Only Restructuring Can Save Nigeria From Looming Danger
Only Restructuring Can Save Nigeria From Looming Danger – Amaechi
Chief Mbazulike Amaechi is one of the two surviving Nigerians that were actively involved in the struggle for the country’s independence. A First Republic Minister, Amaechi has been persistent in his call for the Nigeria that the citizens will be proud of. In this interview with INNOCENT OKONKWO, he speaks on the politics of their era; current state of the nation; persistent killings across Nigeria and how to save the country from imminent collapse, among other issues. Excerpts:
What is your take on the current state of our nation?
Is the nation working? Is this union called the Federal Republic of Nigeria working now? This is a nation where people are being killed daily and the government is even arming and protecting those who are doing the killing. A nation where the government does not listen to the voice of the people that are saying, ‘let’s come together and discuss the situation in Nigeria and what is happening now; let’s come together and hold a dialogue, and see how we can restructure the country,’ and the government is adamant, is such a nation working? Are you talking about a nation where dictators from a particular minor tribe in the country have imposed themselves on the country and captured all the powers of compulsion, the Armed Forces; the Police and everything which they are using to oppress and kill people. This nation is not working.
What should be the way out of this ugly scenario that you have just highlighted?
Well, there has to be a whole coming together of the remnant of the people of Nigeria. If they want to continue to be one country, they must come together and discuss how they will be that one country but if it is to continue with the way things are currently going, the day of explosion is not far.
How do we restructure Nigeria to get the desired result?
The people of this country from all the interest groups should meet together in a friendly atmosphere; in the spirit of humanitarian and in true spirit of give me, I give you; concede to me and I concede to you and then agree on the basis of our federation. We can then form a federation that will belong to the people and not to a handful of looters.
For instance, all the constitutions in Nigeria are the constitution imposed on the country by the military men from one side of the country. So people must have to meet and agree on how to let each side of the country develop at its own pace and not a situation where the wealth of a particular area of the country will be siphoned away and being managed by other people and the owners of the wealth become onlookers.
How would you describe the politicians of the First Republic where you played a significant role and those of today?
There is no way to compare the politicians and politics of our era with what you call the politics of today. Our own politics was the politics of nationalism. We went into government by circumstances of being the people who fought for the country’s independence and when the independence arrived, the people of the country said, ‘okay, you people fought for this independence, you better go and rule us.’
So, we were in government for what we could give and we gave our best to the nation. Many of us suffered all kinds of victimisation. I suffered imprisonment at least on two occasions during the colonial era. We went into government as nationalists and not as politicians.
We were in government as nationalists who were in government to give their best and we gave our best but just six years after the independence, an unpatriotic military struck and killed some of the founding fathers of the country; took over the government of the country and threw the nation into 33 months of senseless civil war in which about three million lives were lost.
And then the military remained in power for about 38 years. And in these 38 years, only for three years was there a Southerner in the military government, the other 35 years were manned by the Northerners, a group from one section of the country.
And so they introduced the massive looting and stealing of public property. Eventually, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo came in after the death of Gen. Murtala Mohammed, stayed for three years and handed over to the civilians. Again, in 1983 the Northern soldiers came up and took over the government, they remained in government till 1999.
Now, the country is back into civilian government but the method of leadership is the same; the same military dictatorship. The only difference is that they are now wearing agbada instead of khaki as in those days. That has been the situation now.
But there is a worse situation in the country at the moment, there is a new agenda that they are pursuing, it is the agenda of total islamization of Nigeria and that is why a band of people are being armed, whom they named the Fulani herdsmen.
These people are not herdsmen; they are the people that are properly trained to carry out the charge of Othman Dan Fodio to establish their Caliphate and dip the Quran in the sea; that is the agenda they are pursuing.
At the present, they are killing Christians and as part of their propaganda, when people complain that Christians are being killed, the killers would go to one out of the way mosque and throw a bomb there, then they will claim that the killers have also bombed a mosque. We know what is happening. It is left for the people of this generation to either redeem themselves from the firm clutches of this new imperial power or good luck to them.
The people in politics today are not nationalists, they are people who are in politics for what they can get out of government but we were in government for what we could give to the government for the good of the country; that is the difference. Those who are in government are there for personal gain that is why there have been massive stealing and looting.
What should be the solution to the herdsmen’s attacks across the country?
The objective of the so-called Fulani herdsmen as I pointed out is islamization of the country; they want to establish colonies among the people of Southern Nigeria particularly the South West, South South, South East and then the Middle Belt which are predominantly Christian areas.
They have planned it in such a way that in the next 20 years, a colony that started with about 100 Fulani herdsmen settlers and their wives would have grown to about half a million people and then the mosques will be there and then they will be well-armed, spreading and imposing their own religion on others by force.
That is the plan; they have seen how it was done in Turkey and some other countries around the world. So they changed the plan of Othman Dan Fodio of 1804 to a new plan and that is what is going on now. Look at what they are doing in Benue and Taraba states. It is because of the large numbers of Christians in those places. They want to force them to convert to Islam. Are people so blind that they cannot see these things?
Do you support the call for self-defense against these attackers?
We have one Igbo saying that it is only a tree that hears that it will be cut down and stands at a place. If any human beings life is threatened, he will fight back or run away. As a matter of fact, this is applicable to all living things even goats, sheep or fowls, when confronted by any life threatening situation, they will either fight back or run away. So, it is either the people of this country rise up and defend themselves or to your tents oh Israel; let everybody go his way and let there be peace.
How would you assess the present administration under President Buhari, are there specific areas he has impressed you?
He has failed so far and he is a failure. Tell me in what aspect that he is a success. In what aspect has he not failed? So my assessment is that in every aspect of government and governance, the President has failed.
He is not a nationalist. He does not even understand government. He is a dictator. The President does not understand democracy and he is a religious fanatic and he believes in the Caliphate system. So in what respect should I count him a success.
But the President has declared that he will seek re-election in 2019 and that he is sure of victory, how would you react to this?
I have said it before, my advice is that he should be contented with what he has and in the areas that he has served Nigeria. He has been a military ruler in Nigeria. He has been a democratically elected ruler of Nigeria. And from the health point of view and his age; he is no longer fit to rule the country. And from experience and exposure, he is no longer suitable to administer the affairs of present day Nigeria.
What is your take on the marginalization of Ndigbo, is it real or imaginary?
Don’t you live in Nigeria, why are you asking me such kind of question? The Igbo are marked out for elimination in this country particularly by the present administration of the North. But the Igbo are like the beetle, they cannot be crushed.
You march on the beetle and when you remove your heavy booth, the beetle keeps going. The Igbo will keep going, we fought 33 months civil war without anything against the whole world and survived, and we fought the whole Arab world for 33 months and survived, so the Igbo will survive again.
Are you impressed by the performances of the current set of South East political leaders?
No, I am not impressed, there is no leadership now. There are no political leaders in the South East; the governors who are supposed to lead are more interested in themselves.
Have I not told you that the leaders we have now are the creation of the military. Are they interested in the tomorrow of the country? Some of them are but many of those in the government are the people who are there for what they can extract from the system.
There are some honest people among the politicians but they are the minority; moreover, they are not given the chance particularly now under the power of the constitution imposed by the military which is now in the hands of one feudal man. The set up is just the people around him where they issue out orders and rule the country against the wish of the majority of the people.
Do you have fears concerning the next year’s election and its outcome?
As things are going in this country at the moment, let us just hope and pray that we will get there in peace.
As an elder statesman, what should be your fatherly counsel to the citizens of this country?
Which citizens, the oppressors or the oppressed? Which Nigerians do you want me to counsel? Well, my main advice is that the dictators on top should either change their ways or face the inevitable because the people that are pressed to the wall have no alternative than to fight back. When you have your back to the wall, you have got to a point where you have no alternative than to fight back.
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