Tinubu Government is very formidable–Umenzekwe …Says new national anthem, a prayer for Nigeria
Hon (Chief) Modestus Umenzekwe (Onwa Achina) is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview in Lagos, he speaks about President Tinubu’s style of leadership, the new national anthem and other critical national issues. Excerpt:
Tinubu’s Administration just clocked one year recently, though celebrated in low key, for many, that didn’t in anyway reduce the significance of that celebration. Now let me ask you, how much do you appreciate President Tinubu’s style of leadership?
What happened to it?
You see, people say sometimes he is proactive, sometimes he takes decisions of critical national importance on the spur of the moment and people have commented on these, what is your take?
Well what I can tell you is that the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very methodical in his administration. He is not God, but I think he is walking the talk. You see, this is a man that came in from the private sector, a pure democrat, he has seen it outside the world; he is now seeing it within the framework of Nigerian seat of power, at least to the best of our information, he is a complacent man, he is not there to loot the treasury of the country, like the wife said in one of her speeches and people started attacking her, but she made a very clear and factual statement.
Asiwaju is there to right the wrongs and make sure that those things he was fighting for in the time of military era are implemented. He has the will; he has the gut, and any person capable of taking decisions no matter how hard, I cherish that person. He is not after first term or second term, as many people do, for him to be able to take these hard decisions now, even before the half of the first tenure, it shows that he is determined to lift this country to the promise land. Some leaders will be there, if I say this now it will cost me my second term, but you see Tinubu taking this decisions, but these decisions, believe me, when they are fully implemented, will see him through for second term if he so desires.
Supposing after one term he says I don’t want, because he has laid the foundation, which I am sure incoming leaders will find it difficult to dismantle. So I think I am very comfortable with his way, yes things are difficult because of those hard decisions, people criticize him, if you go out there on social media you see all manner of things, like those of us that are in APC, they have called us unprintable names, I said, well, you can say whatever you like, if what I say on air or in print as I grant interviews to the media, which you don’t like, go and grant your own. It is not enough attacking me, go and do your own. Let the public choose the one they want, after all, I didn’t start this thing today, even when APC was not in power, I have been saying it that APC will spring surprises, and it has come to be.
Some people said that they would never win election; I said let’s watch and see. So I am proud today that all those predictions have come to pass. So I think Tinubu is doing well, these decisions are hard, it is affecting us, it is affecting him too, and I want to congratulate the National Assembly as led by the Uncommon Governor, Dr Godswill Akpabio, because if there is no synergy some of these decisions cannot go, that does not mean they are there as o yes members, as people talk on the street, I watch them most times, I watch there proceedings on television, it is not all that easy. So I congratulate them and encourage them to do more so that these hard decisions when they start manifesting Nigerians will be okay, Nigerians will feel good and feel relaxed.
Recently the license of Heritage Bank was withdrawn and this of course is affecting the depositors because their hard earned monies are trapped in the bank, what do you think should be the solution? Don’t you think merger or acquisition should have been the solution?
I want to say that there is nothing wrong in revoking the license of any bank provided it is done within the ambit of the law, and provided the bank is found wanting in terms of being stable. But the snag there is the depositors losing their money or not getting their money complete. I can’t imagine myself depositing my money in a bank and things went bad according to the bank examiners and then I will become the scapegoat, it is not reasonable. So what they should do is to approach other banks to acquire Heritage Bank and make sure Depositors money are paid complete, that is what they supposed to do and again this tedious approach for people to come and fill form, and come and do this and that, I don’t understand it at all. You see people crowded in the bank as if we are changing money again, I don’t understand it. Policy makes should lesson our burden, there are people who cannot fill the forms, there are artisans who cannot read and write. It is so tedious and strenuous. So they should find a way of making it seamless and easier for people.
More importantly no depositor should lose his or her money; the money should be paid complete at a record time. At least in two weeks every depositor must have gotten their money. I heard them say they are going to pay within one week, we are watching.
The old new national anthem was recently signed into law, and there are commendations and there are criticisms, some say Tinubu just wanted to do away with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s legacies, as it was during his tenure that the anthem was dropped, what is your take? Also is it what Nigerians need now?
First of all let me clear the air on the new national anthem as it relates to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. You see, because of the mindset we have in this country, we try to make certain insinuations that may not be correct. I have not heard from Obasanjo neither have I heard from President Tinubu. I feel the changing of the national anthem is a bold step, and has nothing to do with Tinubu and Obasanjo. People are just making insinuations; that is my own judgement. Any person can say whatever he likes, Obasanjo has not come out to say, this anthem was changed because of him, Obasanjo has served this country meritoriously; in fact I admire him anytime I see him on stage, very healthy, very energetic. Now Tinubu is on the throne and Tinubu has not come out for one day and said, I want to attack Obasanjo. I think people are making insinuations that are neither here nor there and they should be very careful, they should know that the two of them are brothers, so people should leave them to settle their differences if there is any.
Did you listen to Mike Ozekhome, where he was defending this old national anthem? He moved a motion at the national confab saying this anthem is more endearing than the ‘Arise O compatriots.’ Now will you relate it to the alleged feud between Obasanjo and Tinubu? Was Mike Ozekhome attacking Obasanjo too? The new national anthem was debated on the floor of the national assembly, not even Tinubu, the national assembly passed it and he has no choice than to assent it into law, so people should be very careful so that we don’t make inflammatory statements.
Now coming to the national anthem itself, people are saying all sorts of things. You asked me, is it what we need now? Do you want to tell me, if your wife is in labour and because your wife is in labour, you can’t go to school after school to bring back your child? Do you want to tell me, I hear people say, Tinubu is not doing anything, national assembly is not doing anything, so because they are discussing Nigerian economy, they are discussing security, they can’t discuss any other thing, is that what you want to tell me? Because you have a sick child, you can’t do other things that are not related to that sickness in the family. Nigeria is a family, so that argument holds no water. And for those who said they will not sing it, it is their own cup of tea. I don’t want to go into that. The only thing is that when the anthem is going on, you keep quiet, that is all, but the thing is that it has been signed into law.
You see when you look at the new national anthem, when it is being sung and you think deeply, you will be touched by the wordings, that shows that our forefathers like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Sarduana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, and the rest of them, they thought deeply when they embraced this National Anthem; it goes with a lot of affection, love, it makes you to sit up, it makes you to see Nigeria as your personal property that you must protect. When anything is so dear to you, my dear wife, my dear husband, my dear son, that word dear, there in the first stanza line two, is very strong. Then when you go further, line by line, you see profession of unity, oneness, you see commitment. Morally every Nigerian that sings the anthem is committed to make sure that we are one, we are our brother’s keeper. The other one ‘I rise O compatriots’, fine, but it has some military background, but this one is prayer for Nigeria. This national anthem is prayer for Nigeria. That doesn’t mean the old one is not good but this is better.
Chief let us talk about the issue of the moment which is the Labour strike, do you think the minimum wage struggle at this critical time is necessary, because any small increase now, the market woman is there, the landlord, the transporter are waiting to take a chunk from the salary, your take
When you talk about the minimum wage, it is not a question of labour being right or wrong, I think labour has the right to demand for minimum wage, because every person no matter how much you are paid, you still need more. For me, taking into consideration the economy of the country, something has to be done, but in doing that there must be a balance between limitations and excesses, taking into consideration so many factors, because in making the demand, there are areas we should not go, or touch, the national grid, this is not acceptable. Leadership of Labour I commend them, fine, but touching the national grid, no, because you must consider at least the hospitals, there are people on life support, consider our embassies, and consider the seat of power. You can wake up and say I am not going to work but touching the national grid, to me, is agitation taken too far. And this is time students are taking WAEC, psychologically they are already affected.
However, I want to commend the federal government and also the national assembly for stepping in to calm what I may call an ad hoc conclusion that snowballed into calling off the strike. I also want to commend the labour, for having listening ears, because we cannot have two captains in a ship. The SGF, George Akume and his group did a yeoman’s job, they stepped in immediately.
Some people were criticizing the tripartite committee. But for such committee to have gone round the six geopolitical zones of the country, it is the right step in the right direction to get ideas in order to get the right conclusion. I commend them for the steps taken, but you know a hungry man is an angry man, when inflation is going up and up, and the common man cannot afford to meet up, there is bound to be reaction. But it is not in Nigeria alone, so many countries in the world, you see agitations here and there. But God has blessed this country for the kind of people we have, for the kind of leaders we have among the labour, and above all for the kind of government we have, for knowing from day one that the current minimum wage cannot fly; that was the reason they set up the tripartite committee.
Tinubu has done a clincher by saying he is committed to a minimum wage above N60,000. That is a leader and also giving the finance minister 48 hours to submit a template for the minimum wage, the cost implication of all this, a right step in the right direction, and this is one of those hard decisions he is taking which we talked about at the beginning of this interview.
Men of the underworld have started vandalizing the facilities on the Second Niger Bridge, a major landmark and signature infrastructure in the southeast, how do you feel seeing this national embarrassment?
My brother, I feel pained watching the social media reports on the second Niger Bridge, a signature project of the past administration, using the former minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). I feel pained that that project is being tampered with by hoodlums. I wonder how Buhari will feel from the comfort of his home watching all this, I wonder how the gentleman Minister, Fashola will feel, watching all this, I wonder how the international community will feel, now is it government that did that? In the southeast we have been clamouring for the Second Niger Bridge, and that was why I said, no matter how anybody feels about the past Administration, they are not God, but we must give them kudos for the Second Niger Bridge, at least the south easterners. And that is why over there, they carry Fashola shoulder high because if he has frustrated that project, there is nothing anybody would have done about it, but he put all his efforts and energy on it. I told people that man is a gentleman he will complete the bridge and he completed it in record time, a project that was described as the best bridge in West Africa. When you ply that bridge you will feel at home, you feel secured, and I must continue to thank the federal government for having done that bridge, I must continue to thank Fashola for the bridge. But our people are there now vandalizing it, tomorrow you say the federal government has abandoned you, it is unfortunate.
However I want to appeal to the federal government never to allow that bridge to go into extinction, never allow that bridge to be controlled by hoodlums, thank God our brother is the minister of Works, Dave Umahi, I trust him, I know he will step in, he should mount Cameras with 24 hours surveillance on that bridge and whoever that tampers with the bridge, I trust Umahi, and I want to appeal to the former Minister, Fashola, who must be feeling very bad, to calm down and see it as one of those hazards one can meet in his way of national duties.
What do you think government can do to bring peace in the southeast?
There is peace in the southeast. Do you want to tell me there is no peace in the southeast?
..But there are pockets of disturbances in the region…Is it the only region where there are pockets of disturbances? So you are not hearing what is happening in the South-South, Northwest, North Central, Northeast, all over the country. I make bold to say it, there is peace in the Southeast. All over the country there are security challenges which each successive government is trying their best. On that note I am appealing to the president, he is doing something but let him do more, as he is quenching that in southeast, he is quenching that of southwest, north west, central, northeast, south-south, in fact the six geopolitical zones, each one has its peculiar security challenges, but for you to tell me that it is only in the southeast, no, we are in peace.
People are still not done with the Lagos/Calabar Coastal road; they juxtapose it against their demand for Lagos/Calabar rail line, saying why should the government leave a rail line from Lagos to Calabar and embark on white elephant project, so they say? Your take
Did the federal government say they are not doing the two? If government has the resources, the two projects can go together, why not? Did the minister of works tell you, you journalist, that the two can’t go together? The two projects can go together, if they have the resources I encourage them to go on, let us stop all this politicking in all these things. Let them go on and do the two if they can afford it.
How formidable is Tinubu government and what department do you think needs improvement for the benefit and development of the country?
The only thing I can tell you is that Tinubu government is very very formidable. As for which department, the ministers are still submitting their scorecards, I don’t want to preempt the examiners, let us watch and see what they will come out with, when that time comes I will be ready to talk.
Off season elections are coming up in several states, one in Edo, the others are in Ondo and finally in Anambra next year, what are you looking at and how is APC preparing?
We are looking at APC taking all those states, we are strategising but then we must be on our toes, those elections are not going to be tea party, not that there is going to be fight but we must campaign very well and we must get credible candidates. It is not easy to unseat government in power. And the government in power must sit up and be on her toes in order to continue, so all the parties must be on their toes. Like in Anambra, my state, APGA must be on her toes, the same thing with APC, PDP and others, what APC is doing to win Anambra, I will not tell you but we are strategising and restrategising very well.
I hope transparency in choice of candidates is being given preeminence
I have said it severally, getting a sellable candidate, it goes with transparency, and you can see all the candidates that are indicating interest, our only problem is making a choice, and it is one person that will be selected, the ones that have indicated interest now are all political eggheads, credible and sellable. So ‘sellability’ goes with transparency.
Your advice to Nigerians
I have been advising and I keep on advising, even in our families, no matter how the situation is, let us be patient, let us support the government, let us give constructive criticism, not casting aspersions on our leaders, not running the country down, because as Fashola used to ask, if you run the country down, who are you going to rule? I cannot today claim to be a Ghanaian, I am a Nigerian, so let us always project the image of this country, while aspiring to be the president of our town union, local government chairman, state governor, or even president, others, let us at all times project the integrity of this country anywhere we find ourselves. It is very very important, because the way you talk is the way people will be looking at you.
If I come out today and say that Umenzekwe family is useless, it sounds bad; do you think somebody there will take you serious? But if I say John Umenzekwe is not doing well, it is better, that is what I am saying, Nigeria is our family, let us at all times protect and project the integrity of this country.
