Why we insisted Igbo in Lagos should vote Sanwo-olu  — Ogbonna, President, Ohanaeze Lagos  

When you took office as President of Ohanaeze in Lagos, you said your priority was to unite Ndigbo in Lagos. Would you say that’s being achieved?

We have to a large extent because we took it as a duty that we must accomplish. Remember we are dealing with the Igbo. So no matter how you look at it, we are one people and that makes the job easier. But I must admit that it is also difficult dealing with Igbo people because the Igbo thrive more in internal conflicts and more often than not, operate independently.

They thrive more in fighting one another; they prefer fighting within to fighting outsiders and to that extent, I will say it has not been an easy job. The Igbo are the most difficult people to lead. Regardless, with prayer, consultations, patience, including spending money to sort out certain challenges, I can say we have achieved a lot in that regard.

Prior to the governorship election in Lagos State, you released a statement calling on Igbo people in Lagos to vote Sanwo-olu. But later, Ohanaeze President-General said no, that they should vote their conscience…?

Yes, you know it has to do with the rift between Ndigbo and APC in Lagos State. Our leader,  Dr. Nnia Nwodo is a man I regard very highly. He has laid solid foundations in Ohanaeze across the globe. However, I would like to point out that nobody has a monopoly of knowledge. The issue about how the Igbo votes or who they would vote for, called for a more strategic approach. His position sounded nice and is indeed, the ideal, but the point is that sometimes, what is ideal may not be exigent.

I stated that we are in Lagos and being in Lagos means that we have to acknowledge that we are guests here. And by the same token, we have to show respect to our host in the interest of peace. There is no doubt about the fact that the ruling party in Lagos is the APC and if you give your vote to any other party here at the moment, it’s tantamount to throwing the vote into a garbage because if your vote is not part of the winning vote, it’s a waste.

So, I maintained that we had join hands to elect the new governor in APC. That’s the best decision we could make.

But was it a decision you made out of fear, considering the intimidation that came with the first election?

No, it’s not fear. It’s about doing what is right and what is in our interest. It’s like you are working in somebody’s establishment, you don’t have to work against the interest of that establishment. And in any case, the important question is, can the Igbo successfully challenge that establishment? To what end would that be?

The point is that we cannot fight unnecessarily or take unnecessary risks. It’s like someone jumping down a story building to prove that he is brave. So, if you do and let’s say you did not break your legs or even kill yourself, what would you have benefited in real terms, from the jump? So, the point is not that we are afraid.

We have simply decided to align with the ruling party here, knowing also that they were going to win. I hear the argument that things need to change, but what I ask is whether anyone can possibly be more Catholic than the pope. We shouldn’t be the ones to champion certain agitations, especially if it doesn’t really concern us.

I say also that most of the things we say the APC is denying us could also be because we have not been voting for them. The reason we are charged more in terms of taxation is most likely because we are seen as political enemies. That’s the reality of politics in the black world. If you don’t vote for people, they regard you as their enemy, and we must understand that.

But should it be that way? Shouldn’t people be free to make their choices?

Yes, I agree. But again, if you have the option of taking one of two roads: one of which will lead to rifts and animosity, the other to better understanding and comfort, while you are at leisure to choose either, wisdom demands that you chose the latter.

But why hasn’t the APC tried to bring the Igbo in by ceding some posts to them? For example, why can’t the party give Igbo people tickets for elective positions in places where they live in large numbers?

They had given us some chances in the past. We were once given commissionership, but still we did not vote them. When somebody feels that you want them out of power by all means, how do you expect him to give you such positions? We must also be able to ask ourselves how well we have positioned ourselves to get those favours.

It is like when you go to my state, Ebonyi for example, and you say you want to push PDP out of the state, how can you do that? So, we must show that yes, we are ready to work with them. In subsequent elections, we should come out en-masse and vote for APC because of what we have in Lagos. The party is also our own party here. You can’t kick against your parents because you want to exercise your freedom.

So you think the President-General was wrong to have asked Ndigbo to vote their conscience?

I don’t want to counter the President-General. He is our leader and I cannot come here to disagree with him. He is right in asking people to vote their conscience. But like I said before, we have to be more strategic, especially those of us that live in Lagos. President-General is in Enugu, so he may not know the issues as much as we do.

 By the way, the Hausa community in Enugu had come together to say they were supporting (Ifeanyi) Ugwuanyi, the current governor and the ruling party, the PDP. That’s the point I made about the Igbo being matters of internal rifts.

But let’s look at the bigger picture. Igbo businesses continue to face harassment by street urchin who collect all manner of levies…?

We have such people all over the country. There are also such people in the East. Every state has theirs. We can’t begin to judge with that. We will judge with people in government, in terms of the positions they give to us and the conditions they provide for us to do our businesses. And we believe that they will provide the best conditions for us because they know that the Igbo contribute immensely to the development of Lagos and the success of Ndigbo in Lagos is also the success of Lagos. So, I can’t judge by the activities of area boys.

There is the growing call for the Igbo to invest more at home given some of the things that are going on. Isn’t it something you should talk about more seriously?

That has become like the Song of Solomon. We sing it time and again. We have said it time without number that we can also make our place great the way we have contributed in making Lagos great. But I think one thing we must all realise is that we lost a war not long ago and we are still trying to recover from it. There is no way we can recover by concentrating in the East. It is a small place.

And let’s also understand the lure of Lagos. Lagos is the commercial city of Nigeria. It was the country’s administrative capital and has certain advantages such as the ports that lure investments to it. Lagos is a melting pot. The investment the Igbo have in Lagos, they don’t have anywhere else. They don’t have such investment in Markurdi. Nobody has such investment in Taraba or even Ibadan.

They have it in Lagos because of the peculiar standing of Lagos in the country. You see Aliko Dangote for instance, building massive industries in Lagos. Nobody has asked him to take such industries to Kano. He understands that as a business owner, he must look at where is viable for his involvement. Not everybody can be as big as Dangote, but at the end of the day, the motivation for everyone is the same. It is mischievous to celebrate Dangote who is building industry, but you ask Igbo people establishing small businesses to go home and do so.

So, yes, making conscious efforts to invest in the East is very important and we are doing it gradually. But the point is that it is more profitable to invest here. And by the way, the Igbo are an outgoing people. Some have said that we are the Jews of Africa. Yes, we are known for venturing out. All over the world, there are Igbo people doing one business or the other.

Travel around Africa and you will be amazed. And In fact, even in politics, we are getting involved in so many European countries and of course, America. So while as Igbo people, we must in our wanderings, remember to contribute to developing our home, let’s not forget that going out is an intricate part of the Igbo worldview.

Some have argued that the reason you have many Igbo here is the seaports. There are ports across the states of the South South which are closer to the Igbo, but for one reason or the other, they are not functioning. Shouldn’t Ohanaeze do more to put pressure on the government to ensure that those ports are made to work?

We have tried so much in terms of pushing for the provision of good road networks in the Eastern states. Of course, you know that ports are under the purview of the federal government and there is not much we can do if the government is not ready to do the right things for whatever reasons. But the point is that Lagos needs to be decongested. Opening up those posts is in the overall interest of Nigeria and its economy. It will help to create other commercial centres and invariably help to create opportunities for Nigerians.

So, it would be sad if those in authority continue to sabotage those ports thinking they are punishing Easterners. The fact is, you are punishing the whole country and I think Nigeria has gotten to that stage where we need people who have vision and are broad minded and not held down by narrow ethnic or religious considerations to take up leadership positions at the highest levels.

But like I said, not minding the challenges, we are investing at home gradually. It cannot happen in one fell swoop. Gradually, we will get there.

You had emphasised the need for the Igbo to join the APC. But we know that the Igbo are always independent thinkers. Is there an effort to ensure that there is this understanding of the need to join Lagos mainstream politics?

We have canvassers in all the wards in Lagos. These are people who are going to be sensitising people.

As Ohanaeze president in Lagos, how easy has it been working with all the other Igbo groups in Lagos?

It has been smooth, except for those who want to collapse Ohanaeze in Lagos. There are those who want to undermine Ohanaeze. Those are the people feeding our President-General with all manner of false information about the Ohanaeze leader.