Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh, FNIVS, KSJI, OFR, is the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Anambra Central senatorial candidate of his party. In this concluding interview with Fides editorial team comprising Jude Atupulazi (Editor-in-Chief); Uche Amunike (Asst. Editor) and Abuchi Onwumelu, he talks on several issues ranging from the allegations levelled against him by former special adviser to Gov. Willie Obiano on political Matters, Chief Joe Martins Uzodike through the stoning of Gov. Willie Obiano at Agulu, to his mission at the senate.
Excerpts
You were accused by the special adviser to Gov. Willie Obiano on political matters, Chief Joe Martins Uzodike in a live audience participatory radio programme ,Straight Talk, on Odenigbo 99.1 Fm, Obosi that your campaign is being funded by the governments of the seven local governments making up Anambra Central Senatorial District, how will you react to this allegation?
I think it will be better for me not to join issues with Joe Martins Uzodike because, you and I know how disgruntled he is. He was sacked by the Governor of Anambra State as a special adviser on political matters.
What he said is in consistent with his character of saying things that are not true over the years.
When we were at the Court, I saw him describing Peter Obi in Minaj TV as his boy at CKC and told him to go and sit down. Well, eventually, we struggle and got Ngige out of the way through the court. In 2006, he hibernated for a while; in 2011, he was Annie Okonkwo's campaign manager for senate and in that year, Annie Okonkwo lost the election.
So, he is a jobber. I listened to him Just recently on the radio where he described himself as a footballer who can play for Manchester United and can get hired by Chelsea and after Chelsea, West Bromich Albion could hire him. So, he is somebody that can put on Man United's T-shirt with Chelsea's short. Somebody who can describe himself in this manner should not be taking seriously by anybody. On the allegation that I am funding my campaign with local governments' fund, it is something that he can go to prison for; one is that if you meet the Local Government chairmen he claimed that are funding my campaign they will tell you that they don't even in a position to give anybody money. Because the little money they have are tied to the project that they execute on strict supervision by the ministry of Local Government of Anambra State, you can see they don't have money to spend. None of them can give me money. There is nobody who is a councilor or council chairman who can give money. From where will they get the money they can give? So, is an allegation he was sponsored to go and air on radio but, it is ineffective because what his said can be verifiable. You can go and interview the council chairmen and ask them if they are funding my campaign. It is possible. The other time, they tried to purchase nomination form of 3. 5 million naira for me as a way of showing support in October/ November last year, I rejected it, I paid with my own draft. I cannot get involved in the kind of thing Uzodike is saying. He was dismissed by the Governor of Anambra State. His duties now are to go to radio stations insult the Governor; insult me as a way of raising issues that do not exist. I must tell you that what he said is a blatant falsehood. There was no truth in it.
How will you react to the statement made by Senator Chris Ngige , who had in one of his campaign tours described APGA as minority's minority?
I want you to ask Ngige what he has been able achieve in the Senate with his purported big party (APC)? How many bills has he sponsored being a member of APC? What has he done for the good people of Anambra Central Senatorial district? His argument is likened to what the Englishman will say is "Puerile", it does not hold water. To start with, I was at the National Conference as a delegate from APGA last year. I was able to compete favourably with other 492 delegates . Coming from the Southeast that contributed the least number of delegates in that National Conference it can't be possible for us to achieve the loft things we achieved going by Ngige's argument. Force of persuasion and argument will compel somebody to submit to very strong argument that he cannot fault. That is the way it happens. I was able to use force of argument to get the rest of Nigerians to agree to the open fact that the Igbos have been unjustly treated. If it was reduced to voting the same thing would have happened .
Maybe through votes they would have killed it but because I made it to be palpable at the National Conference within plenary and outside plenary it became an issue they had to search their conscience and admitted to the maltreatment. I was seriously against the injustice. Nigerians cannot continue with the level of injustice being meted out to the Igbos . Nigeria cannot continue to hurt us. That is why am always on NTA Network, shouting that it can no longer happen and it touched them because they saw the truth. People that were about 1/3 of Nigeria before the war were reduced drastically after the war.
I had pricked on the conscience of the Northern delegates and Southwest delegates and even the Southsouth delegates to agree to the imperative of giving the Igbos an additional State . They all submitted to it; such people will come to the National Assembly again; the senators will come from all parts of Nigeria to National Assembly. It will be a re-hash of the argument at the National Conference; it is not something you can win because you are many in number . It is about standing up to fight for the rights of the minority.
I said it will be a grave injustice to provide for rehabilitation of infrastructure destroyed by Boko Haram in the North when such thing did not happened in the Old Eastern region after the war. I fought and I won it in the National Conference. That is the essence of sending somebody to a National debate like this because the Senate is a national debate where come you move motions and sponsor bills that will affect you and for the well-being of Nigerians . We need somebody who is mentally and intellectually equipped to do it and most importantly, it a centre stage in Nigeria that why am taking the battle there.
If you take the case of the America's blacks "Martin Luther King fought for the blacks; African-Americans ; he fought from the position of the minority and America submitted to the force of argument of Martin Luther King that you cannot treat the Africa-Americans as second class citizens in America. His historic speech changed America and they started treating everybody as equal at least 99%degree to the extent that Barack Obama an African-America is today their president. If Martin Luther King had not led that struggle then it would have been unimaginable and unthinkable that a minority black can be President of United States of America (USA); the same thing will happen in Nigeria.
What is important is the method you use to go and ask people to see need for change and not how many senators you have; it is just like Ngige who is a lame duck senator being a member of APC do not have a voice even there because the APC has an agenda for the North and the Southwest at the National Assembly. So, that's why Ngige was swallowed at the Senate and he cannot speak.
If I go there as an APGA Senator and some of my brothers from other parts of the Southeast come to the Senate as APGA senators and our people will see a new dance. There is a place you go to in an assembly of one hundred men ; three men will determine what will happen in that assembly because it is something you can make so obvious that even somebody who is averse to the myth of justice will see the need for justice and support it .
Finally, the issue of destruction of billboards and posters. It appears that it is aimed only at APGA candidates, especially you. On top of that the governor's campaign train which included yours, was stoned in Agulu. After years of relative peace in Anambra's politics, how do you see these latest developments?
Well, it is very disheartening to see these things happen here in Anambra State. Like you also rightly pointed out, my billboards and posters are the target by those who are doing it. I will tell you in a very simple response that these things happened because am the candidate to win the election. Out of frustration they turned to destroying of my billboards and posters and campaign materials .
Go to Abia State, you will see that they are destroying Alex Otti's billboards. Any place that you see a billboards that is glittering and no one touches it, it means that the person is not a threat in the election. So, what they are doing to me I will say gives me an indication that my campaign is very strong and that am their problems. They are venting their anger on my billboards. Those things will not stop me from winning the election.
The people behind it are very well known . Violence is something I never use in my political life in Anambra State. I am somebody that is known that have never sponsored violence all the years I have been in involved in politics of Anambra State. I used the machinery of Court to establish APGA in Anambra State. It was the Court that I used to bring Peter Obi in as governor of Anambra State, I never used burning of houses.
I never sponsored any form of violence against the government led by Peter Obi; I never called any party meeting to incite any body against either Obi or his government, I did not. It was through the Court that I prevailed. So, this one that they are doing now is the height of frustration . I am thankful to God that they now know that this man they wanted to wish away because initially the thing was that they will deal with me that I will not go anywhere.
Am now the one dealing with them because wherever they go to people don't accept them. And the only way to vent their anger was to destroy my billboards and posters but no problem I have replace those billboards twice and they destroyed it again; I have left them like that.
When Ojukwu campaigned for the presidential election in 2003 and 2007, he did not print any poster and did not build any billboards. I am very happy that I am already known by people of Anambra Central senatorial zone .Even without billboards and posters Ohamadike (Victor Umeh), is known by very old women in the villages; even children. I don't need those things to get myself advertised.
I did it at the National Confab , I am more determined to do it again in the Senate .Give me your support. I am going to the Senate to give Ndigbo a strong voice.
