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Chief how do you feel this Christmas
season? Your message to Nigerians
Well,
Christmas is a yearly occurrence by Christians all over the world commemorating
the arrival or the birth of the king of the world as ordained by God almighty.
The season is used by Christians to do a sober reflection, look at your life,
examine yourself, are you worthy to have Christ in you? Are you clean enough to
usher him fully in your life, in your family, in your business, in your
politics and whatever you are doing? Not necessarily merriment alone, but it is
a time for sober reflection, and it is a period you forgive and forget, because
He taught us to forgive and forget, then it is equally a period of merriment.
Whenever a
king is coming to your house, the preparation is so different, and that is why
you see a lot of people all over the world spending much, some people even go
out of their way to spend above their means; it is not intentional, but that is
what the aura of Christmas brings, families exchanging gifts, children getting
new things from their parents and parents getting new things from their
children that are already productive. So it is a period of sober refection and
merriment, and there is no other celebration in the world that is greater and
mightier that the Christmas celebration.
And on that
I say, congratulations to Nigerians and Christians, may we live to see this
Christmas come through, may we live to have more peace in our families, in our
country, in our businesses, may we live to use this Christmas to organize
ourselves, families should meet, especially now that election is around the
corner, we have to purge ourselves and pray for the nation for us to have very
credible elections which everybody is clamoring for and which the president has
directed INEC to conduct free, fair and credible election. For me, Christmas is
a period everyone should use to heal all the wounds and pray fervently for the
peace, happiness and progress of this country.
There is one thing we always notice
during Christmas season, transport fares to the east usually go up
astronomically, you know that Igbos are almost synonymous with Christianity in
Nigeria, what are you telling transport operators plying the eastern route?
You know an
average Igbo man is business oriented, we are known for trading and profit
maximization. So I don’t totally blame them but then, as Christians, Christ has
everything and still wasted His life for us, sacrificed His life for us. On
that note, I am calling on transporters, consider the downtrodden, consider the
poor masses and bring down the transport fares, from Lagos to East, from Abuja
to East, Sokoto to East, all over the country, let them do that.
Yes it is a
period, we have what I may call surge in transportation, but when you consider
the number of people travelling and the profit, it is up there. In as much as
the prices of petrol, diesel and spare parts are not cheap, but the number of people
travelling now is times 10, the number that travel ordinary days. So if the
fare comes down, it will still give them what they want. Therefore, I am
appealing to them, please, bring the fares down so that everybody will enjoy
and enjoy very well.
Another question like it is, when is
it ripe for us to have rail line from Lagos to Calabar[CN1] ?
It is long
overdue. I read in the newspaper then, that President Muhamasdu Buhari gave the
former of Minister of transportation, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, he gave him a
matching order to connect the 36 states of Nigeria, with rail-line. So it is
long overdue. If it is not being done now, it is late. So I am calling on the
Federal Government to please consider it as an urgent project and go into it
immediately.
Not only
that, there should be rail-line from Abuja to Onitsha, from Lagos to Onitsha,
because that is where the main thing is. You cannot do without Onitsha, Onitsha
is just like Lagos, to a large extent, as far as the entire southeast is
concerned; Onitsha is indispensable. So while you are considering Lagos, you
should consider Onitsha as the main economic hub of the southeast and the
entire country. So there should be rail-line to Onitsha.
And I am
also calling on the federal government to please no matter what it takes, to
dredge River Niger, so that thousands and millions of Igbo people who are into
commerce that bring in containers can equally clear their containers at
Onitsha. If you travel by road, say from Lagos to Onitsha, you feel pain by the
number of accidents, containers falling on the road, but if those containers
are cleared at Onitsha, the risk will be minimal, so that importers at Onitsha
will clear their goods at Onitsha, those in Lagos will do so in Lagos. So while
I am talking about the rail, I am also talking about ships going to Onitsha, it
must not be as busy as Lagos, but it needs to be busy, and once that is done,
some of these agitations, some of these tensions, and all that, will calm down.
It is one of those things some people are talking about.
December 15th 2022, the 2nd
Niger Bridge came alive, signaling another landmark achievements of this
government, are you fulfilled by this achievement and what are the gains from
that signature project?
I am glad to
be alive to be part of this big story of wonderful performance of President
Muhammadu Buhari, the APC Government and the workaholic minister of Works and
Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN). I have written so many times and talked
about these things, my only pain is that Chuma Azikiwe is no more alive, because
it was in is house, he may have made it other places, but it is where I heard
it, it was in his house that Buhari made a promise that he will build 2nd
Niger Bridge if he becomes the president of Nigeria. And renovate Nnamdi Azikwe’s
house. Unfortunately Chuma died 11th May, 2015, just about one month Buhari won
the presidential election. And I pray that the spirit of Chuma Azikiwe will
always follow Buhari wherever he goes to thank him for keeping his promise. It
gladdens my heart that I am part of this success story, that I witnessed it.
Four days
ago, I was in the east for the burial of my auntie, and making sure that our
people collect their PVC, I was at that burial when that bridge was temporarily
opened. I listened to the minister, I listened to his speech, and as God would
have it, as I was coming back to Lagos, I took the old route because I entered
somewhere in Onitsha, but when I crossed over to Asaba, I parked around God is
Good Motors, and walked across to witness and view people diverting using the bridge. And
I have said it that I won’t go by air, I would go by road when going back in the
next two days so that I would use that bridge. So it is a masterpiece, it is a
thing of joy.
Now the
benefits of the bridge is uncountable, one is the traffic gridlock will reduce,
accident is reduced, activities of criminals reduced, the economic hub is
opened. Anambra is an agrarian area and our economic and agricultural products
can easily be transported to any part of the country. Apart from that, it adds
beauty to the entire southeast, it adds beauty to entire Nigeria, it has
uplifted that image of this country abroad, people, my relations in America, in
London, they are calling me, is it a reality? I told them it is a reality. So
it is one of the signature projects APC Administration has done to prove the
opposition wrong, PDP was there for 16 years, they couldn’t do that 2nd
Niger Bridge, and for this, if Buhari has done anything wrong, I am saying if,
I am appealing to Nigerians and the entire southeast to forgive him because he
has done what other people could not do in the past 16 years. It is very
commendable.
And again,
hoping that we are going to win this election, I want to appeal to our revered
presidential candidate, the talent developer, the man with the magic wand, intellectual
giant, and political giant, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to please retain the minister
of Works and Housing within the corridors of his power, either as Minister of
Works and Housing which I am still hammering on, or any other position, like
Chief of Staff or any other thing that will make him create more impact more
than he is creating now.
Then above
all, I am calling on Ndigbo, our people to please calm down, and make sure they
hook on to the national grid. In Lagos, I have said it, let all Igbos in Lagos
emulate what was done in Owerri by the businessmen in the east, put resources
together to make sure that Tinubu emerges the president; that Sanwo-Olu emerges
as a successor to himself for the second term. It is very very important
because the young man has done well. I have said this several times. I pitied
Sanwo-Olu when the EndSARS came up, when Covid came up, just like Fashola, he
contained all those things. Look at the construction going on everywhere in
Lagos. You know, in administration infrastructure is very very important. When
there is no infrastructure you are not doing anything, when there is no
security you are not doing anything, when the health of the people are in a
shambles, you are not doing anything, and this man is tackling all these things
headlong, everybody is now rushing back to Lagos, running away from criminals,
converging in Lagos, and population has bloated. Somebody attacked me the other
day and said, why are you promoting Lagos, I said yes, I am promoting Lagos
because Lagos is the Centre of Excellence. Most of these people that are
talking now in Abuja, Calabar, Sokoto made their wealth starting form Lagos,
during weekends you see them trooping to Lagos, and I keep saying that Lagos
should be given special status in the national budget.
I talked to
the 8th Assembly, and I am now talking to the 9th
Assembly and I am now still making it public that Lagos should be given special
status in the national budget. Let Ndigbo in Lagos rally round this young man
and get him reelected as his own successor in 2023.
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