Our case against Jega’s 30,000 polling units— Aka Ikenga

Against the backdrop of the insurgency ravaging the North-east, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, recently created 30,000 polling units in preparation for the 2015 general elections. Chief Goddy Uwazurike, President of Aka Ikenga, Igbo professionals group, who was also a delegate at the just concluded National Conference, bares his mind on the issue among others. By Olayinka Ajayi What do you make of the dust raised by the Australian hostage and crisis negotiator, Stephen Davis, alleging that a former Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen Azubuike Ihejirika, and a former governor of Borno State, Modu Sheriff, are co-sponsors of Boko Haram? The issue is a calculated campaign against Nigeria and the Jonathan administration . I don’t even know who hired him, in what capacity and what was he hired to do. I do not believe the Nigerian government hired him to do a dirty job. The wicked attempt to rubbish Ihejirika is unfortunate. This was the same person that fought Boko Haram to a standstill. I remember a group of northern leaders said it was going to petition international bodies that Ihejirika was brutal in the fight against Boko Haram before he was retired. Does it now make sense for somebody to come up with a story that those he brutalised are now his cohorts?. That was how they alleged that the United States said Nigeria will cease to exist come 2015. America never said that. There was a man, an ambassador, who organised a conference. The conclusion that Nigeria may cease to exist is just the opinion of an individual, not an institution or a state. So those who do not wish Nigeria well turned it to say America said it. Politicians have ways of distracting this administration, they should leave Jonathan alone to concentrate on the war against Boko-Haram or do they want us to stop the war, to start investigating ourselves? All agents of misinformation should go to rest. What is your stand on the creation of new polling units by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega? I condemn it without any reservation. Once in a while, I think INEC allows herself to be used by some people that have hidden agenda. What is the purpose of creating additional 30,000 polling units? I urge Jega to withdraw them. Let us remain how we are and vote accordingly. It is difficult to understand how the North, that is being gradually depopulated due to Boko Haram activities, should have more polling units than other areas with no insurgency problem in Nigeria. Goddy Uwazurike Goddy Uwazurike You can imagine Abuja having more polling units than the whole of the South-east. It’s incredible, I don’t know who is trying to deceive INEC. Prof.Attahiru Jega’s name is at stake and I would advise him to learn from Justice Kutigi who chaired the just concluded National Conference. When Kutigi realised his integrity was at stake, he had to stand up to defend his name. What do you make of the Boko Haram sect taking over some parts of Borno and Adamawa amid the state of emergency declared in the states, declaring it a caliphate? There is no ammunition in police colleges, you only have the commanders marching up and down. So if Boko Haram comes to attack, who will defend them? Is it the trainee who has no weapon? Because these terrorists invaded a place and escaped does not mean taking over. In the confusion, they hoisted their flag and ran back from where they came from. How does that amount to taking over? After attacking the United Nations building in the federal capital territory, Abuja, we did not consider it as taking over. So how did terrorists take over?.They can hit and run but can never take over a state. Moreover, you don’t fight a war where the people are not in support of it. When you are fighting a war with hostile civilians at your back, watch out. This is what is going on in Borno State. Meanwhile, soldiers are there giving their best while some people are deriding them. The governor was the leader of those deriding the soldiers. Now they are relying on the soldiers they tagged as ineffective forces to save them. How do you see the just concluded National Conference that had long been clamoured for by Nigerians as the way forward for our co-existence as a nation? The CONFAB was an eye opener, where we looked back, looked at the present situation and put the future into serious consideration. It was a conference where we had the oldest man at 92 years sitting in a conference with the youngest lady being 24 discussing Nigeria’s way forward . Anybody who considered what we did as a waste of time needs to have his head re-examined. We are talking about a report of 10,000 pages with 22 volumes. Even a fool would go through the report before passing comments. Those castigating the conference did not follow the proceedings despite the fact that it was given good coverage by the media. If they had followed it diligently, they would have known that the problems facing us as a nation were tabled and solutions proffered. So if anybody sits down in the comfort of his home, to tag the conference as a failure, it’s a clear evidence that the person is a failure himself. I can tell you, we had the best brains from all tribes and tongues, all professionals represented their people. We had people who had seen it all, we also had people who are looking forward to seeing more. We did our best, we opened up, we quarreled, we made peace. In four and a half months, we studied our Constitution and all existing policies of Nigeria. We even looked at things that do not concern the government. Our sittings, sometimes stretched to between 9am and 8.30 pm. We took pains to examine the reports of past conferences. It was our ability to continue that marked the difference. Those who believe we wasted our time should wait for the next conference because this one will go down in history as one that came at a time Nigeria celebrated her 100years of being together. Do you see the conference report solving the problems we face as a nation? That was the purpose of the conference. I remember some people said we did not gather to restructure Nigeria and many of us laughed. We prepared for the conference and recommended changes. Indeed there would be a better Nigeria if the reports are implemented. From the information we got, the report would be implemented. There are three stages of implementation: one is the law, which has to do with the National Assembly; two is the executive arm where the President does not need the consent of anybody to act; three is the judiciary where the chief justice will act accordingly. As a matter of fact,what we have done is to simplify the work of the legislative arm of government. A diligent legislature needs to go through what we did thoroughly. For instance, there is a section in our Constitution that gives room for the husband to beat his wife as far as he does not injure her. We had to condemn such act. But critics says the conference focused more on issues of the past rather than ponder more our debt and how to pay it. The critics should first and foremost read the report which is in three parts: the first details our current situation as a nation, the second shows the recommendations proposed and the third outlines the recommendations accepted. It is when you read the report that you will understand and appreciate our efforts. There is no frivolous legislation or policy proposed, everything proposed has foundation. We discussed even why banks are not lending to people, the issues of social welfare and pilgrimage. What is your stand on the N200billion loan President Jonathan administration targeted at entrepreneurs? It a very good idea, there is need to ginger our economy. If you remember, when United States President Obama came into power, the American economy was comatose and they asked him what he would do to save the economy; he said he had to stimulate the economy. This is the aim of President Jonathan. The only thing is to call on those that will be involved in the implementation to give their best for it to get to the right hands. So it is a joint effort by government and entrepreneurs to make it effective. People are of the view that government has good polices but setback comes in when it comes to implementing the policies. There are people who always stand as obstacles to whatever will be of interest to the larger society. There are also people who see government as a source of income. We also have people who like to derail government policies. Some already are furious that Jonathan is surviving despite the challenges he is facing while some people do not want to even hear that others are pushing that he goes for second term. If such people have access to such money, you can imagine what would happen to our treasury. You sound more like a person who supports Jonathan’s administration. Does Aka-Ikenga support GEJ’s re-run come 2015? Being the president of Aka-Ikenga, I am for all. Moreover, he has not declared his ambition to re-run for the office come 2015. When he declares, then we will make our opinion known. - See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/case-jegas-30000-polling-units-aka-ikenga/#sthash.QqYe2Sa0.dpuf