Wilfred Eya, Fred Ezeh, Abuja and Gyang Bere, Jos
More than three years to the next general elections, Fulani youths have vowed not to support any presidential candidate from the South, saying leaders from the geographical region(South), failed the nation when given the opportunity in the past.
But the National Publicity Secretary, Middle Belt Leaders Forum, Dr. Dogo Isuwa, said 2023 is the time to have a president of Igbo extraction.
The Fulani youths group said they would support a credible person from the North for the 2023 presidential election to sustain President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against insecurity, corruption and work in the collective interest of the entire country.The National President of Jonde Jam Fulani Youth Association of Nigeria, Saidu Maikano Adamu said Fulani youths would not repeat the mistake of supporting Southerner for the leadership of the country.
Specifically, he claimed former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, caused 95 per cent of the problems currently ravaging the North even as he knocked former president, Goodluck Jonathan, of failing to consolidate on the achievements of the late Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration.
“We will not make mistake again to say that we will give somebody from the South the leadership of this country because they have failed us in the past.”
Reacting, National Publicity Secretary of the Middle Belt Leaders Forum, Dr. Dogo Isuwa, said for the sake of equity, fairness and justice, 2023 would be the ideal time to have a president of Igbo extraction.
“If we are going to be fair and we want the unity of this country, it should be an Igbo man that should succeed Buhari and after that, it should be somebody from the Middle Belt and specifically a Christian.”
He regretted that Nigeria has gone 20 years backwards and worse than where Jonathan left it, saying, “we are witnessing retrogressive progress in the country.”
Reacting to the position of the Fulani youths, National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, the apex socio-cultural group, Yinka Odumakin, said judging by all indices of leadership, it was wrong to say President Buhari has performed better than Obasanjo and Jonathan.
He cautioned that any attempt to keep power in the North beyond 2023 may lead to the final disintegration of the country.
Also, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, the umbrella socio-cultural organisation of Igbo, Uche Achi-Okpaga, said he did not want to join issues with the Fulani youth group, saying their position was a mere expression of ethnic bias and sentiments.
Meanwhile, former governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has threatened to back any option taken by Igbo people in 2023, including pulling out of the nation if they were denied the chance to produce the president.
He said they would explore other options including prayers, lobbying all nationalities and political stakeholders in Nigeria to buy support, but if that fails, then the people of the South East would consider pulling out of the “marriage.”
He was happy with the formation of an advocacy group, South East for President 2023 (SEFORP 2023), describing it as a mature agitation platform to get the global attention and galvanize support for the realisation of the 2023 Igbo presidency agenda.
“The first things we must do is to hold national prayers because all powers belong to God. As we pray fervently, we would work tirelessly and most importantly establish a united front to get that.
“If we do all these things and other things that are expected from us within the constitution, and yet we don’t get the presidency, then we would consider ourselves not welcomed in Nigeria.
“We have the capacity and numbers to produce Nigerian president. Anything otherwise would make us cease to be citizens of Nigeria. Even if Nigerian state rejects us, we cannot reject ourselves. As far as I am concerned, this is the final push for Igbo presidency.
“Nigeria has been pushing us out of Nigeria. The government has not helped matters too. We are denied political appointments, employment in certain areas, our peoples’ businesses are frustrated through government policies. We can’t take this anymore.”
The SEFORP National Coordinator, Okechukwu Obioha, explained that SEFORP is not a political party but an advocacy group formed to fill the gap of mature agitation to give a sense of belonging to all Igbo people in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.