In this interview, former governor of Anambra state and elder-statesman, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, bared his mind on the fate of the 2014 National Conference and political issues as they affect the Igbo nation.
You played an active role in the 2014 national Confab; but hope is waning that its resolutions will be implemented. What is your view?
The stability of Nigeria as an entity depends on the implementation of the confab recommendations. A President is for four years, a party rules for some years too, but the country is forever if it is well structured. What the 2014 conference will do is to restructure Nigeria to the happiness of the majority of Nigeria.
Another world Igbo Day has just been celebrated. How would you justify the federal government’s recent offensive against MASSOB and Radio Biafra?
MASSOB is primarily a pressure group which doesn’t go with arms, I mean never been armed against the authority, apart from demonstrations. This is quite unlike the insurgents. I don’t know what the recent upsurge in the attack against MASSOB means. Recently in Onitcha, twelve youths who participated in peaceful demonstration were killed and many injured by the Police. And also there were those who went to Church to celebrate their anniversary, and Police went killing and maiming them. This is uncalled for; I don’t know whether to call this injustice or another form of genocide against the Igbo people.
Genocide?
Yes, genocide. This people are protesting injustices to the Igbo, they talk about Biafra and it is only now that politicians are picking interest in what they are doing. Though they have made some mistake in the past to have prevented our people from being counted during population census, which was a major loss to our area. But to kill people when they stage peaceful demonstration is genocidal.
You mean the group has absolute support of the entire Igbo?
The problem with MASSOB is that they are not fully accepted by mainstream Igbo politicians, this is because you cannot be asking that you want to be President of Nigeria and say you want disintegration from Nigeria. In fact, some Northerner are capitalizing on this because they know the truth and tend to use it against the Igbo political interest. As it is now, Buhari is growing MASSOB by his disposition towards the Igbo people. Since assumption of office, he seems to be saying ‘you people can go I don’t care’. Even one of the Buhari strong supporters, Dr. Junaid Muhammed made it clear in one of his recent outbursts.
So what is the way out of this issues surrounding MASSOB?
This is a major problem not too good for the polity and I don’t know how it would be solved, but killing people, committing pogrom and genocide against those who are going for mass to worship their God, all of them in one is indeed incitement of MASSOB against the nation by the authorities. Moreover, I will want to discourage people from linking up Radio Biafra with MASSOB; they are different. Radio Biafra is an individual effort being made to express the progress of the Igbo people. Its not owned by MASSOB or any group or community.
Taking a look at the Buhari administration, how would you advise the President?
Though it appears Buhari has a programme we don’t seem to know it. But in fairness; upon assumption of office, there was a recommendation to Buhari for immediate scrapping of fuel subsidy regime, but Buhari rejected it, which was a very wise decision.
There are some clear policies that are anti-corruption, and there are some glimpses of implied policy by actions taken by government, which also are good. I call those ones clear policies. So if Buhari want to succeed in this war against corruptsion, he should adopt ‘do as I do’ principle, what I mean by ‘I’ includes his immediate family and those associates around him. If he keeps himself clean and pursue those who are corrupt.
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