2023 Igbo presidency non-negotiable - Osita Chidoka warns
- Osita Chidoka, a former minister of aviation has called on all other geo-political zones in the country to yield the 2023 Nigeria's presidency to the south east region
- Chidoka said failure to incorporate the region in the 2023 calculations will be "ill-conceived, ill-advised, and definitely divisive"
- The former minister also called for constructive engagement among the people of the south east region with others from diverse parts of the country to actualize the dream
A former minister of aviation, Osita Chidoka, on Tuesday, December 31, made a strong call to all other geo-political zones in the country to yield the 2023 Nigeria's presidency to the south east region.
In a statement released by Ikechukwu Okafor, Chidoka's media aide, the former minister said allowing the south east to take hold of the number one seat of office in Nigeria will avoid a serious political crisis in the country.
Okafor said that Chidoka, who is a former marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) made the remarks while reviewing a book by First Republic minister, Mbazulike Amechi “A Political History of Modern Nigeria: Words and Thoughts of Mbazulike Amechi”, in Owerri, Imo state's capital city
The former minister said only an Igbo presidency in 2023 can guarantee Nigeria's stability.
Warning that the nation may have to contend with "very serious consequences if the south east is alienated in the race", Chidoka said failure to incorporate the region in the 2023 calculations will be "ill-conceived, ill-advised, and definitely divisive".
"I crave your indulgence to use the words of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), used in an advertorial where they warned President Jonathan not to contest the 2011 election, to sound a note of warning that, “If the country's two major political parties do not continue in the tradition of the agreed rotation, they will “undermine the peace and tranquillity of Nigeria," Chidoka said.
Noting that wounds of primitive politics of ethnic, sectional, religious and other primordial, undesirable sentiments will be opened should the south east be alienated, the former minister said the region has always been committed to the unity, harmonious co-existence, mutual understanding, economic development, among many others in Nigeria.
“Electoral results show that the south east is ethnically blind when it comes to voting. This voting pattern is the ultimate proof of the cosmopolitan ethos of Ndigbo."
“In Presidential elections, south east votes have been cast on a largely ideological basis in support of inclusion, rule of law, freedom, democracy and open markets. It is time for the country to take note of these salient points, drop their unfounded distrust of Ndigbo, and fight to enthrone the politics of live-and-let-live," he said.
Citing that January 12, 2020 will mark the 50th anniversary of the civil war, Chidoka said the generation born during and after the civil war are now in their 50s free from the prejudices of our chequered past, hopeful of a new paradigm of equal opportunities and conscious of global trends.
He also said that the new generation provides a new opportunity which if lost will be at great cost to Nigeria.
He also urged northern political leaders to recalibrate their position on the rest of Nigeria as this winner-take-all mentality may neither be sustainable nor enduring.
While advising indigenes of the south east never to rest on their oars and wait for Igbo presidency to be handed to them on a platter of gold, Chidoka called for constructive engagement among the people with the rest of the country to actualize the dream.
“Let us not sit and wait for “restructuring” or “Igbo Presidency”. The political class of the south east should be bold, creative and constructive in affirming our right to the highest office in Nigeria or in the continuous alteration of the constitution to reflect the region's strategic interest," he said.
He further extolled Amechi's leadership qualities adding that his book emboldens all well-meaning Nigerians and deepens our collective resolve to speak the truth as we see it.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some leaders from the south east region are said to have been making moves to strengthen the unity among the Igbo ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
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These leaders, Legit.ng reported are campaigning for unity by means of closing ranks among prominent leaders to ensure that the region clinches the number one seat of office in Nigeria.
It was also gathered that these meetings are being attended by leaders of thought, prominent politicians, traditional rulers, businessmen, and industrialists, among others from the south east region.
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Source: Legit.ng
