Born in England in 1966 where he spent the first 10 years of his life, Joseph Chukwuka Ikunna, an entrepreneur with exceptional management skills and the founder of the Joseph Chukwuka Ikunna (JCI) foundation, has recorded impressive achievements in the business world as well as in humanitarian services.

As an entrepreneur, Joseph Ikunna sits atop various businesses which cut across oil and gas and general commerce. An active member of ‘Ndi Igbo Lagos’, he was one-time chairman of the labour Committee of ‘Aka- Ikenga’ and also a member of the Nigerian Institute of marketers. In this interview, Ikunna, shares his aspirations and dreams of a more prosperous Imo State.

WHAT inspired the JCI foundation?
Being a strong believer in the concept of giving, I have always believed that if God blesses you, you must share those blessings with people who have less and who don’t have the same opportunities as you. Accumulation of wealth is therefore not important; we should strive for a positive legacy, by positively impacting and influencing the lives of the people around us through our deeds. Understanding this and witnessing the level of poverty around me, in 2009, my wife and I decided to start the JCI foundation.

In what ways has the foundation impacted on the lives of the people of Orlu Senatorial zone and Imo State?
In Orlu zone, we’ve rehabilitated impassable roads, installed street lights in some communities, which are powered daily by our generators, provided water in communities that do not have, empowered women and youths with funds for training and to start up small businesses.

We have also encouraged women through our breast and cervical cancer tests, of which a major round of testing will commence within the next couple of months.  We’ve assisted organizations in building youth centres; donated exercise books, text books, chairs and desks to schools, embarked on youth-focused computer literacy training and also given out laptops and used clothes to youths and children.

The foundation organises a number of sports competitions annually as a way of exposing grassroots talent to the state, country and the world. In fact, there are a whole range of things we have done to empower our youths and women to a certain extent but there’s still a long way and a whole lot more that needs to be done.

So far, has the foundation received support from any organizations?
No, not at all because I have not solicited for that yet.

What is your advice to politicians on the 2015 elections?
Can we please have free and fair elections in 2015? Let there be no rigging, let INEC do its job properly. If we do not have free and fair elections, I fear that the security issues in this country will increase and more people will lose their lives.

While I say that we have to keep on fighting over and again for our democracy, I think 2015 is a time and a year in which the people of this country must fight more than ever before to protect our democracy, if not, the country Nigeria in its current form might not exist beyond 2015.

What is your thought on serving your people if called upon to do so via elections?
I have not made up my mind whether I want to contest for an elected position or what that position would be. However, if that opportunity arose and I see that it is feasible and the conditions are right, and it is at the request of the people that they want me to serve them in a particular capacity, after due consultation with my wife, I will probably consider it positively.

But it’s not something I will want to think about at this stage because we are still serving the people in different ways. There has been a lot of speculations that I may be about to declare for certain electoral positions but those speculating do not understand how flawed our democracy is at the moment and what it takes to win. Popularity and ability is not enough to win an election in Imo State today.

You need a platform, and you need those that were there before you, to give you their blessing, otherwise one risk wasting the good will people have for one.

Are you at the moment affiliated to any political party based on their ideology?
I am not so sure that political parties in Nigeria are based on ideology. Most people go into politics today for what they want to gain and benefit. So when it comes to pure and strict ideology, I’ll tell you that, that political party has not yet been set up; and if it has, it has not been registered.

Involvement in politics
If I have to get involved in politics, I will have to join any of the existing parties; I have been a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) card-carrying member for a number of years now, so I think if I was going to get involved in politics, that’s where I will start from, not because of their ideology or anything, but to see what changes I can make to the society.

Above all, I will like to see a political party that encourages more young people and more women. We should have Senators in their 40’s, we should have governors in their 30s, and we should have people going to the Federal House of Representative in their 30’s. Look at the setup of the current confab and ask yourself whether it’s a reflection of the society in general, the answer to that is ‘no!’

A particular group of people that do not represent the statistics of the country as a whole have been sent to deliberate on matters that are very important to us all. What is the average age in the confab and what is the average age in Nigeria? When you look at its set up, you are forced to ask yourself, can these people possibly come up with what the entire society of Nigeria needs?

Our government is a poor reflection of the society.  I am sure that if there had been more women in the Senate, they wouldn’t have been able to pass the bill on under-age child marriage. I am sure that if the Imo state House of Assembly had between 30 to 50 percent of women, there would be a strong fight against female genital mutilation which goes on in Imo State today and has harmed the lives of thousands of women.

This is something I am very much against. We need strong legislation to protect our girls from rape, and strong punishments for perpetrators.