Rescue Nigeria, save us from another civil war, Igbo leaders tells Buhari

Ahead of next week presidential election, Igbo Leaders
in the 19 northern States yesterday declared support for
the presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, General Mohammadu Buhari, urging him
to rescue the country from being run aground by
President Goodluck Jonathan.
The Leaders who paid a courtesy visit to Buhari at his
presidential campaign headquarters in Abuja noted that
impunity and indiscipline had become a common
phenomenon in today’s Nigeria.
Coming under the umbrella of Igbo Delegates Assembly,
IDA, the group which was led by its President-General,
Chief Sam Demian Enyama also had the Eze Udo, its
traditional arm made up of the traditional rulers of Igbo
communities both in the north and the Federal Capital
Territory, FCT, Abuja.
Speaking at the occasion, the presidential-General, Chief
Eyama described Buhari as a man of impeccable
character who is disciplined and result- oriented.
Dispelling religious sentiments against Buhari, Eyama
urged Ndi Igbo nationwide to rally round Buhari and
vote for him on March 28, saying that he would address
most pressing needs of the regions in the country.
Speaking on behalf of Eze Udo, Eze Uche Egenti said
that Nigerians especially the Igbo would not want to
experience another civil war.
Observing that the country was heading to the brink of
collapse under president Goodluck Jonathan, Egenti
asked Buhari to come to its rescue.
He said “ We are here to support your aspiration to
become the president of this country. We know that it is
easier to work with you because of what you stand for.
We are not ready to be plunged into another civil and
we are pleading with you to help us organize Nigeria
again. We want discipline to reign again.
“We want to plead with you to help galvanize Nigeria
once more. Let discipline reign again in Nigeria. Let the
polity be sensitized. A lot of people have complained
that the issue about you is religion but we know you are
not a religious bigot. You are a very firm articulate
officer of the Nigerian army. In 1983 when Nigeria was
at a verge of collapse, you came in and rescued it.
“We are here to affirm our support on the use of the
permanent voters card, because it will bring credibility
to the election. We are here to tell you that the Igbo’s
are behind you.”
A notable Igbo leader and chieftain of APC, Chief
Ogbonnaya Onu who also spoke at the event that
attracted the presence of the party’s national chairman,
Chief John Oyegun and other senior party officials said
that the essence of the meeting was to reassure Buhari
of the support of Igbo people.
According to him, the train of APC was in motion and
could not continue without the input of the Igbo.
Onu also dismissed the insinuations that Buhari was a
religious bigot whose interest was to Islamize the
country if elected president.
Affirming Buhari’s forthrightness, Onu who was a former
governor of Abia State stated that the APC presidential
candidate has distinguished himself with his track
record and offices so far held.
Meanwhile, in a manner seen by many as unseal,
Buhari, while responding to the plea of the visiting Igbo
leaders took time to explain what the meeting meant to
him.
He also, perhaps for the first time, revealed why he
joined politics and at such the opposition.
The former military Head of State who went memory
lane revealed how the military government saved a
fortune for the country only to be squandered by the
ruling People’s Democratic Party.
Buhari who also preached peace and unity among the
tribes in the country recalled how property and shops of
the Igbo communities in the north were secured during
the civil war, also dismissed the speculations that he
was a religious bigot.
Below were his responses on most of the issues raised
at the meeting:
How the meeting was brokered
“This meeting is an act of God because we had agreed
on our programmes since but Chief Ogbonnaya Onu
came to me and said that this meeting must take place.
I tried to get out of it by going through the programmes
with him and telling him that I have visited 35 states
excluding Yobe and because of the additional unsolicited
six weeks grace granted, another programme was drawn
to conduct some town hall meetings.
I told him that, we were scheduled to go to Owerri and
Onitisha to meet the Igbo leadership and business
community. So, why not let us merge the two events?
He said no, these are Igbos from the 19 Northern states
and eventually, I gave up and said let it be done at the
expense of our break.
I have no regrets holding this meeting because he
educated me about this organization in the respective
states which I was unaware of. He told me the details
and I appreciate this organization because of your
experiences especially when crisis happened in this
country.
North/south relationship during the war
I could recall the good old days. When it was Christmas
and new year, virtually, all businesses closed up in the
north especially in Kano. Business would not resume
until the Igbos return to their businesses. After the
interruption of the civil war, I must admit that the
elements of the first republic civil service were good
because to the best of my knowledge, wherever Igbos
had property in town, there were committees in the
respective towns.
The properties were repaired, given for rent, an account
opened for them. After the war, the Igbos came back
and claimed their property and the savings made.. I
thank the civil servants of those good old days because
the committees were developed with very clear and firm
terms of reference and the properties of the Igbos were
looked after and they claimed them back. I think they
did well. I think that I am the only Army officer to
command three of the four Nigerian Army divisions.
Again, from 2nd Lieutenant, all the Command and Staff
appointments I don’t think I missed any.
My colleagues were Col. Ugokwe, GC. Ojukwu and they
can bear testimony to that. On the political side, I
became governor of the north east which is now six
states and spent three and half years in Ministry of
Petroleum, twenty months as Head of States and 40
months in detention eventually. I think I have seen quite
a lot in Nigeria.
Why I joined politics
After going top and sliding down, why did I join politics?
There were two reasons which I have mentioned on
several occasions. I have to bore you with this because
I don’t want you to slow down on whatever you are
doing. Keep on trying, God will repay you one way or the
other. I was sitting at home after I got out of detention
and thought people would leave me alone. I didn’t even
build a filling station, not to talk of owing an oil block
and so I thought I had lost their sympathy.
But they kept coming to me and there was nothing I
could do and then I speculated that maybe when I get
into partisan politics, I would get into a position to be
heard and then something happened in 1991 and the
Soviet Union collapsed. They were the first to go into
space and in terms of nuclear war heads and
conventional forces, they were superior to NETO .
It just collapsed and people just went home and now,
there are 18 Republics in the old Soviet Union. That was
when I decided that the best form of governance is
multi party democratic system with a big proviso that
elections must be free and fair. Other wise, the whole
thing will be a sham and it is in pursuit of that, that I
am on my fourth attempt to get the highest office.
I am not a religious bigot
In the fist three attempts, I ended up at the Supreme
Court because I believe in the system. There is no point
believing in a system and conducting yourself
haphazardly. I am telling you that I am fulfilled because
when I decided to join politics in April 2002, I joined APP
even though there was PDP and they were in
government.
But I went into the opposition even though there were
governors, senators, members of the House of
Representatives in the party, but the following year, they
gave me the ticket and what did I do with the ticket? I
got the late Chuba Okadigbo to be my running mate and
by that, I blew the mind of people about my tribal or
religious position. In 2007, I picked Chief Ume Ezeoke
and again, he was Igbo.
So, I dispel any question about my being a religious
bigot or a tribalist. Later I picked Pastor Bakare and
now, I am running with a Pastor, Prof. Osinbajo. The
issue of religion has been taken into account in this
country.
Why we insist on free and fair polls
I am very grateful to Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu for organizing
this meeting. I am even more grateful that the
leadership of the Igbo community in the north decided
to turn up. It is important that we continue to make
sure that we are broadminded. The beauty of this
system is what I have mentioned already.
Let the government respect Nigerians and individuals
and allow them to choose and elect those they want to
lead them. If that is done, Nigerians will be surprised
about how peaceful this country will be. I think that in
every human being there is an element of rebellion. If
you try to force a human being to do something he
doesn’t like, he will develop a way of resisting it.
But if you develop a system and persuade him to accept
the system, then, Justice must be done and you will be
surprised how peaceful you will live. But if you try to
force it, I am afraid that you will keep on suffering.
PDP has destroyed Nigeria
Look at what we have suffered in the last 16 years.
Most of you are business people and always out there.
Maybe you don’t even need computers because your
head is just like a recorder. You import and know the
exchange rate. Where were we 16 years ago when PDP
took over this country and where are we now?
How much was the Naira to the Dollar then and how
much is if now? Does it mean that you will not sell the
things that you have in your shop now because people
cannot afford them because the Naira is now about
N230 to the dollar? I think that as a community, You
are more affected in Nigeria than anyone else. You are
the ones that go from Singapore to China and all over
the world to make the contacts and order things.
You don’t order them in Naira, but in Dollar or Pounds
Sterlings or Yen. Now, you need trailer load of Naira to
maintain your businesses. Remember what we earned
from 1999 till now. But then, where is the Nigeria
Railways that we have been talking about? Where is the
Nigeria Airways?
Where is the Nigeria Shipping line? Where are the roads
and where is the money we earned? There are States
now that haven’t paid salaries for months. Corrupt PDP
governors cannot even pay salaries. I don’t think you
can support this type of government anymore. It will be
impossible because the worse has almost happened. If
everybody is impoverished, what do we do? Do we eat
grass?
Three things APC government must do
What we identified in APC are three fundamental things
that are relevant. We hope, God willing, if we get into
government, having campaigned on those three
fundamental issues, we will deliver on those three
fundamental issues so that you can physically see. I
think that those who are really poor and live in the rural
areas hardly have anything to lose, but you who criss-
cross the world using your resources, when you are
grounded, you feel it harder. It is a fact of life.
What are the three things we identified? First, security,
then the death of the economy as a result of which
there is mass unemployment and; third one is
corruption.
Throughout my visit to 35 states, I mentioned these
three things and nobody ever challenged me on them.
We cannot continue like this because this is our
country. No sentiment and nothing should make us
change our mind. We just have to get rid of PDP and
start building Nigeria again.
How military saved economy
In 1983, when we came in, we felt that change had to
take place because I was involved in the military
government that handed over to the second republic and
as Minister of Petroleum, I was holding one of the most
important appointments. The military handed over a
relatively, materially and physically secured country to
the second republic.
In four years, three months, if anybody told you that he
knew how much debt Nigeria incurred after spending
what the military left, he was telling you a lie because
when we came, because of the debt Nigeria had
incurred, we had to put in place two committees, one
local and one foreign to help find out how we incurred
the debt and how we were going to pay for it.
Together we will rescue Nigeria
So really, the question of patriotism is a very serious
issue. The damage has been done. You are in a position
under the system to make a difference and I am
appealing to you to make sure that this difference is
made. We are not doing anybody any favour. We are
doing a favour to ourselves because we have no other
country than Nigeria.
I am very happy with your kindness in coming to Abuja
to see me and to support the APC. I assure you that
you will not regret it. We are patriotic. Nigeria is our
country. We have no other country, but
Nigeria.Together, we will salvage it.