In every democratic polity with heterogeneous setting, power rotation is an inevitable mechanism that reliably enroots and fastens democratic development. It entails equitable rotation of the various arms of government amongst the individual geopolitical divides in the polity. In same vein, all leadership positions that are elective or appointive must revolve round such geopolitical divides. This has great developmental benefits. It fosters peace and unity, and to great somewhat ensures even distribution of dividends of democracy. It plays the accommodative cannon, wherein every component geopolitical divide receives adequate sense of belonging and co-participates in the leadership and building of the polity.
I am one of the harbingers of social justice and equity. I speak my mind in every given situation even when it disfavours my interest; those who know The Reformer can truly attests to this axiomatic fact. Today, as a social critic and messenger of true gospel of natural justice, I want to address the Igbo nation concerning the forth coming 2023 general elections. It’s very obvious that we all belong to different political parties and would love to protect our various noble and ignoble interests. However, a good leader is the one who puts the overall interest of the society at heart.
Though power is taken and not given, in certain terms, the idea of survival of the fittest as power-obtainment, ploy greatly impinges on pragmatic equity in power rotation in the multifaceted geopolitical divides in Nigeria. It fans the embers of domination and marginalization of some segments over others and thus the major cause of various agitations across the country by the marginalized and minority groups. The worst is with the Igbos/South-easterners that are today punitively vanquished and marginalized in memory of their secessionist attempt that ended in “no victor, no vanquish.”
How can Igbos be assuaged? How can the wounds of the war be healed? How does Nigeria intend to prove to Igbos/South-easterners that the ‘no victor, no vanquish” declared after the war and the acclaimed national oneness of all geopolitical divides (as a federated State), when obvious institutionalized marginalization permanently denies them reach to the apex leadership positions of the country?
In this 2023 and in accordance with the gentleman’s agreement among the Southern and Northern Nigeria in 1998, power should come to the Southern Nigeria, and since the Southwest and South-South have taken their own shots to the Presidency since 1999, will it be wrong if an Igbo man becomes the next president of Nigeria? I am not talking of Igbo president but Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.
In 1999, the presidential tickets of apex political parties were concentrated in the Southwest in order to placate the Abiola’s denial. Thus, the tickets were for Olusegun Obasanjo (PDP) and Olu Falae (AD and APP). In 2007, the elections were mainly for Musa Yar’Adua, Nuhu Ribadu and Muhammadu Buhari etc, albeit there were some other zones that featured candidates from their side in other political parties. In 2019, the election was mainly between Buhari and Abubakar Atiku. At the moment, the political battle is between Obi Southeast, Atiku North East, and Tinubu Southwest. Should an Igbo man go for Northeast or Southwest in order to justify his party political interest? Igbo man is known for nobility and the spirit of brotherhood should not be neglected.
Peter Obi is a contemporary political leader with a difference. He is visionary, creative, focus, progressive, reliable, energetic, open-hearted, wise and intelligent. He will create an enabling environment for Nigerians to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives; thus, unemployment, terrorism, kidnapping, drugs abuse, etc., which have eaten deep into the fabrics of our society will be completely eliminated.
His managerial ingenuity is second to none. The legacies he left in Anambra State, as a governor, speak for themselves. Till today Anambra state remains one of the most vibrant economies in Nigeria. Get your PVC! Let’s rebuild Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all of us. And political power belongs to the people. Obi will lead us to the promised land, devoid of extravagancy, arrogance, calumny, individualism, etc., and ensure that our country, Nigeria, witnesses genuine development.
Development as a concept has grown beyond its primary concern with economic growth. It is now much more all encompassing and is concerned with social, political, environmental and cultural development as well. Increasingly development is seen to be about people. And it can be argued that for a developmental programme to achieve human centred objective it must have, as one of its core pillars, the principle of social justice that transcends the notion of tolerance to achieve certain core values such as the inherence and universal right to dignity of every human person.
In practical terms this inherent and universal right translates into access to adequate food, health care, education, shelter, work or social security. It also includes the capacity to deal with the present and uncertainties of the future. The capacity of our country to attain these objectives on a sustainable basis will depend largely on how the human, material, including the environment, and social resources are managed for they are all by the nature of things integrally woven and dynamically self reinforcing. As a well experienced manager Peter Obi will make sure that all the resources in this country are properly harnessed for the benefit of every Nigerian. This has always been his dream. Because it is the surest way of checking human blood spilling and untimely death which are common in our country today, due to the recklessness, callosity, meanness and incompetence of some of our political leaders who glory in money laundering, cabalism, ethnicism and rascality.
Obi has all it takes to revive the various sectors of our country which have become lethargic. With Peter Obi incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), etc., will come to an end. He did it in Anambra State; he will replicate it when he becomes the president of this country. Therefore, say no to “vote buying and selling” for the sake of the future of our children. Support Obi to restitute the true principles of federalism in Nigeria. The underlying principles of federalism are justice, equity and fairness.
Despite the existence of the Federal Character Commission and the insistence that federal positions be shared on federal character basis, gross inequality heralds the Igbo existence in the Nigerian polity. There are institutionalized imbalance in the numbers of States in the Southeast geopolitical zone, in the numbers of Senatorial and House of Reps seats, Local Government Councils, Wards and Polling Units, etc., in the Southeast compared to the other 5 zones. Given these facts, I ask, since there was ‘no victor and no vanquish’ after the Biafra secessionist war, why are the constitutional rights of Igbos denied them? How does Nigeria intend to heal the wounds of the civil war? The list of these imbalances is numerous and thus a central part of genuine agitation.
Now, it is time again to heal the wounds of the past and affirm our national oneness, the 2023 President should return to the Southern Nigeria, and since the Southwest and South-South have had their turns in the presidency, it is the turn of the Southeast to produce the Nigerian President. But then, what does this imply and demand?