Maja Umeh opens up on Anambra, says Ojukwu Remains Igbo Leader Dead or alive …

The former commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, in Anambra state, Chief Maja Umeh is one of the most popular and credible APGA Loyalist in Anambra

South Senatorial District who had never compromised his political Ambition in the promotion of Igbo political Agenda. In this interview Umeh speaks with Okegwo Kenechukwu at his country Home Amichi Nnewi in Nnewi South Local Government Area  of Anambra State on a number of political issues in the country and why the country was bedeviled by Tribalism, corruption  and insecurity in the recent time. He said it was the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo that introduced politics of tribalism Nigeria.

www.odogwublog.com brings you Excerpt:

Hon. Commissioner what is your take on the tribal politics in our National polity in this country.

Traditionally em… the East and West are not Generally Toeing  the same political line, it was the late Yoruba leader The Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s introduction of Tribalism in Nigeria in 1952 that led to that disunity, when he defected to carry Yoruba people to form in defection from NCNC under Zik Leadership and since then the East and West had never worked together.

The first attempt was the formation of UPGA between the reminiscence of Action Group and NCNC and ever since then the talk had been handshake across the Niger. So, Traditionally East and West had never seen Nigerian Politics from on perspective.

It was based on this affirmationed reasons that led to the formation of Action Group, NCNC, UPN, NPP,ACN,  now APC and APGA, so this is why the East is not working with APC.

The situation was worsened again because the East does not believe that the APC presidential candidate general Mohamed Buhari have any concrete achievement to show in the South East starting  from his days in petroleum Ministry in the 70s and member of the Supreme Military Council SMC to his days as Head of State and the Commander in Chief of the Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the  of late chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF)           

He does not seem to like Igbo’s, he was neither there at Zik’s or Ojukwu’s burial. He has also never made one statement on the marginalization of the Igbo’s from the abandoned property case to public beheading of Gideon Akaluka in Kano. Frankly speaking there is no reason why Buhari should come and ask for our support because he has never known to have contributed to the making of the Igbo’s, in other ward Igbo’s has never benefited from his leadership coupled with his execution of Bartholomew Owo.

But looking at APC manifesto they have beautiful ideas and concepts to turn the country around?

Well, a very good idea but his relationship with Ndigbo is of better experience and therefore there is no confidence that his Lofty ideas will be executed or extended to the Igbo’s if he becomes the president because his antecedents has not left the Igbos with much confidence that whatever programme he has this time will favour the Igbos.

A week to the election, there has been exodus of people from various parts of the country to their Home states. Do you see this election as going to be peaceful?

I don’t want to agree with you that the atmosphere is charged and that people are running away from their places of abode, rather I think people are registered in their localities and it is customarily during elections.

Although it would be blamed on the country’s policy because this is caused by the fact that Nigeria has not started respecting her citizenship. The law also provides that when you live in a place for more than three to six years you are automatically a citizen of that state. On the part of the Igbos, it is well acknowledged that Igbos are bread winners of their various communities and families and therefore politically influencial in their localities. It is merely important that they come home to influence the Election to be in tandem with Igbo interest. It is therefore good that they come to advise their brothers to vote President Goodluck Jonathan and APGA because APGA is Ebe Ano.

The Igbos are clamouring for APGA as a tribal party Ndigbo, yet it has no National spread and the founding fathers are defecting to other more acceptable party with national outlook . Do you think APGA will exist beyond this 2015?

APGA is a National party duly registered like other political parties. Right now APGA is on a continuous and steady growth and in making more progress as days passers-by.

APGA has a Governorship candidate in Ogun, Nassarawa, Imo, Anambra and we have former minister of information Labaran Maku as governorship candidate and Alhaji Shinkafi among other prominent Nigerian Politicians in the race and I assure you that APGA will sweep the polls at these places.

However we have not decided to field in a presidential candidate but it was strategic decision for now to give our full support to PDP Presidential candidate Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. It is our hope that when Jonathan finishes his tenure in 2019 if elected, then we will go back to the drawing board and look at how Nigeria have been governed since 1960 in the six geopolitical zones with respect to president and how long they governed the country, because that was the bases Nigeria ceded leadership to the South-South. So it has become tradition in the country to move the presidency to the marginalized zones.

If you watch AIT you always see how the South-South zones advertise how other Nigerians have ruled the country without them taking a slot.  So we in the APGA believes that this time around Nigerians will have cause to look at the duration of such rules with a view to conceding the presidency to the zone with the least duration in leadership otherwise there will be continuous agitations .  For us in the Igbo nation this is the only way we can assuage the marginalization of the affected zones.

As for the platform Igbos will use any platform that would achieve this effective.  The Igbos has all it takes to be the president of this country.  We have human, material, resources, goodwill, population, the academic and Economic powers.  There is no Nigeria that does not love Ndigbo, they only became uncomfortable about the aggressive entrepreneurial spirit of Ndigbo.  The simple prove is that any time there is riot  in the North for example, they attack the Igbo, burn their shops only to go back at the same good.

Every pent of this country want to marry Igbo woman or give their children in marriage to give them that Igbo entrepreneurial spirit their woman prefer marriage Igbo man because they are resourceful and hardworking.

So you discover that through interaction Inter-tribal marriage over half of the country’s populations have Igbo blood.

There have been controversy over who becomes the Igbo leader since the demise of the late Igbo Leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu. How would APGA or Ndigbo Champion this cause under this circumstance?

Ojukwu remains Igbo leader dead or alive and Ojukwu’s successor would be determined by the conduct and consistency of Igbos who have held higher Offices in the country or participated in pro Igbo promotional organizations and pressure groups.

We also believe that at the appropriate time. God will through up a leader that has the interest of Ndigbo at heart and as we speak there are many Igbo’s in the bracket. 

Like I said before, right now APGA has a working agreement with PDP to support Jonathan for the 2015 election and we are expecting that this would be of immense benefit for Ndigbo in the nearest future.

It will  not only help the president to complete the-ongoing Federal Government Project in the South East Zone like the 2^nd Niger Bridge but would also attract enough federal presence in the South East to assuage the scale of marginalization of the South East.

As for APGA, it would be more stronger after the 2015 especially with Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state as the BOT Chairman and header of the Party who is now extending it’s tentacles  to Ogun, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Imo and other states  He believes in the party and he is committed to giving APGA a stronger fitting.