The Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) recently descended heavily of the Abia State Government accusing it of neglecting the commercial city of Aba. What is your take on the criticisms?
It is very unfortunate that the group will come out now to reenact what they did last time, which affected our people negatively. MASSOB has outlived its usefulness, if there were any. Their sweeping criticism of the present government betrayed the facts on the ground, accepted that the state has gone through harrowing experience of both underdevelopment and insecurity in the past until the emergence of the T.A Orji,s administration which not only stabilized the system but also showed Abians that is possible to transform the state. The level of development we are witnessing in Abia today is quite encouraging, It has never happened before in the history of the state, so for a group that is not known in the state to make such uninformed criticism smacks of mischief. Though MASSOB members as Nigerian citizens have the right to express their opinion, but such views must be carefully articulated to reflect the reality on ground.
As an Ukwa/ Ngwa activist do you think the group is on the right track on this?
Like I said earlier MASSOB,s outburst is jaundiced and failed to take into cognizance the peculiarities of the state. They are not on the right track. We are not happy and will never recognize their modus operandi which is mostly retrogressive. Can you imagine in present day Nigeria a group advocating disunity, anarchy and all that. Who are they to determine Igbo direction? Here in Abia we want peace and unity, which this government has been able to achieve. So any group coming here to fan the embers of discord is surely bereft of history and what the administration before T.A Orji,s wrought in the state. The past government, particularly Ochendo,s predecessor created an atmosphere of utter hatred among the people of this state. Hate was the name. The political class and the entire leaders of the state were put in the disarray, just because one man and his family plotted to appropriate the state as a family empire. To me the best achievement that can come to a people is psychological and mental liberation after that any other form of development will be appreciated. The people of the state have been totally liberated in a every sense of the word and it is the major legacy that Ochendo is bequeathing to our dear state.
In your own assessment do you think the state government particularly Governor T.A Orji has impacted positively in the affairs on the state ?
For the benefit of hindsight, just recast your mind to what was prevalent in the state before the coming of the present government. The state was fast degenerating to a full blown anarchical environment, lawlessness was setting in, there was no trust, there was total disunity among the political class even Governor Orji was literarily boxed into a corner, but as a humble fellow he trudged on in obedience until it became obvious that one family was bent on emasculating him and the entire state. He rose to the occasion, mobilized the people and said enough is enough. The result is the unity, peace and development you are seeing today. Let me tell you, the state is being developed commensurate to available resources, so it will not be wise to equate it in the class of Akwa Ibom, Rivers or Delta states. These are high earning states in terms of federal revenue allocation. Again the state cannot totally develop in one fail swoop after all government is a continuum, where the present government stops the incoming government would start from there. Do not forget that the state grappled for a long time with the issue of kidnapping, that was perhaps one frightening incidence that can alone scuttle development. If you are a governor, what comes first in your agenda under such circumstance? Achieve peace, secure the people. Lives and property must be secured and then infrastructural development will set in. It is in an atmosphere of security and peace that meaningful development could be achieved. That the government of the day has achieved. So where was MASSOB when the state was ravaged by such monumental insecurity occasioned by kidnapping and armed robbery, where were they if they claim they love the people of the state?
In terms of infrastructural development do you think the state is faring better under the present administration?
Yes, the state is faring better today. We have never seen such air of optimism before. Can you imaging that the present government of T.A Orji is constructing a government house befitting of the status of the state eight years after? The governor is building the first ever world class conference centre? What about the recently commissioned Diagnostic centers in the state among other developmental strides like roads and environmental protection. Then ask, what did the past government of Orji Uzor Kalu achieve in the eight years it was in power? If it is now that a government House is being built, then what exactly can that previous government point at as its major landmark achievement? Had he built a government house, conference centre, quality health facilities, perhaps the present government would have advanced to other sectors. So where was MASSOB during that ungodly period. In fact I strongly suspect that the so-called MASSOB that has suddenly turned Abia people’s defender are concocted and a shadowy group out to do the bidding of the discredited regime.
There seems to be the feelings that MASSOB is not entirely wrong in its appraisal of the governor’s performance. Do you and your congress share the same feeling?
They are wrong. Their criticisms are completely misplaced. Our people are scared of their true intention. They will not forget in a hurry how the same MASSOB scared Aba people away from the last census exercise. It was that singular antic that made our people, particularly the Ukwa-Ngwa people to be grossly undercounted during that exercise, so we cannot with all seriousness accept the MASSOB posturing again. They also did the same during the voter registration exercise stopping our people from registering to vote in the misguided fallacy that Biafra was going to be realized through United Nations fiat. The irony is that MASSOB has suddenly found its voice when the state has zoned the 2015 governorship of the state to the Ukwa-Ngwa in Abia South zone. The zone has remained patient and God brought T.A Orji who has not hidden his avowed desire to achieve equity in the state to pronounce that governorship is zoned to Abia South thus giving us the opportunity to produce the governor of the state for the first time in 2015. Now MASSOB suddenly woken to champion Abia cause. What a lame cause.
You did say that MASSOB’s scare mongering tactics has mostly robbed off on the people negatively. Can you expatiate further on this?
Yes, MASSOB penchant for scaremongering has robbed off negatively on Ndigbo in general, not only only on our people. The last census exercise is a case in point, so their antics are no longer acceptable to us. They are a group for sale. They are being used to propagate mischief and we will not allow them to halt the pace of progress in Abia.
But MASSOB claims to be agitating for the overall interest of the Igbo. Do you share a contrary view in the light of the prevailing circumstance?
It is a false claim. Where are they in Abia? They are in Imo state not in Abia. Even in Imo what do they do apart from extorting money from hapless citizens in Okigwe? Can they point at any achievement on behalf of Ndigbo if not for their destabilizing tendencies. If they are genuine, honestly we will support their cause but minus the call for the Igbo not to be part of Nigeria. Their latest outburst is misplaced and portrayed them as hired goons. We have not seen any good that MASSOB has done in all the years of agitation except sending our youths to avoidable death in the name of searching for Biafra.
What advise do you have for Governor Orji?
Don’t lose focus. Remain steadfast. The government and governor Orji must ensure that his legacy projects are not cut short by such unholy distraction.
- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/130813/massob-has-outlived-its-usefulness#sthash.WXwZHnUK.dpuf
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