advertisement

ubochit@yahoo.com Bonn, Germany

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS

ABA SENATORIAL DISTRICT (UKWA - NGWA PEOPLE) SHOULD PRODUCE THE NEXT GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE

o start, I must react to the publication of Wednesday, November 22, 2006, credited to one Prince Geoffrey Ogbonna, the President of Ukwa Peoples Congress titled 2007: Oil producing community demands for Abia governorship.

Prince Ogbonna is entitled to his opinion, but, I disagree with him based on his parochial tendencies as reflected in that article.

Take a look at this; Prince Geoffrey Ogbonna observed that since the creation of Abia State, no Ukwa man has been governor and called on their brothers of Ngwa and old Bende extraction to give them the opportunity of producing governor in 2007.

At a point in the article, Prince Ogbonna was reminded by the person interviewing him, that Ukwa and Ngwa areas of the State have been sharing common political aspirations. He then said we e (sic) Ukwa people. We are not Ngwa. Ukwa is Ukwa. Ngwa is Ngwa. There is nothing like Ukwa - Ngwa. We are asking for our rights and an Ngwa person cannot speak for Ukwa people.

Prince Ogbonna, you got it all wrong, this is always the problem that have denied the Igbos the Presidency of Nigeria and the Ukwa - Ngwa people the governorship of Abia State, we are always myopic and sectional instead of being all encompassing to achieve our goals, this selfish sense of "either it is we or nobody" is one of the reasons for our political marginalisation.

I will return to this topic later in this article.

There is the need to give the people of Aba Senatorial District (Ukwa - Ngwa people) the opportunity to produce the governor of Abia State in 2007.

My article will hinge on social justice.

advertisement

Nigeria belong to all of us, Abia State belong to all those from Abia State.

Starting from Nigeria, the call that either the south-east or south-south geopolitical zone should produce the President of Nigeria in 2007 is getting louder and understandable every passing hour.

With the exception of Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi´s short stint (6 months) as the Head of State in 1966, no other person of Igbo or the southern minorities extraction ( former Eastern and Mid- Western regions) has ever occupied the highest political position in Nigeria, be it as President or Head of State.

So equality and justice demands that South-East or South-South zone be allowed to produce the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2007.

These two zones are the oil producing areas of Nigeria. The wealth of Nigeria which successive political /Military leaders and Nigerians as a whole are enjoying is coming out from these two zones while in return the people of these two zones are suffering the environmental hazards (pollution) created by the exploration of the oil with little or no tangible thing to show that the wealth others are enjoying is coming from beneath them.

From the Nigerian level, I move over to Abia State proper, just to drive home my point that marginalization of a particular ethnic/tribal group is unjust.

Abia State is one of the oil producing States in Nigeria. The State suppose to be one of the richest based on the revenue coming from the Federal Account. The oil of Abia State is located only in Aba Senatorial District. This district gives the State the largest revenue.

Since the creation of Abia State, no person from this zone has been governor, in fact, from the former Eastern Region to East Central State to Imo State and to Abia State, no indigene of Aba Senatorial Zone has ever been governor - military or civilian.

The highest position reached by person from this zone is that of Deputy Governor.

Past governors (civilian or military) neglected Aba, only Chief Sam Mbakwe of the blessed memory - the then governor of Imo State - did a lot for Aba, because he lived and practised his law in the town. People will always remember him.

Successive governors did virtually nothing for Aba or the Senatorial District. Today Aba town is one of the dirtiest in Nigeria, roads are impassable, offensive odours permeates every part of Aba town, to put it mildly, Aba town is an eye-sour.

To make matters worst, most of the elected representatives at local government level in Aba are non-indigenes. These people never had the interest of the town at heart because they are not sons of the soil. I think it is only in Aba that you have a situation like that.

The last Chairmen of Aba South and North local government areas were non - indigenes, in fact, they weren't Ngwa men, so for them, Aba can go to hell, they only looted the treasuries of the local governments dry.

Majority of the Councillors in Aba South and Aba North Local Government Areas are non-indigenes, they can't contribute anything for the upliftment of the local governments.

The person representing Aba at the House of representative is a non-indigene and not even from Aba Senatorial District.

These injustices didn't start recently; the story was also the same during the second republic. The then speaker of Imo State House of Assembly - Chief Gideon Atulomah - went to the House as an Aba representative, but he was always against the wishes and aspirations of the Aba people, he turned against the agitation for the creation of Aba State out of the then Imo State in the early 1980s, why not, after all as a non-indigene, the failure to create Aba State served his interest.

The people of this zone have been marginalized beyond imagination. The social injustice towards these people surpasses my understanding.

Aba Senatorial District comprises of Ngwa and Ukwa areas. I am a proud Ngwa man. The hospitality and good-naturedness of Ngwa people is beyond comparison, although the stranger elements do always take this hospitality for granted.

Apart from oil revenue coming from Aba Senatorial District, Aba town is the highest generator of internal revenue for Abia State. Situated in Aba, is one of the largest markets in West Africa, many people from every parts of West Africa come to Aba for their trading businesses.

Ngwa and Ukwa people are well-educated; in fact, Ngwa people are the most educated people in Abia State. In terms of population, this Senatorial District has the largest population in Abia State. Ngwa people might be one the largest chunk in USA; you can find Ngwa man in almost all fields of human endeavour in USA.

The question is, why haven't all these qualities transcended into political success in Abia State?

I think people of the District before now were too complacent; they were self -satisfied and no risk takers. Ngwa people don't have the aggressive impulse towards the pursuit of wealth or money; they don't believe that wealth should be acquired through all means. The rich non-indigenes in Aba today came to the town in penury but today they are rich. Upon the fact that Aba made and is still making a lot of non-indigenes wealthy, the Ngwa people failed to utilise the opportunities offered by Aba as wealth creator.

Ngwa people are deeply religious; some of them see politics and elective offices as worldly enterprise. Thank God that this notion is changing, the Bible preaches against the selfishness of the politicians and not against getting involved in politics, God selected and anointed Kings for the Israelites, so there is nothing unrighteous about getting involved in politics or seeking elective offices as long as everything is been done with the love of mankind and with the fear and respect of God.

Some Ngwa elites that supposed to be at the forefront of the struggle for the political emancipation of Ngwa people were sell-outs, they connived with people from other districts in strangulating the wishes and aspirations of the Ngwa people.

But all these are changing now because the people of this District discovered that complacency leads to no where in modern day Nigeria.

What should be done to redress this injustice?

The contribution of this Senatorial District to Abia State in particular and Nigeria in general cannot be over-emphasised. For the sake of equity and justice, a person of Aba Senatorial District extraction should be given the chance to be the next governor of Abia State.

There are well-educated and smart people from this district. The other districts and the Political Parties in the State should allow the aspirants from Aba Senatorial District (Ukwa-Ngwa people) to be the only contestants at the primaries so that one of them will eventually emerge as the candidate and winner in 2007.

There is no shortage of qualified aspirants from Aba Senatorial District; we have Chief Emmanuel Ahamndi Nweke, a legal luminary who made his marks in (London) England, he is a man I Know very well and I am sure he will be a good governor, Chief Enyinna Abaribe, Chief Reagan Ufomba, Chief Acho Nwakanma and many others are contesting.

In 2003, the Ngwa people resolved to end their political marginalisation by insisting that the governor must be a person of Ngwa extraction. There was then stalemate as the Ngwa people refused to support Governor Kalu´s re-election bid. Then a compromise was reached allowing Gov. Kalu to be re-elected in 2003, zoning the post to the Ngwa people in 2007. That was the only reason Gov. Kalu was supported for re-election, before then, there was ferocious opposition against his re-election.

This compromise led to the "Great Ngwa Declaration". The elders of Ngwa land led by Chief Reagan Ufomba initiated this compromise for the sake of peace in Abia State. It is now time for all to honour their commitment to this declaration. There are now aspirants from the other two senatorial districts who were part of this agreement reached then, that the Ngwa people will produce the governor in 2007. I call on them to withdraw their candidacy immediately for the Ngwa-Ukwa people based on the agreement they were party to

I do also call on the governor Dr Orji Uzo Kalu, who was born, raised and still living in Aba to support the efforts of Ngwa-Ukwa people towards getting the governorship job in 2007, he will be leaving a legacy for himself, if through his help and support, the Ngwa-Ukwa land is politically emancipated. Ngwa land and people gave him (the Governor) a lot; it is time for him to reciprocate their gestures by supporting them now for the governorship post in 2007.

The Governor should also honour his commitment to "The Great Ngwa Declaration".

The Ngwa and Ukwa people in diaspora, especially those in USA, should lend their supports in every form and also by exerting influence on their families, friends and traditional rulers back home to support this worthy cause.

I call upon some of our traditional rulers to give up the habits of working against the aspirations of Ngwa and Ukwa people; they should stop selling their conscience for pittance.

I respectfully call on Eze Bernard Enweremadu to use his position as a well-known traditional ruler all over Nigeria and the world over, to stop this political marginalisation of Ngwa and Ukwa people.

I also respectfully call on Eze Isaac Ikonne, who is the Chairman of Ndi Eze in Abia State to use his good offices and influence to see that a person from Ngwa or Ukwa emerges as the next governor of Abia State.

The Ngwa and Ukwa aspirants should avoid in-fighting within themselves so as to avoid given contestants from other senatorial districts reasons to challenge them for the job, they should close ranks, and if possible, every body should rally behind one candidate to avoid splitting the Ngwa-Ukwa votes during the nomination exercise and the election proper. They should speak with one voice and avoid working against one another. The greater interest of Ngwa-Ukwa people should be paramount on their minds rather than their parochial interest. They should know that they will not get the governorship position on a platter, they must work harder for It., otherwise their detractors will seize on their disunity to scheme them out once again.

The cacophony that Aba is a no-man's land is erroneous. Aba is NOT a no-man's land; the owners of Aba are the people of Eziama, Ndi-egoro, Obuda, Eziukwu Aba, Umungasi, Umuagbaghi Aba, Nnetu and other surrounding villages. These people should be allowed to occupy all the political positions in their local governments (Aba South and Aba North L.G.As), it is their inalienable right. That they are being denied this right all along amounts to political thievery and should stop forth with.

The Ngwa and Ukwa people should wake up from their slumber; they should take their rightful place where they belong. Anything less will amount to political suicide.

Coming back to the issue raised by Prince Geoffrey Ogbonna, he should know that senatorial districts are the basis for zoning governorship position, he should know that nobody can sequester Ukwa from Ngwa because of politics, people from the other districts in Abia state can only give Aba Senatiorial District the chance to produce the next governor and not Ukwa communities, so Prince Ogbonna should first and foremost, ask that the senatorial district be allowed to produce the next governor, then when this is achieved, he can then argue for the chance for an Ukwa person to get the job.

It will be a dialogue between Ngwa and Ukwa people only after the senatorial district must have gotten the chance to produce the next governor and not before that.

Prince Ogbonna should know that the Senator representing Aba Senatorial District - Chief Aldophus Wabara - is from Ukwa but representing also the Ngwa people.

For me, it is not important whether the governor is from Ngwa or Ukwa land as long as he/she is from Aba Senatorial District because this district has the moral and legitimate right to produce the next governor, a lot have been taken from this district, it is time to repay the district, in the interest of peace and justice.

Prince Ogbonna ´s effort in sequestering Ngwa and Ukwa for his political aggrandisement will amount to naught because the destinies of the Ukwa and Ngwa people are tied together.

What we should be preaching about is for the best from the Aba Senatorial District to get the governorship post. I have no problem if a qualified Ukwa person is elected the governor of Abia State in 2007 and Ukwa people should also not feel short-changed, if a qualified Ngwa person is also elected the governor in 2007, what we want is only the best from our Aba Senatorial District for our Abia State.