By Tony Edike
Professor Alphonsus Bosah Chukwurah (ABC) Nwosu was Political Adviser and Minister of Health in the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2003. Before then he was the Chairman, Organizing Committee of MKPOKO IGBO of 1994 and the Head of the Igbo Secretariat at the 1995 Constitutional Conference. Recently he was appointed Director of Research, Planning and Strategy for President Ibrahim Babangida’s Campaign Organization. In this interview, he speaks of what should constitute the Agenda for 2011 Presidential Election, the contentious issue of zoning and advises his kinsmen, Ndigbo not to abandon the accepted concept of zoning which they fashioned and pushed through for redressing marginalization at the 1995 Constitutional Conference. Excerpts:
What is your schedule of work as Director of Research, Planning and Strategy for the IBB Presidential Campaign Organization. What are your plans?
There is a Director-General and Director Media and Communications of the IBB Campaign Organization. The Director-General speaks for the organization, I can only comment as a citizen. As to how I came to be, it was to be expected especially after the meeting of the South East Consultative Forum with Northern elders to the effect that zoning was sacrosanct and the North should complete the presidential tenure zoned to the North in 2007 and thereafter the presidency shall rotate to Ndigbo. I am a strong believer in this agreement and therefore decided to service a presidential candidate who is also a strong believer in this agreement.
But Ohanaeze Ndigbo has stated that it did not enter into any agreement with the North.
Who said that Ohanaeze entered into any agreement? Ohanaeze Ndigbo is a socio-cultural body and the apex for Ndigbo. It was the South East Consultative Forum to which I belong that entered into the agreement. Ndigbo may wish to react to the agreement in their own way. The central point is that we believe that 2015 is our date and destiny with the presidency of Nigeria. The other dates are 2019, 2023, 2027 and so on. The political arithmetic is simple and we expect Ndigbo to be mindful of these dates and not commit political suicide in 2011.
Prof, before this interview I thought that you were only concerned about zoning…
(cut in) Of course zoning and six geopolitical zones are the core of nationhood and nation building. You must have justice, fairness, equity and a sense of belonging by all constituent peoples in the Nigeria project before you can have national progress and development. That is why some of us consider zoning, six geopolitical zones and federal character principle as sacrosanct and vital for our unity, peace and stability. For the records, zoning, rotation and six geopolitical zones including the names South-East, South-South, North Central etc are the brainchild of the South East in 1994 which were canvassed comprehensively at the Constitutional Conference of 1995.
Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and the late Dr. Sam Mbakwe led a South East presentation which they stoutly defended on the floor of the conference. Before that conference, the Igbo unanimously endorsed the concepts both at the committee level under late Dr. Pius Okigbo and by Ohanaeze. In my view it will be politically suicidal for Ndigbo to abandon these concepts in 2011 and 2015 and beyond before the deprived geopolitical zones would have attained the presidency. In my view, it is also cruel and unfair for geopolitical zones that used zoning to attain the presidency in 1999, 2003, 2007 to now turn and repudiate zoning before the purpose of zoning would have been achieved. This will be tantamount to crossing a bridge and burning that same bridge so that others on the disadvantaged side will not cross.
I am sure you have read the report of the World Igbo Congress where the president’s message said that he is an Easterner and that Igbo interests are well represented. How do you react?
How do I react? It would be unfair for me to treat the newspaper reports as Mr. President’s message because Mr. President is yet to signify his intention to contest. I will therefore react to President of Ijaw National Congress and a Minister who gave the messages. I will remind them that support was denied to a South-Southerner in 2007 on the belief that he was Igbo.
I shall say no more on this. To the minister who is a South-Easterner I shall say nothing except that a people’s identity is a people’s identity. It is called Ahamefula in Igbo. In 1979 and 1983, the legend, the Great Zik of Africa contested the presidency on the platform of NPP because of Ahamefula. In 2003 and 2007, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu contested the presidency on the platform of APGA because of Ahamefula. In 1999 and 2003 Dr Ekwueme was denied the same presidency by the PDP.
We do not wish to ask where our brother Nigerians were during these contests when Ndigbo were denied. What Ndigbo plead for is understanding from their fellow brothers and should not be insulted with pedestrian presentations such as those made at the World Igbo Congress.
The Great Zik is no more. The baton has now been passed to a new generation. This generation of Ndigbo will have a choice to run away, betray or sell ahamefula to their eternal shame and permanent condemnation of their children and grand-children.
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