Francis Agbedo is a lawyer, author, human rights activist and the President of Ezike Diamond Club, Nigeria, a non-political and non-profit organisation. He spoke with ONYEDIKA AGBEDO on the seventh edition of the annual lecture of the club, which holds today at the Grace Manor Hotel, GRA, Nsukka, Enugu State.THE seventh edition of Ezike Diamond Club annual lecture holds today at Nsukka, Enugu State. Tell us about the event'Ezike Diamond Club was founded upon the bases of getting to help, not just her members alone, but also to carter for the needs of our community and Nsukka people in general while bearing in mind the plight of the generality of Enugu people. So, as we progress, we shall as well spread our tentacles.Therefore, apart from our annual lecture series, we organise other public lectures, which we use as platform to engage policy makers and the government on critical issues that affect the welfare of our people. We also go into intervention projects to take care of some immediate needs of our people. So, this year's lecture, which is the seventh edition like you rightly pointed out, is significant because we are expecting, as our special guest of honour, the executive governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Mr. Sullivan Chime. We shall also honour three illustrious Nsukka sons, and the erstwhile Chief Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Osita Ogbu will deliver the lecture. Dr Nick Idoko of Pan-African University, Lagos, will deliver the keynote address, among other discussants.What is the central theme of this year's lecture'The central theme of the lecture is: 'Making Nsukka the economic hub of Enugu State.' So, you can see that the theme revolves around Nsukka as an entity and not just Enugu-Ezike. And the essence of the theme is to showcase the economic potentials of Nsukka, which represents a significant component of the economic equation of Enugu State. This year's lecture will afford us the opportunity to showcase those potentials and also draw government's attention to the plight of the Nsukka people.It is disturbing that a zone that is so significant in the affairs of the nation is so marginalised to the extent that its people are denied access to both political and economic power. The way out of this situation is by bringing together people who are knowledgeable in those areas to adopt proactive solutions to the various problems in question.Who are the three illustrious sons of Nsukka that would be presented with awards by the club at the event'They include: Chief Sam Onyishi, the chairman of Peace Mass Transit Company, Chief Wilson Agbo, the chairman of Wilson Group of companies and Barrister Fabian Ajogu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and probably the youngest SAN Nigeria has ever produced. None of these persons are from Enugu-Ezike. They were nominated because they have touched the lives of Nsukka people and beyond in several ways and we believe that the awards will spur them to do more.Are these awardees the most qualified Nsukka sons that deserve recognition by the club'No, that's not the message in the awards. You see, as part of our lecture every year, we take out time during the lecture to honour some great Nsukka men who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields of endeavour. There are so many of them but we only selected those three persons for this year. The three awardees are great achievers and also a huge inspiration to our youths.You earlier touched on the marginalisation of Nsukka people in the scheme of things in Enugu State. Can you elaborate on that'The essence of government is to provide the people with the basic necessities of life. In the United States of America, there is the concept of the social contract. What I'm saying is that you do not get power and forget the source of that power. For there to be a government, the people must surrender sovereignty to the state in exchange for democratic dividends. So, we, the people having entered into a social contract with our state government expect it to give our lives a face-lift. But unfortunately, our case is different.It is worrisome that Nsukka zone represents over 50 per cent of the voting population in Enugu State, yet we have the lowest representation in terms of political appointments both at the federal and state levels. Since 1999, it is only Nsukka zone, out of the three senatorial zones that make up the state that has not been represented in the federal cabinet as a minister. No Nsukka indigene has been found eligible enough for that appointment in the calculation of the successive governments since 1999.Also, in terms of infrastructural facilities and physical development, we trail behind other zones. And we are saying that that is not fair enough. Is it that they do not recognise the abundant potentials that we have or are they just doing it to exhibit political might because they have access to power' So, we must critically examine these issues and take our destiny in our own hands because we have the manpower; we have enormous natural resources and we have the zeal.Still on the alleged marginalisation of Nsukka people, what is your assessment of Governor Chime's administration so far'Well, the governor has done well in some areas but a lot of improvements are still needed in a number of sectors. But all we are urging him is to spare some thought for the people of Nsukka. We are demanding for the basic amenities that will make life easy for our people. We are a good and peaceful people. We are not greedy and we do not harbor malice against anybody. We only demand that we should be given what is due to us. That's all. All our complaints are verifiable. It is a known fact that the greatest support for the governor during the April polls came from Nsukka zone. They even voted against their own sons to ensure his emergence.
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