FROM = EVEREST EZIHE, OWERRI
In view of on going rumour that Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has advanced plans to build the controversial Hausa/Fulani herdsmen colony in Okigwe Council area of the State, Chief Silas Onyeiwu has advised the State government on the need to consult the people of the area before taking their lands to build the colony as been proposed so as to avert may hem.
Onyeiwu who hails from Umunna Okigwe and also the Okigwe Senatorial zone Chairman of People’s Democratic Party(PDP) disclosed this in Owerri on Tuesday while commenting on the implications of the State Government action viz-a-vis building the herdsmen colony in the area as being rumoured.
According to the political chieftain “Governor Okorocha’s intention and acceptance to build the Hausa/Fulani herdsmen colony in Okigwe is absolutely ridiculous. Why the rush? Have the land owners being consulted? Where lies the beauty of democratic governance?.
“You don’t just woke up in the morning and as a Governor begin to donate people’s ancestral lands without their permission and approval. This is an aberration and therefore unacceptable to us. We cannot continue to do things the same way and expect a different result. It is only a fool that do things the same way and expect a different result” he pointed out.
He however assured that his people will not fight the State government if the rumour is true but will employ dialogue and allowed good conscience to prevail on what the Governor wants to do, insisting that Governor Okorocha as a true son of Igboland knows the affiliation, a typical Igbo man attaches to his ancestral lands and must allow objective and sound reasoning to triumph at last.
According to the Brazilian trained Mass Communicator “it is pertinent to know that certain action or in action of the State government may likely to justify the saying in some parts of the Nigeria that Igbos are conquered ethnic race and this may provoke a lot of issues, thus why, I am appealing that good judgment should prevail and the Governor no matter what should not give out people’s lad without their consent and approval” he passionately advised.
On the preparation of his party for the forthcoming primaries and subsequent general polls in 2019 as stated in the guideline, released by INEC, the Zonal Chairman expressed optimism that with the strategic efforts the party is putting within the Senatorial zone that the big umbrella is poised to reclaim the party’s lost glory within the six council areas (i.e. Ehime Mbano, Isiala-Mbano, Okigwe, Ihitte Uboma, Onuimo and Obowo), that constitutes the Senatorial zone.
For the ongoing INEC voter’s registration exercise, the frontline politician re-assured that his party has sensitized and mobilized the populace within the rural areas to participate actively in the ongoing exercise.
The participants he revealed include those whose voter’s cards have lost, those that re-located to their present abode, and those who just turned 18 or will be 18 years and above before the April 2019 general elections.
The New Zealand based international business icon turned politician bluntly refused to compare the activities of governance in New Zealand and Nigeria which he said are two different world apart. He likened the comparism to comparing orange with apple. To him, the differences are much and sees Nigeria to be over 50 years back ward.
To him, in advanced world, the government consults the people and respects their opinion or views on any issue while in Nigeria, the Government does not carry the people along in execution and implementation of any programme, project or activities,
Onyeiwu further observed that in advanced countries, people are respected and there is much discipline and better conducts unlike what is obtainable in Nigeria and advocated the need for attitudinal change in all the sectors of governance in Nigeria.
He sees his participation into Nigeria’s politics as a big sacrifice and to explore his global experiences in the overall interest of the nation.
The Vice Chairman also advised on the need for good people to passionately get involved in politics so as to enthrone sanity in the system and dissuade corrupt politicians from hijacking the system
