Posted by By Mike Awoyinfa, Dimgba Igwe and Louis Odion on
Calls on President Olusegun Obasanjo to stay in power beyond 2007 have received an emphatic thumb-down from Enugu State governor, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, who calls it a wicked proposal.
Calls on President Olusegun Obasanjo to stay in power beyond 2007 have received an emphatic thumb-down from Enugu State governor, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, who calls it a wicked proposal.
Nnamani stated this last week in Enugu during a chat with a team of top editors from The Sun moments after taking them round projects sites being undertaken by his government in the state.
The governor, widely known to be close to the president, dispelled the rumours that he (Obasanjo) intends to seek a third term in office despite being barred by the constitution.
Describing the campaign as the handiwork of politicians who are motivated by greed, he said: "The entire campaign is wicked. It is an elitist distraction. It is very wicked. People are forecasting what they could have done if they were in the position of the president. They are encouraging him to do it because some may profit from it."
Expressing his faith that an Igbo man could emerge president in 2007, Nnamani, popularly called "Ebeano" restated his opposition to zoning of political offices, saying that it promotes mediocrity.
His words: "Look at the Abiola election in 1993. I was told he won in Kano. The Talakawas in the North, Area boys in Lagos and the spare part dealers in the East, they all voted for Abiola. It is an elitist issue. When they (politicians) are talking about zoning, they are not talking about the people. They are talking about themselves."
On what gives him confidence that the president would not hang onto power beyond 2007, Nnamani said: "This is a president who was a military head of state, spent three years and left. How many of us would do that? He could have stayed and there won't be any complaint. He went to America and said he was leaving (in 1979). Didn't he? He granted several interviews and said he was going. Didn't he?
"He met the president of the World Bank at this period when economic reform is so important to Nigeria and told him face to face that he was going home. The elite has to be busy. They have to create issues rather than talk about poverty. If you talk about debt relief, they would say it hasn't worked, that it is a promise. They would say it's a lie."
Believing that the president is too clever to succumb to such a risky plot, Nnamani defend Obasanjo as a very brilliant man, adding, "He is a general in many ways. Be it strategy, calculation, timing, patience, sheer brilliance, he's a true general. More importantly, he is on the right side of history."
Similarly, the Enugu governor faulted the notion held in some quarters that the president hates Igbo. He said it was not possible for Obasanjo to be a hater of Igbo and yet, according to him, entrust the management of the nation's economy to them.
"People say Obasanjo hates Igbos and yet they are running the engine of the country. They are running finance, NAFDAC, Central Bank," he stated.
Loyalty
Given his closeness to the president, Nnamani has often been reffered to as "Obasanjo's boy". Though he says nobody has ever called him that to his face, he said he has no regrets for being so perceived:
"Nobody has called me Obasanjo's boy. If you are talking about being close to the president and supporting him, I agree. I am loyal to him. That I belong to the same party as him and that I would do his bidding if it is legitimate and constitutional, you can call me Obasanjo's boy. I would accept it."
Why lecture series was on hold
It was reported not too long ago that President Obasanjo had stopped the Enugu Governor from continuing with his lecture series. But this again, Nnamani said was a lie.
"I don't see how President Obasanjo could have told me to stop giving lectures. Don't you notice that most of the things you saw on ground were done between that time lectures stopped and now? It was just a strategic movement. We took time off to do our job and now we are back on the road. So if we are talking anywhere, we can say go to Enugu.
"My lectures are a trip to self discovery, critical conscientiousness, discovering myself through some level of intellectualism."
Igbo will rise again
Contextualising the Igbo quest for a fair deal in the Nigerian project, Nnamani argued that that no other ethnic group has sacrificed as much as the people of South-east for the unity of the country:
"If you are talking about the unity of this country, no other group has invested more to show trust and confidence than the Igbo man. No other group has shed more blood than Igbo.
"What we are asking is (for every player) to respect democracy. If you don't build an airport for us, let democracy continue. We would build it ourselves. We can compete because our fathers competed. We are not going to re-write history, we are not going to say there was no war, that states were not created.
"Let liberalization and privatization continue. Let's continue to join the world, the comity of nations. Igbo have risen before and we can rise again. We were in control of the diplomatic service, the army, police and banking. We were winning elections in Ibadan and Lagos.
"Igbo man is not asking for any favour from anybody. What he is asking is to give him a level playing field and we would know where we would be. Give us a chance to go into the bus and we would find a sit and we would drive the bus if you give us time.
"In almost all the communities across Nigeria today, if you are going to buy drugs, it is an Igbo man that would sell it to you. If you have a car breakdown, it is an Igbo man that would supply the parts. If you want to eat in a cafeteria, it is an Igbo woman that would give you food. What we are asking is for democracy to survive."
Demolitions
Recently, the Enugu State governor was accused of demolishing buildings belonging to perceived political opponents including Senator Fidelis Okoro who fell out with him in the power-game that threw up Chief Ken Nnamani as senate president four months ago.
Though admitting that the state had carried out some demolition exercise, the governor gave the reasons:
"The opposition talk about buildings being demolished, they talk about Nana Obodo, a guy who built something on a dumpsite. We don't have any second thought about demolishing it and putting it back to its former state. I leave it to the relevant authorities but I've done my job. There is no sentiment about it.
"They also talk about Senator Okoro. We expanded the teaching hospital and a lot of buildings had to go. This was a government's guest house given to the senator for his use whenever he was in Enugu. He elected to pay and it was approved for him to pay but he never paid. It was within the complex of the teaching hospital. They were all demolished. We had to demolish government buildings to continue government projects.
"It is left for my people to sort it out. I have done my job. They've said that we own all sort of things. I don't have problem with it. My relatives have legitimate right to own businesses under the Nigeria constitution. There are things that people could not do for you but will do otherwise because your brother is a governor. As long as it is not illegal, I have no problem with it. That is part of the criticism."
Alleged contract scam
Another allegation against Nnamani has been that he awards all contracts to a certain construction firm in which he allegedly has substantial shares. But he punctured the allegation as a tissue of lies:
"They (opposition) talk about one contractor doing all the jobs and that we have stakes in the company. You can interview the contractor. He's been around for a long time. The president recommends him. He knew his father when he came. I am a professional. I don't have to get into contracting. It is just like the way people are talking about third term. They are using their standards. These are people who don't understand how a contractor could be doing all these contracts for the state government without the governor having stakes because they know if they are in my position, they would call their brothers and sisters to do it.
"For the first four years, we used mostly Strabag before they left Nigeria and I never met them before. We are pursuing quality. The opposition cannot go to sleep; they have to say something. They say the government is building a project, they are performing but that the governor has a stake in it. In another breath, they would say governor is doing everything in his village.
"Enugu has been peaceful. Have you heard anything about Enugu State since after election? It is peaceful. I am not a troublemaker. But I'm not a cheer leader either, not on a popularity contest. I have a job to do and I do it and move on."
Where does he get money to fund all the massive projects simulteneously?
"We are within the lowest bracket in terms of federal allocation. To God be the glory. If we can explain it we can rationalise it. Then some groups, establishments can take the glory but we just can't explain it. All we know is that it is a resolve, a decision."
Face-off with traditional rulers
Similarly, the state government was embroiled in some controversy recently over allegations that some traditional rulers who had their certificates withdrawn were being victimised for attending the civic reception held in honour of the Senate President, Ken Nnamani.
But reacting to this claim, the governor said the sanctions meted out on the traditional rulers had nothing to do with attending the reception which was boycotted by everybody in his government:
"In our system, we have council of traditional rulers with principal officers and a chairman. We have grand patron and patrons and they have officers.
We had one or two traditional rulers who kept on attending meetings at various fora on behalf of traditional councils and making comments on behalf of the council. The other rulers were complaining, writing letters to government that those ones were not their true representatives.
"There were some traditional rulers who went to Abuja and other places on behalf of government. They said they were going to see the president to redeem his pledge of N1 billion he made over five years ago. If you are going to do such a thing, the governor should know because it is important to me. So there was a disciplinary process that was on-going.
"There was another ruler who was reported to have demolished a primary school some women were building because it was being done in a different community. I won't be the one to stop the disciplinary process because of what people would say. We don't run government like that."
Relationship with S/East governors
Nnamani also dispelled the notion that there is a rift among Igbo governors. On his relationship with other South-East states governors, especially Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige, Nnamani said "It's cordial." His reported strained relations with Ngige and his Abia State counterpart, he said was a creation of the media.
"Very soon, I would return a call to Anambra State governor (pointing to the telephone box on the side stool). He called me not quite long. You see, a lot had been written. Enugu is the focus so everybody comes here for meetings. We have a tradition of hosting people. So when they come here, everybody assumes all is well and if in a year, we hold one in Anambra, hold one in Imo and Abia and I don't go, it becomes highly noticeable. I don't have any problem. We've been hosting people here for more than six years and no complaint.
"It is incorrect to describe what we had three weeks ago as reconciliation meeting. It was a resolution meeting. You see when we call meetings; people find one excuse or the other not to attend. It wasn't even in Aba; it was in Enugu here that we met. It was in Enugu that the four governors met and we decided that whenever we hold meetings everybody should come. We said since we meet once in a month, that whatever you are going to do, try and be in Nigeria that month."
Kalu and I
Asked pointedly to describe the relationship between him (who is known to nurse a presidential ambition) and his Abia State counterpart, Governor Orji Kalu, Nnamani jocularly retorted: "Is it Kalu the publisher of Sun Newspapers, the governor, the presidential aspirant or the pillar of sports in Africa? Where do I start?"
After the joke, he said matter-of-factly: " He (Kalu) is my friend, brother and colleague."
Measuring his words with a scholarly care, he continued: "Let me also I add that I see a tinge of the Igbo spirit in Kalu and that is what I respect a lot. You know, that indomitable spirit in the face of adversity. What he did with his football club is great. One can give Orji Uzor Kalu his credit."
Politics as risk
"coming home to join politics was a risk. Risk in the sense that it was transitional. We all accepted it was transitional. When something is in transition, it means it is unstable. Do you know that is why we are in a hurry? We want to put as much as possible on the ground within the shortest period of time.
"When the Americans talk about democracy, they are talking of justice, equality. They can riot, go on hunger strike over the right to wear uniform. An American can say he doesn't want to pray or wear uniform, so why do you want to force him?
"That is the liberty they fought for. That is democracy. For Africans, democracy is more than that because Africans have not taken care of their physical needs and primary needs. You have to provide communities with water, electricity, and roads. These things taken for granted in other places.
"In Nigeria, democracy has to mean all these things in addition to others. For Africans to preserve democracy, they have to see something concrete. When an African votes, it is an investment, he is buying shares and the return he is going to get is dividend of democracy. That was how dividends of democracy came about. So I started building roads, water and electricity.
"We built over 300 to 400 k/m of roads. We built water projects, health projects. We did so much. All those roads we built within six months. We built law school within a year and Air Force school within two years in office. We kept on doing all these. That was what we did during our first term. After we won the election for second term, we discovered that part of development is about poverty. We now focus on poverty reduction."
Nnamani, a politician?
"You call it politics. I call it national service. Politics is not in my dictionary. It is putting back into a society that has given so much to me. It is about prosperity, it is a study of tomorrow, bringing a better tomorrow. It is a history of man's resolve, man's vision on earth. It is more than eating, sleeping, and waking up. It is about building bridges, it is about investing.
"The way we look at politics in Nigeria is not how it is. It is a calling. There is more than politics. I don't describe myself as a politician. I am a professional. I found out that I couldn't do more for my people through my profession but through power. I don't look at it as politics. I am not a politician."
Meaning of power
"Anything done using power that is not in the interest of the people is wasted. The discussion we are having now, if it doesn't move anything forward, then it is a waste of time. We are talking of Enugu now. Let's go back to how the whole thing started. Each one of us can constitute a government.
"You are a government and I am but for political reasons, you can't implement it. So, we say let's get together and pick one person. We now give you power. So the power you have is the power given by the people, the power to do good. That is my own understanding of power. Power to do good, to be deployed positively."
Poverty
"We found out that the restiveness, the grief, the aggression in the land was all about poverty. If poverty rate is between 57 and 67 percent, that is serious. Whatever is going to affect 67 percent Nigerians, then it is serious business. So we started talking poverty. The reason why we have to keep using this word is to sensitise people. That is why you see Coca-Cola all the time. It is branded. That is why we keep talking HIV and AIDS. They could have called it something else or say immune deficiency syndrome but they ignored all these things to hit the nail on the head.
"So, we said our government is to be talking about poverty. Anything we are going to do in Enugu State, it is going to be done to reduce poverty. Road construction is part of a holistic poverty reduction strategy. If we are going to build university, it is going to be about reducing poverty, likewise hospital. We would have a budget that is 100%. Anything that is going to go out of this budget will be for poverty reduction."
No single man made me governor
The belief in some quarters is that Nnamani rode to power in Enugu on the back of Chief Jim Nwobodo. But the governor dismissed that notion as a fallacy:
"I cannot explain how I became the governor of Enugu State. What you see in Enugu State, can you explain it? Do you know where the money is coming from, how the vision came about? So I can't explain. I am an Enugu boy.
"I entered America with my briefcase, certificate, best shoes, suits, that was all. No money. I just had my ticket; I handed to my sister who lives in Virginia my degree from University of Nigeria. Few years later I was living in America with qualification in a surgeon having acquired the so-called American training.
"It is not an effort of any man for me to have become the governor. That is why I say ‘Tto God be the glory.' It is not as a result of personal effort.
"We don't subscribe to the concept of godfatherism. We never believed that there were godfathers (in Enugu). It was a product of the media, a fantasy. It was not real. We can celebrate the emergence of new political class in Enugu State. The class that has seen the emergence of Senate President, senators, ministers and other people - young men and women like me. Apart from the Senate President and Senator Okoro, I am about the oldest. Most of the political class in Enugu State from the local government chairman to councilors, I am about the oldest."
Hand of fate
"If I start telling you my story, you will find out that there is fate in this life.
When I was in Washington, I met a surgeon who had been in Port Harcourt. I asked him about the Greens, the Douglas. That was how I ended up in Brooklyn. I worked hard, studied hard, but that is not it. I know at each point, there was a guide in my life.
"I came back as a young man with bright future with some level of success. I was going to leave all that for the world of politics in Nigeria. As a medical specialist, I was taught to take risk. The Americans taught me to take risk. I am a high-risk pregnancy specialist. If a woman had lost five pregnancies already and had come with the sixth pregnancy, her cervix is dilated. I am going to take risk because if I don't do anything, she could lose the baby.
"The Americans taught me how to take and manage risk. A patient comes to you 300 pounds, hypertensive, has seizure disorder, twin pregnancy in premature level, they look for people like me at 3 a.m., 4 a.m. I am not going to run away. Somebody just came in from emergency room, the woman is 36 weeks pregnant, had road traffic accident. We are not sure the woman is going to live but the baby is still alive. That is the way I was trained."
Growing up
"I am an Enugu boy. Though I was born in Port Harcourt, I grew up here. I went to primary, secondary and university here. I did my housemanship here before I left for America. So I have been here for a long time. I am also aware of the history of the politics of Enugu State and the military exploits. Military handed over to Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara, Ojukwu and down the line to Nwobodo. It is a city of adventure.
"I was brought up where my father, grandfather and uncle wanted me to face my education. I also grew up aware of an extended family system where there is a lot of investment on the son, especially the first son, hoping that he was going to take care of every other person. I grew up with a sense of responsibility."
Course of study
"Honestly, I just wanted to have a degree maybe in Geography, History, English, do a diplomatic course. My father wanted me to be a medical doctor right from the beginning. My mother wanted me to be a Methodist reverend minister. Then, we had six universities. My father made sure he took University of Nigeria form and we filled it together just to make sure it was medicine. It was an enterprise I enjoyed because I was instructed to venture into it."
Medicine and politics
"With all due respect, unlike your profession (journalism) where you can afford some douts, medicine can not afford that. If it happens, a patient dies. That is why we need to be in pursuit of excellence in whatever we do.
I just took you to the first dual tunnel carriage way in Nigeria. You saw it. By the time it is completed, it is going to be completely tarred; each side can take two luxurious buses. Electricity will be installed with 24-hour service generator.
"If possible, we hope to put a public phone there. I showed you the link road we are doing, connecting New Heaven to Independence Layout. Then we went to the conference centre. I don't think that there would be anything like it again. You saw the auditorium and the ultramodern judiciary headquarters, eighteen chambers and a different building for the chief judge. It is going to be computerised. I took you to the University Complex. It is going to be the most modern University in Africa. You saw the law school and medical college."
Love of football
"I'm a Rangers and Eagles fan. I also support Enyimba when they are on continental assignment."