•’Huge developmental initiatives going on in Ebonyi’

By Olalekan Bilesanmi

Against the backdrop of the alleged  indifferent attitude of the five Igbo governors to  the incarceration, trial and  release  on bail of Mr. Nnamdi   Kanu, leader of Indigenous   Peoples  of Biafra, IPOB , Senator Samuel Onwe, the  Commissioner for Information, Ebonyi State, says the South-East Governors Forum, whose  Chairman is his principal, Governor  Dave Umahi, at various times and levels, contributed to  the  release  of   Kanu  even as he says the  Umahi  government is rewriting the story of  Ebonyi  through physical  and social transformation. Excepts  of  interview:

Except on few  occasions, your principal, the governor, hardly talks to the press. Is it that he is shy, nothing to talk about or he has disdain for the press  or  it is due to all of the above reasons?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Just a few weeks ago, he spoke in  an extensive interview during  which he touched on all aspects of our political economy – and I do not mean just about Ebonyi State but also a panoramic take on the political, economic, security, religious and moral challenges of the federation.  For the first time in the history of the state, Ebonyi has become  a national player anchored on stupendous progress on the home front. I invite you to  Ebonyi and see for yourself that the man has so much to talk about.

onwe

The governor and  the other four governors from the South-East were accused of compromise on the travails of the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu. It was alleged that  none of the governors is in support of the Biafra struggle  which  led to the incarceration of Kanu.

I can speak for Ebonyi  to the extent that it is my duty to do so. If such an accusation exists, it is not only ridiculous but also from the idle-minded, and can only be peddled by those who are  ignorant of the facts and the  nature of the solutions that were  pursued.

The Governor of Ebonyi  is the Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and I am a  witness to some of the  efforts he and his  fellow governors in the region have made and continue to make in respect of the IPOB/MASSOB agitations and the intense pressure to secure the release of Mr  Kanu. Does anyone think  that the streets of Anambra would flow with the blood of innocent young men and women, mowed down by the bullets of overzealous federal operatives deranged by anti-Igbo impulses, and the governor of the state would simply turn and walk away as if nothing had happened?  Let me speak as an Igboman and a Nigerian citizen who has a pedigree in the intellectual discourse of the Igbo condition within  Nigeria.

There are many shades of opinions and in the political field there are various and varying tactical styles to the game. The debate over the restructuring of the republic or devolution of powers or outright disintegration  is  intensive and emotive. And once political and tribal emotions run riot, wild statements, accusations and vituperations gain ascendency.

I can assure you that the governors of the South East  are alert to the demands and aspirations of their people. Anyone who thinks that the rascality, wild opportunism and crude excesses of some  chief  executives are the most civilized approach to meet the exigencies often thrown up by the bone-headed politics at the centre is as much a fool. We deal with sublunary events as they are, and others may seek their Utopia whichever way they choose.

But no one should pretend that public administration is anything but a complex business that demands the discipline of serious-minded people. Stunts, swagger and self-promotion are entirely antithetical to the solutions of our national challenges. Self-determination is a universally recognized fundamental right of peoples across the world. But the motivations for pursuing self-determination are not uniform. Ebonyi, for instance, has its own unique self-determination aspirations and is resolutely pursuing them after more than  five decades of criminal neglect. But for the nobility of Chief Jim Nwobodo (Governor of Anambra State 1979 – 1983), the task of evolving from a backwater to a city on the hill would have been even more arduous for us than it is today. And the imperatives of those unique self-determination aspirations have absolutely nothing to do with the ideology of  IPOB/MASSOB. They are two parallel lines that will never meet! And yet, regardless of the divergence in our philosophical, ideological and political worldviews, we stand united in the face of oppression, discrimination, prejudice and abuse of civil liberties.

Talking about not talking to the press of your principal, why is it that things are happening in terms of infrastructural development  in the state, and yet, little or nothing is being said about it? Or is Ebonyi a closed state?

First of all, I totally agree that a huge developmental initiatives are going on in Ebonyi. The capital city, Abakaliki, is gaining extraordinary transformation. Major road networks are not only being constructed but are also being constructed in such a manner as to endure for half a century. Health, educational and human empowerment sectors are top priority. The revival of Nigercem is gaining ascendency through administration impetus.

The global opinion has not been divided in appreciation of Governor Umahi’s focused determination in these respects. Apart from the “money-bag” states such as Lagos and Rivers, point out any other state that gains more national coverage in terms of government initiatives and actions than Ebonyi?  All these positive things you said you heard going in the state, how did you get to hear them? That Ebonyi rice is on the lips of every Nigerian right now, how did that get to happen? Ebonyi  has set the agenda in the construction of roads using concrete instead of asphalt. How did the country get to know that?  How Ebonyi  is the first and only state in the South East to build and equip a  virology  centre. How did the nation get to hear about that?

Ebonyi  is not owing workers a single month salary from the inception of the Umahi administration and has in fact paid the 13th month to workers in two successive years. How did everyone get to know about that?  Ebonyi State has not exited the top 10 in the performance ranking of WAEC/NEO in the last 2 years. How did the nation come to be talking about that? If what you mean is that the administration should spend a fortune producing documentaries for television stations; or creating glossy magazines to be circulated as inserts in national papers; or so-called in-depth report analysis by people like yourself focusing on so and so, then you are talking to the wrong customer. There are new kids on the block now and a new vista has opened. I dare any independent researcher to come here and conduct a comparative examination of the socio-economic capacities of Ebonyi relative to other states and let us see what that result would tell Nigerians.

Rice production known as Ebonyi Rice is more pronounced among this government’s  achievements. What is the unique selling point of this brand?

I have granted interviews to more than 15 national newspapers, and to television and radio news networks on the revolutionary agricultural agenda of Ebonyi, focusing particularly on rice production. The biggest source of confidence for what the Umahi administration is doing in the area of rice production is the unwavering encouragement from the Federal Government, and from Mr President directly. He takes the success of the Ebonyi Rice programme personally. The unique selling point of Ebonyi Rice is that although our landmass is relatively small, only about 5.5 thousand square kilometres compared to, say, Kebbi, which is nearly 37,000  square kilometres, or Nasarawa, which is over 27,000  square kilometres – I mention these states because if rice production in Nigeria is a competitive business, then they are our direct competitors – we have a much longer period of rainfall which feeds our extremely fertile swampy fields and thus sustains the production of prime quality rice. In other words, this allows us to produce rice that tastes better and far more nutritious. The Ebonyi Rice is also healthier because the quantum of synthetic fertilizer deployed by our farmers are so negligible that you get as close to organic rice as you are ever likely to get in Nigeria with the Ebonyi produce.

For an agrarian state like yours, how is the government doing it in the area of prompt payment of civil servants salaries, and yet, still has enough to do infrastructure?

Prudent management of scare resources, cutting down on frivolities or outright elimination of waste, corruption and grandiose agenda have been absolutely fundamental to his strategy. Setting the right priorities. Commercially sound mind, which means running government as business, insisting on squeezing out the utmost returns from every kobo spent. These are just some of the efficiency strategies that have placed Ebonyi on a surprisingly high pedestal on the scale of achievements. The monthly federal allocation accruing to Ebonyi  averages N2 billion. In a particular month in early 2016, the allocation was just N1.455 billion.

Ebonyi usually takes penultimate or last position in the league table of federal allocations to the 36 states. We are struggling to beef up internally generated revenue but you must first construct a modicum of economic base which would form the backbone of taxation. But in terms of outcomes, kobo to kobo value in verifiable and quality accomplishments, I challenge you to point to any other state in the republic that comes even close to the measure of what we are doing here. I have touched on the welfare package for workers and the recent promise by Umahi to clear the backlog of pensions and gratuities dating back several years.

We must begin to see agriculture not only as a traditional but a fashionable way of making a living and potentially creating a staggering amount of wealth. Our potential as a nation is greatest in the field of agriculture; entry into ago-business is relatively simple; growth and return margins on investment can be incredibly impressive given the right conditions; incentives are growing in scope and variety from both governments and non-government agencies. In Ebonyi for instance, the administration secured a N1 billion soft loan which it has made available to workers in the state at chunks of N250,000 for whoever intends to embark on either agriculture or related venture.

The economics of production set by the Central Bank of Nigeria indicates that N250,000 is more than sufficient to turn one hectare of rice farm into a mega-profit venture. In effect, therefore, what Umahi has been able to achieve is to bring all the factors I mentioned at the beginning together into a single wallet of prudent management of very scarce resources – workers are paid on time; road, electrification and water infrastructure has been pushed to levels that are manifestly unprecedented in the history of the state. The lives of rural people, particularly widows, traditional rulers and elderly people are given special support and perks, as the case may be, all geared towards alleviating the crushing impact of these tough economic times. The cumulative impact of all this have seen a dramatic improvement in the relationship between workers and the government. As the push and pull dynamic of that relationship evolves, more improvements are being attained.

Your party, PDP, is in the eye of the storm. There are two factions presently. What faction does your principal belong, Makarfi or Sheriff?

Ebonyi is a PDP state by a margin that is far too huge to bother about factions. Faction exists in Abuja. If other people are struggling to belong to this or that faction, Ebonyi should, in fact, be wooed by the so-called Sheriff or Makarfi faction. I know that this is a bold statement but I make it with total confidence because I know it to be the entire truth. At the end of the on going voter registration exercise which INEC commenced recently, the quantum of our figures will stun observers. Ebonyi has a population that can comfortably produce over 2.5 million eligible voters. That is the joker that matters. PDP leaders in their various domains and constituencies should see this as the priority rather than the bickering over factions.

If the eleven PDP states can show the discipline and application of mind to register, mobilize and sufficiently motivate 30 million voters across the nation, which is more than possible as far as I am concerned, then factional rancour will wither in the shadow of superior franchise. He who commands the votes commands the levels of power. Partisanship is only important to the extent that you have the voting population to cross the finishing line and advance your agenda. Those who place raw partisan brinkmanship over and above the voting population are numbskulls.

They don’t get it. The sterile sentimentality and shortsightedness of those slitting throats and bleeding out over a party office or working committee or such nonsense are nauseating, and, quite frankly, offensive to the sensibilities of many thinking but silent men and women in the PDP. Let the serious minded ones use this singular opportunity to mobilize and register 30 million voters and indoctrinate them and set carefully marshaled strategies in place to turn them out on any given election day, then you can very well lead them to Zebedee Party and still attain your electoral objectives. But of course no one will pay heed to this line of thinking until 2019 delivers another knockout punch to the party – and still these portfolio power brokers will remain heedless. It’s utterly mind boggling how people make deliberate and willful choices against their own best interests.