Senator Onyeka Okoroafor,  a Third Republic federal lawmaker from Abia State, is a foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Currently the chairman of the Board of Governors of Federal Polytechnic, Offa, in Kwara State, he became a national figure of note when in the Third Republic, he opted to be jailed by the late General Sani Abacha military regime, rather than join his fellow senators in the defunct National Republican Convention, NRC, to work against the realisation of late  Chief MKO Abiola’s presidential mandate. This was to make him the only NRC senator jailed for his conviction during that turbulent period of Nigeria’s history. Upholding his principled belief in the sanctity of the June 12  mandate, he was said to have stoutly refused all forms of inducements, including ministerial and other appointments dangled before him by General Abacha. In this interview with Vanguard, Okoroafor spoke on the 2011 general elections and other recent developments in the polity. Excerpts:

BY MIKE EBONUGWO

How do you rate the 2011 elections vis-à-vis previous elections in the country?

The last elections were an improvement on the three preceding elections but I still maintain that the best election Nigeria ever had was the June 12, 1993 election with its Option A4. We achieved 50 to 60 percent improvement with the 2011 elections and that is significant. It means we have started on the right note. The problem here is that nobody wants to accept defeat. It is free and fair only when we win and fraudulent when we lose. But comparatively these were more credible elections than previous ones but I remain steadfast in my belief that Nigeria’s best election was June 12.

Many people believe that the South East zone where you are a PDP chieftain took enormous political risks supporting President Goodluck Jonathan considering that if he had lost, you would have lost everything…….

The 2011 presidential election  was, if you like, the coming of age for the Igbo nation, politically speaking. We were the first region to come out to give unqualified support to the President outside his home region. Others would follow our lead and in the end it was not only the South-East that supported Jonathan. His base was widespread, nationwide. The Igbo were eager to assert themselves electorally and in major cities and towns, the Igbo vote was important for the President.

It was one way to rekindle the spirit of the old Eastern Region, to demonstrate that we are brothers and that politics apart, what unites us is stronger than what divides us. When we are being killed in the North and elsewhere, the killers do not differentiate Igbos from Ijaws or Annangs. We are killed together. The wealth of the nation is located in this region and together we suffer the environmental and ecological degradations of exploration. Some of us consider this election as the end of the civil war.

The aftermath of the war was characterised by mistrust fanned by accusations, blackmail and outrightly fabricated tales by those who had most to fear by our being our brothers’ keepers. It will take a longer time for some attitudes to change but those Easterners who were brought up to think that the North is their true friend now know better. It is my hope that this president, a man of destiny, will reciprocate this gesture. We in the South have a lot to unite for.

We are the cheated lot. Look at creation of local governments for example. Abia has 17 local governments, Bayelsa eight, Lagos 20, but Kano has 44. That means more revenue. The military was responsible for this historic injustice and anti-Nigeria policies that perpetrate inequality and mis-allocation of national resources. There should be equality of local governments. But Igbos used the 2011 election to make a statement of re_inventing themselves. You will see what will happen in 2015 now that the tiger is awake. Igbo votes for Jonathan accounted for over 25 per cent of national votes. Nigerians know the true Igbo strength but will not accept the reality, until now. Having found their voice the political narrative of the Igbo nation will never be the same again. We have closed the civil war chapter by ourselves, by our collective will power, if you like.

Your state Abia, returned all PDP candidates at every cadre, the first time this is happening since 1999. Until now, Abia had always been a two-party state. What happened?

First and foremost, we must give honor to whom it is due, our able governor Theodore Orji, for galvanizing all shades of opinion, all political tendencies, in APGA, PPA, ANPP and PDP, and bringing them under one umbrella. His humility, frankness and straightforwardness made the voters to trust what we were telling them and to work for the party’s success at all levels. You must remember that Abia is a PDP state but mismanagement of the political space by past leaders always caused disaffection and anti_party activities.

And you must trace the origin of the crisis in Abia to the excesses of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu and his mother who turned Abia into a mono-liability company. We endured eight years of scandalous governance and another three years of meddlesomeness. Therefore, the 2011 election was the liberation of our state from this clique. Liberation was our clarion call and it resonated with our people. Our people came out en masse to support TA Orji because it was a war of liberation from bondage and the Governor gave leadership for all to come on board.

All of us leaders were asked to go to our constituencies to deliver PDP and because we were united in purpose to liberate our state, we performed. We did just that because we are on the ground and we are trusted. The success of PDP in Abia can be attributed to the broadness of the canopy provided by the Governor and the willingness of Abians to rally round the clarion call to throw off the yoke of the Orji Uzor Kalu family. Having achieved a spectacular success, our people’s expectations are very high and there is neither reason nor excuse to fail. I am confident the Governor appreciates the enormity and can manage the expectations. He has a listening ear and an open mind and I believe he has what it takes to harness the human and material resources available to reposition Abia and he needs our prayers and support.

The defeat of Orji Uzor Kalu was unexpected to the outside world. What accounts for his defeat?
Orji Uzor Kalu never won any free and fair election in Abia State. He is always taking undue advantage of our common desire to move forward and avoid crisis. In the eight years Orji Kalu ruled Abia and in the three years they meddled in TA Orji’s administration, Abia was a failed state, a disaster area and the people of Abia North felt the pain more than the others.

He failed to provide the dividends of democracy and destroyed the social, cultural and moral fabrics of our society. He created problems in every community and the people felt that this election was an opportunity to educate him that he is a failed leader and that we have since moved on. You can see that his defeat was overwhelming – 32,000 votes to Chukwumerije’s 84,000. It was a disgraceful defeat and I believe he got the message.

The emergence of Senator Pius Anyim as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) seems to have met with acceptance. From what you know of him, what is he bringing to the job?

For the first time, the Igbos got a chance to recommend a leader from among themselves for a strategic position, it has never happened before. Since after the war, all our leaders had been chosen for us and imposed on us. It got worse from the IBB days. And because those leaders did not emerge through the rigorous Igbo system of decision-making, they never enjoyed legitimacy, they are like the Warrant Chiefs of the colonial era, agents of the occupation.

But when PDP zoned the SGF to the South East, President Jonathan did not go about imposing anyone on us, like an imperial president. He invited contribution from Ohanaeze, the Governors, political and business leaders and they unanimously recommended Senator Pius Anyim. For this we are very grateful to the President for once touching the hearts of the Igbo and respecting their feeling. That being his first major appointment, I believe he has started well. Senator Anyim is loyal, competent, hardworking and a team player. He will do very well in that position.

Could you share your experience and challenges at Federal Poly Offa?
In every assignment I have accepted, elective or appointive, I have always approached it as a call to service. The challenges we met in Federal Polytechnic Offa were enormous and even those who sent me there didn’t envy me, it wasn’t a job for the faint hearted.

The school had gone through several battles and the academic calendar was chaotic. But in everything you do in life, when you put service to humanity first and apply a human face to your actions and deeds, you are bound to succeed. The Offa Poly example is spectacular because they had been wishing to move to a permanent site in the past 18 years and only one building was there. When we came in, we completed 15 to 20 buildings and we did it in one year. Now we have a permanent site. We restored academic peace.