With repeated assurances by President Goodluck Jonathan that he will not seek a second term in office in 2015, prominent leaders from the South- East have said that the zone will produce the next President and not the North.
The South-East leaders premised this assurance on the fact that out of the six geographical zones in Nigeria, only the zone was yet to produce the president. They insisted that for fairness, equity and justice, the South-East must produce the president after Jonathan. This position is going to pitch the South-East against the North in the race for the presidency. Already, the North is angered by the emergence of Jonathan, believing that they were short-changed by the development.
Last week, some northern leaders said that there was no way the North would concede the position to the South-East, even as they accused Igbo leaders of betrayal with the emergence of Jonathan. Now, the North believes that its only consolation is the 2015 presidency. But former governor of Anambra State, Chief Emeka Ezeife, insisted that the South-East must produce the president in 2015. He said the long stay of the North in power had not translated to any good for their people.
His words: “Well, the way I will put it is this: after Jonathan, whenever that it is, every zone in the country would have produced president for Nigeria that served for at least not less than five years. Only the South-East has not. I don’t know what grammar anybody can speak, what justification or fairness would be in anybody’s calculation that would remove the presidency from the South-East come the end of the Jonathan’s presidency. Anybody who says the presidency should not come to South- East does not believe in one Nigeria. “For how long did the North want to be in power? They have governed the country for about 38 and half years since independence. What have they done with the power; they have not even helped their own people.”
The one-time presidential adviser told National Mirror that any attempt to deny the South-East the presidency in 2015 would be an invitation to instability in the polity. Ezeife said: “The North cannot produce the president in 2015 because it is unreasonable and irrational; unjust and unfair. It is unjustifiable and cannot stand the test of reasoning; it cannot happen. We would not allow it to happen. We would not wait for it to happen before we do something. No. “The problem the North has is that nothing in their planning, luck and power can stop the South-East from producing the next President in 2015 or anytime after Jonathan. The only way the North can achieve their aim is if they say they don’t want Nigeria again.
If anybody is talking about a Northerner as President after Jonathan, it means that they don’t want one Nigeria. We can renegotiate our existence. “We know why 1914 came into being; the year we were amalgamated. The basis of it is still there. So, they can introduce all manner of obstacles to peace in Nigeria.” The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador Raph Uwechue, believes that 2015 will the ideal time for the South- East to produce the president, saying: “Everybody in this country needed to be treated very well. What we are looking for in this country is stability.” Uwechue said: “Since 1960, the presidency has been occupied by four of the six zones.
Some have had it all over. So, Jonathan getting there is the first time that South-South will have it. So, if we had six zones and four zones have had it and the fifth one is having it for the first time, so let us support the sixth one, the South-East, to produce the president in 2015. That is the logic of our position. We are saying that what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. We cannot talk of North and South because Nigeria is not divided to North and South. “So, if at the end of Jonathan’s term, definitely the only zone left to have the presidency is the South- East. So, whoever that is in a hurry should just wait. As far as we are concerned, the thing is going round and it must be the turn of Ndigbo. “I think Ndigbo cannot be denied their right in Nigeria that is meant for everybody; it can’t be. So, we are not against the North, the only thing is that we don’t recognise Nigeria like Sudan being divided into Southern and Northern Sudan.
Ndigbo does not recognise the two zones; we recognise six. “Our support for Jonathan is a support for the South-South to have the first chance at the presidency. So, whoever is saying that the Ndigbo are not qualified is not being fair and he is not taking into account the need to keep Nigeria stable.”
The leader of the Igbo apex group insisted that the rotation of the presidency cannot be on the basis of North and South. According to him: “Ohaneze Ndigbo does not subscribe to the idea of dividing Nigeria like Sudan into North and South. There is nothing like North and South in our constitution. If you want to be fair and you belief in this North and South, the best thing is to find how long the North and the South have ascended the presidency. “The North has had it for 38 years since independence. Has the South got it for 38 years? But for me, the issue of North and South is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that there are six zones and every zone should be allowed to produce the president.” Uwechue said that the South-East needs the support of every section of Nigeria to realise this goal in 2015.
“Well as far as we are concerned, no zone on its own has enough population to democratically put anybody in power. So, we believe that we should appeal to other Nigerians to recognise that the Igbo are part of the country. And if the position rotates, they should be allowed to take their position like other zones have done. “I believe Nigerians understand our position, some of them who don’t have selfish agenda to have a lion’s share of our country will understand our position. What Ndigbo are asking for is what they already had,” he told National Mirror. Former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chimaroke Mbadinuju, said that the Igbo “are clamouring that 2015 should be their turn to produce the President, if the arrangement of zoning in terms of making sure that presidency rotates among the six zones subsists.
“We are aware that North-West, North-East, North-Central, South-West have all had their turns at producing the president of Nigeria. And now we have somebody from the South- South as President. So, logically and justifiably, the South-East has a good case. “But you know in politics, two plus two is not always four. Every other zone has produced the president and I believe South-East should not be at the receiving end of it. Of all the zones in the country, it is only the South-East that has five states, the rest have six states, apart from North- West that has seven states. So, I think from every point of consideration, I don’t see why the presidency should elude the South-East in 2015,” the former governor told National Mirror. Mbadinuju said for the sake of fairness, the Igbo should have their turn at the presidency.
He added: “If you look at the issues of fairness, equity and justice, I am not saying it must be, but I am of the view that it should be the South-East that should produce the president. In politics, you cannot forecast with certainty that it must be this, it depends on variables when the time comes.” The former governor, however, urged the South- East to do their home work and come up with a credible presidential candidate that the Igbo could stand on and “convince the country that he is the best that they can get for the presidency in 2015.” A former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, said for fairness and justice, the South-East should be allowed to produce the President in 2015.
“If we apply the sense of fairness, equity, fair play and justice, it is improper that the presidency goes round all the six geo-political zones in the country. If all these premises are admitted, then the conclusion is obvious: that it must go to South-East. It is as simple as that,” he told National Mirror. Ikedife said the rotation of the presidency should not be based on the South- North divide as some people are canvassing, but among the six geographical zones.
Last week, some northern leaders said that there was no way the North would concede the position to the South-East, even as they accused Igbo leaders of betrayal with the emergence of Jonathan. Now, the North believes that its only consolation is the 2015 presidency. But former governor of Anambra State, Chief Emeka Ezeife, insisted that the South-East must produce the president in 2015. He said the long stay of the North in power had not translated to any good for their people.
His words: “Well, the way I will put it is this: after Jonathan, whenever that it is, every zone in the country would have produced president for Nigeria that served for at least not less than five years. Only the South-East has not. I don’t know what grammar anybody can speak, what justification or fairness would be in anybody’s calculation that would remove the presidency from the South-East come the end of the Jonathan’s presidency. Anybody who says the presidency should not come to South- East does not believe in one Nigeria. “For how long did the North want to be in power? They have governed the country for about 38 and half years since independence. What have they done with the power; they have not even helped their own people.”
The one-time presidential adviser told National Mirror that any attempt to deny the South-East the presidency in 2015 would be an invitation to instability in the polity. Ezeife said: “The North cannot produce the president in 2015 because it is unreasonable and irrational; unjust and unfair. It is unjustifiable and cannot stand the test of reasoning; it cannot happen. We would not allow it to happen. We would not wait for it to happen before we do something. No. “The problem the North has is that nothing in their planning, luck and power can stop the South-East from producing the next President in 2015 or anytime after Jonathan. The only way the North can achieve their aim is if they say they don’t want Nigeria again.
If anybody is talking about a Northerner as President after Jonathan, it means that they don’t want one Nigeria. We can renegotiate our existence. “We know why 1914 came into being; the year we were amalgamated. The basis of it is still there. So, they can introduce all manner of obstacles to peace in Nigeria.” The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ambassador Raph Uwechue, believes that 2015 will the ideal time for the South- East to produce the president, saying: “Everybody in this country needed to be treated very well. What we are looking for in this country is stability.” Uwechue said: “Since 1960, the presidency has been occupied by four of the six zones.
Some have had it all over. So, Jonathan getting there is the first time that South-South will have it. So, if we had six zones and four zones have had it and the fifth one is having it for the first time, so let us support the sixth one, the South-East, to produce the president in 2015. That is the logic of our position. We are saying that what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. We cannot talk of North and South because Nigeria is not divided to North and South. “So, if at the end of Jonathan’s term, definitely the only zone left to have the presidency is the South- East. So, whoever that is in a hurry should just wait. As far as we are concerned, the thing is going round and it must be the turn of Ndigbo. “I think Ndigbo cannot be denied their right in Nigeria that is meant for everybody; it can’t be. So, we are not against the North, the only thing is that we don’t recognise Nigeria like Sudan being divided into Southern and Northern Sudan.
Ndigbo does not recognise the two zones; we recognise six. “Our support for Jonathan is a support for the South-South to have the first chance at the presidency. So, whoever is saying that the Ndigbo are not qualified is not being fair and he is not taking into account the need to keep Nigeria stable.”
The leader of the Igbo apex group insisted that the rotation of the presidency cannot be on the basis of North and South. According to him: “Ohaneze Ndigbo does not subscribe to the idea of dividing Nigeria like Sudan into North and South. There is nothing like North and South in our constitution. If you want to be fair and you belief in this North and South, the best thing is to find how long the North and the South have ascended the presidency. “The North has had it for 38 years since independence. Has the South got it for 38 years? But for me, the issue of North and South is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that there are six zones and every zone should be allowed to produce the president.” Uwechue said that the South-East needs the support of every section of Nigeria to realise this goal in 2015.
“Well as far as we are concerned, no zone on its own has enough population to democratically put anybody in power. So, we believe that we should appeal to other Nigerians to recognise that the Igbo are part of the country. And if the position rotates, they should be allowed to take their position like other zones have done. “I believe Nigerians understand our position, some of them who don’t have selfish agenda to have a lion’s share of our country will understand our position. What Ndigbo are asking for is what they already had,” he told National Mirror. Former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chimaroke Mbadinuju, said that the Igbo “are clamouring that 2015 should be their turn to produce the President, if the arrangement of zoning in terms of making sure that presidency rotates among the six zones subsists.
“We are aware that North-West, North-East, North-Central, South-West have all had their turns at producing the president of Nigeria. And now we have somebody from the South- South as President. So, logically and justifiably, the South-East has a good case. “But you know in politics, two plus two is not always four. Every other zone has produced the president and I believe South-East should not be at the receiving end of it. Of all the zones in the country, it is only the South-East that has five states, the rest have six states, apart from North- West that has seven states. So, I think from every point of consideration, I don’t see why the presidency should elude the South-East in 2015,” the former governor told National Mirror. Mbadinuju said for the sake of fairness, the Igbo should have their turn at the presidency.
He added: “If you look at the issues of fairness, equity and justice, I am not saying it must be, but I am of the view that it should be the South-East that should produce the president. In politics, you cannot forecast with certainty that it must be this, it depends on variables when the time comes.” The former governor, however, urged the South- East to do their home work and come up with a credible presidential candidate that the Igbo could stand on and “convince the country that he is the best that they can get for the presidency in 2015.” A former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, said for fairness and justice, the South-East should be allowed to produce the President in 2015.
“If we apply the sense of fairness, equity, fair play and justice, it is improper that the presidency goes round all the six geo-political zones in the country. If all these premises are admitted, then the conclusion is obvious: that it must go to South-East. It is as simple as that,” he told National Mirror. Ikedife said the rotation of the presidency should not be based on the South- North divide as some people are canvassing, but among the six geographical zones.
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