I'M NOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT CONTESTING

Dr. Orji
You are the first major contender from the South-East. What is your message for all Nigerians and particularly those in the North?

No. No. No. It is a genuine request for our South-South and the Northern people to understand that it is our turn.

That is how I want them to look at it. And I am sure that any Nigerian that has conscience will not want to run at this time even if you are Jonathan. Let them give the Igbos this presidency for four years and we will give it back in 2015. On my honour, we will give the presidency back to them in 2015.

To the North or South?
To whoever. I will either give the North or to the South-South. Anybody who is hungry for the presidency the way I am hungry for it now. I am hungry for it because I know a lot of things to do with this office. So, let them give the presidency to us.

I have no pity for any zone because every zone has its picture in Aso Rock except the Igbos. It is a challenge to Nigeria and the Nigerian people. It is also a challenge to all lovers of democracy. Give us this presidency and let us collectively say that the civil war has ended. As far as I am concerned, most Igbo people who live in Onitsha, Aba, Enugu, Ebonyi and all parts of Nigeria, including the Igbos in Aspamda and Alaba market, are still feeling that the war has not ended.

To end the war formally, give us this presidency since there is trouble on where PDP is zoning the presidency. Let Nigerians come out quickly and vote for PPA and give the presidency to PPA so that we can hold it in trust. Even if I don't do it, the parliamentarians who are going to be PDP can impeach me on my honour. I can only rule for four years and give it back to the North or South, whoever wants it. But probably, I will give it to the North.

Against the background of the bitterness, controversy and political tension over zoning in the PDP, do you see any danger for the Fourth Republic?

Oh! Definitively, there is danger on the way if it is not properly handled. This is why I am saying the only solution is to give it to an Igbo man. That is the only way they can put off the danger. Let me make it very clear to you. Legitimately, the PDP agreed that zoning will give eight years to the North and eight years to the South. So, instead of it causing trouble now, the best thing is to give it to a neutral zone, which is South-East so that we can keep it in trust for them.

Which means if the controversy is not properly resolved, there could be danger for the Fourth Republic?

Oh! There is danger already without mentioning it. There is danger and you can see danger written all over the nation if it is not resolved properly.

You had a record of outspokenness but for sometime now, you have spoken very little and a lot has been going on. Why has it been so?

No. I just decided to remain so. And I can't talk when there is nothing to talk about. Now, there is something to talk about because I am running for president. I have to talk about it but at that time, I had nothing to talk about. So, now I have something to talk about and I welcome journalists to talk to them.

On his own part, President Jonathan has been making his own moves to penetrate Igbo land. The other week, he appointed the second Igbo Chief of Army Staff and he is still making effort. How effective is this?

Let me tell you this. I am very, very happy that he appointed an Igbo man as Chief of Army Staff. It is very good, a welcome development. But no job is bigger than that of  a commander-in-chief. We need a commander-in-chief to appoint other people. I will also appoint a man from Bayelsa as Army Chief to repay him back for what he did for Abia.

Although, some Igbo leaders said no; that they needed a police chief more than the Army Chief. Rather, President Jonathan took two of our service chiefs and gave one back to us. Mind you, Air Marshall Paul Dike, is of Igbo extraction. He was Chief of Defence Staff when Onovo was the Inspector General of Police. He took one Chief of Army Staff and gave to us and took the other one. So, we are still expecting him. President Jonathan is owing the Igbos another service chief. He should quickly do it so that he can lobby us properly.

Again, let me ask you again. Will you be running for the presidency of Nigeria in 2011?

I will run for the presidency because it is the right thing to do. I am running to represent the faces of Igbos who are all over Nigeria and also represent the faces of Nigerian people who are oppressed.

On what platform are you running, given the present circumstances?

In the present circumstances, I have no alternative other than to go to PPA to run. I know people will say PPA doesn't have governors, they don't have this and they don't have that. If we go by what Professor Jega is professing, it means that people will be voting according to their conscience because if any politician rigs this election, he will be questioning the unity of the country. The unity of the country will seriously be questioned in all ramifications whether it is Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Ijaw, Ibibio, Urhobo or any of the 250 tribes in Nigeria.

The emerging perception is that no single zone can win the presidency on its own. So, what is your strategy towards achieving this? Have you reached out to other zones?

Well, any how they are going to do it. Any way they are going to do it and any strategy they are putting in place. If the other people who are running for president are relying on other zones, I should also rely on other zones. I am a full -blooded Nigeria and my own strategy would be my heart. There are town unions of Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa people everywhere.  I am going to the street to make those people to work for me. In fact, in the next one month, I will be opening volunteers' offices for people to work for us free of charge. There are many oppressed people in Nigeria who want to be challenged to work for a true political process.

One of the emerging challenges you may likely face is the inability of the Igbos to speak with one voice. How are you going to get the Ndigbo to speak with one voice?

Which zone speaks with one voice? Are the Northern people speaking with one voice now? Those Igbos, Hausa people and Yoruba that come to Abuja will always speak with dissenting voices. But the Igbo people in Igbo land, we are suffering the pains today and we speak with one voice.

Mind you, I will get the 85 percent of the vote cast of the Eastern Nigeria, including parts of the South-South. They will sympathize with me. They will see what I am preaching.

You are seeing my candidature to be an Igbo agenda. Mind you, I have been on the streets for too long. We employed 11,000 people in the whole of the groups. They can become agents for me. Forget about what you are seeing. It is going to be beyond Igbo land.  It is going to be the conscience of the people. People who believe in what is right and what is wrong.

There have been some signals of intolerance from the presidency in recent times, particularly against your zone. The Igbo leaders wanted to meet in Owerri and the meeting was stopped. They were locked out. There were speculations that the action was from the presidency and recently, a meeting of the Ohanaeze was stopped in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). With all these happenings, coupled with your declaration, how are you going to withstand the weight of the president, moving against your aspiration?

Well, if you move against anybody, the only way to keep justice is to be fair and just. The only way not to buy on the bank of injustice is to be fair. So, I expect the president to know that this is politics. It is only in Nigeria, Africa and this part of the world that people go after you because you want to contest. I am not against the president contesting. If he wants to contest, it is an open contest. He is there and I am there. If he wins, I'll congratulate him and if I win, he should congratulate me.

I mean, it is an open thing. If the president should use the weight of his office to terrorize people, then it is unfortunate that this is happening in the 21st century. I don't see this happening in the 21st century. In the 21st century, we need to see a modern Nigeria where people can contest for any office they like without any obstruction. This is what people like me want to see.

And I believe that President Jonathan should not go back to the old way of doing things by terrorizing people because he wants to run for election or by sending agents to go after them. I don't even believe that. Once anything of that nature happens, we will bring it to his attention and tell him that this is wrong and that they should stop doing it. The country should be governed by the rule of law. If anybody has done anything against you, then go to court and that is why we have the courts all over Nigeria.

It will be wrong for any of the service chiefs, whether police, army or air force, or any commissioner of police in the state or any brigade commander in any state, to allow himself to be used to terrorize innocent citizens. Many innocent citizens have been killed in the past and we don't want this to continue. They should learn how to do things with due process and not that Party A wants to meet in Owerri or Group B wants to meet in Owerri, then you ask SSS, Army and Police to go and lock them out of the venue. We are Nigerians. What if there had been civil disobedience there?

One thing our leaders don't know is that the populace can take the laws into their hands. Let us not work ourselves to get to that level because it is not right. Look at the fun that all Nigerians were having on the 50th birthday of our independence and they just spoilt it because of dissatisfaction. I call on the Federal Government to set a probe panel on how to get at the perpetrators of the bomb blast.

The international community is also interested in Nigeria and most importantly, the 2011 elections. Have you fashioned this in your strategy?

Oh! Sure. I have always been with the international community. I am one of the best friends of the Germans, the Americans and the United Kingdom (UK). I mean, what they preach is what I preach. I preach transparency, openness, justice and level playing ground. I think President Jonathan started very well in preaching these things but if he changes in the middle of the game, it will be very disastrous.

Message for the Ndigbo and Nigerians in general.
The message is very simple: I am a Nigerian. I happened to be born in Igbo land, trained by Hausa-Fulani and started my business with the Yorubas in the South-West. So, I am a Nigerian. You can see the true face of Nigeria in me. My message is that Nigerian people should expect a CEO who will manage Nigeria. I am a CEO and I am not going to be President of Nigeria. I am going to be CEO and not president.

The mistake we have been making is that people import even common toothpicks from China. Many things will be stopped after one year of our presence in government and I will provide light for the people. Many shall stop importation of so many things and we shall go back to the old days of manufacturing things ourselves. So, my message is very clear. They are on the floor now. Let them have hope! That hope is coming because prosperity will follow them from what I am going to do.  But what I need is that they should keep hope alive and once they keep hope alive, we will overcome all hurdles. The orientation we have today is zero. I am concerned about what is happening on the streets of Nigeria.

You see a young man leaving college and the first thing is that he wants to become a councilor. You see a young woman leaving college and the first thing is that she wants to run for the House of Representatives. We were not trained that way. I was prepared from day one to be governor of Abia state and that was why I gave it my best, my very best.

My message for Nigerians whether Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Ibibio, Efik or Ishan, is to come out and support me. I am the new bridge that will end the fight between Jonathan and Babangida, Atiku, Gusau and others. I am going to be the new bridge. And on my honour, I will only rule for four years and give it back to whoever is hungry for the presidency the way I am hungry for it now.

Recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been going after any governor or former governor who says anything in support of the zoning formula just like they did to the former PDP chairman whose 2001 case was opened , is it likely that you will be a guest of the EFCC soon?

Mrs Waziri is a lawyer. She knows what is good and bad. And I am not afraid of those kinds of things. I can even run from prison and win.

After all, you anointed one governor from the prison…

Oh! Sure. I can be president from prison. Mandela came from prison and when people say that EFCC is harassing them, they must have done something to warrant EFCC harassment. I don't believe that Mrs Waziri, an accomplished lawyer like herself, will wake up one morning and start pursuing people when they didn't do anything. So, it is a free place for me to run, it is a free thing for me to do and it is the right thing for me to do. And there is no time better than now.

As I told you, EFCC can do better when they don't have two laws in their pockets. If they have one law, they will do better. People like Nuhu Ribadu failed because he dabbled into politics with EFCC. He was a good officer but today, he failed in the eyes of everybody because he came to pursue innocent people like me. I have been a business man for 25 years. I built a conglomerate. They looked at Abia because I actually aspired to be president of Nigeria. And that was why I left my businesses to go for the House of Representatives, became governor and now I'm ready to be president. So, the only person that can stop me is God or death.

I have already made up my mind that I can die in the process of wanting to be president, in the process of speaking the truth and I am not afraid of death. And that is what our generation is lacking. They don't want to be discomforted. I believe that God is the giver of power. Jonathan didn't run for president but he is a president today. So, God is the giver of power. God gave him. I didn't give it to him, you didn't give it to him. It was his luck, according to his name that gave it to him. He should use it very well because when God gives anything to you and you don't use it very well, He can shift as well.

I am not afraid of those things. I am used to them. I am not somebody you will say you want to arrest and will be fidgeting. No. From the day I was born, I have always known that there will be encounter with forces of evil; forces that don't want you to move forward. You stay and fight the forces and move forward.

I am happy with the law courts because most of the law courts helped a lot when we were governors. They showed justice and fairness and did not listen to any president.

If the president called them to come and drink tea, they told him off and stood their ground. Even the Justices of the Court of Appeal that released T.A. Orji from prison in Lagos. They were very courageous. They were begged by the then president not to release him but they went ahead and released him because it was the right thing to do. Those judges today, are heroes in the annals of law history. Everything is not money but Nigerian people want to quantify everything to be money and it is wrong that everything should be money.

Many Nigerians felt you ought not to have left the PPA for PDP in the first instance?

Well, I left for friendship sake because when you make a promise to your friend, you should keep that promise. And I also left because I was convinced about the way Dr Nwodo said he was going to show more justice, he was going to show this, he was going to show that. I left the PDP because of injustice. There was no other reason why I left the party and he said he was going to change. And I am still expecting him to change but things seem to be getting worse than I even expected.