From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Lawyer cum Public Relations and Management Consultant, Chuks Akamadu, has said that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is the right man to lead the country as far as the 2023 presidency is concerned.
In this interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, the former Abia Central Senatorial aspirant said that Amaechi has been severally tested and never been found wanting in all his public assignments.
Akamadu also spoke on the issue of zoning, the agitation by the Southeast for a president of Igbo extraction and the politics of Abia State. Excerpts:
In the build up to the 2015 elections, you contested for the Abia Central Senatorial seat. Are you vying again or where do you stand at the moment politically?
Oh yes, I was the United Democratic Party candidate, but I have since resigned from the party and quit partisan politics. At the moment, I, as an incurable optimist, wish Nigeria gets it right in 2023.
The 2023 governorship of Abia State is causing disaffection amongst the PDP members. For the sake of fairness and equity, which of the senatorial districts should produce the next governor?
The “Abia Charter of Equity” is clear on this. This matter ordinarily shouldn’t be a matter in the realm of debate. From the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the first zone to produce governor was Abia North in the person of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu. Eight years after, Abia Central produced Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji, who in turn handed over to the incumbent governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu who is from Abia South. So, all things considered and in the interest of justice, equity and fairness, the governorship slot should move to Abia North so that Abia would continue to enjoy the relative peace and harmony that currently pervade the land. That is my take and you can see that there is no ambiguity anywhere at all.
The issue of where the presidency goes to in 2023 has become an issue, particularly within the APC and PDP. Do you think zoning should be discarded or maintained?
Zoning is a brilliant idea because it seeks to give component parts of a whole a sense of belonging. It is equity-oriented and is designed to foster unity and peaceful co-habitation. But we should all be mindful never to zone to mediocrity.
The Southeast where you come from has been talking about marginalisation. But there are those who believe that because of the daunting challenges facing the country, the 2023 presidency should be thrown open. What is your take on this?
Not just the Southeast, it is the Igbo nation that has been agitating for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. Reducing this legitimate aspiration to a territorial struggle would amount to inadvertently cutting off our brothers and sisters who are not geographically accommodated in the Southeast. And take it from me, it is cheap blackmail for anyone to attempt to shortchange Ndigbo on account of a vile construct called “daunting challenges.” Please, what on earth do they mean by “daunting challenges”? Has there ever been a time in the history of the country since independence when Nigeria did not do battle with your so-called “daunting challenges”? The truth is that every era presents its peculiar set of circumstances and obstacles to societal progress and the present dispensation is not any different from the previous. To argue otherwise would be disingenuous.
In your March 18, 2022 article in The Sun, you called on the Minister of Transportation and former Rivers State Governor to run for the 2023 presidential election. What necessitated that call?
I have taken a bird’s eye view of current political landscape and have objectively and dispassionately come to the inescapable conclusion that if Nigeria and Nigerians truly want to get it right in 2023, then Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Honourable Minister of Transportation is our square peg for our presidential square hole come 2023. The reasons are abundant – he has been severally tested and has never been found wanting in all his public assignments. He also possesses a wealth of experience that I think the nation should grab and exploit to the fullest. As a very young man, he superintended over the affairs of Rivers State House of Assembly and raised the bar of legislative performance. As a two-term governor, he left his footprint on the sands of time. From infrastructure to healthcare; from education to public service reforms; from massive road construction to urban renewal efforts; from human capacity development to arts and entertainment…just name it, he extended the frontiers of growth and development. His performance as Rivers State chief executive was in several material respects phenomenal. Or have you not seen how his successor has been labouring and sweating for the past six years plus to fill the pair of giant-size shoes he left behind as governor? Please recall also that among his peers then, he was highly esteemed – part of the reason they gave the honour of functioning as chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), where again he etched his name in gold. As Minister of Transportation, he has to the admiration of well-meaning Nigerians and the chagrin of his detractors transformed the sector in record time. You can see that my call for Rt. Hon. Amaechi to run is predicated on an unblemished track record of performance and display of rare diligence in public service. I have done a bit of politics in the past and therefore know that there exists a huge gap between what one intends to do in public office and the capacity to do so. For me, therefore, I’d rather err on the side of one’s track record and antecedents than go into a wild goose chase.    
In your article, you said among others, that given the peculiar realities of the present time, Nigeria needs a president whose triumph at next year’s poll would be a pan-Nigerian mandate that comes with vision, direction, competence and profuse patriotism. And that Nigeria needs a bold, courageous and pragmatic leader who would look our hydra-headed challenges in the face and begin to decimate them mercilessly. Do you think Amaechi can conveniently fit into the shoes of such personality?
Yes, I did outline those attributes as being essential in our choice of who succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari. Firstly, Rt. Hon. Amaechi sure has a good head on the shoulder. He’s brilliant and smart. He’s a team player and someone that does not look back the moment he takes hold of the plough. His records as a dogged fighter and result-oriented person is legendary. Looking at his previous public service records, it is all too glaring that he is a visionary leader with an exceptionally fertile mind. He is a quintessential, die-hard Nigerian patriot who is at home in the North as he is in the South. And because he is accepted across ethnic and religious boundaries, the task of unifying the nation under him as president would be less daunting.  He is a very simple and accessible person and always open to constructive criticism and robust debates. With his present age, he possesses the energy of the youth whose imagination he captures and wisdom of an elder. That is why I described his presidency elsewhere as a “transgenerational imperative.” At this point, Nigeria can hardly afford to hazard guesses. We have the very best around, please let’s go for it. Thankfully, the man we are talking about is a brilliant portrait of pragmatism, courage and strategy combined. These are the reasons that I, for the love of fatherland, is still calling on Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi to please join the presidential race. Nigeria at this material time cannot settle for less.
In case Amaechi refuses to contest, what are you going to do?
He sure does not owe me or those other millions of Nigerians who can’t wait to have him throw his hat into the ring a “yes,” but I am sufficiently persuaded that when the chips are down, he’d consider this call on the merit, elevate national interest over and above self and reach a decision that is glaringly in the best interest of our one and only nation, Nigeria.
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