Dr. Katch Ononuju is an economist and a public affairs analyst. In this interview with SUCCES NWOGU, he speaks on the state of the nation, opposition coalition ahead of 2027 general election and governance in Imo State

You are aware that some political stalwarts, such as former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; a former governor of Rivers State and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; a former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi have formed a coalition under African Democratic Congress (ADC). What do you make of the coalition?

There is nothing like a coalition. There is an intention of them trying to form a coalition, but it is not a coalition, it is like a trick. Let me guide our readers. After the last elections, we found that the opposition was divided.

And the reason for the division of the opposition was because, after eight years of the presidential pendulum having been in the North, some northerners led by Atiku Abubakar refused that that pendulum should come to the South.

Because of that refusal, we left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form the youth movement (Obidient Movement). I served during that youth movement as special adviser to Mr. Peter Obi on Public Affairs. My partner who started it with me, Dr. Doyin Okupe served as Director-General of the campaign.

The Labour Party lent us a platform to market Mr. Peter Obi. At the end, we did very well, with only eight months to the election. But when Bola Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was sworn in, we were not happy.

The real reason why we left the PDP to start the youth movement, also known as the Obidient Movement, is because after eight years of now late President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency, northerners brought back the same animosity that made them not allow Moshood Abiola to take power after he won an election in 1993.

So, the question is: Why is this group of northerners not comfortable with allowing southerners to have the presidency? That was why the opposition imploded and that was why they asked us to come together to protest against Tinubu, we refused.

We started making contacts with our people across the country not to join that protest against Tinubu. But they have now invited Peter Obi to come and let us talk about a coalition. Now, we said, if you are now bringing a coalition for us to reunite the opposition, there is a need to do an autopsy of reasons why the coalition broke apart in the first place.

That was the refusal of northerners to agree to the presidential pendulum swinging back to the South after being for eight years in the North. Now, they called Obi to come let us inaugurate this coalition instead of agreeing to do the right thing. But the right thing is to do what the PDP did in 2019 when it found that the party suffered an implosion in 2015 as the northerners claimed, the party should have zoned its ticket to the North.

We believe that when they didn’t do that, they should allow or concede to the southerners. That is why, after the inauguration of the ADC, we started seeing Mr. Atiku going about that he will run. That means he has not yet understood the reasons why we left the PDP.

So, what I’m saying now is whether you renegotiate in the PDP, of which I’m aware the governors have said that they will zone the presidential ticket to the South, or you negotiate outside the PDP and call it a coalition, we must resolve the fundamental problem that forced the opposition to implode.

And that is the refusal of a group of the people from the North, led by Atiku to allow the political pendulum swing to the South after it has been in the North for eight years. So, the ADC right now, without Obi, is just like the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) faction as you can see because a lot of the original CPC Buharists are still in the APC as of today.

What you now have are those who are angry with President Tinubu meeting with Atiku’s New Peoples Democratic Party (NPDP) in Rotimi Amaechi and Atiku but Obi will not, as he has stated, be part of what they are doing.

If Obi has stated that he will not be part of what they are doing, what is he doing there?

What Obi is seeking is to resolve a platform issue. If some northerners, led by Atiku are not comfortable with allowing southerners access to power in a diverse country like ours, there is no way you can hope of uniting the opposition. That’s why I told you there is nothing like a coalition. So, these are prospects, as Obi called them, prospects for 2027. There is nothing that is final yet.

That’s why Obi was in Anambra recently, promoting the governorship candidate of the Labour Party. So, Obi is still in Labour Party, and as he told the nation, he will run for election on the platform of Labour Party because members of the Obidient Movement will support him. I am a founding leader of the Obidient Movement and it was the agitation that I started in the PDP that got Okupe and I to start sustaining and growing that agitation.

We started searching for presidential candidates. Initially, we told Obi but he said no, that he respects and regards very much his relationship with Atiku and so would not want to challenge him.

We want the North to understand that for the future of this country, there must be inclusion in nation building. That is the only way to guarantee the participation of all

But after much persuasion, he agreed. And then, as we went public, the youth movement was born. That is the reason we have said we will not support Obi if he goes into that coalition with Atiku, and without Atiku conceding that the presidency that is already here in the South should remain in the region for the next tenure.

Don’t forget, as we were agitating, so were Tinubu and his people also agitating that the South should have the presidency after eight years. Also, don’t forget that like what we had in the PDP, northerners equally refused to concede in the APC, where Ahmed Lawal was floated.

So, the main fundamental problem is: Why are this group of northerners not comfortable with sharing the presidency with southerners? If that is not resolved, you will not see Obi or any group of people follow that particular thing you call an alliance.

If every qualified Nigerian has the constitutional right to aspire to any position, why are you uncomfortable with Atiku’s bid for the presidency?

You know very well that to get into educational institutions, there are examination standards set. If we, southerners, could bend backward to allow the quota system to exist, so that northerners can gain admission, and despite the fact that the money which we use to run Nigeria comes from the South, we allow the northerners to partake and share with us on equal basis, why would it be difficult in nation building that the North would not allow for inclusion of the South?

We are now looking at them trying to insist on gaining advantage over the fraudulent numbers organised by soldiers during the days of military rule.

But we know what the data is, and you saw when we went to the field, how people beautifully did very well. What they were telling me was that Atiku said that nobody would vote for the people from the South, and in line with that, his people were paying people in the mosque to preach so.

That was what made the then governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, to say if they are not going to vote for people from the East, let me go and deny my Igboness. But you see, despite those acrobatics, what happened?

They still denied Wike, and that’s why Wike got angry. If, despite my heritage acrobatics, you don’t still accept me, I will damage the party, and that’s why you saw him going there.

If you won’t let us, use what belongs to all of us, let us spoil it. But I don’t think so. What we did with Obi was we went on, and we went and sought another platform to prove that we are electable, and that’s what it is. We want the North to understand.

You did mention Wike. There are reports that he is wooing Obi to come back to the PDP. How do you look at this kind of offer?

Wike is not wooing Obi. The governors are saying that in line with their understanding of the reasons for which we let the PDP to start the youth movement, they have agreed to zone the presidency to the South.

That is why the governors have been speaking to Obi that if they take over the party after the convention in November, they will now zone the presidency to the South.

Recall that it was the same way they did in 2019, when they zoned the presidency to the North and nobody from the South contested. So, let us respect inclusion.

This is about nation building. It is not about somebody’s desperation to be president. I think Nigeria should be more important to all of us.

What makes you think that Obi will address the challenges of this country, substantially or satisfactorily?

I am not talking about Obi, Obi, When the presidency is zoned to the South; I am sure there are a lot of candidates who will come up.

If Obi then emerges as a candidate; that is a different ballgame. Right now, everybody is giggling and haggling for positions as aspirants. So, let us not discuss the issue of Obi yet.

Let us talk about this particular problem that has forced an inclusion of opposition. It is not a good thing for a democracy to not have a varied and sustainable opposition.

You can see just the fact that members of the opposition are trying to come together. You can see the changes in appointments and attempts at better inclusion being done by the President Tinubu. But when the opposition is in tatters, the President will rule as if there is no challenge.

Why is the opposition in tatters?

Because northerners refused to allow inclusion of southerners. So, we moved out of PDP, and as we moved, the party crashed and became moribund.

So, if you are asking us now to rebuild the opposition, whether you are speaking about it in the PDP, or you are speaking outside the PDP and calling it an alliance, we insist that the correction be in place.

I think that Atiku is just trying to be smart by half. It does not work. Whether you get outside and call it an alliance; you must take care of that foundational problem that forced the opposition to split.

You said the governors are wooing Obi; as someone who is very close to Obi, will you advise him to go back to PDP?

It is Obi that entreaties are being made to, so don’t ask me. He ran for election without any governor and got six million plus allocated votes.

Atiku Abubakar ran with all the multitude of PDP governors; he still got allocated the same six million votes plus. This is for you to understand.

How can a candidate who has performed better than you and defeated Atiku in the North Central, the Middle Belt, due to the security concerns forced by the industrial scale ethnic cleansing by Fulani militia people become running mate?

Remember, Atiku never condemned the ethnic cleansing. He never visited Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp because he didn’t want to offend the perpetrators and their patrons. That is the reason why the Middle Belt were choosing to support Obi.

We will not support Obi if he goes into that coalition with Atiku, and without Atiku conceding that the presidency that is already here in the South should remain in the region for the next tenure

He went to IDP camps several times to tell you that he was willing to deal with that problem. Nigeria at this point in time cannot tolerate anybody who is believed or alleged to be a patron of the perpetrators of that industrial scale ethnic cleansing.

Atuku does not have what it takes to challenge the security concerns today in the Middle Belt. At 80 years old, what do you expect? He will be weak.

So, you now have a cabal come under him, and the first thing they will do is to appropriate the duties of the vice president and the vice president will become degraded. That’s why it doesn’t make sense for Peter Obi to be sacrificed to such a slaughterhouse. I would not advise that on anybody.

So far, how would you assess President Tinubu’s administration?

Well, he has his challenges. But in the case of inclusion of Nigeria’s diversity, I think he’s performed very poorly. He needs to build an inclusive government. He needs to abandon nepotism. It’s not good. If it worked for Buhari, it would not work for Tinubu.

But by and large, I commend him for the removal of fuel subsidy. Of course, what was the problem with it was the way it was implemented. But it was the most beautiful economic decision anybody has taken since the inception of our democracy.

The removal of subsidy is good because it has remained an intrusive instrument that allowed the government to be intrusively available in the energy market, undermining prices and then allowing the stealing elite to steal our money. So by and large, I think the Tinubu government is challenged but despite how challenging it is, it is better than giving power to anybody from the North.

If they do not want any southerner to rule as it is, I think it will be okay that Tinubu continues. Tinubu has ruled for two years and there was no virile opposition to actually challenge him.

That’s why he seemed to have gotten free with nepotism in the last two years. But now that the opposition seems to be coming together, you can see he’s making attempts to force inclusion in his government.

We will knock the party that wants to remove the presidency from the South. It doesn’t make sense. I think Atiku’s desperation at 80 years is totally understandable. It wasn’t caused by me. I think he would have been the most negatively impactful politician since the inception of our democracy.

He brought down Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, still he wants to rule.

There are areas that you have praised Tinubu’s policies; what do you make of the floating of the Naira vis a vis the hunger in the land?

It was a good decision to remove the subsidy, but the implementation has not been well carried out and that’s the reason you’ve seen the poverty in the land.

Economically, Tinubu really has not done as much as I think he should have. I am honestly very disappointed. I think he should broaden the government to bring in more experts wherever they may be found.

He needs to understand that Nigeria is a heterogeneously diverse society. We cannot tolerate that he has four ministers from Ogun State and five from the South-East with probably two of them as proper ministers, while the other ones are ministers of state.

So, I think Tinubu has to stop mimicking Buhari’s nepotism. He should run an inclusive government that will carry Nigerians along irrespective of where they come from.

The governor of your state, Hope Uzodimma, is on his second term. How would you assess his performance so far?

Except Sam Mbakwe, he has built more infrastructure than all those who ruled the state since 1999 till he came. You can see the fantastic things he has done. You need to come to Imo to look at infrastructural development. I think it’s second to none. Nobody has done that.

When you hear blanket condemnations, those are just rhetoric by political opponents that do not define the truth about what’s on ground in Imo State.

But there are allegations of rising insecurity in the state.

The allegations of high insecurity is true. It started during the Rochas (Okorocha) era, when President Buhari came in and was bent on revenge.

He said he wanted revenge against the South-East for the way General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd) fought Boko Haram, when he was Chief of Army Staff. He started what he called Python Dance, and later on, he upgraded it and then we had what he called Unknown Gunmen.

That was a covert operation perpetrated by elements of the Buhari administration. Since Buhari left, the federal funding has stopped. So, I can tell you that the South-East is much more peaceful today than it was under the Buhari administration.

No doubt you will still see some criminals, which is normal in a diverse society like ours but I commend the people of the SouthEast for also setting up their own vigilante groups, which is in line with the advice by the Director General of Department of State Services (DSS), which is the right way to go. I pray that the state police, which is being canvassed, becomes a reality, so that the people will be able to defend themselves.