….Tasks new Ohanaeze Leadership on challenges ahead

By Tony Adibe

Distinguished Senator Victor Umeh , OFR, represents Anambra Central Senatorial District in Nigeria’s Senate. In this less than 10-minutes interview, the lawmaker speaks on the implication of the Southeast Governors’ pledge to , henceforth, fund Ohanaeze Ndigbo; the obvious and urgent challenges which the new Ohanaeze Leadership led by Senator John Azuta-Mbata has to tackle; the exclusion of the Eastern Rail line in Nigeria’s budgets, why he has always supported the IPOB Leader, Nnamdi Kanu right from the onset of his struggle, among other burning issues.

Excerpts:

May we know your view of the pledge by the five Southeast Governors to, henceforth, fund the Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo?

Yes. We don’t want to give room where the Ohanaeze leadership will start complaining of lack of funds again. That was what the late President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu suffered. That has been what other previous leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo suffered. So, we give them the chance and accept this leadership.
By all means, most of them are credible people….So we will give them full support and when some of them begin to err, we will rise to the occasion, and call them to order; we have the capacity to do so.

People think the pledge of funding by the governors may be a Greek gift. People expressed fear that the governors resolving to fund Ohanaeze henceforth, could be a total hijack of the group by the politicians. What do you think?

No. I don’t think so. The Ohanaeze has been there for everybody all along. And nobody would complain, you know because if people were providing funds, the governors will not be making this assertions; that they are ready to fund Ohanaeze henceforth. It’s just because people have not been coming to contribute to the funding of Ohanaeze. And if that is what will make Ohanaeze to be fully mobilised to do their work, we will accommodate it for now.

But the important thing is that the new leadership will not be under the apron and control of the governors because they are serving the Igbo people. The governors are politicians, you know. And the Igbo issues should not be driven along political lines. So we will like the new leadership to assert themselves, and fight for the protection of the rights of the Igbo people absolutely. Igbo interests shall rank number one in their activities.

What do you think should be the most urgent and important issue the new leadership ought to handle now?

One of the issues they will tackle immediately is to join the clarion call for the release of the detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. If they don’t drive it, then we will not be happy with them.
We have done so much in that regard as Senators. Under the leadership of the senate caucus of the national assembly, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, senators of the Southeast have gone to see the Attorney General of the federation. We had a private meeting with him, requested that he should help us get Nnamdi Kanu released.
Let him file the nolle prosequi and get him off the hook. The courts in Nigeria have pronounced him to be released but they keep going forth and back. There were people who were standing trial for treason then; and nolle prosequi had been filed for them; like Sowore , you know, was standing trial for treason; the nolle prosequi was used in his case, to release him.
Nnamdi Kanu, by all means, was agitating for the rights of his people. He was fighting for the freedom of his people… l want to put it succinctly. He was fighting against the marginalization of Ndigbo. Sadly, the issues he has been fighting against, have not been addressed.
The Igbo people are still facing those challenges today. So, today, if they don’t release him, he remains a prisoner of conscience. There’s no reason to keep him there ( in detention). If they release him, it will help us to crystalize the efforts to solve the problems of security in the southeast zone. We will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Everybody who kidnaps , says it’s because Nnamdi Kanu is in detention, but I know those criminals are doing business, and use Nnamdi Kanu as an alibi.
If the federal government releases Kanu now, it will be unfashionable for anybody to go and kidnap someone or kill someone, and say release Nnamdi Kanu, because Kanu has been released. So that we pigeonhole our problems towards the criminals that are doing business with killings and kidnapping of people.

During President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Enugu, he had closed door meeting with the Igbo leaders. But sadly, none of the leaders in that meeting ever mentioned the demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s release to Mr. President. That is what insiders revealed. Are you surprised to hear this?

Well, we were not invited to the meeting. So, nobody would know what they discussed inside. But I know that one issue that I have been campaigning seriously against, has been the exclusion of the Eastern Railline from the budget of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I started doing that from 2018 when the federal government borrowed 6Billion Dollars for the Modernization of the Nigerian Railway System!

The Eastern Rail line that runs from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri ought to have been captured in the budget.
I have been fighting against the exclusion of the Southeast in the railway budget since 2018.
The Eastern railway line was not captured in the budget, hence I sponsored a motion, then and the senate agreed that the rail line should be accommodated.

I sponsored a Motion for the Construction of Standard Gauge Rail Line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri on the 23rd of November, 2023 for a Second time. The Motion was Co-Sponsored by 35 other Senators from the Eastern Rail Line Corridor.

My First Motion for its Inclusion was sponsored by me in 2018 during my first Term in the Senate when the FG borrowed 6Billion Dollars for the Modernization of the Nigerian Railway System to Standard Gauge Rail and the Eastern Rail Line was not included.

That rail line runs through the Southeast, you know. And 35 senators co-sponsored the motion with me, and the prayers were put together. And it was communicated to the President. I was surprised that when he sent the budget this year (to Senate), he didn’t include it.

I saw the lapse during the budget debate. And I stood up and said that there was a great omission in that budget; that from the figures I saw it was obvious that that railline wasn’t there, particularly as he has announced two legacy projects: the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway, and the Badagry to Sokoto highway, so I was waiting to hear Port Harcourt to Maiduguri railway line. Mr. President didn’t do it. So I complained bitterly. I said that I hope that omission will not be real. The presiding Senate President, that day said, the budget breakdown hadn’t come out. But I have received the breakdown and the railline is not there. So, we go back.
However, I’m happy that when President Tinubu came to Enugu , somebody raised it with him in the interactive section. And he promised to complete the Eastern railline from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. That promise is not the way it should be; what we demanded was construction of Standard Gauge Rail.What he has done is rehabilitation of the narrow gauge railline from Port Harcourt to Aba. So, we go back and continue with the struggle that Standard Gauge Rail line should be built here.

Just yesterday (Thursday, 9/01/2025), I saw that the Chinese Development Bank approved the Release of 254 Million Dollars after the Chinese Exim Bank which initially agreed to fund the Project withdrew .

The Money is for Kaduna to Kano Standard Gauge Rail Project which is about 203 Kilometers. The Route is Abuja-Kaduna-Kano-Maradi Rail Line. Abuja-Kaduna has been completed. They are now constructing Kaduna to Kano and then to Maradi. The entire Route is presently under Construction. The 254Million Dollars Loan is for Kaduna to Kano Section!

These are the things we see and we are not happy. These are the things Nnamdi Kanu was agitating for. That is why I have always, from time, supported his struggle because the struggle was against the marginalization of Ndigbo. Do what you do to the others to the Igbos. Govern Nigeria on the basis of equity and fairness.

If you recall when we did the debate on the return to the old national anthem, I supported the return because of the 3rd stanza : ”O God of all creation/Grant this our one request./Help us to build a nation/Where no man is oppressed/And so with peace and plenty/Nigeria may be blessed.” Unfortunately, the Igbos are oppressed in Nigeria. Everybody knows it. Let them (the authorities) open up and give us (Ndigbo) what we are entitled to. We the Igbos are happy to work for Nigeria to prosper. But to treat us this way is not good. It’s just not fair. Ndigbo are being oppressed in Nigeria contrary to what the anthem is saying!

So this Ohanaeze leadership, they are going to face a lot of challenges. And the general elections will also come very soon. If they go into politics and leave fighting for the Igbos, they will fail. They have to be very focused and committed even when what they are saying are not being accepted by the authorities, they must keep saying that because they are representing the Igbo people. And our, Igbo interests should come first before any other consideration.