Abati: I thought I could rattle Tinubu during media chat — but he knows what he’s doing

By Evelyn Osagie

Livinus Okwara is a pioneer member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos State and also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with reporters, Okwara, a die-hard supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, speaks on  his contributions towards the development of the APC and why Igbos in Lagos should support the ruling party. EVELYN OSAGIE reports

The Igbo man is republican in nature. But this has not helped the Igbo in politics, particularly in Lagos, where they have always opposed the ruling party. In your view, why should the Igbo vote for the APC in Lagos?

Our people have a saying, ‘ebe onye bi, k’onawachi’.  Loosely translated, this means that one should always try to contribute to the development of wherever one finds oneself. So, the Igbo man must face the facts; he has an obligation to contribute to the development of where he lives and makes his daily bread; he must contribute to the political development of that area. If you are in a state, you should contribute to the development of that state. If you are in Lagos and you happen to come from one remote village in Imo State, for instance, there are people living there and contributing to the development of the environment. So, you cannot live in a state and continue to make provocative statements about the place.

Courtesy demands that there should be respect because if you respect the people, they will respect you because respect is reciprocal. Your children are growing up there, and it is from the money you contribute that they are taken care of by the government. This is because you cannot work in Julius Berger and be collecting a salary from somewhere else. Is it Julius Berger that will make sure that everything about you is taken care of? So those of them that make statements that are not conducive are doing so in ignorance. Every day, you live your life in a place, the traditional rulers have a responsibility to look after you; the governors have an obligation to take care of you; and the police there have a commission to protect you.

A police commissioner in Lagos State cannot go to another state to give orders. If you look at the geographical spread of various ethnic groups in Nigeria, Igbos are everywhere. As the last president mentioned, Igbos are number two in every state that is not an Igbo state and, as he said, I don’t know what they want. It is a privileged position and it’s a privileged contribution; it’s more than enough because as they spread, their people get employed; they are taken care of; they are saying to us that the Igbo are more technical than every other tribe in Nigeria and they are being taken care of even if they do not have the privilege of becoming president of Nigeria. When the time comes, it will be their turn to produce the president and they will take care of themselves and the other people as well.

So, I want the Igbo to understand that, number one, Lagos protects their interest and that they should reciprocate. So, they owe allegiance to Lagos State; not to the person who does not know whether you exist; he makes his budget and he does not include you but these people make their budget and include you. So, where do you show your respect? And, again, you should avoid making provocative statements. The Igbos are lucky that they are loved all over the federation; everywhere they go, the people accommodate them, give them jobs, give them contracts and their businesses are booming. But they want to give the public the impression that they are not being appreciated. I was born in Lagos; I live here and do my business here.

You have just been honoured for assisting the APC in winning the last general election. What role did you play in the election?

I have been a founding member of the party. I have been part of the soldiers of the APC and we have moved the APC from being a party that is only known in the Southwest to a national party. It’s not only my effort; it’s a collective effort of all party members across the federation. I remember when I coordinated campaigns in the five states of the Southeast and I sponsored the campaigns and the same thing in Lagos where I have sponsored governorship candidates, senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates and down to the council members and local government chairmen.

So, I’m happy that the APC has grown into a national party and a party to reckon with worldwide. Some years ago, people never thought that the APC will come this far. We have come to the centre; we have consolidated and then come back again with the flag carried by Asiwaju. So, I’m quite happy with the recognition as one of those who made it happen. And that is the beginning of so many things that will happen because we have inherited so many years of abuse of social interest, and abuse of constitutional interest, which we intend to carry to a logical conclusion because we want Nigerians to be happy.

The other parties need to understand that Nigeria belongs to all of us and not only to the rich.

What is the significance of this award to you?

The APC is a party that has recognized so much the importance of those who don’t have as much and will ensure that the gap between the rich and the poor is very much narrowed and that people can live happily in Nigeria as citizens with all the expectations of good governance. So, I thank the organisers of today’s event for this award. It will spur me to do more. I believe that party membership is for a lifetime; not jumping from one party to another.

So, it is in such countries that have introduced and managed democratic governance. Nigeria is going to have a history of continuity in democratic governance, keeping the military away from usurping the roles meant for democratic participation. I also thank the Unique Model magazine because their contributions to political development in Nigeria are unrivalled even though it has not been in existence for a long time.(Nation)