• Super Admin
• 07 Mar, 2026

Former National Vice-President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Damian Okeke, has advised Nigerians to make a demand for restructuring, arguing that it holds solutions to the myriads of problems facing the country at the moment. Okeke, popularly known as Ogene Nanka, opined that the country could become a better place to live, work, and invest in if Nigerians decide to make it so. He also spoke on other issues of concern in this interview with Sunday Sun. Excerpts... Some people are of the opinion that there's a need for the leaders of this country from all the ethnic nationalities to sit down and renegotiate the unity of this country; to find out if Nigerians still want to remain together or go their separate ways. Do you also hold such a view? You see, Nigerians are not sincere to themselves. If we are sincere, the amalgamation is no more working. And at the same time, it is only one tribe that is paying the price of keeping Nigeria together irrespective of what they think about Nnamdi Kanu. The Igbo are in every part of Nigeria developing those areas but they are most marginalised. We don't say marginalised again because when we were talking about marginalisation, we found out that some Hausa minority, some Niger Delta minority and some other people were even more marginalised than us. Nobody is speaking for them; even some Benue people. That's why the Ohanaeze, in their last summit in the South East with Afenifere and the others, came up with restructuring. Nigeria needs to be restructured. We need to be restructured and it's overdue. Anything without restructuring... Ekwueme and the others managed to smuggle in the six-zone system which is partially working. You can imagine how it would be with full restructuring. There would be a competition. Nigeria will move more forward than you are seeing now. Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, will be sworn in next month for a second term. How would you rate his last four years in office? And what do you expect from him in the next four years? If I tell you that Soludo did not surprise Ndi Anambra, you can call me names. He surprised everybody. Soludo has not much in his manifesto; what he would do for Anambra. He kept hammering that he would go to Okpoko; that the day he would be sworn in, that he would go to Okpoko. Though some people expected him to start work at Isuofia or Ekwulobia or Aguata, but the very day he was sworn in, he went to Okpoko. What I am trying to tell you is that Soludo never promised us the dualisation of the roads he has dualised. It was never in his manifesto. He never promised that he would build the Light House; that is, the new Government House. He never promised all these things. There were many things that are not in his manifesto. In fact, as far as I am concerned Soludo has done better than any governor that has ruled Anambra in four years. So, if you compare his achievements in four years, you see that he is above others. There was a time I was discussing with him, I didn't find out that Soludo had been preparing to be governor of this state for more than 20 years. He had made research; concluded every plan on what should be here and what should be there. He has the master plan on his chest. He doesn't give it to anybody. But I think, one day he opened up to me in his study room and showed me a map. That's why for his first four years, no community, no traditional ruler, no personal relationship like people like us have gone to him to say 'please we want a road in our place'. Before you know it, something has started happening. If it's not happening in your community, it is happening in your local government. If it's not happening in your local government, it's happening in your neighbouring local government. So, everybody now kept calm, knowing that in a short while everybody must be accommodated. He planned to accommodate every community in his administration. If you go to Soludo to tell him, I want you to do this or that for me, he will not do it because he knows that what he has for you may be more than what you are asking for. So, everybody keeps quiet. That's why for the first time a sitting governor was going for his second tenure, communities and individuals started contributing money instead of collecting money from him. So, I think he has done really well. For his second tenure, I wish that he will not live in the past of first tenure. If he comes in full force in this second tenure, the way he did in his first tenure, the Dubai-Taiwan he promised may be realised. I remember he said he would turn Anambra into Dubai. We may be seeing the Dubai before the end of his eight years. Controversy is trailing the government's move to build another airport in the state, precisely at Omogho in Orumba North LGA. Many people have rejected that move, arguing that the one built by the former governor, Chief Willie Obiano, at Umueri in Anambra East LGA is not yet fully functional. Do you support the idea of a second airport or would you prefer a railway? He is an economist. I don't want to peep into his privacies or his plans. But I remember when he was addressing Ohanaeze; Soludo has been hammering on interconnectivity, more especially railway. I remember once he said that the railway will take off from Onitsha to Ihiala and Nnewi and get to Ekwulobia and get to Awka and then back to Onitsha. That was when he was talking about Anambra. But he has been dreaming that there will be a railway up to Owerri, Aba, Umuahia, Okigwe, Enugu, Abakaliki, Nsukka and down to Onitsha. So, what he's asking for about the second airport is that he's trying to improve the first airport, Chinua Achebe International Cargo and Passenger Airport. Secondly, this second airport, people may not know exactly whether it is going to be a commercial airport like the one at Umueri because like I said, he is an economist. He must have studied the pros and cons of the project. I think I cannot say what he is building there. But believe me I think at the end it may end up being a cargo servicing airport which will yield more money than this commercial airport. He may join them together. So, let's see. As an economist, he cannot invest where he will not recover his resources. And, remember that he has never borrowed N1 officially. He said that the House of Assembly had approved some billions for him but he has not collected it. So, if he is able to do all these things without putting us in debt, he knows better than me and you. So, let nobody think it's going to be a waste or not. Let's see what he plans to do with that. One thing you should understand is that Ndi Anambra gave him a free hand, both from the party and the administration. Let him run his administration the way he wants. That's what it is. The President recently signed the amended electoral bill into law despite the controversies surrounding it. Now that the new Act has come into force, what do you think that Nigerians should do to ensure that next year's election is free, fair, and transparent whether the votes are collated manually or transmitted electronically to IREV? I have said that Nigeria is an amalgamated community. People do what they like within their reach. Let me tell you, whether electronic or manual, if in states like Rivers, Wike is able to cow all the people there, whether you transmit the election results electronically or not, if they all agree to steal the votes, they will still do that. They are the people who are going to fill the form EC8A. They are the people who are going to fill it. In this country we are not yet sincere to ourselves. I can stay in my house now and withdraw money, both in the village and here. Why can't they make it possible that I can stay in my house and vote to cut costs? This is because the money they are using to conduct an election, I don't think banks use such money to create an app through which their customers make transactions. Before, if you opened an account in Awka along the expressway, if you want to withdraw your money, you must go to the same expressway. You won't go to Ukwuoji. But now, if I open an account in Lagos, I can stay in Nanka and operate the account and operate with any branch. So, why can't we at this time, to reduce cost? You can stay in your house and cast a vote. Nobody has ever withdrawn money that he did not have in the bank. With the latest advancements in technology, they can programme it, once you vote, you cannot vote again. It is possible. Why are we wasting time? In a developed world, they have not recorded much of multiple voting in electronics. They vote electronically. So, the situation we have found ourselves is that we do laws to favour a particular group of persons or those in power. We are not doing laws for tomorrow. We are doing laws for today. That's why we will continue to amend laws every year. Every senate that comes in, they will amend the constitution, amend the electoral law. Another one will come and do the same thing. Haba! Source: https://thesun.ng/2027-nigerians-should-demand-restructuring-okeke/