From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Prince Kalu Ireke Onuma is a Chieftain of the Labour Party in Abia State. In this interview, he urged the Senators from the South East not to give up on the Senate President seat since the zone deserves to have it. He equally spoke on the downturn in the nation’s economy and what should be done to revamp it. He also spoke on the new administration in Abia State and people’s expectations.
What can you say of LP winning the governorship election in Abia State after PDP being in the saddle for 24 years?
For me, this singular act of Dr. Alex Otti of LP winning the governorship seat in Abia is the greatest thing that has happened to the state since its creation.
The whole picture is aptly depicted by the spontaneous joy and outpouring of love by residents of all major cities in Abia State. Immediately after Otti and other LP candidates were declared winners in the last election, people rushed out into the streets with joy.
Just like the Israelites, Abians had been suffering under the heavy yoke of the lackluster, inept, and clueless PDP leadership for 24 years. Thus history was made when Otti and LP broke the jinx and Abia State heaved a sigh of relief with high expectations.
It reminds one of the liberation and exodus of the Israelites of old from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
Now that Dr. Alex Otti has been sworn in as governor of Abia, are you seeing him making any difference in the governance of the state?
Yes of course. Otti is a man of vision. Remember, this is his third attempt at becoming the governor of Abia State. Like Abraham Lincoln, he failed several times and kept going again because he knows the plans he has for Abia State.
One singular pointer to his vision for rebuilding Abia is how he invited the highbrow Julius Berger construction company to take a good look at Aba roads to fix them properly and permanently. This was even before he was sworn in.
Otti’s mantra is if it can be done in Uyo, Abakiliki, and Port Harcourt, it can be done in Aba and Umuahia. Again, he has stated emphatically that Aba would be the centerpiece and executive headquarters of his administration. He will work the roads, build human capacity, and provide enabling infrastructure for the commerce-oriented people of Aba.
Dr. Otti would make a difference in the governance of Abia because he has definite goals and plans to rebuild Abia. In his acceptance speech after his inauguration on Monday, May 29, he declared a state of emergency on the heaps of refuse in Aba in particular and the state as a whole.
This, in my opinion, is the mark of someone who knows what to do, when to do it, and how.
What do you think should be the governor’s priority?
His priority should be cleaning up and beautifying Aba the commercial capital of Abia State. Being someone coming from the banking sector, he must be conversant with the workings of international and national organizations for granting financial aid (not loans) for infrastructural and educational funding and private-public partnerships
He should beef up human capital development and liaise with Aba Power to ensure a steady power supply.
Equally, he should ensure all schools in Abia State ate given facelift, and teachers should enjoy regular pay of salaries.
What’s your take on the downtown in the nation’s economy and what should the new government do to revamp it?
You and I know that our economy at the national level has been in the doldrums for eight years. We have gone in and out of recession several times with the Naira crashing pitiably against the dollar.
Elementary economics taught us that when demand surpasses supply and too much money pursues too few goods, a country’s economy is definitely in bad shape.
For an oil-producing country, it’s a source of perpetual shame that the oil boom has become oil doom for us with the perennial scarcity of petroleum products. It’s only in Nigeria that we used our currency to buy our currency.
But all hope is not lost. I believe the coming of the Dangote Refinery will crash petroleum product prices and help revamp our economy. Subsidy removal of refined imported fuel is a good move. We will feel the pain till August this year when the Dangote goodies will start flowing.
The ECOWAS Free Trade scheme where goods and services will flow freely should be implemented. In my mind, local rice and foreign rice should battle it out while people’s pockets will determine their choices in the long run. Market forces should be the ultimate referee.
Some believe that the Senate President of the 10th national assembly should be zoned to the South East. Do you agree?
It should be so. It should come to the South East if we should maintain equity. This word conjures in one’s mind a picture of fairness and doing what is right at the right time.
As we all know, the three major tribes in Nigeria are Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. I don’t want to use the cliche marginalized but for the sake of equity, the power equation in this new dispensation should be balanced. The Yoruba has taken up the Presidency, the Hausa/Fulani have taken up the VP slot. It’s only natural that the third slot, the Senate Presidency should go to the South East.
However, power is never handed over on a platter of gold. The South East senators should enter the ring and fight. And if they get a bloody nose, let them remember Zik’s dictum that “he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day”.