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How Ndigbo can produce the next President, by Kalu
Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu told GORDI UDEAJAH in Umuahia, the state capital, how the Igbo can actualise their desire of producing the president in 2007. He also spoke on the need to reinforce the policy on national emergency. Excerpts
ON the impediments before Ndigbo towards producing the next President
There is nowhere in the world power is won on a platter. The Igbo can produce the next president if they are more united and cohesive in their determination. They also have to engage in wider consultations with other stakeholders in the other zones in the country. The population of Ndigbo alone cannot guarantee that they can produce the president. They will need to co-operate with other groups. I believe that others can work with us if we show enough seriousness and avert selfish tendencies. It is not contestable that the Igbo have the human and material resources to actualise the project, but what we lack is unity. We already have the political will, which we however have to find a practical way of interpreting into purposeful action. One mistake we made in the past in pursuit of the presidency project was to view it as a purely local project. The attempt by our aspirants to domesticate it made us look unserious. Added to it was the attempt by the aspirants to make it look like they were on personal ego trips. It was wrong for any full-blooded Igbo to rise up against the collective interest of our people. For us to make a success of the outing this time, we must first forget whatever differences we might have had with one another and embrace the spirit of togetherness. We must begin now to reconcile with one another in our march to self-rediscovery.
On the inauguration of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEES)
This became imperative considering the way things happen in other parts of the world. We take a lot of things for granted in the country and the truth is that no sane leader will be comfortable with the fire brigade approach we seem to have adopted as a national policy in handling our emergencies. The agency in the state is to work out modalities for effective emergency management. We have heard stories of natural disasters elsewhere. We are lucky that we do not have landslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and forest fires. But we have our own version here. We have buildings collapsing here, bomb blasts, oil pipelines exploding, etc. These disasters damage lives and property running into billions of naira. It is unbelievable that while other countries have in place adequate mechanisms to tackle their disasters, we don't have such mechanisms here, although we have in principle recognised the need for such. Nigeria is always caught unawares by these occurrences. The recent pipeline explosion in Lagos is a typical example of the lack of preparedness on the part of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). And unfortunately, examples abound in our experiences as a nation.
The central objective of the policy behind the SEES is to enhance the living condition of the people by promoting good governance at all levels. It is a bold move by the state government to mobilise and harness the human and natural resources in the state for the empowerment of the people to enhance their social status and living standards. The initiative is an extension of the national programme to the other tiers of government beginning with the state and then moving to the local councils. The policy covers areas like education, agriculture, health, job creation, poverty eradication, security and greater participation of people in governance. The SEES is reform based with emphasis on transparency and accountability. The committee is charged to anchor its operations on the three pillars of the reform agenda in the government reform framework - privatisation, liberalisation, transparency and accountability.
On the reforms in the agricultural sector
We needed to replace the Agricultural Development Executive Committee (ADPEC) with the Agricultural and Rural Development Executive Committee (ARDEC). The new name ARDEC implies that the former ADPEC has been expanded to include rural development, which is in line with the strategies to stimulate development through the community based approach. The ADPEC underscores our unbending commitment to rural integration, whose idea is to enhance the living conditions of the people in the rural areas especially farmers and to check influx of people into the cities. We are succeeding in this regard and providing social amenities and poised to do more. Another benefit derivable from this body is institutional strengthening and capacity building for our community based and non-governmental organisations. Expectedly, the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) will use the ADPEC initiative not only to champion agricultural extension, but also rural enterprise and other development initiatives to increase the incomes of small scale farmers through demand-driven technological assistance.
On the payment of pensions and gratuities in the state
The payment of pensions and gratuity is one of the most contentious issues in the current democratic dispensation. And the situation gets worse by the day. Since May 1999, we have made conscious efforts to tackle this problem. We cleared salary arrears and paid pensions and gratuity reasonably. We did so believing that workers who served the state and retired, ought to be paid their entitlements. We are taking this seriously. With the signing into law of the Pensions Bill 2004, the state government has practically demonstrated its readiness to address the problem more decisively. The law provides that a Board will be set up to oversee the management and administration of the state pensions fund. The Board, which has already been inaugurated, will quicken the process for the payment of pensions.
On the closure of the state owned Ambassador newspapers
The Ambassador outfit was not well managed. I could not continue expending taxpayers funds ranging from N7 million monthly to pay staff salaries that produce only 500 copies of the newspaper every fortnight. However, we did not disengage the workers, they were re-deployed to the Ministry of Information. I gave them an option - to be given a bulk sum once, which they will manage and attain self-sustainability without depending on government for further subvention or let things stand the way they are now. We are awaiting their details. The press in Nigeria and in Abia, has acted as an impetus in the giant strides my administration has recorded. My administration will assist in every way possible to ensure journalists in the state work under a conducive atmosphere.`The attempt by our aspirants to domesticate it made us look unserious. Added to it was the attempt by the aspirants to make it look like they were on personal ego trips. It was wrong for any full-blooded Igbo to rise up against the collective interest of our people. For us to make a success of the outing this time, we must first forget whatever differences we might have had with one another and embrace the spirit of togetherness. We must begin now to reconcile with one another in our march to self-rediscovery
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