Chief Barr Reuben Okoro hails from Umunam Atta Autonomous Community in Njaba Local Government Area of Imo State. He is the national vice president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the founder and immediate past President-General of Orluzurumee Socio- cultural Association. In this interview with Damian Duruiheoma, he paints a picture of Governor Rochas Okorocha’s real character and the roles he played to assist the governor win his election in 2011 and the disappointments the people now have for voting for him. He also spoke about the 2015 elections and other pertinent issues. Excerpts:
The recent postponement of the general elections has generated varying opinions from well meaning Nigerians, as the national vice president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, what is your own view about the polls shift?
First of all, I have to commend the National Security Adviser, NSA, Gusau for voicing his concern about the election holding. That comment by the NSA has saved Nigerians the gravest embarrassment we would have had if the election had gone ahead to hold on February 14. many Nigerians particularly those from the southern part of the country would have been disenfranchised if the elections had not been shifted.
You can imagine a situation where the distribution of the permanent voters cards, PVCs, were concentrated on a particular part of the country. In the North, about 95 percent of the voters have received their PVCs where as in the South, almost 40 percent of the voters have not received their PVCs. If we had gone into that election by this time, it means that 40 percent of the southerners could have been disenfranchised. That could have the highest embarrassment.
I believe in free and fair elections and anybody who wins under free and fair situation we can accept and allow him to assume office. But a situation where some people can be deliberately disenfranchised because of selfish interest will not augur well. In fact, I was regarding Jega as an upright man, but from what I have discovered and read from the newspapers, I am joining forces with those who want him removed as the INEC chairman. Professor Jega should not be allowed to handle this election because he has already demonstrated his bias and nepotism ahead of the election. So, the sooner Jega is removed the better for this country. That’s my opinion.
The opposition party are accusing the president of being behind the postponement of the election in the sense that if the election had held as planned, the PDP would have lost to APC and….
No, it is not the issue of losing or winning the election. We are talking about being fair to the all concerned. If the distribution of the PVCs had gone evenly across the nation, in terms of percentage, for instance, if it is 50 percent in every state, then nobody could have protested. But a situation where the distribution is 95 percent in some areas while it is 60 percent in other areas and you still want to hold the elections based on that, then there is no fairness. It means you are telling a blind man that there is salt in his soup.
So, the National Security Adviser did the right thing by calling for a shift in the election. If I am the president, I cannot close see where my grave is being buried and close my eyes and do as if it is not meant for me.
Many Nigerians are afraid that the elections could generate a lot of violence and that our democracy could be truncated as a result of that. What’s your take on that?
Well, I witnessed Nigerian-Biafran War. I know those who have witnessed war will not think about war again. But the young ones who have not witnessed any war will say let us go to war. Any place there is war, you notice that the people will never be comfortable. So I don’t wish for war and I don’t pray for military take over anymore. This time in the history of our country, we are very free to talk to the president about what we feel about his administration without anybody molesting us. That is what every Nigerian should continue to wish and ensure we don’t have anything less. So, the kind of names the opposition members have called President Jonathan for instance, if it a military regime, many people will not be in this country and if they are here nobody will know that they are in the country because they cannot express their feelings about the government.
You see, the National Assembly could not afford to create new states because of bureaucracy and trying to consider all shades of opinion in the country. If it is the military regime, he creates the states where his interest lies and where he deems fit and nobody talks about that. During the successive military regimes in the past, our roads were death traps and nobody could tell the head of state about the deplorable conditions of the roads because if you do, you would be seen as challenging his authority and you may not be alive to tell your ordeal in their hands. But look at today, you can close your eyes and drive from Owerri to Lagos if three hours simply because the civilian administration has listened to the cries of the masses and came to their aid. So what I am saying in essence is that no military government can compare with civilian because in civilian in terms of freedom and as a result, nobody in his right senses should wish for a military take over of the current government. It will be a disaster.
The violence you are talking about in the election is because some people through the barrel of the gun took over the government and looted the country dry to the extent that they don’t know what to do with the money. Today that same people want to rule Nigeria again at all cost and that is what is brewing the violence. If he was the head of state as a civilian, he can be arrested for milking the country dry. But in the military, when one finishes looting, another takes over and it continues like that. Whatever thing we are suffering in Nigeria today is caused by the military. So I don’t subscribe to the idea that the military should take over. The worst civilian government is better than the best military government anywhere in the world.
This our current president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is a cool-headed man. He doesn’t bandy words with the opposition nor respond to their criticisms because he believes that is part of democracy. Yet, people take that advantage of that quiet mien to attack and insult him. The other day I saw where they put his picture as a supreme commander and said he should be voted out. That’s an insult.
The man has done a lot of things. He has been able to ensure peace and stability within the parts of the country.
As an Igbo leader who is also a chieftain of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, what is your candid assessment of President Goodluck Jonathan in the last five years?
Let me tell you, I am about 70 years now and I’ve witnessed so many governments. I was a member of NPN, though I was a young man. I was a member of NRC by then I was the state treasurer. I have witnessed the military and civilian regimes. I want to tell you that in all, none of them did what Jonathan has done so far put together. This is because this man now listens. If you watch, immediately he was elected, he concentrated efforts in the development of the North not minding his own area just to ensure there is peace. A greedy man you cannot satisfy, if you watch this country of 36 states or North and South, for about 30 to 40 years, it has been the Northerners being at the helm of the nation’s affairs, either as military or civilian. Shagari was the president and from Shagari to Buhari to Babangida to Abacha toAbdulsami Abubakar, all of them from the same place and they were not complaining.
Then, when they awarded contracts on the roads down south, they did it with reckless abandon to the extent that the roads were abandoned and the people continued to suffer. Then everything concentrated on the North. But just for the first time, a southerner in the name of Goodluck Jonathan became the president by stroke of chance and luck of God almighty, Boko Haram started, killing of all kinds started. And the man as far as I’m concerned is doing very well. If he is given another four years, he will take this country beyond what we are seeing now. the most important thing is that with the onging performance, his administration will stop this north/south dichotomy.
The other day, I read where former President Shehu Shagari was congratulating him on his wisdom in revitalizing the rail system and that his grand children will be privileged tp use trains in this country. When we were young, we were traveling by trains which was introduced here by the Europeans when they were here. But immediately the military took over, everything became moribund. But Jonathan has revitalized the rail system. The way Jonathan is going about it, may be before the next three years, trains will pass through Orlu and Owerri.
Have you heard about rice development in Nigeria? Today, through the support of the president, importation of rice has reduced while Nigerian rice farmers are now smiling to the banks and even exporting rice from Nigeria to other countries. You can see that the price of rice has equally reduced. That is the kind of reforms an intelligent graduate should be doing. So Jonathan is doing fine.
Here in south East, Jonathan has shown that he loves Ndigbo, especially the second Niger Bridge project where I am aware that serious work is going on. This is apart from the upgrade of the Enugu Airport to be the first International Airport in the South East.
It is also worth mentioning that the Federal Universities in the five states received adequate funding to give quality education to our children, the several dual carriage roads linking the South East are also receiving serious attention.
Honestly, before now, I didn’t know that Jonathan has done any thing in Imo State. It was just late last year when the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri told us that these 305 storey buildings in the 305 wards in the state was being built by the federal government. The same thing in Imo State University and Imo State Polytechnic where the federal government has shown a lot of presence.
I am using this opportunity to call on the president to remember the South East the more because we have suffered. We gave him massive votes and we have not really seen a lot done for us compared to what the president has done in the North. In the North, there are dams everywhere. Can’t we have dams here in the East. So, he should look into that too.
In all Jonathan has done well as a nationalist and I support him. My only prayer is that they should let him have peace to continue to put Nigeria on the world’s economic map.
You were a member of APGA and recently endorsed the candidature of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP…
During my tenure as the President General of Orluzurumee, I was a member of the PDP. Then Rochas came and told me that he has no structure and. He appealed to me and said that he would like to use Orluzurumee to be his structure to deliver him. I said okay since you are from Orlu and a member of Orluzurumee we will deliver you. I took a challenge and led him to all the nooks and crannies of his campaigns. Even up to the last day of the election, I was with Rochas in his sitting room watching TV until about 5.30pm. that was 6th May 2011. By the night of that 6th May, I was with him when he visited Mbaitoli where Ohakim was making some moves to see if he could rig the election. As we were moving, he asked me “Chief what can I do for you? I’m going to make chairman of federal board. Today, you are now the leader. You have taken the place of Iwuanyanwu and Arthur Nzeribe”. Immediately after he was sworn in, he never remembered my phone again.
The day he went to Owerri people to discuss terms with them to vote for him, they told him to go home and bring some elders so that they will discuss. Rochas called me and pleaded that I gather all the some elderly men of substance in Orlu Zone to come and help him talk to Owerri people and I should be the youngest of them all. I did just that. I persuaded personalities like Sir Clems Maduako, Benson Ohanugo, Late A.I. Dike, Eze Obidiegwu (Late) including Professor Anwuka. These were the caliber of people who went with us to discuss with Owerri people at Chief Martin Agbaso’s house. The Owerri people presented this case of one term and Rochas said yes that he had agreed with them that he would go for one term. He told the Owerri people that his interest was not to be governor and that his interest was to become the president of this country. According to him, he told by the power brokers in Nigeria that if he had not become governor, he cannot be the president.
Based on that, I responded on behalf of the Orlu people that now that our son had agreed that he is going to run one term, we agree and accept it. Before that time, we had had another one at Prof. Anwuka’s house where more than 100 people from Orlu and 100 from Owerri gathered. It was on the same note.
So, I cannot take back my vomit in the name of politics. With my age and as a leader, I cannot say yes and no at the same time. Orlu people have agreed that it is the turn of Owerri people toproduce the next governor of Imo State. That was why when Senator Hope Uzodinma wanted to come out for governorship position, Orlu people hooted him down. I’m really embarrassed that Rochas is still running for governorship again after the promise of one term we made to Owerri people with him. I’m still propagating that. Our Orlu people should support Owerri people to produce governor this time.
If you watch in Imo State, Orlu has done 12 years, Okigwe has done nine years while Owerri has done only 18 months. Are we not human beings? If Owerri can do 18 months and these other zones did 12 and 9 years, then it is not fair for an Orlu man to come out again to talk of governorship in Imo State. So, I want to say that we must have to give an Owerri man a chance to govern this state for at least eight years before any other zone should talk about it. That is my position.
In fact, I commend Orlu people generally for maintaining high sense of maturity and fairness.
So, what happened was that I left PDP in 2011 to deliver and when he was leaving APGA for APC, I told him, I won’t follow you because I’m an old man that has conscience. Having said that, I still want my brother Rochas to have feelings for others. That thing he likes, others like it too. He should remember that this world is a temporary place. No matter what he does, he cannot be as rich as the Biblical King Solomon, who also left his wealth and died. That is why he said in the book of Ecclesiastics “vanity upon vanity all is vanity. I was told that he has destroyed his big mansion in his village, Ogboko and replaced it with a bigger one. Also in Owerri, Spibert area of Akwakuma, he has an entire community as his house.
Many people have actually said that the governor has done well and that one good term deserves another. What…
When he was elected, everybody agreed that he was going to perform. So, that he performed well is not an issue. Agreed that he had done some roads and some houses along the roads where proper surveys were not made.
So, Okorocha’s case is going to be like that of Anambra State. When Ngige became the governor of Anambra State, Anambra was nearly dead. He started building roads and people were happy with him. When Ngige left office and Obi came on board, the situation improved with the people seeing Obi as having performed better than Ngige. Today, Obiano is there working hard to beat Obi’s achievements. That is governance. So, somebody has to start a story.
But in Imo State today the story is not the same. I was in Concorde Hotel the other day and noticed that the place is now a ghost of its past. Adapalm is now closed, general hospitals closed. And these projects that are going on in the state, have you asked yourself who is the contractor executing them? The 305 storey buildings which Federal government brought money to build through UBEC and SUBEB, he gave the contract to himself through his company, ROCHE. He also leased Adapalm to himself through the same ROCHE.
He said he is doing free education and imported school uniforms, sandals and desks from his partners in China when we have local tailors, shoe makers and all that in the state. If he had taken few Imo youths to China to learn how to manufacture the materials, will people be complaining of hunger and starvation in a state where their so called governor is doing well? Unemployment could have reduced.
The other day, he was telling the people that all the personalities in Imo State are against him. He was not ashamed to say that. He said he was being haunted by Imo leader because he did not bring money for them to share. What he means is that he is sharing the money among his family members. But I don’t know who can tell the governor to bring money to share. The issue is that he doesn’t have conscience. In a state where you have so many academicians, so many billionaires and technocrats and yet all them hate you, then you have to re-examine yourself to know where you have gone wrong.
From the way you are talking about the governor, it’s like you are regretting ever supporting him become the governor?
No no no. I don’t have any regret supporting an Orlu man to become governor. But I regret supporting a greedy person like Rochas who has no conscience. You wouldn’t believe it that I took Orlu elders to him after he was sworn in and he didn’t give us common kola. After one year, I took to him my bill which Ohakim’s administration was owing me, but the man I worked for to become the governor threw the paper on me when I told him the reason for which I came. I looked at him in surprise and started thinking if this was the same man that used to beg for my support that is doing this to me.
If you will recall, before the 2011 governorship election result was announced, we the PDP leaders then mobilised the youths of Imo State who kept vigil at the INEC office to guide that place so that nothing happened until the result was announced in favour of Rochas. They were there for about four to five days and we were sending food and water to them until the result was released. Immediately the result was released, the youths were abandoned till today. When people are climbing up they should not cut off the ladder with which they climbed because they need the ladder later.
You are now campaigning for Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of PDP even when you are still in APGA. Why is it so?
You see the power of incumbency has a lot to do in an election. Again, APGA became involved in lots of controversies. As a person that has passion for a power shift to Owerri Zone, I said to myself if we allow all factions to continue, it’s going to be so easy for Rochas to stroll home to victory. So in order to ensure that an Owerri man emerges the governor of the state, I decided to take thousands of the APGA members to support Ihedioha to emerge the next governor of Imo State. I can tell you that since we agreed to work for the PDP, lots of things have been happening.
Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho is my very good friend. He came to my house and told that he would double any amount PDP and Ihedioha gave to me to join them so that I would pull out to support him. But I told him it is not about the money. But it is the issue of keeping to my words that power must shift to Owerri zone. If I didn’t do what I did the story would not have been this vibrant.
On the side of Ihedioha, he has done well as a legislator using his position as the deputy speaker of the House of Representaives to empower most of our people especially our representatives in Abuja whom he gave several positions to empower their people.
Another major case I personally support Ihedioha is his choice of running mate. Hon. Chuma Nnaji is from the marginalized Isu Nation in Orlu Zone. And Ihedioha being so kind and feeling the pulse of the people of the Federal constituency decided to choose Nnaji. With Nnaji, Njaba, Isu, Nwangele and Nkwerre lGAs will vote for PDP because we have never had any political position as high as the deputy governor before.
