Emeka Nwibe is an engineer by profession. In this encounter with Ismail Omipidan, he explains why he wants Obiano’s job, insisting that All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, is a fraud.
Looking at your background, you seem to be doing well, in the Oil and Gas sector, why the interest in politics?
I was originally in Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In fact, in 2011 I contested for House of Representatives election for Aguata federal constituency on the platform of ACN and I remained in the party till today. I believe that professionals like me should get involved in politics so that we can start the process of rebuilding our nation because I believe we are in crisis. We have a lot of things that are holding our nation down; we have ethnicity and tribal sentiment which doesn’t allow us to think the way we should think some of the time. These days some people believe in miracles, to the extent that we don’t seem to believe we can achieve anything through hard work these days. These are tendencies that are holding us down. And the people in politics today exploit such things to their advantage. Where I come from, South-East, we have leadership failure, which today has translated to youth restiveness.
The Igbo believe today that everybody is against them; it is convenient for them to sit down there and say that somebody in Lagos deported them. It is convenient for somebody to say that they are trying to Islamise us, force us to believe in certain religion which is alien to us. So, these are challenges of leadership which we presently have in Igbo land and I believe such need to be addressed, because if Igbo land is unstable, Nigeria is unstable and if Nigeria is unstable none of us will attain his manifest destiny. I believe that our generation must work to change Nigeria, to get Nigeria to work.
Why do you think Nigeria is not working?
It is not working because we are kind of docile; believing that only the very wealthy can lead us, and that money controls everything, not even idea. I believe these are things that are wrong with our nation. I don’t believe that some of us who have ideas and have background should sit back and allow these present crops of people that are leading us to continue, because we have not gotten anywhere. I believe that our country is blessed, richly endowed and all of us should do what we can do to get involved in politics.
Is that the same reason you are running for Anambra governorship?
I am not running on the basis that I have money; I am running for this election because I believe I have better ideas and I believe that my background has prepared me for leadership. I believe that you don’t have to have billions of naira to live a useful life. I think that made me stand out from some of the people that are running with me today. I believe I have touched lives in my own little way quietly without making so much noise about it. And I have followed leaders. I have remained steadfast in APC and ACN where I started my political life. I believe people like us should be encouraged to continue. And I am of the view that those who believe in the PDP philosophy should continue with PDP philosophy so that Nigerians will have a choice. I don’t think it is wise to be in the PDP today, and tomorrow you jump into APC for the sole purpose of contesting an election. These are some of the challenges I think Nigeria have today, as a country, that is trying to evolve politically. We must get the right kind of people to assume leadership position so that we can get politics and governance of our country right, because if we don’t get it right we can never do anything right.
We don’t need the 180million Nigerians to seat together; I think we need few committed Nigerians to change this country. And like I said before, Nigeria is richly endowed in terms of human capacity, human capital, in terms of resources, the only thing missing is that we have not been courageous enough to take our country back and enthrone the kind of leadership that will galvanize this country. That is why I am offering myself to start it Anambra state, and get it right. If other states see that Anambra is working maybe they will replicate what we have in Anambra state and get it right for our country. The challenge is that I want the media to buy into it. They mold opinion and shape how things work out; we must stop some characters from polluting the political environment because this country is in crisis because of the actions of some of these guys. So we can’t afford to sit back and allow them to continue.
What are the challenges confronting Anambra state today that if elected you will find solution to?
First thing is to change the mindset of the people. A young man in Anambra state today does not have a role model to look up to. Some people believe in miracles, we need to get our youths realise that hard work pays. And Preparation helps you to do your work better and leads to success. So, we need somebody to change the mindset of our people to make them go back to school because education is the power to success. That is one thing, I will do.
The other challenge confronting Anambra state is lack of employment opportunities for the youths and it is because we don’t have industries in the state; we don’t have industries because we don’t have power and it is affecting the youths  of the state. So, my first project in Anambra state will be to help make the state an Oil & Gas state. I say so because on paper we are, and I am sure you must have heard of Orange Petroleum owned majorly by citizens of the state; it’s a public liability company (PLC). Orange Petroleum is developing the Oil & Gas resources in the state basin.
As I speak, there is a miracle going on in a little community in Anambra today where a US -based surgeon is building a city in his community, investing heavily in medical and other things. This is a surgeon building a world class hospital in his own community, with all the support facilities he needs, to run it. When you travel abroad, you meet Nigerians, who are medical practitioners. The best optical doctor in UK today is a Nigerian. If the Arab can build the Dubai health city, why can’t we do it? And in Enugu, we have a Neurosurgeon at Memfys Hospital, Professor Uwaegbulam, he does brain surgery, in Enugu there, people come from all over Africa to consult him. Why should we have these talents and no government in Nigeria has thought it wise to create an enabling environment for medical practice to thrive;
Apart from these things that you have listed, what are the things you will be telling Anambra people that will make them dump Obiano for you?
Yes, I think Obiano is doing well in terms of security. Before he came there were incidents of kidnapping but he has done well with that. But Obiano has failed in internalizing that security. He has disrupted what we call town unions in Anambra state. Every community in Anambra state has a town union and it is the town union that built almost every community in the state. He has dabbled into the politics of town unions and by extension, those of the traditional rulers.
Those are the areas he has destroyed the intrinsic democracy in Igbo man which is a great disservice to our people. It is an issue that needs to be addressed and that is the way we can internalize the so called security that we have today. Obiano campaigned on the basis of three ‘Cs’; Continue, Complete and Commission. He campaigned that he was going to do what Peter Obi was doing, today you know his relationship with his successor, so he did not continue, he has not completed and he has not commissioned. I will invite you to Anambra state to come and see the bridge that he built, if you Google that bridge, what Obiano gave us similar to what was built 40 years ago; it is an eyesore. He defaced the capital city, you need to come and look at it but that was what he calls his signature project. I don’t know any other area he had impacted. He has not really created employment for the youths.
Do you think the zoning arrangement in the state will favour you?
Peter Obi campaigned that power needed to be rotated or shifted to Anambra north, it was on that basis that Obiano came in and he is going to complete his four years soon. I am from Anambra south, when this politics started Mbadinuju was the first governor under this dispensation. He did four years and our people felt that he didn’t do well that was why they replaced him. The PDP then replaced him with Chris Ngige from Anambra Central and eventually it was Peter Obi from Anambra Central that won the election and took over. So, Anambra South did four years and our people felt like, no you are not good enough to rule Anambra state. Peter Obi did two tenures and now power has gone to Anambra north, this is four years of Obiano it is left to Anambra people to assess him and see whether he has done all that is expected of him.
Are you in any way afraid that the new entrants into your party could displace you during the primary election?
I am happy that many of them today are coming into APC but I do expect that they do realise that APC is a different kind of environment, that it is a party that is different from where they are coming from.
What if APGA continues to invoke the spirit of Ikemba?
No, w APGA is a fraud.
How do you mean?
APGA is supposed to be an independent party but it was never really independent. What they were doing was to enter into an alliance with the PDP. They don’t present a presidential candidate, they will allow the PDP to take the presidency and take National Assembly and then they make a deal for them to be allowed to work in the state, which is what they have been doing. The soul of APGA is gone. Peter Obi signified APGA. He made APGA to stand. We know the guy who had been in APGA all this while and dominated AGPA and he is still dominating APGA. The character was a national chairman of a political party for almost 13 to 14 years. You know at a stage it used to be Ikemba’s picture that is on APGA dress, after some time it was changed to that of Peter Obi and when Obiano was contesting election, it was Peter, Victor and Obiano, after sometime they removed Peter’s picture and it became only Obiano. Election is approaching again, they are bringing Ikemba’s picture back. Even Ikemba’s wife is not happy with the so called APGA. If you are talking of APGA Dr. Chike Obidigbo was in APGA but today he is in APC. Oseluka Obaze was in APGA, he has left the party. Peter Obi who was APGA himself is no more in APGA, so who is in the party? If Ikemba was alive I am not sure he would have continued with the going on in APGA. So, I think APGA is a dream that have died.

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