I Can’t Be Chased Out Of My Home- Ndoma-Egba
The Former Senate Leader and Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Sen. Victor Ndoma Egba Saturday said that nobody can chase him out of his house including hoodlums who looted his Asari Eso residence in Calabar Municipality in the guise of EndSars protest last year.
He also warned against a second EndSars protest in the country, stressing that it would also be hijacked by hoodlums adding that the youths should have a rethink and revisit history .
The former Chairman ,Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC who spoke with journalists during his first visit to his house that was destroyed during the EndSars protest in 2020 said he would rebuild his home and would not be chased out by hoodlums in whatever guise .
His words: “I feel very sad that we have people of a mind set to carry out this kind of very extensive damage to another person’s property. As you can see, they came very prepare with all sorts of craftmen. You have carpenter, electrician to motor mechanic, all in one.
“It couldn’t have been spontaneous, it was something very deliberate, something predetermined but like I said in my statement I issued immediately after, I have forgiven them but that’s without prejudice to the law taking its course because I cannot influence the course of the law but for me as a person I have forgiven them.
“Momentums that were passed from one generation to another gone. But I want to say that I will rebuild the place because I cannot be chased out of my home by hoodlums.
“I hope what they did here benefits them, of doesn’t benefit them in any way then it was a total waste of effort and energy. And what we have lost here is priceless. There are collections that predate me, there are books in my library that is my father’s practice book for instance, all gone.
“Let me say that I have my worries that any protest again will still be hijacked by hoodlums and at the end of the day they would lost the whole essence of the protest.
“Let me say this for historical purposes, the leadership of this country has always been by youths. For instance, the first republic, who were the leaders? Who were those who fought our independence? The Nnamdi Azikiwe’s was in his 40’s, Awolowo was in his 30’s, Enhanero was in his 20’s.
“Then if you check the first generation of military leaders, there were governors who were 32. Those who do the civil war, the Adekunle’s and the obasanjo’s and the rest, they were all in their 20’s and 30’s, so the leadership of this country has always been youths,” he said.
Speaking further ,he said the youths should revisit history saying that revolution, violent protest was never the way out. Ndoma-Egba said :” We have heard the Arab spring, what difference have the Arab spring brought to the Arab world? Where you didn’t have the Arab spring, there are nations that are prospering, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait but take a look at all the countries were you have the Arab spring were you have the revolution.
“The argument of making a point through protest which is susceptible to be hijacked by hoodlums, again and again, is not what they need, my advice is for our youths to take a second look at history “The lessons from the last #EndSars protest are still too fresh, people lost businesses, economy were shut down, nobody benefitted from that. I think that the argument should be revisited.
“So I think that they need to revisit the argument, yes. There are a lot of failed expectations from government, we’ve had a lot of missed points as a nation but will this protest address these miss points? I think rather it is a deliberate policy by the youths of this country to participate in the means of acquiring power. And the means of acquiring power today is through election.
“Let them have a deliberate plan to penetrate the political parties and take over, they have the numbers. But to begin to demonstrate demonstration you know that hoodlums will hijack.
“On a personal note, I started this house in 1991 and only finished in 2008 and January 2009, it took me eighteen whole years. I wasn’t in the public sphere and you just think that somebody’s effort just because he spent 12years in the senate he acquired everything from the senate. There are unwittingly criminalising hard work,” he said.
