Catholic Priest Charges Ohanaeze To Champion Igbo Presidency

The spiritual director of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, and parish priest of the Blessed Iwene Tansi Parish, Umudioka, Anambra State, Rev Fr Emmanuel Obimma, weekend, tasked the new leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on actualizing Nigeria’s president of Southeast extraction in 2023.

Speaking with selected journalists, the priest bemoaned the level of marginalization of the southeast in the nation’s polity. According to him, “Ohanaeze must be the mouthpiece of the Igbo people in 2023. I advise Ohanaeze to come to a roundtable and present one candidate for the presidency. It should also draw a synergy with the north, the west and other parts of Nigeria to make the vision fruitful. I also call on the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, to see reasons in the agitation for Igbo presidency.”

He further advised Ndigbo to seek other alternatives if they were denied the presidency. In his words, “If the rest of Nigerians will not allow the southeasterners to have a shot at the presidency in 2023, Ndigbo should go for any other option that will grant them a voice as a people. Nigeria should see 2023 as a year for the appeasement of the most marginalized people in the country. Agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and similar organizations are a result of marginalization.

“My worry is that some Igbo elite, who find themselves at vantage political positions, fight for their personal gains. They have settled for second-class citizens, and they are comfortable with that. As far as 2023 presidency is concerned, Igbo should stand on their feet and take action collectively.”

Fr Obimma also identified recycling of old politicians as a factor retarding Nigeria’s development. Quoting him, “Nigerian youths have the energy to turn things around, but they are not given the chance. You can see the recycling of powers from civilian rule to military rule. From the presidency to the least cadre in politics are old people; while energetic, well-educated and qualified youths are relegated to the background. The youths are the workforce of any nation. They must work very hard to change the society for the better.

“If the masses want a change, they can get it. There should be a political revolution where youths come under one political umbrella, nominate a leader and tell the political elite and the entire Nigeria that it is either this man or no other person. I advise them not to collect money and mortgage their future. Some youths are like the biblical Esau: Esau mortgaged his right because of yam portage. Nigerian youths should be blunt.”