By Ayodele Oni
Here is the news. In a claim that is bound to anger not a few South-easterners and spark off controversy, the Minister for Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, said the Zone is President Muhammadu Buhari’s favourite Zone. Ngige said the Zone ought to give the President high-fives. He said the people should not be ingrates. And he accuses the elite of mischief and propaganda.
Recall that the alleged marginalisation of the Zone in appointments to sensitive positions, infrastructural developments, and siting of important projects, its people say, are at the root of the agitations for freedom that has rocked the Zone most seriously.
But Ngige disagrees. He believes that the people of the South-east should be grateful to the Buhari Government. He says they should be thankful to Mr President. Instead of being ingrates, Ngige says they should give him thumbs up for what his administration has been able to achieve in the Zone.
And the Minister who spoke at an Emergency Stakeholders meeting of the Association of Eze Ndigbo in the 19 Northern States and Abuja at the weekend couldn’t be more serious than he was
The meeting, which was held in Abuja, was called, mainly, to discuss the way forward in tackling insecurity in the South east.
The Zone has been rocked by unprecedented insecurity, traceable to the disenchantment of the people with being treated as second class citizens, and being called names and/or stereotyped by a couple of officials in the Buhari Government.
But according to Minister Ngige, propaganda incited the chaos currently happening in that part of the country.
Addressing the participants, Ngige said Buhari has shown friendship to Ndigbo, maintaining that the South East has received a fair share of what is due to the zone, especially infrastructure-wise.
“There is no maltreatment there. We are in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which is composed of a minister per state.
“But we have one extra ministerial slot. So, the South East is effectively represented to ensure justice is done to our people. We are there to talk when there is no justice.”
The question many of the participants asked nobody, in particular, is: What is the quality and relevance of the Ministries given to those from the Zone.
Beginning with Ngige, one of them called him the “Minister for Dispute Settlement.” He said, look at our Ministers. Ngige does nothing but settle Labour disputes. For Imo State, Barr. Emeka Nwajiuba is a junior Minister. Before then, a Professor of Education, who was a Vice Chancellor of a University, Professor Tony Anwuka, was a Junior Minister in his field, under an Accountant. For Ebonyi State, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, a first class brain, is in the Ministry of Science and Technology, one of the least favoured, least funded, and most neglected Ministries in Nigeria. Dr Godfrey Onyema is the Minister Minister for Foreign Affairs, but his job is majorly done by the President, and/or his other aides. It is not a question of the number of Ministers, but the quality of the portfolios.”
But Ngige insists:
“People can say that we are not honoured with appointments of Inspector General of Police, Chief of Army staff and Secretary to the Federal Government (SGF).
“These are positions we have enjoyed before in the Nigerian Federation. We had two Inspectors General of Police (IGP), Ogbonnaya Onovo and Mike Okiro.
“We had an SGF, Senator Pius Anyim. We had four Senate Presidents. Twice we produced Deputy Senate President and Deputy Speaker, Ike Ekweremadu and Emeka Ihedioha. They were in charge of federal budgets for eight years from 2007 to 2015. That is the rule in the National Assembly.
However, the people ask: Was any of those appointments made by Buhari? They were all made during the Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan Governments.
But Minister Ngige chides:
“So, if you now talk about appointments, it becomes a matter of perception. I won’t blame them. Perception and reality are in the same line. And he accused the Zone of ignorance when it comes to Government issues:
“A lot of them (the Igbo) don’t understand how Government works. A lot of them don’t understand that I, as a member of FEC, can influence things that will come to my State, my Zone, or any other area, and where we think things should be sited or done in Nigeria.
“For me, those people perceiving that are ignorant. I don’t want to use the word mischievous.
“But much more importantly, propaganda against the Government by the elites in the South-east should stop because it is that propaganda that provoked troubles that we are now noticing.
“People have been brainwashed and the separatists humped on that foundation to now shout from the roof tops that we will give you Biafra and when we give you Biafra, all these things will disappear.”
Dr Ngige further recalled that the Buhari Government had paid off the gratuities and pensions of the Police pensioners in the South-east that were neglected since after the war, which he said, no Government had done before.
“Infrastructure wise, if you go to the South East, from Enugu-Okigwe and Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt expressways, three companies, the Chinese Company, the Arab Contractors and RCC are there.
“Some of them have completed their work. A journey that normally took us five hours from Enugu-Aba is now about one hour, 15 minutes. When the Port Harcourt section is finished, a journey from Enugu to Port Harcourt will take two hours.
“Coming to Enugu-Awka- Onitsha, two sections have been finished. RCC is working at the stretch from Awka to Onitsha now.
“The stretch from Ninth Mile to Oji River has been completed. We are now at the third Section which is being done by Niger-Cat from Amansea to Oji River. The Old Road from Ninth Mile to Awka has also been done by Arab contractors. If you go there now, you will see it is fully completed with drains on both sides.”
There has, however, been no official reaction by any Igbo Group since Ngige’s claims.
