| This regime worse than
military, says Eduok, ex-Chief of Air Staff
By Chidi Obineche
Monday, November 22, 2004
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•Eduok
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The current democratic government is not flying, says former
Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Nsikak Eduok.
In fact, the ex-Air Chief adds that Nigerians were better
off during the military era and submits: "Nigeria has
never been as rich as this moment, but Nigerians have never
suffered like this time. Go out to the farms, the villages
and talk to people. Ask them how they are feeling now and
how they felt when the military was in power. It is very wrong
and stupid for any politican to say that the worst civilian
regime is better than the best militay regime.
“That is a callous and irresponsible statement because
if you put them side by side and compare them, some military
regimes are far better than civilian regimes.”
Eduok, who spoke with Daily Sun at the recently held South-South
Peoples Conference in Calabar, Cross River State. He had been
asked to compare the civilian regime of President Olusegun
Obasanjo with the immediate past military regimes, of which
he was a key player to which he replied:
“Ask Nigerians how they feel now and how they felt when
the military was in power. Now, you make some laws that cannot
be implemented. How do you say the NLC cannot demonstrate
when they feel bad? How can you do that? Did you have that
in any military regime? You should educate me on this. Nigeria
is so rich now, but people suffer so much and they are dying
before their time.”
Excerpts:
How is life in retirement?
Fine. No problem.
You are looking quite trim and younger than when you were
in service. What is the secret?
God loves me. And I try my best to love God too. It is God’s
blessings. Two, I train and run a fitness farm in Nigeria
today and I am a fitness consultant. Have you heard of my
fitness farm?
No.
It’s quite big.
Why are you here? (South-South Peoples Conference)
I am here to show solidarity to the South-South. It is my
home. God created me and placed me in the South-South, so
anywhere I go, I still remember that I come from a place -
South-South. So I have to identify with the cause of the people
of my zone.
We are really hurt because we have not been given our rightful
place in the scheme of things. So we are hurt. We could have
been far away from where we are now if we were properly treated.
So we are coming to put our heads together, to see how we
can use our constitutional rights to change our position in
the scheme of things.
What are you doing to bring the problem to the attention of
the government?
Don’t forget that even before the final point of Saro-Wiwa,
the derivation money was 1 per cent. It was during our own
time in government that things began to change. We are the
people who established OMPADEC. I took part in the discussion
to form OMPADEC. And we dedicated 5 per cent of the federation
account to it, every month it was transferred from the Central
Bank in Lagos to the Central Bank branch in Port Harcourt.
It was automatic. We took that decision the very day we formed
OMPADEC. Are you with me? It was working.
That showed that we were even conscious of the fact that the
oil producing areas should be properly treated.
After OMPADEC, that is during the late General Sani Abacha’s
regime, we realised that there was need to bring more development
to the areas, and came up with PTF. Do you understand? So
it does not mean that government has not really recognised
the need to address the oil producing areas’ problems.
But we are in a situation where the Constitution says let
us run a true federation which gives you better control of
your resources. And then you distribute to the centre. But
the centre now comes to take everything you have and gives
you just an insignificant portion. So, if you want to respect
our own constitution, let us do it the way we agreed -
A true federation.
Are you calling for a Sovereign National Conference?
Of course yes. If you don’t sit down and discuss how
the country should be governed, how can you then forge ahead?
Your former boss, IBB is interested in running for president
in 2007. With the clamour for a South-South president which
you support, where does that leave him?
That’s your own opinion. You said my former boss is
interested in running for presidency, that’s your opinion.
But he said it, that he has tremendous goodwill across the
nation. That he has people who can stand up for him, especially
his former boys when the time comes.
Listen, let me tell you something. We should not waste our
time thinking of what other people are doing in other zones.
Because it will create the impression that you are defeatist
- a coward. Don’t concern yourself with what somebody
is doing outside your zone. Let us find our people, encourage
them to vie for the presidency and we will campaign and support
them to win.
All Nigerians have the constitutional rights to vie for the
presidency. It issue is not about who is interested. The issue
is we are interested. That is the point. So we must do everything
within our constitutional rights to win the presidency.
Has IBB gotten in touch with you?
(Laughs) Is it has he gotten in touch with me or have I gotten
in touch with him?
Have you gotten in touch with your former boss?
Yes
What did he tell you?
It is just like you now. You’re my friend now, so I
can pick up my telephone and call you and ask how are you
doing. We are all Nigerians. He is my boss. He is my boss.
Yes.
But there is no presidential aspirant from the zone yet?
Who says that? What makes you see somebody outside but you
cannot see anybody good inside your house, when you have a
thousand and one inside your house, very, very qualified.
What are the criteria? Draw the criteria for qualification
for the presidency, our men and women meet these criteria.
We are going to have a handful.
Is it possible to have one presidential candidate from the
South-South?
So, if there are a thousand and one aspirants in the zone,
what to do is to set up criteria, and articulate some issues
and prune down the number, and finally a God anointed candidate
from the South-South will emerge. When you deceive yourself
before you start, you’re a goner.
How do you look at Nigeria?
We are surviving. I wouldn’t want to speculate anything
now. That is why I support the calling of a Sovereign National
Conference (SNC), to discuss the structure you are talking
about. It is not fair for us to start speculating now.
Your new position on SNC is confusing, because you top brass
in the military frustrated it before now?
That’s your own private opinion. You don’t know
what we discussed when we met in the PRC or Armed Forces Ruling
Council, (AFRC). Nigeria’s former Chief of General Staff,
Admiral Mike Akhigbe was there. Go and talk to him. There
is nothing you say now that we in uniform did not say in Council.
But in the military, if you talk too much they call you to
order - my friend, enough. Yes sir. But now we have
reached a situation where nobody can shout you down. You make
your own point, I make my own.
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