Iwuanyanwu: Products of Unity Schools are Key in Effort to Make Nigerians Live Together in Harmony
Chief Chyna Iwuanyanwu is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party. Iwuanyanwu speaks on the significance of the unity schools in the Nigerian project. The Old Boy of Federal Government College, Warri, also laments that President Muhammadu Buhari is mo
How did the vision of unity and one Nigeria as propagated by the Unity Schools impart on you?
One, we had a leadership that was exemplary in discipline, honour and integrity. These are values that were embedded in the school and it is non-negotiable. Love and appreciation for each other, the walls of hatred were broken because we saw ourselves as one. I didn’t know what was called beans and dodo until I got to Warri. The school really showed us the greatness of this country and that is why anything that threatens the corporate existence of our country seems to threaten my foundation. Anyone who attended my school in Warri cannot be talking about Biafra, Boko Haram, Niger Delta, dividing the country, because we were born as children to think Nigeria and nothing else. We think that model should have been created at the state level so that Nigerians will see themselves as Nigerians first. A lot of people say that they are Yorubas, Igbos, Hausas and that they are from one state or the other but it is impossible for me to do.
Secondly, leadership was a key issue. I was the school captain; I was trained to be a leader. We even had democratic institutions, student executive council where I contested election and was beaten by a northerner, Bashiru Wali, and we were happy. We had a student democratic council which was an institution like a national assembly. We were bred properly to appreciate democracy, leadership, good governance, and good quality education.
Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, was one of the pioneer unity schools set up by the founding fathers of this country. It was a visionary move to establish public schools where future leaders of this country can be brought together so that they can begin to think together as Nigerians, not necessarily as Igbos or Yorubas. Then, there was tolerance, there was mutual respect. In the class, there were people with great academic record, they were excellent and that changed my perception or misconception about Nigeria. That was the environment that we were brought up.
Would you say that the vision of the founding fathers of unity schools is in tandem with the federal character principle?
It is not just the unity schools, there is the National Youth Service Corps also in the context that when you graduate from Sokoto, you will be sent to another state for one year. It led to integration, and then the federal character policy came up. So, they were institutions built by the founding fathers of this nation to ensure corperate existence, stability, peace, and unity of mind of Nigerians. But over the years, these visions and values have been distorted and that is why things are falling apart. There is a danger and those of us who are beneficiaries of this system should step out now to embark on advocacy to show Nigerians the beauty of what we have because God knows why he made us Nigerians. We should appreciate it. That is what we are saying. There is no state I travel to today that I will be stranded, all I do is make phone call and I will be in somebody’s house eating and feeling comfortable. Look at me, I am a PDP chieftain but when I walk into Lagos, I am harboured by an APC governor and he even calls me Senior. So, basically, the values and the visions were eroded. If this country had followed and sustained the vision, we will not be where we are today.
At what point do you think the derailment started and what do you think was responsible for it?
The environment we were brought up is such that everybody was equal. Equality and rights were the key issues then. There were no privileged students but now, we have privileged Nigerians. We now have injustice and political injustice is the worst form of injustice. On when it started, I can tell you that every government in Nigeria has some good aspects and some bad aspects but we have leaders who are not Nigerians. For instance, we have a man, we went to primary and secondary school in Ogborikoko, university in Warri and then, governor in Delta State and then he becomes the president of Nigeria, does such a man know Nigeria? He knows nothing about Nigeria but if we are talking of somebody who at a tender age left Chibok for another part of the country, that is the person who knows Nigeria. But most of the leaders we are talking about don’t appreciate or know Nigeria. We believe that until the time products of federal government colleges take their rightful place in the leadership of this country, we will continue to wobble. I can tell you that Ambode will not deport an Igbo man because of where he is coming from. It is ok to say injustice is not good but injustice is not just political, there is economic injustice, lack of access to quality education is also injustice. Do you know that in the whole of the South, there is actually no public institution; everybody is going to private schools because the public schools have collapsed.
The solution to problem of this country is education. Instead of building bridges build human beings. We are simply saying that what went wrong is education.
How would you react to the allegation in some quarters that President Muhammadu Buhari’s anticorruption fight is largely a witch-hunt of the opposition?
Out of every 12, there must be a Judas. On the anticorruption, I am telling you on authority that the kind of discipline we had really helped us. We must account for whatever we have. So, contentment was our watchword. If you stole at that time in the school, you were gone forever. Discipline and anti-corruption are absolutely necessary and I am in total support of the body language. But I am talking about the implementation. I have challenged Buhari and APC, It is wrong to give the impression that everybody in PDP is corrupt and everybody in APC is an angel. If you execute it like that, you will fail because I have not collected money from anybody and I challenge anybody. I have run election for the national chairmanship of the party but I was manoeuvred out. The publicity secretary that you saw, it was given to me and when we got to Eagles Square, they did magic. I did not go to court, I took it calmly, and what is the situation today? Everybody that conspired against me, where are they now? Some of them are now in chains. I stay where I am and I refuse to contaminate myself. Therefore they refused me and where are they now? The other side of the coin, there were people who were corrupt in PDP and they decided to join the other party. They stole money and also helped institute this president and they are still there. It is not the question of the school you attended or the party you belong to, what I want is a holistic anti-corruption fight. I would prefer we get the institutions right rather than the government spending 75 per cent of its activities on anti-corruption. The president would have taken over EFCC chairmanship because that is not the job of government, rather, the wellbeing and welfare of majority of the citizens and that can only be done through an economic roadmap and template which we have not seen. If we continue to pursue these people who are getting angry, we will in turn get angry one day and start pursuing the president. So, I advise that he should be very systematic about it but I am in support of total cleansing.
I agree that there is decay in values but those of us who have remained strong are still available. I went to court to see Olisa Metuh, he was shocked. He was shocked because he took my position from me but God knows best. We are saying the time has come for total reengineering and it is the responsibility of all of us.