2027: Stakeholders Differ On Igbo Presidency

By Chinedu AROH

Following the decamping of most political leaders of the South-East extraction to the ruling All Progressives Congress, political pundits are of the view that the dream of an Igbo presidency in 2027 should be forgotten. Some opinions however argue that Ndigbo should stand resolute with their votes and support Mr Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC. This formed the subject of a radio programme hosted by Enugu-based Dream FM on Wednesday, which was monitored by THE WHISTLER.

There’s gang-up against Igbo presidency, Ogbonna

A human rights lawyer and Executive Director of Centre for Non-Violence and Justice, Dr Amos Ogbonna, during the programme, said the people of the South East should not sell their conscience by not voting for an Igbo presidency to serve out the remaining four years left in the Tinubu administration. Ogbonna claims that there is a secret pact by the Nigerian federation to ensure non-emergence of an Igbo president.

According to him, “Many people across the regions say they would never be alive to see an Igbo man emerge president of Nigeria. When you talk about long-term aspirations of Ndigbo, it is a mirage. Nigeria has a conspiracy and phobia against the Igbo. It is a deceit. They want Ndigbo to continue to serve them and shower their praises.”

The lawyer said the only time for an Igbo man to become the president of Nigeria is 2027. He said it is expected that the support the Igbos had been given to other nationalities should be reciprocated to them for the same of justice. “We have given more sacrifices for the survival of this country. From 1999, the south-easterner supported the Yoruba race or tribe to have their turn in the Nigerian presidency. That year, major political parties produced Olusegun Obasanjo, Olu Falae and Ogbonna Onu for the post of president. They merged and agreed that Ogbonna Onu step down for Olu Falae to compensate the Yorubas for the injustice of June 12. Onu stepped down, and ANPP collapsed with the party of Olu Falae for him to run for president. They told Igbos to wait that our time would come. We waited.”

He said Chief Obasanjo, who won the contest on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, did eight years, and the power passed on to North. The late President Musa Yaradu’a of the PDP, it would be recalled, died in office, and his tenure was completed by former President Goodluck Jonathan from South South. Jonathan had his own for four years after completing Yaradua’s tenure.

Ogbonna said, “Jonathan cumulatively did six years; then power returned to the North. Former President Muhammad Buhari did eight years. Igbos were told to wait that after Buhari’s tenure, power would return to the South, and micro-zoned to South East.”

He recalled that former President Buhari visited Ebonyi State on the invitation of then Gov Dave Umahi, where he (Buhari) promised that after his tenure, Igbos would produce the president.

“What happened?” asked Ogbonna. “After Buhari, we were told that former President Obasanjo that completed eight years was an Igbo man; and that it was the turn of Yoruba. We struggled. Our political leaders betrayed us. In the end, power returned to the South West. They have done four years.”

Ogbonna said the remaining four years of Tinubu’s government is for South East. In his words, “We are left with the remaining four years. By 2031, power will definitely return to the North. This is not a call for violence, but a reminder that we have to struggle for this power; we don’t have to wait for anybody to give us this power. They will not give us. We are going to get united and fight for the presidency of Nigeria for the remaining four years. If we don’t get it, we should be happy that we have tried.”

He said the clamour for an Igbo presidency in 2027 is for justice. “This country was standing on the tripod of North, West and East. They balkanized it into six geopolitical zones. We should be accommodated in the Nigerian scheme of things. Over the years, any ethnic group that takes over power discriminated against Igbos in sharing political offices. Buhari had security architecture without any single Igbo man for eight years. Tinubu has followed the same trajectory. He promised to continue where Buhari stopped. He gave us Works Ministry, and that is where it ended. Look at the configuration of his entire cabinet. Where is the justice? That a particular ethnic group has been sidelined from the Nigerian politics from 1999! And one ethnic group is going for eight years.”

He said it was the same sidelining that made PDP change its zoning principles. “It was the same Igbo phobia. PDP leaders felt that Nigerians would not be comfortable with a presidential candidate from South East. It is a sense of justice that is guiding the demand for justice which the Igbo are making because the constitution acknowledges Igbo as a component of this federation. We cannot continue to be observers begging for crumbs that fall from the table. When June 12 was cancelled, Yorubas turned to streets in the name of OPC. Why did Nigerian leaders feel that South West must be compensated for the injustice of June 12? Why is nobody talking about compensating the South East for the injustice of the civil war? At what point did the south-easterners meet to decide that there must be civil war in Nigeria? Was it the south-easterners alone that planned the coup? It was planned by errant soldiers from all the geopolitical zones. If they feel that we can’t be president, we must continue to feel that we must be president.”

He called on the people of South East to unite. “Let’s make our place to be attractive economically. Supporters of Igbo presidency caught across the federation, but those who manipulate elections will not allow it to be.”

He called for a transparent election to determine the wishes of the generality of Nigerians. He also called for more participation of Ndigbo during elections. He said, “If our votes are just five million, let us cast them. We have to show the light, and others will follow. If we continue to return five million votes with one voice, Nigerians will respect us. But by the time we begin to scatter our votes, voting for all manner of people, it is the sabotage of the Igbo agenda. It is a sin against our own history.”

It’s among the consequences of civil war, Ede

Speaking during the programme, Comrade Fidelis Edeh, a former labour leader, lawyer and Executive Director, Service Accord Initiative, called on the Igbo to organise themselves strategically.

According to him, “We operate a multiparty system. We don’t need anybody to promise us. We usually contest. We must never run away from the consequences of the civil war. Before the civil war, in 1957, everybody thought that Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe would be the Prime Minister, but we didn’t produce the majority. During the Second Republic, despite the fact that we were in different political parties, we had a more strategic system of approaching national politics. Zik contested president under NPP and lost, but we realise that it was the same ruling party that gave us Vice President. The speaker emerged from an accord Zik entered with NPN. We need to plan.”

He accused PDP of sabotaging the Igbo presidency. “It is about the PDP where we had camped from 1999. PDP betrayed what would have ensured the principle of zoning. It was obvious that if PDP had zoned its presidency to the South, there was no way an Igbo man wouldn’t have emerged because the South East was the heartbeat of PDP. APC didn’t even have zoning in their constitution. Then a committee headed by the then governor of Benue State said it would become the party’s national executive council that would decide. They decided to abandon what was in their constitution, and that was how Atiku emerged.”

He said NDC’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, is trying his luck as a politician, but accused him of changing political parties.

In his words, “President Bola Tinubu has remained in one political party up to this point. Obi was chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum when he was governor. But immediately he left office, he joined PDP, and abandoned APGA. This is the time to negotiate. The war was not an Igbo war, but the psychology has been sold to Nigerians that it was an Igbo war. I am not against an Igbo presidency, but we must wake up.”