A former Aviation Minister, Chief Osita Chidoka has made a strong call to all other geo-political zones in the country to yield the Presidency of the nation to the South East, come 2023, to avoid a serious political crisis in the country.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday by his Media Adviser, Mr Ikechukwu Okafor, Chief
Chidoka, who spoke while reviewing a book by First Republic minister, Mbazulike Amechi “A Political History of Modern Nigeria: Words and Thoughts of Mbazulike Amechi,” on Monday, in Owerri, Imo state, insisted that the two major parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) should respect the zoning tradition and zone the 2023 Presidency to the South East.
According to the statement, the former Corps Marshal of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) maintained “that such is the only sure way to guarantee the unity, national cohesion and political stability of the country adding that the nation may have to contend with very serious consequences if the Southeast is alienated in the race
‘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”.
Furthermore, failure to incorporate the South East in the 2023 calculations will be “ill-conceived, ill-advised, and definitely divisive”.
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Further echoing the words of the NEF, Chidoka cautioned that using perceived strength to alienate the Igbos in 2023, “would open old wounds of primitive politics where ethnic, sectional, religious and other primordial, undesirable sentiments will assume centre-stage with attendant unpleasant consequences”.
The former Aviation Minister noted that the South-East had always been committed to the unity, harmonious co-existence, mutual understanding, economic development, social and political wellbeing of the country as a whole, adding that it is time, narrow-minded individuals in other parts of the country drop their unfounded distrust of Ndigbo, and fight to enthrone the politics of live-and-let-live.
According to him, ” 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
“It is also important to note that on January 12, 2020, it will be 50 years after the civil war. The generation born during and after the civil war is 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. That 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”.
Chidoka, however, advised the South-East not to rest on its oars and wait for Igbo Presidency but to constructively engage with the rest of the country to actualize the dream.
According to him, “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”.
The former Minister extolled Amechi’s leadership qualities adding that his book ” emboldens all well-meaning Nigerians and deepens the collective resolve to speak the truth as we see it”.
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