Dozie Owerri is a socio cultural association of professionals and business men of Owerri extraction with branches in various states of the country. The Owerri branch is headed by Mr. Emeka Nwaneri, a legal practitioner. In this interview with our Correspondent CHINWE MADUAGWU he spoke on the association’s position on the state of affairs in Dozie Owerri and their plans for the state.
TNE: What is Dozie Owerri all about?
Dozie Owerri is a socio cultural association of professionals and business men of Owerri extraction namely Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West Local Government Areas of Imo State. The primary focus of the Association is the welfare, well being, human and infrastructural development of Owerri people and the communities in Owerri.
TNE: A lot of people believe that since after Sam Mbakwe Imo State has not really had a good deal with Governors following. Do you agree with this or not? Either way give your reasons.
Well, that depends on the perspective of the person making the assessment. I am not sure that teachers in Imo State during the administration of Chief Sam Mbakwe will agree with that assessment. However, as you people in the media say “Facts are sacred, comments are free”. On the available facts there will be no difficulty by any objective mind agreeing that the achievements recorded in Imo State under the administration of Chief Sam Mbakwe in the old Imo State remain remarkable. Successive administrations have also done their bit one way or the other yet again I do not think that any objective mind will have difficulty concluding that successive administrations in Imo State after the administration of Chief Sam Mbakwe have been progressively worse than that administration.
TNE: In the history of Imo State has Owerri Senatorial Zone produced the governor?
Yes and No. Yes in the sense that Chief Evan Enwerem (now of blessed memory) was from Atta in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, which is in Owerri Senatorial Zone when he was the Governor of Imo State under the military presidency of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, an arrangement which Chief Nnamdi Azikwe, Owelle of Onitsha, described as diarchy. No in the sense that under a purely democratic dispensation Owerri Senatorial Zone has not produced a governor in Imo State. However, the tragedy of the situation is that in the entire South East of Nigeria. Owerri Senatorial Zone remains the only Senatorial Zone that is yet to produce a governor. Abia and Anambra States completed their cycle with the election of their current governors namely Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and Chief Willie Obiano.
TNE: Popular opinion even beyond the State is that under the present administration in Imo State, Owerri Municipal and its neighbouring towns have been desecrated. Where does Dozie Owerri stand in all these?
Who are we to go against an opinion you described as popular even beyond the State. We go with the people. Perhaps some examples will underscore the point.
What was the necessity for the present administration to create four other autonomous communities out of the existing single Owerri autonomous community? What informed the building of a palace in Owerri called the palace of Eze Imo. It is common knowledge that Eze Imo is not synonymous with Eze Owerri, will another traditional ruler from another autonomous community occupy a palace in Owerri under whatever guise and what sort or traditional rites as Eze will that other traditional ruler perform in the said palace?
Why was it necessary to bulldoze and destroy Ekeukwu Owerri market in a Gestapo like manner as the present administration did in August 2017 when the courts were on their annual vacation, whilst the issue of the said market was not only sub judice but was the subject of a subsisting order of injunction restraining the said government from interfering with the said market any howsoever? The government is yet to accept that the said misadventure and needless show of force resulted in the untimely death of Master Somtochukwu a young lad of about 10 years.
What would justify the destruction of the native roads in the neighbouring towns to Owerri Municipal Council with heavy earth moving equipment under the pretext of tarring and expansion, pulling down wall fences of individuals and church buildings, community halls, tearing through the graves of ancestors and relations, yet leaving the majority of the said roads unattended to and impassable during the rainy season. In my community, Awaka, the entire length of the wall fence of Christ (Anglican) Church and our community hall at Amapu to mention but a few were completely pulled down. Since then till today the road for which these massive destruction or do you call it desecration was made namely Awaka/Ihitta Road is no longer passable during the rainy season.
Finally what informed the humiliation and disgrace out of office of Sir Jude Agbaso as Deputy Governor? I do not know whether the same popular opinion did inform you that the present administration in Imo State started its journey into office with the goodwill, generosity and largeness of heart of the Owerri man and Owerri people from nomination in APGA in 2011 through the election of that year and re-election of 2015. As for where Dozie Owerri stands in all these, our position is simple and it is that Owerri people do not in fairness and good conscience deserve the treatment we have received in the hands of the present administration in Imo State. We, therefore, call on the said administration to retrace his steps in this regard and take due and urgent steps to remedy the anomaly.
TNE: How do you propose that the anomaly be remedied given for instance that Ekeukwu and New Market have already been bulldozed?
The answer is simple, for Ekeukwu Owerri and New Market, reverse the decision and restore the markets to their status. The issue of rebuilding will then be a matter of details. By the way, you are based in Lagos aren’t you? If I may ask you, where are Balogun and Iponri markets? Outside the city? What about the market in the Faloma area of Ikoyi, Ikoyi of all places. What about the market at the Ramat area of Benin city? Have you been to Calabar? Where is Watt market? I can go on and on. However, the administrations in those states have in most cases fenced in the respective markets.
READ ALSO: Court nullifies Ajimobi’s installation of 21 Ibadan kings
TNE: Is Dozie Owerri open to card carrying members of the political parties?
We do not discriminate against any person in our admission of members once you meet our laid down criteria for admission. It does not matter whether you are a card carrying member of a political party or not.
TNE: Does that not work against the body in terms of forging a common front especially in their support for Owerri people standing for election?
Certainly, we have challenges in that regard but over the years we have devised and accepted ways and means of contending with the said challenges. Please do not ask me how.
TNE: Please give us a little insight into how you deal with the issue as it might help other groups to function better.
You may well ask the North to tell us how they came together to vote out the PDP administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Since you insist let me remind you that in politics there are no permanent friends or enemies. Only interests are permanent and when interests become common the rest is simple.
TNE: 2019 is election year. What is your group doing to ensure that Owerri Senatorial Zone produces the next governor for the state?
Within the limits of what I can disclose publicly on this sensitive issue, I will tell you straightaway that the position of not just Dozie Owerri, Owerri Branch but Dozie/Mezie Owerri Central Council on the matter is that nothing short of a governor of Owerri Senatorial zone extraction will be acceptable to our people. Accordingly, any political party in Imo State that seriously wishes to run for the governorship of Imo State come 2019 should look towards Owerri senatorial zone for their candidate. One may ask, why have you taken his position? The answer is simple. In 1999, the fact as regards the civilian governorship of Imo State was that Okigwe zone had produced Chief Sam Mbakwe as governor for a full term of four years. He was re-elected for a second term and had assumed office for that second term before the Army scuttled that administration via a coup d’état. Owerri zone had also produced thereafter Chief Evan Enwerem in circumstances and duration that I had earlier talked about in this interview.
The only zone then that had not produced a governor was Orlu zone. At the time Owerri people were strategically positioned in PDP and APP, the two dominant parties then and with their said positions then ensured that their said parties chose their candidates for the governorship of Imo State from Orlu zone only namely Chief Achike Udenwa, – PDP (who eventually won the election) and Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu – APP. Chief Achike Udenwa, served as governor for two terms. After him one would have thought that the people of Owerri zone would have no difficulty producing his successor but that was not to be.
Even when Chief Martin Agbaso was coasting home as the governor elect, that bid was truncated, yet the people of Owerri zone supported Chief Ikedi Ohakim who thereafter emerged as successor to Chief Achike Udenwa. Chief Martin Agbaso is from Owerri zone while Chief Ikedi Ohakim is from Okigwe zone. The inability of Chief Ikedi Ohakim to secure re-election for a second term altered the political equation in Imo State thus throwing up the present administration presided over by Owelle Roachas Okorocha again from Orlu zone.
As this administration winds down in 2019, Orlu zone from zero year as governor in Imo State in 1999 would have occupied the office of governor for 16 sixteen years, Okigwe zone with two terms of four years each and three months would have occupied the office of governor for eight years and three months while Owerri zone will remain at one year and 10 months. A well known Igbo adage says “Erizuo oke, ogbuu alaa” (when contending parties receive equal share, animosity vanishes). Similarly, my training as a lawyer reminds me of three maxims of equity thus; Equality is equity, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands and he who seeks equity must do equity.
As for what we are doing to achieve our objectives in this regard we have reached consensus with Ezurezu Mbaise as well as our brothers from Ngor Okpala, Mbaitoli and Ikeduru Local Government Areas of Imo State on the issue. You may be aware that the coalition for Owerri Reawakening (which we are part of) organized a 2017 Owerri Summit with the theme “Owerri Question” on Saturday, November 11, 2017 at the All Saints Cathedral Church field, Egbu, Owerri. Mr. Paschal Dozie was the Chairman of that summit while Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN was the keynote speaker. We are following up on the huge success of that summit. We are also reaching out to our brothers of Orlu and Okigwe Zones. We are hopeful that they will see reason and support the charter of equity, which favours Owerri Zone to produce the next governor of Imo State. I believe I have said more than enough on this issue for now.
TNE: Is it possible for Owerri Senatorial Zone to ‘elect’ the governor of the state without such alliances as you have talked about?
No. Politics is a game of numbers, building bridges and fostering alliances. If Owerri people did not sacrifice their interest in favour of a charter of equity an Orlu man would not have been the governor of Imo State in 1999. If Owerri people did not sheath their sword in 2007 when they were hurt the most with the cancellation of the governorship election in which Chief Martin Agbaso, their son, was a few inches away from declaration as governor-elect, Chief Ikedi Ohakim of Okigwe zone may not have been governor. If Owerri people did not make it possible for the present administration to obtain the APGA gubernational ticket in 2011, vote massively for APGA in 2011 and APC with the same flag bearer in 2015, an Orlu man would not have been completing another eight years as governor of Imo State now. All we ask for now of our brothers of Orlu and Okigwe zones is reciprocity in terms of the gesture we had earlier made towards their interests. That demand is fair; it is just as it is equitable unless someone wishes to stand reason and logic on its head.
TNE: What would you say is your group’s greatest achievement?
I told you earlier that our focus is on the “welfare, well being, human and infrastructural development of Owerri people and the communities in Owerri”. Bearing that in mind it may not be easy to point to tangible things as achievement. We are, therefore, satisfied that we have largely succeeded in our focus and set goals. Beyond that we have recently acquired, and I mean Dozie/Mezie Owerri Central Council, an office in Owerri, which is being set up as a job creation office for our youths. We are also discussing with our brothers in the United States of America through their World Owerri Peoples Congress, as to how to sponsor the training of selected youths from our catchment area in skills acquisition under our Youth Empowerment Programme.
TNE: What is the difference between Dozie and Mezie Owerri? Are they two names for the same Association or two different Associations?
That is one of the results of the process of our evolution. The two are one and the same Association with Branches adopting either Dozie Owerri (as in my Branch –Owerri Branch) or Mezie Owerri (as in Lagos Branch). Be that as it may, collectively we meet on a collegiate level as Dozie/Mezie Owerri Central Council with one of the Branch presidents as Chairman of the Council as agreed between us. Before you probe further let me volunteer to you that the current president of Abuja Branch is the Chairman of our Central Council at the moment.