New Telegraph Admin 
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Modestus Umenzekwe, believes that President Bola Tinubu has what it takes to reposition Nigeria. In this interview, he speaks on the state of the nation and his assessment of the present administration
There seems to be uneasy calm in the country as the purchasing power of Nigerians has been eroded since the removal of subsidy on petrol. What is your take on the issue? Since independence in this country, we’ve always had what you described as uneasy calm. It is not peculiar with today’s situation. Yes, I agree that the price of petrol has gone up and it is affecting everybody; nobody can deny that, even the president cannot deny that.
But if you listened to him, as a man, who is determined to change the narrative, he has made several statements and promises that we should calm down because he is coming up with palliatives to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal. There is an adage that says that when the going gets tough, the tough keeps going. So, in all these, the tough has kept going.
Past presidents didn’t have that courage to remove the fuel subsidy, and when you look at the campaign period, almost all the presidential candidates said fuel subsidy is a problem and that it should be removed, so that we face this battle and fight it once and for all. And President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration ground, showed that he is prepared to lead this country by summoning the courage to announce the removal.
Some people have been shouting and saying all manner of things; is it because he is the one that said it? If it were to be other candidates, maybe some people would be clapping. Look at his policies, look at the decisions he has taken so far, in as much as I am not defending him for now because he has just started, but we must say the truth. For him to have the courage to remove the fuel subsidy is commendable.
Not only that; he was able to engage with various stakeholders, telling them the need for the re- moval, and I want to congratulate Nigerians and those stakeholders who saw the need as explained. My advice is that we have to remain calm. We are not finding things easy, but with time, the system will adjust itself. With the measures the president will be coming up with, it will be okay, but we need to give him time.
What would you say about Tinubu administration, in terms of the steps he has taken so far; do they portray light at the end of the tunnel?
Like I said, he has just started and people are setting goals for him in one way or the other, without even looking at the Renewed Hope manifesto. He is working in line with the Renewed Hope manifesto. He has hit the ground running. His actions so far show that he is prepared, he is ready, he is capable and he will deliver. It is a rough road for him, taking into consideration the quantum of damage already done for decades, but he is plying the rough road, and as you can see, even the opposition is already clapping for him.
I am not saying this because it is my party; the opposition is al- ready clapping for him and that is why a lot of people are now saying all these distractions, petitions, here and there, let us drop them and join hands with the president. I insist that we must rally round him in this journey of nation-building. What attracted me to the man is his will power to take hard decisions in order to move the system forward and I believe he will get it right.
What are the steps you think the president should take to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians?
He is already taking the steps by addressing the na- tion to say we should calm down, that he is coming with a package. So, let’s wait for him to come up with the package to cushion the effects of the hardship. He met most of these situations on ground but he is working round the clock to make sure there is improvement, otherwise why did he harmonise the exchange rate, so that there will be no monopoly.
What you buy from the bank is what you buy from the street. You can see that since then investors are indicating interests to come and invest in Nigeria. He has just changed the service chiefs in order to beef up security and those service chiefs have just started work. Rome was not built in a day. He has started well, he is moving well, but because of the quantum of damage that has been experienced in this country, some people feel, or we feel generally that he has not done much.
I will not rule out the insatiable nature of political nihilists; whatever you do, they will still complain and condemn. We know them. When people talk, they fail to recognise that the opposition handled this country for 16 years, so let’s give APC 16. APC has just done eight years, remaining eight. At the end of that eight years, we will be able to compare notes. Tinubu still has eight years to go and by the end of that eight years, we will compare notes and I believe when that period comes, those who are condemning APC will sing our slogan.
The APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) are still in court over the presidential election but European Union Mission that monitored the elections came out with final report that indicted the ruling party and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). What is the implication of this? Let me ask you, is EU a political party?
Is it one of the political parties in Nigeria and does it have polling agents? They are just ob- servers. The political parties that are involved in the election are in court, the polling agents are there and people are talking about an ob- server. In what area was the election flawed?
INEC that conducted the election is there, political parties are there with their polling agents, is the EU trying to tell the judges what to say or what? I don’t want to comment much on this because the issue is before a court of competent jurisdiction, but I wouldn’t want third parties coming in to coerce the judges, using social media or whatever to direct the court. If in the end the court says, APC or Tinubu didn’t win, then so be it. \
But if they confirm the election, so be it. I have said it several times that people should allow the tribunal to do justice to this case and I want to commend the judges for assuring Nigerians that they will do justice to the case. So, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt; the EU report is neither here nor there.
Recently, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State led some other leaders to meet with his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, over demolition of some buildings around Alaba International Market, which affected some traders in that axis. What is your take on the issue as some people are reading political meanings on the action of the Lagos State government?
It is quite unfortunate that such things are being experienced, but then, I have not taken time to at least know government’s policies concerning those areas in order to ascertain whether there was a violation. In as much as I will never subscribe to demolition of Igbo property in the name of politics or any other thing because I am an Igbo man, we need to study the situation. That is why I commend Governor Uzodimma and all other notable Igbo leaders, who have stepped in.
I equally commend our ever-ready listening governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who granted them audience. So, let’s wait and see the outcome of the discussion. But I believe that there must be balance of convenience in anything we are doing. There must be symbiotic association and that is what Igbo leaders are talking about, and I commend them for doing that.
Yes, we have come to Lagos to do business and earn our living, I will not support the idea of attacking us in as much as I will not subscribe to our people violating government policies. I don’t believe that the Lagos State government will intentionally start attacking the Igbos for one reason or the other, and I equally don’t believe that Igbos will intentionally start violat- ing government policies. Maybe, there was information gap be- cause nobody raises money and tries to throw it into the ocean. The government says don’t build here, you go and build, I don’t think so.
Igbos are not careless, they are entrepreneurs, so there is a communication gap. I might be wrong but it is obvious there is communication gap between the system and the people, and that is what Governor Uzodimma has come to handle. So, let’s give him and all other notable Igbo leaders, who have stepped into the matter a chance.
I want to also appeal to Lagos State government to give them listening ears because we have never been divided in this country along tribal or religious lines, otherwise we wouldn’t have had the likes of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Sarduana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, coming together to say we have one Nigeria. That spirit should not be allowed to die.
