By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
Mazi Okechukwu Maduekwe is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Cross River State and Special Adviser on Non-Indigenes Affairs to Governor Bassey Otu.Though from Ideato in Imo State, Maduekwe’s political career evolved and flourished in Cross River where he has lived for four decades. In this interview, Maduekwe spoke about how he braved all odds to rise to political prominence in his state of residence, his relationship with the governor, the challenges and enormous task of coordinating the affairs of the huge population of non-indegenes living across the 18 local government areas of the vast and multi- ethnic and multi-cultural state.
As a Special Adviser, your position ranks almost at par with a Commissioner; given that you are not an indigene of Cross River State and does not have a generational roots or link there nor share a filial or consanguinity nexus with the state, how did you pull this feat of being appointed into, Governor Bassey Otu’s cabinet?
Thank you. Let me say that your question is weighty and deep and seeks to highlight Nigeria’s major fault lines- ethnic and tribal differences- but let me answer you this way: for me, Cross River is home, no more no less. I settled in Calabar after my secondary education about 40 years ago. I have spent all my adolescence and adult years and life in Calabar; my businesses, material wealth, education- all I acquired in Calabar nay Cross River. I had my all Children here and they all had their different layers of education here in Calabar too. My businesses and investments are here and I pay my taxes into the coffers of Cross River state government. Yes, I’m from Osina in Ideato North local government area of Imo State and I occasionally visit my home town, spend some days or weeks and then return to Calabar where I have lived since 1984. You can now see why I described Cross River as home and I can tell you authoritatively that Cross Riverians are very friendly and hospitable people. Coming to the second leg of your question, that is how I got appointed into the office I currently occupy despite not being an indigene biologically or generationally; it may interest you to know that my principal, my boss, His Excellency, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu, is not provincial in nature and in thinking. He is urbane, cerebral, detribalised and focused.The People’s First Agenda of his administration does not place emphasis on tribe, religion or ethnicity but on how best to give everyone in Cross River a new lease of life, how best to deliver quality governance and gains of democracy to all irrespective of state of origin, tribe or religion. Don’t forget that Cross River is a multi- cultural, multi-lingual and multi- ethnic society, so my boss is a governor for all. Besides, having been a long standing loyalist of His Excellency….I have been with him, in his political camp through his House of Reps, Senate, PDP, Labour Party days, in fact whichever party he moved, I moved with him and having remained partisan on the side of his Excellency, he no doubt considered me worthy to serve him and the state, hence my appointment. Also, having campaigned for His Excellency in every nook and cranny of Cross River, I think he recognised that I have something to offer to his administration and to the state, hence his gracious decision to appoint me his Special Adviser on Non-Indigens Affairs. His Excellency is a Godly man and I believed in his ability to deliver the dividends of democracy as he is doing currently. During the electioneering campaigns and after he was declared winner and sworn-in, I massively mobilized both non indigenes and indigenes to support him and I’m happy he has justified the massive support we gave him through the good and people-oriented governance everyone is now enjoying in Cross River. Let me tell you this, though I’m not an indigene of Cross River State in the strict sense of the word, I’m proud to inform you that my political career evolved and blossomed here. I have been a ward leader, non indigene leader and state party stakeholder. When you talk of Cross River politics, I think I’m qualified to be described as a stakeholder. Let me also inform you that at some point in the evolution of my political career in the state, I participated in the government of Cross River at the local government level.
You said that at a time you participated in local government administration in Cross River, how did this come about? Were you an elected local government chairman or councillor?
None of the above. I have served in Calabar South local government and also served as Transition Committee member and Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman on Business Development. I can tell you that I discharged my duties creditably well without any blemish while attracting quantum revenue to the local government.
Your position as Special Adviser to the governor on Non-Indigenes Affairs suggests that you are sort of a representative in the Otu government of Non-Indigenes in Cross River. Is this so and if it is not, what exactly is your job description?
Well, you may not be far from the truth but it’s broader than the way you perceive it. As I said earlier, Cross River is a multi ethnic and multi cultural state. It is very diverse with a vast landmass spanning 18 local government areas; all local government areas across the state host inhabitants who are originally not from Cross River but have over the years made the state their home and living peacefully with their hosts, carrying out various legitimate business activities, earning a living and contributing to the economic growth of the state. If you go to Northern and central Cross River- places like Ogoja, Yala, Bekwara, Obudu, Obanliku, Ikom, Ugep among others, you will see my brothers and sisters from Northern Nigeria in their numbers who have completely acculturised or if you like Cross Rivernised carrying out different forms of economic activities.
The same also goes for our Southeast, South south, Middle Belt and Southwest brothers. In fact, there is a plethora of Igbo businessmen who are so deeply rooted in Ogoja, Ikom, Calabar, Ugep that many of them did not just build and own houses in these towns but are also landlords and are married to the daughters of the soil. In Calabar proper, such markets as Bedwell, Watts and Marian have a large number of Igbo and Yoruba traders. In the entire stretch of Calabar South local government area, you find many Igbo traders in shops dealing on various articles. Calabar South is also home to Bogobiri, a sprawling Hausa settlement which could be arguably described as a micro economic zone in Calabar in the sense that the settlement is a depot of sort for goods, mostly food, agricultural produce coming from the North. I have taken time to outline all these to show you that my job is clearly cut out: To coordinate the teeming population of Nigerians from other states residing in Cross River and act as a bridge between them and government of Governor Otu. It is my duty to interface with the government on their behalf and encourage them to contribute their quota to the economic growth of the state, obey the laws of the state and respect the tradition, culture, norms and mores of their host communities and refrain from any act that could bring them into conflict with their hosts.To achieve these objectives, I periodically hold meetings with groups, unions, and associations of non- indigenes to feel their pulse, know their concerns and brainstorm on ways to forge harmonious relationship with their hosts.
You described Cross River as a vast state, so considering the distance between Calabar, the state capital where you are based, and the other parts of the state, how are you able to coordinate, relate and interface with Non-Indigenes residing in far flung places of the state? Do you periodically visit them in their various locations or do you summon them to Calabar for interactions?
When the need arises, I visit various areas of the state where they reside to interact and mingle with my brothers and sisters from other parts of the country and share in their joy or pain and also bring to them the message of the People’s First mantra of His Excellency. In the same vain, when the need arises for their physical presence in Calabar, their representatives are invited to come.
There is this widely held notion that Cross River is a civil servant state that lacks an economy and that what could be passed for an economy is largely driven by businesses and investments of non-indegenes. How true is this?
This is not true. Cross River has a sustainable economy. As I said before, there is a strong presence of Nigerians from the other parts of the country in Cross River and like every other Cross Riverians engaged in gainful economic activities, they are contributing to the growth of the economy of the state through their investments and businesses. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits everybody. While the non- indigene business owners and investors enjoy the conducive and enabling business environment prevailing in the state, especially under the visionary and dynamic leadership of Governor Otu, which they need to thrive, the indigenes benefit from the small scale direct and indirect jobs the presence of such businesses and investments create. Besides, there are a plethora of indigenes of the state that own virile, thriving businesses and investments scattered all over the state- businesses and investments that have created jobs and employed thousands of Cross Riverians. We also have some Non Indigenous farmers in the remote communities, the Nomads in the mountains and lowland, the Fishermen living in the Creek side, Islands and across the rivers.There are also a number of multinational companies operating in Cross River, these multinationals equally contribute to the economy of the state handsomely. It is therefore, fallacious to say that Cross River lacks an economy or that its economy is solely driven by non- indigenes. Because of the location of Cross River State along International boundary line and the trade route, thousands of Non Indigenous travellers in most cases relates with their home communities in the state.
One year down the line, how would you say your principal, Governor Otu’s People First Agenda has impacted on Cross River and its people?
As lawyers will say, fact speaks for itself and as the popular cliche goes, seeing is believing, so, go round the state and see for yourself and hear from the people direct, take a stroll across the length and breathe of Calabar and see the immense transformation yourself and directly hear the people speak. It is self-evident: This governor has delivered and still delivering within just one year in office; he has reinvented, re-engineered and reshaped Cross River and set it on the path of irreversible economic growth beyond the expectations of many. The governor is giving the people a new lease of life; his Agricultural policy is centred around job creation through cultivation on industrial scale in different parts of the state of different crops such as cow pea, cocoa, Cassava, palm tree among others.To further deepened Cross River’s economy, Governor Otu is continuing with the key legacy projects of his predecessor, notably the Obudu Cargo and Passenger International Airport and the Bakassi Deep seaport among others which when completed will of great economic value to the state. On urban renewal, anyone who visited Calabar a year or two ago will certainly be amazed at the transformation that has taken place in the city if he or she is to visit Calabar today. Not only have the mountains of refuse disappeared from the streets, dilapidated internal roads have been fixed, steady street lights have returned,the streets are now kept clean round the clock, traffic lights and road signs are back. Generally, Governor Otu has restored the aesthetics of Calabar- its traditional green scenery and clean and sparkling status for which the city was famous for. He has also extended the urban renewal drive to the urban centres of Ugep, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu. In the areas of security and Health sector, His Excellency has given adequate attention to them. Through his proactiveness in securing the life and property of Cross Riverians, cases of kidnapping, robbery and other form of crime have significantly reduced in the state. The health sector has received tremendous attention as there are lot of renovations and collaboration with different partners to improve on healthcare in the state.
Some Nigerians are angry with your party, the APC and the President, Bola Tinubu for the current excruciating economic difficulties.Do you think their anger is justified?
No one is immune from the current economic challenges, including members of all the political parties, APC inclusive. Hunger knows no party, tribe or religion. It is true that some Nigerians are angry with the government over the current economic situation in the country but it is also true that Mr President is doing all he can to restore the economy and give Nigerians quality life in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of his administration. Therefore, there is the need for Nigerians to be patient, unite and support Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda as he steers the country out of the current economic challenges. This is not a time for blame games or to exacerbate our fault lines. Let’s bind together as one people, one nation welded together by fate and destiny and support our leaders at this critical moment, the same way Americans persevered and rallied around their president during the great economic depression of the 1930s.
You are from Imo, is your state government aware that Governor Otu graciously appointed one of the sons of the state into his government and into an important position too?
Officially, there hasn’t been such notification or communication from me to Governor Hope Uzodimma but plans are underway to officially notify him of Governor Otu’s gracious decision to appoint one of Imo sons as his aide. However, I can assure you that all Igbo associations in Cross River, including the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Cross River state chapter are excited about this appointment and are grateful to His Excellency, Governor Otu for his inclusivity disposition and his demonstration of statesmanship.
The post How my political career evolved in Cross River –Maduekwe, Special Adviser on Non indigenes Affairs to Governor Otu appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.