By Henry Umoru

Francis Arthur Nzeribe was elected senator for  Orlu Senatorial District, Imo State in 1999 and re-elected in 2003. In November 2002, the then Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim indefinitely suspended  him due to an allegation of  fraud.
But he was said to be planning an impeachment motion against Anyim. He could not make it back to the Senate in 2007 as he was defeated by Senator Osita Izunaso.

In this interview, Nzeribe  bares his mind on the Impeachment threat against President Goodluck Jonathan by members of the House of Representatives, the corruption in the system; the Boko Haram insurgency; his governor, Rochas Okorocha and his administration;  the PDP,  among other  issues.

What is your take on the impeachment threat on President Goodluck Jonathan by members of the House of Representatives over  alleged poor implementation of the 2012 budget?

I doubt if they understand what they are doing. Nobody respects the average lawmaker anymore in Nigeria. With the  corruption in the system, I do not think the impeachment threat is real. I don’t think the House has the right to summon the President, but there is nothing wrong with the President walking across then road and saying, ‘I have come to brief you’.

You can’t continue to threaten to impeach the President all the time. I don’t think they understand what they are doing.  In our time, when you talk about education, everybody would keep  his mouth shut becausepeople knew what we were  doing. But because people do not respect them  any more  I mean the National Assembly, they just carry on  doing what they are doing and, at the end of the day, nothing happens.

When you say they don’t understand what they are doing, what do you mean? Is it that the National Assembly is not serious or they are jokers?

In our time, honourable members  commanded respect in their  constituencies, some of them don’t have respect  anymore. We see things happening, they don’t react, they don’t participate, people are not able to participate in government and beyond two  terms.

Are you saying that all these are just part of a choreographed show off?
That is exactly what I am saying. And we have seen worse situation that nothing  happened.  Why should you fear prosecution when you know that nothing will happen to you?

They make up a show which they call tribunal. You see somebody who is charged to court and he is coming to court with  gangsters  in uniform because he knows what the outcome  will be; he knows he will get freedom, at best two or three  hours  sentence will be given.

Elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has accused some northern leaders  of  not  addressing the problem of Boko Haram and the security challenge in the country. What is your view on  his position?

On Clark’s statement that Babangida and Buhari should openly condemn the sect, I thought Clark has a platform to say what he has in mind. He has been the spokesman of the Jonathan government for quite some time now. Why is he throwing the balloon in the air for it to burst? He should tell us what he knows. Clark did not go the full length. If he has fingered one or two persons, then we would have known where he was going.

Senator Nzeribe

Do you think President Goodluck Jonathan is really handling the crisis well?
I don’t seem to agree with the way the President is handling the matter. The President once said the Boko Haram people have penetrated the government, why has he not made any arrest? We should know who they are beyond the President telling us that they are in his government.

Have you been in touch with your state governor, Rochas Okorocha?
No contact, I have not spoken with him.

How would you assess his administration?
I have been very careful, since Rochas took power, to say anything for or against his administration. But things are getting worste by the day. It is a very dangerous situation we are having in Imo State and nobody is ready to bell the cat.

One thing nobody can take away from Imo State is the fact that she boasts of quality democrats in the South-East geo-political zone. When one talks of professionals, intellectuals of repute, lawyers, accomplished politicians etc, Imo State ranks high in terms of men and women in these cadres. But the happenings in the state today appear to suggest the dearth of these people; otherwise, it may be concluded that they are choking under apparent intimidation.

With the coming on board of young politicians in the state, one had expected a better and vibrant Imo which older democrats like me will be proud of, but  what appears to be going on is simply democratic apathy in the face of rudderless leadership, with its dire consequences to the well-being of the state, needless to go into elaboration here.

It could be enough for some modem day leaders in Imo State to grumble about the governor’s predatory leadership style in their closets; but it is surely not acceptable for them to maintain cowardice silence in the open – they must speak up.

In the last one a year or so, hardly will a day pass without Imo State featuring in national news for the  wrong reasons. Today, can the young democrats boast that Imo State is on the right track in terms of peace and stability? Who is speaking out on the danger of being led by a desperate and equally rudderless government in the state right now? These questions become apparent in view of the current near breakdown of law and order in the state, though not visible to the unwary masses.

Our modern  day democrats may want to pretend as if nothing is wrong  with  the state in terms of governance, but it will amount to fairytale because Nigerians are beginning to ask questions about the  happenings in the state. In view of the current flagrant disregard to constitutional provisions in Imo State, the question as to the capacity of AN IGBO MAN TO “RULE NIGERIA  could spring up, hence the urgent need for democrats to speak up.

In democracy, the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria   serves. as the only working document open to any President and the state governors.  It must be upheld at any point in time no matter who is involved. It is okay for the governor to embark on road construction and expansion without design, due-diligence and settling of legal issues arising from the project; but it is certainly unpalatable for a sitting governor to flout the very Constitution he swore to defend; particularly at this period the people of  the SouthEast are clamouring to have a shot at the Presidency.

Out of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, only Imo State has the fourth-tier of government. From which Constitution was this aberration derived? Again, what is the position of our modern day democrats on this shenanigan?
Must it take the order of the Attorney General of the Federation for the 27 local government chairmen to be reinstated? The answer to this question is of course, NO.

Must the response from Imo State to the  order of the court for the immediate reinstatement of the 27 LGA chairmen be that “since Federal Government refused to reinstate suspended Justice Salami as allegedly ordered by the National Judicial Council (NJC), Imo State is at liberty not to obey court order”? How can Imo State government equate administrative order to court order? Arising from these two instances, what can our new democrats say of the perception of governance in Imo State by Nigerians?

At this point, what our young democrats must bear in mind is Franz Fanon’s quote that states, “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity”. Perhaps it is pertinent to ask our new and young democrats like the Deputy Speaker of the Nigeria House of Representatives, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, how he is providing leadership in Imo State, as leadership baton has effectively fallen on his shoulder.

The failure of our new democrats in the National Assembly to fashion out modalities for putting Imo State on the path of peace and stability is worrying, and it could be viewed as a direct indictment of their ability to act as pathfinders in the State.

Every observer on activities in National Assembly will admit that the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu has distinguished himself creditably well. He has been an able leader, in and outside the senate chamber. His Speakership of ECOWAS parliament is eloquent testimony of his leadership qualities.

In retrospect, Imo State in the last four (4) years under Ikedi Ohakim, immediate past Governor of the State, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Achike Udenwa, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, Mrs. Kema Chikwe and Senator Hope Uzodinma just to mention but a few, as old democrats, witnessed relative peace and stability; but same cannot be said of the State today. One begins to wonder if the young democrats have been overwhelmed by the expectation of leadership or are they still learning the rope? Or do we watch the state degenerate into Thomas Hoobe’s jungle.

What is your assessment of Bamanga Tukur led National Working Committee, NWC of your party, the PDP?
The party is moving slowly, Tukur will give us what we want in terms of capacity. The PDP has to understand how to manage opposition because all along, it has been victory, victory. PDP has not provided the needed leadership at the local government areas, states and government still behaving like that of winning a war.