It’s rife in the news the talk about what zone the
presidential seat in the 2023 elections will be ceded to. Nigerians are already
in banter about which region they expect to see the next president arrive from
as President Mohammadou Buhari’s tenure slowly heads towards an end.
Since 1999 when we entered into this political era, the seat
for the top job had always been on a dual geographic arrangement of north and
south. The two regions took turns on each other and it’s been that way since Mr.
Olusegun Obasanjo’s two terms from the south. He was followed by Mr. Umaru Musa
Yaradua from the north who sadly died in office and had the then vice president
Mr. Goodluck Jonathan from the south become president. Goodluck ran for his
first tenure but lost out to Mr. Buhari from the north in the pursuit of his
second tenure as president. Mr. Buhari will be completing his second tenure in
2023 equaling the stats for the two regions in this democratic dispensation with
both having twelve years each.
As 2023 approaches, it is appropriate to think that the
south should take its turn. It’s not news the talk in certain quarters about
the north seeking to extend their term beyond 2023. This certainly has gotten southern
politicians strategizing.
Since Nigeria got her independence from the colonialists,
the core of those who have ruled this nation have been from the geographical
north. Apart from General Ironsi, Mr. Obasanjo and Mr. Goodluck who were from
the south, the leadership graph certainly tilts to the favour of the north. One
may add that Mr. Azikiwe was from the south. But Mr. Azikiwe was only playing a
presidential role without powers. He was like vice prime minister to Alhaji Ahmadu
Bello the prime minister.
The talk about a southern leader taking over the helm of
affairs in Aso Rock in 2023 is expected. But with the many interest groups in
the south and some in the north who still think they should have a chance, 2023
is presenting a battleground that only the brave can stand.
It’s being donkey years since the Igbos had someone
represent them at the helms of government. Since 1967 when General Ironsi was
killed in a coup which led to the civil war started by Mr Ojukwu, the Igbos
have struggled to find their voice at the center.
When Nigerians remember that the first coup was led by an Igbo
Ironsi and that the civil war was led by an Igbo Ojukwu, there’s that
nauseating feeling that the Igbos still have some mischief in their sleeves
seeing that the call for the independence of an hypothetical Biafra is gaining
more ground having moved from the hands of the Movement for the Actualization
of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB to the hands of the Independent People
of Biafra IPOB.
If we look at the power drunkenness that has characterized a
few Igbos that have held important positions at the center, Nigerians may have
reasons to fear. For example, During the Obasanjo era, the senate president position
was ceded to the Igbos from the south east. Within eight years, Nigeria had
five senate presidents with four of them been impeached.
The average Nigeria who is not Igbo may have reasons to
think that an Igbo presidency may lead to Biafra. This may not be the consensus
thought but this opinion sets the picture.
We have heard and seen what a huge following the leaders of
the IPOB have in the south east. They easily grounded activities in the region
for a week in celebration of Biafra after they issued a stay at home order to
all “Biafrans” and the government both at the state and federal level were
helpless. This showed the huge following an Igbo exit from Nigeria has.
A good number of Igbos seem unwilling to forgive Nigeria for
the huge massacre that characterized the Igbos around the period of the Biafran
war. The fight for Biafra is a sign that history isn’t yet placed in history.
While the talk about Igbo presidency is a big issue of
discuss as political leadership at the center is expected to go south, the
question that remains to be answered is “do the Igbos have what it takes to
political engage other political giants in the other regions that characterize Nigeria
so as to take what should be theirs this time around?”
This generation of Igbos and Nigerians will want to see what
it will be like to have a Nigerian leader from Igbo roots. This will only
happen if the Igbos develop the will to fight for their opportunity.
In this democratic dispensation, with the south having had
twelve years, not counting Goodluck’s two years taking over from Yaradua, the
south west had eight years with Obasanjo and the South-South had four with
Goodluck. It is only natural that the South-East should get their chance this
2023 to give the South a balanced representation.
The problem politically with the Igbos is their
unwillingness to join forces together. For the Igbos, the moment you make some
money, you think you are king. You’d be surprised at the plurality of candidates
that will offer themselves to contest for the presidential candidate position
of the major parties once the parties call for aspirants to show interest. The Igbos
will produce more candidates for the primaries against one from other regions reducing
their chance of winning at the party primaries level because votes from the
region will be shared to all the candidates from the region.
What the Igbos need is a united front. They have to come
together under one political umbrella to produce and support single candidates
in any of the major parties. The Ndigbo, the social cultural organization that
protects the interest of the Igbos must see themselves not just as a cultural
group but also as a political group like the Afenifere of the South West. They should
begin the process of identifying and promoting qualified Igbo sons with
credible capacity to give this nation leadership at the center. The Igbos aren’t
short of qualified hands, they have proved their quality over the years, there
is no doubt we can have a Nigeria safe in the hands of an Igbo man.
Elections in Nigeria are not won by playing local politics
or regional politics alone. Any candidate who wants to win an election must be
willing to stretch his hand across the length and breadth of the country to
engage other stakeholders in other regions. This the Ndigbo can do for their
chosen candidate.
Credibility is important in achieving this goal. The Igbos
need to sell to Nigerian a presidential candidate that they believe in and that
Nigerians should believe in. This is the right time for work to begin.
Elections aren’t won by just putting one or two billboards
at the capital cities of a state. Any candidate whose goal is to leave in Aso
Rock for four years must be willing to put political structures across every
village, local government, city and state. This certainly will cost so much
especially in a political environment like Nigeria where money certainly
changes hands.
Money shouldn’t be a problem though, if the Igbos will be
willing to commit to funding their supposed candidate under a strong financial alliance.
There are many wealthy Igbo brothers across this nation whose financial resources
can come handy for this goal.
Nigerians shouldn’t be more concerned about which region a president
arrives from than the quality of the leader been presented by the regions. Importantly,
Nigerians need a leader who has the capacity to take this nation to the Promised
Land, a state in which Nigerians will be proud to call Nigeria her own. Whether
the person is Igbo or Ibibio, Hausa or Yoruba, Itsekiri or Fulani, Fulfulde or
Ogoja or any of the several minority groups scatter across this great nation.
What we need is a leader who can position this nation to
take its place once again as the pride of Africa. If we do find such quality
amongst the Igbos, so be it.
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