‘Abia guber: Ihejirika is best man for the job’

A non-partisan organization, Abia Vanguard for Good Gov­ernance has thrown its weight behind the aspiration of the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Onyeabor Azubuike Ihejirika to contest for the office of the governor of Abia State in 2015.

Speaking in an interview with Daily Sun in Lagos, the president of the or­ganization, Ezeikpe Onyeka said that the emergence of the former Army boss for the race for the governorship seat in Abia State would bring about peace, stability and growth.

According to him, the choice of Ihejirika by his group was made after they had analysed the challenges that have undermined the growth and de­velopment in Abia State since 1999.

In this interview, he speaks on vari­ous issues. Excerpts:

Why we formed Abia Vanguard for Good Governance

This organization, I must confess as a child of circumstance is one of the umbrella organizations of Abia State indigenes living in Lagos State. We are non-partisan and what led to its formation is the state of affairs in Abia State and our innermost desire to ensure that Abia will begin to work like the other states in the federation through the emergence of cred­ible and competent political office holders. You can agree with me that for a very long time, cheery news have not been coming from Abia State. The bad press has been devastat­ing. Whenever you mention Abia State with regard to governance, people show signs of contempt and disgust. It seems as if the state belongs to a different world. The world that is yet to see the light. The negative image was so much and as proud Abia indigenes, we are not happy with this. That is why some of us decided to come together to see what we could do to change the image and perception of our dear state and that led to the formation of Abia Vanguard for Good Governance. So, our main objective is to make sure that Abia becomes a frontline state. But as a non parti­san organization, how we intend to achieve our objective is to identify those who have the capacity to transform the state at all levels, be it governorship, Senate, House of Represen­tatives and allign with them. Far be it that incompetent folks will continue to rule God’s own state. We are tired of the embarrassment we have been receiving. Enough is enough.

What is the reason for your choice of Ihejirika?

I want to say that our choice of Gen.Azu­buike Ihejirika (rtd), as the man who the cap fits was empirically based. We made a holis­tic analysis of the challenges that have been undermining development and growth in Abia State since the dawn of democracy in 1999 and juxtaposed them with the credentials of those who are aspiring to govern the state in 2015; that is with regard to capacity for solu­tion. We conducted an independent investiga­tion and drew our conclusion. We don’ t have to wait for campaign to begin so they would bamboozle us with unattainable promises. At this stage of their lives, they should be talking of what they had done in the past and that would give us an idea of what they would do in the future. In law, it is said that you cannot give what you don’t have. So, in our analysis, we discovered that one of the biggest chal­lenges that has drawn Abia State backward is insecurity. The other one is contempt for one another among the politicians. Let me start with the issue of insecurity.  We are aware that some of the governorship aspirants would still make the same old promise that they would transform Abia to Dubai and Singapore put together within a year if they are elected into office. However, before they could do that, the state should be conducive. The state must be made a no- go-area for kidnappers, armed robbers and even Boko Haram that is working very hard to spread their pogrom to the south eastern states. This has therefore made the issue of security very paramount and it is a fact that Ihejirika is more qualified than the other aspirants in this regard. With him as the governor, Abians would be sleeping with their two eyes closed. They would be sure of the safety of their lives, properties and invest­ments. He being at the helm of affairs in the state would also give both local and foreign investors confidence to come and invest knowing full well that their investment would be well protected. On the issue of contempt for one another, to be honest with you, Abia is not really as black as it is being painted outside the state. The whole thing is more of propaganda than reality. The mudslinging and blackmail are mainly as a result of over famil­iarity which we know brings contempt. Most of the politicians in Abia know themselves in and out so they don’ t have much respect for one another even for the exalted offices some of them are occupying. If a governor emerges from this crowd, the same “who are you?” would continue. So, there is need for some­body from a different background, somebody who has played in a higher league, somebody who they all know has seen more than them to come in and call them to order. It is only somebody like that, that can bring sanity to the politics and governance in Abia State. It is such a person that can strengthen things out and the state would enter the path of progress and the person who is most fitted to do this is Gen. Ihejirika (rtd).

What is your take on the zoning agreement in Abia State?

I strongly believe in fairness, equity and justice but that does not mean that I will sacrifice merit for mediocrity. Abia Vanguard for Good Governance does not believe in zoning and I want it to be on record that no governor had emerged in Abia under zoning arrangement. All the governorship elections in the state have been keenly contested by all the sections in the state and we feel that is the way it should be. Let the best candidate emerge. Our concern is that man, that woman who has the capacity to move Abia State forward. Where he or she comes from is not important to us. Our main concern is capacity and competence and it is on this ground that we settled for Ihejirika. But if you still insist on zoning, I want you to know that we are still morally correct because the acronym ABIA stands for Afikpo, Bende, Isuikwuato, Aba. And going by this acronym, Afikpo and Bende have taken their slots, remaining Isui­kwuato and Aba and going by the acronym, I which is Isuikwuato where Ihejirika comes from, comes before A which stands for Aba. So, whether it is going by the acronym or competence, Ihejirika is eminently qualified. But as I told you earlier, we did not settle for him based on where he hails from but rather because he has the capacity to move Abia forward. Among all the aspirants, he is the most qualified and most competent going by our research and consultations. His emergence would be a blessing to the state.

Read More