong></p>



<p>Restructuring
is our swan song and we have sang it in many fora. The way Nigeria is
structured if we refuse to restructure our sociopolitical and economic progress
will remain like a round robin, going round the field and ending in the same
spot. It is a pity that the political spirit is willing but the physical
&#8220;presidential body&#8221; is weak and unwilling to implement it.</p>



<p><strong>What are the qualities you would
expect from Buhari&#8217;s Successor</strong></p>



<p>This is only
a headache to Buhari himself or the presidency. Nigerians would choose from the
options that would be provided by the political parties.</p>



<p>The
presidency is a heavy shoe and anyone on it would like to have a successor that
would not ; open his &#8220;nyash&#8221;
when he is gone. So, it is his headache and not that of Nigerians. </p>



<p><strong>What can you say on the call for the
resignation of President Buhari and the service chiefs in the country?</strong></p>



<p>A house
divided against itself cannot stand. That is what we are witnessing in this
government. First, it was Aisha, wife of the President who said that only a
two-man cabal was ruling Nigeria. Few days ago, the NSA to the President,
corroborated that by saying that Abba Kiairi was giving others to ; the security chiefs. If this could come from
an insider like the National Security Adviser it is enough for the President to
resign. How could one who did not swear to uphold the constitution of Nigeria
be calling the shots with or without the consent of the President.</p>



<p> ;Okay, even if Nigerians are not calling for
the sack of the Service Chiefs, do they not have tenures of office. Are they
not public servants paid with tax payers money. Are they Permanent Service
Chiefs. Does it mean that Service Rules do not apply to them? </p>



<p>It is
irritating that anything, just anything, goes under this administration. </p>



<p>Now, the war
is taking a new dimension. The Minister of Information has stated that the Boko
Haram is now targeting Christians and Christian villages. Bearing in mind how
fragile religious issues could be and the alarming sentiments they are capable
of arousing ; it is obvious that it is
either that the presidency equips the military to tackle Boko Haram and keep
Nigeria or encourage its separation by going ahead to even establish an agency
to carter for the same criminals killing soldiers and now Christians.</p>



<p>In elitist
climes these issues were enough to ; have
the President impeached. After all, Donald Trump of USA was impeached by the US
House Of Representatives for merely wanting his political rival to be
investigated .</p>

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