Chief Martin Elechi, 63, is the national president, Ebonyi
State Development Association (EDA). From a distinguished career in the public
service of the defunct East Central State where he rose to the position of a
cabinet member until 1975, he has quietly cut the image of a statesman and
astute politician. He was member, 1970 Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC),
secretary, National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Anambra State as well as
founding member, United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and All Peoples Party
(APP), now ANPP. In an interview with Lere Ojedokun in Abuja, Chief Elechi
speaks on some salient national issues. Excerpts:
Why was ANPP of which you were a founding member unpopular in
the South-East in comparism to other political parties?
We didn’t perform very well in the eastern states in the 1999
elections. Thereafter, it was exodus to the winning party. So, most of our
members decamped to the PDP, but I didn’t and I have not joined any other party
till now.
Ebonyi State is so dear to your heart, what is the reason for
this affinity?
I played a very prominent role in the struggle for the
creation of Ebonyi State and that is where people think I made the greatest
impact, in that I was in that struggle longer than any other person, dead or
alive, for twenty-eight and half years. The state was created on October 1,
1996. So, I am fondly called one of the founding fathers of the state.
The state movement, after the creation of the state proper
transformed into what we now know as Ebonyi State Development Association. I am
still the national president of this body. It was in recognition of this that I
was the leader of the delegation which came on a thank-you visit to the
president.
Cast your mind back to the time the state was created. How
would you assess its development, between then and now, in terms of
infrastructure, human resources, industrialization among others?
There is no way one can compare the state of affairs before
the state was created and what it is today. Infrastructurally, the state,
especially the capital is being transformed beyond recognition. Those who knew
Abakaliki in 1996 can hardly recognize it today. So much has changed for the
better.
In the rural areas, government is battling with the problem
of infrastructure provision such as roads, water, electricity and so on. But
above all, the cardinal policy of the governor is to educate the people and that
is where most of the resources of the state go. Free primary, secondary and
tertiary education has been liberalized that our people are now making giant
strides.
On annual basis, the number of our graduates sent to England
on Hi-Pact programme to British Universities for masters and doctorate degrees
keeps increasing. A lot is happening in education.
Then like you heard the governor say, he has started a
hatchery which is probably the biggest in West Africa. We also have a fertilizer
blending plant which is producing fertilizers being supplied to farmers in the
state.
These things are unimaginable within the short period the
state has been in existence. And remember, our governor was one of the best
assessed by the national media tour team which awarded marks recently. He bagged
four gold medals and people say he is certainly one of the best in the country
and unquestionably the best in the south-east geo-political zone. What is
happening makes us happy.
Going back to infrastructural development, road construction
is very expensive and our state has one of the lowest allocation from the
federal government nationwide. So, it’s not easy to manage such meager resources
across so many sectors competing for priority attention. But, in spite of that,
Ebonyi people thank their God and stars for what has happened in the nearly
eight years since the state was created.
Most Nigerian politicians move from one political party to
another when their parties are not winning. Does it have to do with lack of
ideology and principles?
It has nothing to do with ideological differences. It is
simply because of high level of hunger, unemployment and so on. Participation in
politics, to most people, is a way of finding employment. That is why they go
from the losing party to the winning party. And if you look at the programmes of
different political parties, they have everything in common.
The only difference may be, if party A has education as
number one on its programme of activities, party B may have it as number three
while party C may put it as number seven. Agriculture may be third for the first
party and second for another.
So, everything is tailored towards welfarism. That is what we
have today, making sure the welfare of the people is improved. Ideologically,
there is no difference. So, when people lose in an election in one party they
switch over to the winning party or party in power to improve their lot because
it is a very painful experience in Nigeria to lose an election. We are all
witnesses to that, so it has nothing to do with ideological differences.
How then can we build a strong political structure?
Well, in spite of the weaknesses you may have observed in the
present political system, it is still better than military rule. I believe that
the history of a country is very much unlike the history of an individual. We
have a very long way to go. People are learning by experience. More people are
coming on board. I do not feel that it is an easy task that we will deal with in
ten or twenty years, no. By this process of losing and trying again, having
dialogue instead of fighting, I believe, we can evolve politically for the
better.
You are not a member of any political party at present, yet
you recently led a state delegation to see Mr. President. What lessons do you
want other Nigerians to learn from this?
I believe that the unity and well being of Nigeria is more
important than political partisanship. Also, we can bring about the unity and
wellbeing of Nigeria, by encouraging ourselves. We are the supporting arm of the
government in power. We see what the government may not see and because of our
neutral position, it is easier for us to mingle with both government and
opposition and become the rallying point so that people will know as they ought
to know.
Politics is not a do or die affair. We may disagree
politically but still have a common platform from where we can discuss our
common problems and move as brothers and sisters. This is what informed this
attitude of not being in partisan politics but to be in consonance with the
policies of the day, working with the government of the day regardless of the
political party that is in control of that government.
In the case of Ebonyi state, we pride ourselves as the salt
of the nation and we go the extra mile to do what the other states may not do.
That is why the delegation to the president consisted of people from all walks
of life, including those from different political parties except those who
didn’t want to be brought on board. But there is none of the political parties
which contested the elections in Ebonyi state recently that was not represented
on that delegation.
Nobody remembered which party he or she belonged to. We are a
disadvantaged people and we want to forget little differences and forge ahead.
We recommend the same thing to other states. We are not saying we are perfect,
but we mean well for ourselves, our people and the nation.
In other words, non-membership of a ruling party should not
necessarily pitch you as an opposition?
Exactly, because there are many nuances in life. When I think
it is not white, it does not mean it must be the opposite of white which is
black. You have blue, green and so on. As I said, in the Nigerian context, there
are no ideological differences. So, if you are not directly in opposition, you
can decide to be on talking terms with both government and the opposition. That
way you become a rallying point for the opposition, government and all else to
talk because in my view, talking over things is better than the traditional
aproach of opposition in this part of the world or in the Third World generally.
In that do or die game, democracy can not thrive, democracy
cannot build up no matter how long it is practiced. There must be a mid-way
course to give and take. In that way you can talk directly to the government and
because you are not confrontational with the government, you are more likely to
be listened to than when you are in direct opposition vice versa, the opposition
can also listen to you knowing that you are not directly for the government of
the day.
There are many ways of coming together and we think we should
not always have this sharp divide, one side is government, the other side is
opposition. Majority of the people in the villages don’t know what you are
talking about. All they want is give them amenities, help them to overcome
poverty. That is what we should be looking for.
What are your wishes for the young state of which you are a
founding father?
My wishes can’t be different now from what they were at the
time of the struggle, namely that we should have a peaceful state where people
can develop to their fullest potentials, where other Nigerians can come to and
feel free. We kept making this remark until 1987 when we went to Dodan Barracks
to see the then Vice President Admiral Augustus Aikhomu. Our national leader,
late Dr. Akanu Ibiam made a pledge that if Ebonyi State was created, it would be
the haven of all Nigerians.
Today, we pride ourselves with having created a state that is
the haven of all Nigerians. When the president paid a state visit in March, last
year, Yoruba residents in the state told him this is the only state where they
feel very safe. Hausa also told him, this is a state where we are never
disturbed whenever there is crisis in other places. People from Anambra State
are the predominant businessmen. Without any hindrance, everybody does his job,
goes to his business, feels free. You go to school, nobody discriminates against
you on the basis of where you come from. You pay the same fees whether you are
an indigene or not.
We are proud that God made it possible for us to have a state
where non-indigenes feel so much at home. It is the best gift we can give to our
brothers from other parts of the country. That is still our wish that we should
continue and grow with this caveat, that others should not see it as a sign of
weakness. That they should respect our value system and reciprocate the good
treatment.
Amnesty International revealed last year that in most states,
especially in the southern states, detainees and people in prison were mainly
people from Ebonyi State on trumped-up charges and we feel sad. So, we call on
our brothers everywhere in the country to reciprocate the good treatment we give
to them in our state. That is my wish.
