Former governor of Imo State, Dr. Ikedi Ohakim, spoke with a group of reporters in Owerri over the recently held Ohanaeze Ndigbo general election. He lauded Igbo leaders for making a bold statement in Ambassadore George Obiozor’s emergence and said that some of the candidates criticizing the process also sought government support for their candidacy. Damian Duruiheoma was there.
YOU went to court over the antics of certain elements who were suspected to be working towards truncating the recently held Ohanaeze Ndigbo general election. Now, the election has come and gone, are you satisfied? Were your expectations met?
Of course, I am certified with both the conduct and outcome of the elections. It was one of the most peacefully conducted exercises I have ever witnessed since my career in public service. You yourselves saw what happened. The delegates, the officials, the contestants, everybody comported himself or herself well. You can see the beauty of the modality that was used – Option A4. It was so glaringly transparent. As a result, none of the contestants disputed the outcome. Even those who watched it on television were marveled at the total equanimity of the entire exercise.
As for the outcome, I am as elated as most other Igbo and indeed Nigerians with the emergence of Professor George Obiozor as President-General of the apex Igbo body. There could not have been a better choice. I congratulate our people, Ndi Igbo, for making such a wonderful choice. You can see that congratulatory messages are coming from all over the world to Obiozor.
Apparently, you were part of the tendency that supported Obiozor’s candidature …
That question is now academic. Whether I was part of it or not, the outcome is that Ndi Igbo have made a good choice of who leads the only rallying point they have.
But some concerned Igbo groups have described the election and the process that led to it as a sham.
What is the definition of “concerned”? Every Igbo fellow is concerned; whatever are your preferences. Just as those who might not like Obiozor or Emuchay or any of the other officers elected are concerned Igbo, the converse is also true. That is, those individuals or groups who supported those that emerged are also concerned. No individual or group can claim to be more concerned than others. If anything, those who supported the successful candidates are more concerned because they have a higher stake. Our people should jettison meaningless semantics and let’s pull our creative energy together and work for the betterment of the Igbo nation.
As for the process that led to the election, how can you describe something that was yet to take place as a sham? The people putting up that argument were merely cooking up reasons to rationalise their inevitable withdrawal from the election, having discovered that there was no way they would have won.
Are you then confirming the allegation that the outcome was predetermined?
Nobody predetermined anything. Did you not witness what happened at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, last Sunday? The truth is that Ndi Igbo saw a good candidate in Obiozor and they went for him. That was not the first time such a thing was happening. In electoral processes, candidates sometimes emerge unopposed. But Obiozor was not returned unopposed. He was challenged to the very end. If there was a predetermination, those doing it would have ensured that he emerged unopposed. But three other candidates slugged it out with him to the end, even as three withdrew before voting started.
There was this parallel election in Enugu from which a parallel executive of the Ohanaeze emerged. That didn’t quite jell with why you went to court.
The so-called parallel election is laughable but I can assure you there was no election anywhere. Let them show us the video and photographs. In any case, a committal process has commenced. There was a court injunction restraining anybody from doing anything outside the electoral committee constituted by the Imeobi, led by the immediate past President-General, Nnia Nwodo, and headed by Egariwey. All those who announced a parallel executive will eventually have themselves to blame. They should tell us where and where their candidate or candidates visited to canvass for support? Who and who did their candidates consult? Did they consult me for example? You may say I am sounding immodest but I do not need to emphasise the fact that no serious contender for the position of President-General of Ohanaeze can afford not to consult me, Ikedi Ohakim, when it is zoned to Imo. I am not saying that I am the person that will give him the thing. What I mean is that you can’t be serious if you think that my opinion on who emerges does not matter. Let them tell us who else they consulted. Did they complete the relevant forms? Who did they submit the forms to? And to which bank account did they pay the stipulated fees into? You don’t win a contest by sitting at home and pay some miscreants to be abusing your opponents on social media. It is like the advertising metaphor when you are winking at a lady in the night thinking that she knows what you are doing. Of course, Ndigbo do not take the recalcitrant Enugu group and their sponsors seriously even though they still have to face criminal charges in court.
There is still this allegation that Obiozor was sponsored by the Imo State Government…
Without conceding to that allegation, let me ask you this question: Are people in government not bona fide citizens like you and I? Don’t they have their own preferences? It is naïve to expect that a sitting government will be hundred per cent neutral in a matter like that. I have been a governor. It is the duty of the government to find out how the people believe their interest would be best served.
The information that is available to the government is usually not in the public domain. At the end, the question you ask is, is the outcome objectionable? Outside the few contenders, who, quite legitimately, felt that it should have been them? The acceptance of Obiozor has been overwhelming. Ndigbo generally are getting kudos for making the choice they have made. So, what are we talking about? In any case, I am aware that some of the candidates also sought government support. One even contacted an influential senator from the North to lobby a Southeast governor and some leaders on his behalf. One of the contestants contacted a top politician in the North who then called me on behalf of that fellow. Now, because he could not make it, he is going about alleging that Northerners hijacked the exercise; simply because their own lobbying failed. My plea to the contestants is to tell their supporters to stop bandying unpalatable things about the new Ohanaeze leadership. As they say, what you call your dog is what it answers. If some of us succeed in giving the new leadership of Ohanaeze a bad image right from day one, we should have ourselves to blame when other ethnic groups take advantage of what some of us are saying now to look down on Ohanaeze Ndigbo generally. That election has come and gone. Let’s put it behind and forge ahead as brothers and sisters from one family.
Why do you think the rest of Nigeria is so enamored about Obiozor’s emergence?
Why would they not? Ndigbo have just chosen a world statesman to lead them. Professor George Obiozor is an epitome of world diplomacy, having served two of the most strategic nations in the world as a diplomat – Israel and the United States. He is wired, if I may use that language. There is nothing anybody in Africa knows about world politics and diplomacy Obiozor does not know. Back home in Nigeria, he knows every trick about the Nigerian establishment. In fact, I can even state that some of our compatriots across Nigeria would have wished an Obiozor did not emerge. They know they cannot dribble pass him. In short, I think Ndigbo have just chanced on one of our best moments for a long time and I congratulate our people for that. Let me also seize this opportunity to congratulate the electoral committee led by Egariwey in particular for setting the stage for such a wonderful outing.
There are also allegations in some quarters that the exercise was hijacked by the APC. What’s your reaction to that?
How? Chief Ben Obi who moved the motion for the dissolution of the Nwodo-led executive committee is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party. Professor ABC Nwosu, who seconded the motion, is also a chieftain of the PDP. Chief Emmanuel, who was there from the beginning to the end, is a member of the Board of Trustee of the PDP. So, what are we talking about?
Some people also contend that the outcome of the election tends to lend credence to the allegation that Ohanaeze has been hijacked by the North.
My answer to that is simply that it is sacrilegious to say such a thing. And I plead with you younger ones, particularly those of you in the media, not to be part of such heresy, either directly or indirectly. To say that Ohanaeze has been hijacked by the North or any other section of the country is a big insult to our people and please do not help in propagating such nonsense. That’s all I can say.
Do you see any relationship between the just concluded election and the 2023 presidential election? What are the nuances?
Well, the current leadership will be on seat by the time of the 2023 general elections and you know the sentiments of our people over 2023. Ohanaeze is the biggest rallying point of Ndigbo. It is our biggest structure. So, a lot of talking will have to be done. And the George Obiozor we all know is so independent that they may find it difficult to have him rationalise any position that is not in the overall strategic interest of Ndigbo. Go and conduct a search in the internet on his views on the relationship between Ndi Igbo and the rest of the country. You will discover that the fellow we are talking about is far more radical than most of the younger elements who say he will be hijacked.
Today, even outsiders believe it is the turn of Ndigbo to produce the next president of Nigeria. It is to be expected that our fellow compatriots look towards that direction. It is not a fait accompli or a do-or-die thing but you can be sure that with a person like Obiozor in that position, a lot of talking will be done.
So you are saying he is the right person to lead Ndigbo at such talks?
It depends on what you mean. The political parties are still there but Ohanaeze remains the rallying point. And you cannot get power without diplomacy. Professor George Obiozor is a student of power and diplomacy. He has been involved in talks about power both within and outside Nigeria. Remember his famous theory that politics is a concentric circle of conspiracies. I believe he knows what he is talking about because he has been involved. You cannot take such a fellow for granted.
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