Nigerian Ruling Class Treats South-East As Conquered Territory – Onyeukwu

Sir Temple Ogueri Onyeukwu, FCA, a retired Military Officer and Director, Turning Point Youth Empowerment Initiative, is a public affairs analyst. He spoke to EJIKEME OMENAZU on some crucial national issues, including the neglect of the South East under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administrations. Excerpts: A cross section of Nigerians believe that there has been a programmed geometric extinction of the means of livelihood of South East and deliberate imposition of economic stagnation by the Federal Gov­ernment on the zone through the denial of relevant infrastructure and road network, which seems to have peaked under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.

What is your take on this? The only way to answer this question is to use the Federal Government’s data in the public space to show the world the level of hate and exclusion the present APC government has meted to the South East. The Federal Execu­tive Council meeting of Monday September 23, 2024 approved the following projects, Silame, Sokoto State to Buya Town, Kebbi State – 258KM Road; Bodo-Bonny Road, N280bn; Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano dual carriage way, N740.79bn; Cross River to Oferekpe Road and Iyam­oye-Omuo-Ikole-Ifaki-Ado-Ekiti Road, N133.



4bn; Repair of Gam­boni Bridge-Gamboru-Ngala-Kala Balde Road, Borno State, N3.2bn; and damaged loops and lumps of Third Mainland Bridge and Adeni­ji-Falomo road, N42bn. Others are: Service lane for Lekki Deep-Sea Port, through Epe to Sagamu-Be­nin expressway, 158bn; Dualisation of Afikpo – Uturu – Okigwe road, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo State.

The road would be financed through the Federal Government’s road infrastructure development and refurbishment investments tax credit scheme. Again, the Feder­al Executive Council meeting of Wednesday March 5, 2025 approved the following 12 projects for the Ministry of Works: Alkaleri-Ukuk Road in Bauchi State, N11.28bn; Uturu-Isuikwuato-Akara Road, N5.

9bn; Zaria-Hunkayi-Kolma­nu-Danbali-Maraba-Kanya-Sabawa and Kasa in Kaduna and Katsina states, N198bn; Kano, Wudil-Shua­ri axis, N128.4bn and Wukari – Ak­wana Road, Taraba State, N12.62bn.

Also approved are Bida – Lam­bata Road – Niger State (revised), N39.49bn; Bagudu Road Project, Kebbi State, N2.65bn; Iyin-Ilawi-Ek­iti Road, N15.

63bn; Ilogu Road, Kwara State-Osun State, N7.56bn. You can see that Item 8 of Monday Septem­ber 23, 2024 is now repeated among the list of projects for Wednesday March 5 and now allocated the sum of N5.

93bn. Consequently, the South East was earmarked N5.93bn for road infrastructure during the period.

Can any zone develop industrially with this level of road infrastructure ex­clusion? Check what goes to the oth­er geo-political zones and contrast it with the allocation to the South East. What other business enabling infrastructure can the South East boast since the inception of the APC administration in 2015? Imo and Abia states are blessed with abundant oil and gas depos­its. The issue of pipeline vandali­sation is a rare occurrence in the two states.

You now ask yourself: Why must the Federal Government exclude the two states and all other South East states in the distribu­tion of the High Pressure gas line network? The APC Federal Govern­ment, in pursuit of its regime of deliberate exclusion of the South East, is piping a 48 inch trunkline to take gas from Assa North field through Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben to Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano. The line will be stepped down at Abuja, Kaduna and Kano at various pres­sures to provide affordable cooking gas to Northern Nigeria, provide constant affordable gas to power industries in the North. This is deliberate political and economic scheming against the South East.

When the gas that is abundant in the South East and South South is channeled to the North to the exclu­sion of the zone that produces the gas, how can our industries grow? How can we revive our moribund industries? How can we power new industries and homes? The political leadership of the South East has al­ways preferred to be politically cor­rect in support of the North and the West to the detriment of the South East. The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo must rise and challenge this monstrous exclusion. The deliberate exclusion of the South East from Federal Economic infra­structure has become an existential threat to the South East.

How do you think the South East survives with this obvious deliber­ate exclusion of the region by the Federal Government from infra­structural development, which you are pointing out? Despite the large population of the South East estimated at over 85 million in Nigeria and about N25 million in the Diaspora, it has the fewest states in the Federation. The South East has the fewest local government areas, the fewest repre­sentatives in the House of Repre­sentatives and the fewest Senators in the Senate. Revenue derived from the South East and South South is shared based on the number of lo­cal governments and states.

In 1959, the then Soviet Union was to build a steel plant in Nigeria. Onitsha was chosen as the best place for the steel plant. In the desperation of the ruling class in Nigeria to stagnate the development of Nigeria, on the advice of their colonial masters, the project was moved to Ajaokuta in Kogi State.

The calculation was to hold down the South East. The economic development of Nigeria will continue to stagnate as long as the ruling class continues to adopt policies that stand economic theo­ries on their head. The allocation of key national projects that continues to exclude the South East will not bring about economic development of the nation.

The more the South East is excluded from the allocation of key economic infrastructures, the more Nigeria underdevelops, stagnates and retrogresses. Is the South East faring better under President Tinubu than under former President Buhari? The most significant project that was executed in the South East under former President Buhari was the Second Niger Bridge. It is on record that former President Goodluck Jonathan had set aside funds for this project, awarded it before he was maneouvered out of office in 2015.

Former President Buhari awarded the rail contracts that extended to the Niger Republic without passing through any of the South East states. Unfortunately, in this day and age, the Nigerian ruling class continues to treat the South East as a conquered terri­tory, good at laying the golden egg only to be discarded when sharing its own products. Nigeria needs political leaders who must build bridges’, leaders who will not deny and crush zones because they did not win in those area, leaders who must prioritise equity, justice and fairness over ethnicity, bigotry and triumphalism, leaders who must insist that all the zones are entitled to equitable and even development, leaders who realise that denial and exclusion of certain zones in the infrastructural and economic projects of the nation is disguised unjust dispossession.

The sea ports in the Eastern flank are underde­veloped because of the Federal Government’s policy of exclusion of the South East from Federal projects. Nigeria’s future hinges on democracy rooted in account­ability, justice, fairness and equity devoid of impunity, arrogance and manipulation of the weak institu­tions to ratify illegalities and crim­inalities that are patently manifest. Dissenting voices or zones must not be excluded in the distribution of infrastructural facilities.

Unfortu­nately, objectivity, truth, honesty and justice have become casualties of this political dispensation. The crisis in Rivers State has snow­balled into a declaration of State of Emergency in the state by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, appointment of a Sole Administrator, suspension of the governor, his deputy and the House of Assembly for six months. What is your take on this? Right from the inception of the crisis in Rivers State, His Excel­lency, Sir Fubara demonstrated resilience, patience, tolerance and submissiveness to his godfather.

On his assumption of office, the godfa­ther was said to have appointed all the Commissioners, all the Special Assistants, and all the Local Gov­ernment Chairmen. He was said to have paid for the Expression of Interest and Application Forms for all the aspirants, the members of the House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate and Gov­ernor (including the Deputy). He practically supervised the elections and allegedly ensured that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared all his preferred candidates winners.

Consequently, this tenure should have been his third term as gov­ernor, with Fubara as his proxy. It is not in the public domain if these members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, the Senators from River State and the governor were subjected to any rituals, oats, or cult allegiance as to restrain them from disobeying the godfa­ther. However all of them, with the exception of the governor, have demonstrated extreme allegiance in the supremacy of the godfather.

This is understandable. They have no body to account to. The governor will be held accountable by Rivers people.

So, while he was satisfying the godfather, he also needed to ex­ecute some projects to justify his position. Where it became practi­cally impossible for the governor to take decisions on behalf of the state, the centre fell apart. The god­father would not brook this.

The president intervened and his first intervention out rightly favoured the godfather. While the governor was fulfilling the commands of the president in favour of the godfather, the members of the House of As­sembly voluntarily, or perhaps on the instruction of the godfather, va­cated their seats by defecting to the ruling APC. The members declared war on the governor.

The declara­tion of the State of Emergency by the president, suspending the governor and his deputy, and the House of Assembly is tantamount to illegal seizure of the government of Rivers State. The Senate and the House of Representatives have since confirmed this aberration through voice vote. Another ille­gality! Nigeria is a big joke.

Rivers State has been conquered. Which state is next in line? Neither the president, while he was governor, nor Wike while he was governor, would tolerate or accommodate what Fubara has. Is this a conspir­acy between Wike, the Presidency, the National Assembly and the Judiciary to capture the votes of Rivers State ahead of 2027?.