Immediately after the 2019 presidential election in February, a lot of clamouring and scheming have been going on with regards to who becomes the next president and the region the person will emanate from.
Igbos and some patriotic and benevolent Nigerians believe it’s time for an Igbo son to occupy the Apex office in Nigeria.
After all, in this democratic dispensation, Yoruba and Hausa have occupied the office, including one from a minority tribe, so why can’t a Nigerian of Igbo descent occupy the office, especially in a country where the Igbo tribe is part of the tripod on which the country was built, and still stands on? An Igbo word is part of the stanza that emphasises the unity of the country; wa-zo-bia – meaning “one Nigeria.”
Interestingly, when we take a panoptic view of the political incidents in the country from 1999 till date we will realise that majority of Igbos tilted their political leaning towards the PDP, at a point they even claimed and told the world that a Niger Delta, PDP President and candidate from Bayelsa state, Goodluck “Ebele Azikiwe” Jonathan, is their kinsman. Which we all know is the biggest political goof, naivety, ignorance and desperation of all time in a country where quota system is the order of the day.
Unfortunately for them their candidate lost, meaning they also lost. An adage which was their mantra “Onye ji ji na mma ka yin ge so” – “It’s the person who is holding the yam and knife we will follow,” did not help them in that situation!
Paradoxically, if we follow their claim that Jonathan is Igbo, then it means Igbos have already occupied the office of the president of Nigeria.However, we should forgive Igbos because like Jesus said: “Father forgive them for they know not what they were doing.”
In my opinion the following are some cogent points to be considered for the actualisation of the Igbo presidency.
For the Igbo tribe to get it right in the 2023 presidential election, it would be expedient for them to rather look towards the direction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to give their son the presidential ticket.
After all, it is the political party they have sacrificed their blood for by toiling day and night, putting in mind they had NEVER leaned towards the All Progressive Congress party (APC). If any party owes the lgbos, for their massive support and dedication over the years, it must be the PDP! Therefore the need to lobby them for the next presidential candidate. This trump card of loyalty over the years does not need begging, pleading or timidity when demanding this from PDP. It should be their bonafide right in the party, especially with respect to the quota system. After all, it is universally acknowledged that Igboland is where they vote en bloc for PDP in all elections since 1999.
Igbos must be aware that unity and one voice should be their lobbying tool, they ought to be resolute, intrepid, and determined, then they can withstand any intimidation from any quarters of PDP. They need to be resilient and focused as they are known to be in their personal businesses!
They must see it as a complete political business, to be tackled with all seriousness, boldness and sagaciousness for the survival of Igbo in the Nigerian project. They need to come to a consensus to produce a quality candidate amongst their sons who can stand out in no mean terms, come February 2023.
It’s evidence that APC will not produce another Northerner after Buhari neither will it be an Igbo person. During the last presidential campaigns, while the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, was in Igboland campaigning, the highest Igbo sociocultural body, Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, endorsed the PDP flagbearer as their choice candidate.
All this obviously militates against the Igbo in APC. It makes the APC not to owe Igbo the presidential candidate slot for any cogent reason.
Again, with the exception of a few most of the Igbo tribe have conspicuously seen APC as an enemy and rival party and worked against it at all times and levels.
Inter alia, the soap opera some Igbos are trying to act portays an unnecessary emotional and cheap blackmail to get APC make an Igbo person her next presidential candidate, it can not be justified in any way. It won’t fly. I must say it’s not expedient. It’s like working with MTN but want Glo to pay you.
With the political forecast available, and what is on the grounds now, I doubt if I’ll be wrong to assume the next APC presidential candidate will come from the Yorubaland.
I must say, there’s a dire need for Igbos to go back to “their drawing board” to do a very strategic, meticulous, and calculated work which could pave way for them in May 2023 for an Igbo man to be sworn in as the President Federal Republic of Nigeria.
To conclude, an Igbo president will help curb the current secession agitation and every other ill-feelings the Igbos have against the Nigerian state. All these dissections will be a thing of the past. Going forward, we could have a more peaceful and indivisible Nigeria, for in and only in Unity we stand!
-Ugochukwu Mordi Okafor 