The leader of Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, has bared his mind on the 2023 general elections.
In an interview with JOURNALIST101, Ezeugwu who declined seeking for reelection also spoke on his life after politics
Excerpts:
Hon., please, what is your take on the 2023 elections, which is in a few weeks from now?
My take on it is that it is an opportunity for us to participate and be part of electing those who will become in charge of the affairs of our country and states for the next four years. Good enough, we have been given assurances that the votes will count and be counted, having been severally told by the Chairman of INEC that the BVAS will be deployed in the 2023 elections.
Recall that recently, the President said that people should go to their respective localities to elect persons of their choice from whatever political party. He said that nobody would be allowed to intimidate others with thugs.
We therefore have the opportunity to elect people of integrity that can be held accountable. So, my take on it is that it is an opportunity for us to do the right thing for the good of our states, country, and by extension, the populace. According to Prof Patrick Lumumba, we should not be surprised to find our goat missing when we give the goat to a lion to watch over for us.
What can you say about the unhealthy partisan politics being played in Nigeria, and how do you think Nigeria can address this issue?
The way some of our political actors and their followers especially, are behaving leaves much to be desired. One should think that by now, our politics should be issue-based, people should tell us what they have for the country and the states, not attacking themselves here and there. We are not interested in all those name callings, accusations and counter accusations. Such accusations should at best be addressed in the courts of law.
We are interested in what those seeking our votes will bring to the table. Another aspect of it is that the informed persons in our society should endeavour to educate the less or the uninformed ones about the need for peace, before, during, and after the elections.
How would you rate the preparation of INEC towards the 2023 election?
INEC has been doing well, and like I have been telling people, we need to encourage and trust those given responsibilities to deliver on their assignments. This kind of apathy and premature conclusion in some quarters that the BVAS will not function well is unnecessary. Recall that INEC used BVAS in the Osun election. We only need to leverage the experiences from that to ensure that the 2023 election will be the first of its kind since 1999.
People should endeavour to perform their civic responsibilities. Those who registered having collected their PVCs should endeavour to go out on the days of the election to vote. The bottom line is that we should all endeavour to vote because angels will not come down from heaven to cast votes on the day of elections on our behalf. God helps those who help themselves.
What’s your position on the clamour for Igbo President Sir?
The fact is that there is nothing like Igbo, Hausa, or Yoruba President. Until we change our way of thinking, we are merely beating about the bush. We are interested in a person who will change our lives. Unemployment does not care whether you are Igbo , Hausa or Yoruba, or any other tribe for that matter. Insecurity, hunger, high fuel price, the same thing, and all other indices of good life.
Just recently, undergraduates were at home for about eight months. Did somebody from one tribe go to school while others were at home? The tribe the President is from is not important. Let the best person win. It is as simple as that. The important thing is, who will do the right thing. If the person that is there as the President does the right things by being sincere to us, fair minded, and nationalistic you will find out that virtually all these restiveness happening in the country will naturally fizzle out without anybody addressing them. They will naturally address themselves as they were brought about in the first place by years of accumulated frustration and anger brought about by insensitive leadership. We are all guilty, one way or the other, as we are all leaders at various levels.
Conscience is an open wound, and only truth can heal it, according to Usman dan Fodio . People are just pretending, and until we stop pretending, we will just be in motion without movement.
How do you feel stepping aside from partisan politics in order to focus on your humanitarian activities?
I feel fulfilled. With all due humility, I tell people that politics is not a profession. Before you go into politics, you should have a second address. You’ve got to have something to bring to the table. When some people don’t have any experience, they want to go to the legislature for instance, what are you going to do there? It baffles me that when it comes to politics, people are not interested in merit and when it comes to employing people in their private businesses even if it is a one-man business, they will carry out interviews and do their due diligence because they need results. When it comes to politics, anything goes. What a shame.
Until we change the ways we are doing certain things in Nigeria , of course, you can’t plant cassava and expect to harvest tubers of yam, and that is what we are doing in politics. We are just putting things upside down and expecting positive results. We are only deceiving ourselves. We have to change the way we think and the way we do things because without changing our modus oparendi, this idea of going about looking for foreign investors is just a waste of time and resources.
See the kind of insecurity everywhere. No genuine investor will go to an environment where his or her investment will be at risk. Create the enabling environment, and the investors will be rushing to our country because they’re interested in making money. You don’t need to convince investors. They convince themselves after carrying out studies of the investment environment.
I feel fulfilled having contributed my quota to the legislature and represented my people effectively for a period of twelve years by June this year. Eight years of which I am the Leader of the House.
Over the years, your Foundation has offered scholarships to Nigerians and, most especially the youths of Enugu state, what motivated you to do so?
I will tell you that without being educated, I wonder if I would be where I am today. This therefore would give you an idea for my passion for education. Education is very important for us to have a productive and sane society. An educated person has self-esteem, and there are things the person will not under normal circumstances get involved in.
During my primary election in 2010, I had a social contract with my people. I told them to vote for me, not because of the pecuniary things they would get from me immediately then. I wasn’t going to give anybody money, that they should vote for me, trusting that when I get there, I will carry out my functions of representation, law making and oversight to the best of my knowledge.
During my 10th anniversary on 24th of November, 2022 I extended the scholarship program to the five states of the Southeast, and I am looking forward to extending it to the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. Even if it is one person per state. The intention is to remind us that irrespective of our tribe or religion, we are one people from one God. Let us be our brothers’ keepers.
I remember during my primary school days, this line in our Nigerian national anthem, which says that, “though tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand.” So that is just the idea. Again, I have decided that , come May 2023, I will say goodbye to partisan politics for now, having by then put in twelve years . I will focus my attention fully on IKECHUKWU EZEUGWU FOUNDATION because if you go to Section 14 (2)(b )of the Nigerian Constitution , 1999 as altered, it says that, the primary purpose of government is the welfare and security of the people.
Through my NGO, I will be contributing directly to the welfare of the people and indirectly to the security. As it happened on the day of Pentecost, the disciples spoke in different tongues and still understood themselves. Even though they were speaking in different tongues, they were propelled by the same spirit. So, even though I would be out from my position in government post May this year, my Foundation and the government would be doing the same thing for the society.
What are we looking out for from your Foundation after June, 2023 in the aspect of scholarships and other things?
As I am carrying out my humanitarian activities while still in government to this extent, by the time I am done with being in government, I will devote all my time and effort to the activities of the Foundation and my Consultancy and other businesses.
The tendency is that you will be seeing more activities and very impactful projects. I’m looking forward to going beyond Nigeria to West Africa, Africa, and the world in general. It is not rocket science; people have been doing it, and one can do it better because extending a helping hand to the needy runs in my veins.
