Admin l Wednesday, September 01, 2021
ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – Dr. Ramas Asuzu, is the General Overseer of Liberation Temple of the Absolute God in Nri kingdom, Anaocha Local District of Anambra State. In this interview with www.starconnectmedia.com he talked on issues bothering on agitations, economic hardship among others.
What is your view on the arrest of these two secessionists, Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho?
Well, I have been silent for a long time because I have done my best for the Nigerian project as regards the things that should be done to heal the wounds of Nigeria/Biafran civil war.
However, I believe that Ndigbo are the architect of their woes because they find it difficult to recognize and appreciate what their own is doing for the overall interest. They don’t even regard anybody that speaks the truth and they prefer outsiders, that is why I withdrew from commenting on Igbo affairs.
Nevertheless, Nnamdi Kanu started his agitation for freedom which depicts the existence of bad leadership in the country. If things are done normal, I mean if Nigeria is well restructured, who will then nurse the idea of such agitation?
Things are going wrong here and there, and the wounds of the civil war have not been healed. It is unheard of that after the 51 years post-civil war which was premised on No victor, No vanquish, no Igbo person has tasted the seat of Nigeria presidency. Pertinently, when you start feeling nervous about the agitations of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho, you should then believe that things are totally bad in the entire system.
We are presently in a big mess in this country called Nigeria and this war mode from the high haven against Ndigbo must stop. Initially, a bag of foreign rice was been sold at about N8000 before this ‘Next level government’ of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board and banned the importation of rice. Now that we produce our own rice which I don’t know whether they are being fertilized with dollars or pounds, that made it to be so expensive at N30,000.
I don’t actually feel that President Buhari has advisers who should be updating him with the trend of activities in the country. I think they are sycophants because they are not performing their jobs as required. If they are doing their duties effectively, our locally produced rice should be cheaper for the common man on the street. If the foreign rice was being sold at N7000 after offsetting custom duties, why then should our local rice be sold above N20,000?
This is the cause of all these agitations because people are dying of hunger, every mortuary is filled up with corpses. Everybody is crying, there is no money, there is no job. In fact, Nigeria is sitting on the keg of gunpowder. The END SARS protest will be a child’s play when the youths will come back to demand for their rights. Succinctly, the agitations of the duo should be a thing to be discussed on a round table for drastic surgical solutions instead of this show of force by the federal government.
I think, with equity and justice adduced in such parley, the spirit of self determination which stokes the embers of violence in the country will be dampened.
Don’t you think that if Ndigbo is conceded the 2023 presidency, this agitation will end?
Well, as I said earlier, since after the civil war where it was pronounced no victor, no vanquish by then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon(rtd), things are still going in the wrong direction in Nigeria. It may be possible to believe that those our Independent Champions had later felt that the North and South are strange bedfellows and very incomprehensible to such co-existence under an uncomfortable one family.
It can now be glaring that only the white man that brought this amalgamation of the two protectorates had the reason of, maybe, reducing the inherent pains of his workload. So, this co-existence was not signed on any roundtable with the presence of all concerned. Therefore, can’t we sit on the roundtable for once and see whether we can be together as one united family or not.
In view of this, why can’t we still do things accordingly by mere rotation of the presidency among the component states rather than being petty with some despicable deceptive measures being churned out. Though, being one united family is not by force and should never paint the picture of some people becoming slaves in their fatherland. This is the time for the change or allow Ndigbo to go.
Is this agitation for Igbo self-determination better than keeping to one Nigeria?
For me, all I know is that the best thing to do is to seek for the restructuring of the country. Just like the Northerners are presently controlling gold, diamond, cement among others, I have not heard that gold in Zamfara state have been shared among the Southern region. So, let Nigeria be restructured or let’s go back to 1963 constitution, everybody to manage their resources.
I think this is the right thing to do, by adopting true confederation where power at the center will be weaker or alternatively, engage an outright cleansing of the entire system.
You talked about cleansing, please shed more light on this?
The cleansing I really meant is holistic fight on corruption where those corrupt people should be committed to jail sentence in order to serve as deterrent to others.
I mean, there should be no sacred cows, even those in EFCC who were indicted together with judges. Also, the cases of Boko Haram sponsors, we have not known the extent of their prosecutions. This should be re-visited.
The people found culpable should be penalized either by death sentence or long term imprisonment. Nothing short of this is what I mean by cleansing. If this is done, you will see that sanity will return to this country.
If an Igbo President finally emerges, what do you expect to be his first priority?
The first thing will be to revisit the report of the National Conference of 2014 and adopt it as a working document. I feel that is the problem and solution of the country. That document needs to be implemented.
What is your concern about the governorship election in Anambra state on Nov.6?
Firstly, there is anarchy in the party that claims to possess Igbo identity, APGA, together with the other opposition, PDP. Even APC is foot-dragging it’s internal squabbles with sense of discontent of courage to douse frayed nerves. Then, the buck stops at INEC. Let’s see if money bags will still not highjack the Commission to alter results during the election. INEC is the highest corrupt body in Nigeria.
Anambra state is where election business thrives and humongous amount of money is being transacted from Jigawa to Kano on conflicting Court orders. You see, Ndigbo have not learnt their lessons even after the genocide in 1967-70.
Personally, I see these litigations among the parties as sheer madness. Well, behind the scenes of these court cases, all we need is to produce a governor that will look after the youths. We should build the youths from being drug barons and couriers in every part of the world. Many of them are serving various jail terms in Malaysia, Indonesia and some are in underground detention cells languishing.
It is due to lack of job, they resort to drugs. So, the kind of governor we need should be the type that will always convene town hall meetings with his people and feel their heart pulse.
