It is laudable that the clamour for a Nigerian President of South East extraction is resonating so well with many people and groups across the country. On April 25, Chief Ayo Adebanjo of the Yoruba socio-political organisation (Afenifere), Chief Edwin Clark of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and Dr. Pogu Bitrus of Middle Belt Forum (MBF), argued eloquently and persuasively that it was the turn of the South East zone to produce Nigerian president in 2023.
The leaders of the socio-cultural groups spoke in Abuja at a conference to unveil the South East presidential hopefuls in some political parties to other Nigerians. They argued that on the basis of equity, justice and fairness, the political parties in the country should pick their presidential candidates from the zone as a way of giving the people of the zone a sense of belonging.
The socio-cultural organisations reasoned that if the political class and the retired military Generals could concede the presidency to the South West zone in 1999, the same approach could be adopted and micro-zone the presidency to the South East zone in 2023. Afenifere leader, Chief Adebanjo, was emphatic that the group was in support of the South East producing the next president. In the same vein, the elder statesman and PANDEF leader, Chief Clark, said: “We stand for power shift to Southern Nigeria. Igbo people deserve the presidency of Nigeria.”
For Bitrus of the MBC, “It is the turn of the South East to produce the president. Nigeria cannot be a stable and prosperous country if some of its constituent parts behave as if they were the natural masters of everyone and that everyone else exists at their pleasure and to serve them.” Other groups and notable individuals have made similar appeals to the two major political parties in the country, the All APC and the PDP to zone the presidency to the South East.
Recently, the South East PDP stakeholders urged the party to zone its presidential ticket to the Southern zones of the country and the South East in particular, in the interest of equity, justice and harmonious national existence. The leaders said the choice of who becomes President of Nigeria in 2023 has become a strategic imperative for the future of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We applaud all concerned Nigerians and groups pushing for the zoning of the presidency to the South East in 2023. We believe that ceding the presidency to the South East region will guarantee equity and justice as well as promote political inclusion. Apart from having eminently qualified aspirants, the people of the zone have made enormous contributions to the overall development of the country. Election of a South East citizen as a Nigerian President in 2023 will further cement the nation’s unity. Since the commencement of the present dispensation in 1999, the South West has had a shot at the presidency through Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the North West through the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and President Muhammadu Buhari. The South South had it through Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Besides, the North had produced Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Shehu Shagari in the First and Second Republics, respectively.
In the days of the military, the North had – Generals Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Muhammed, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar, while the West had Obasanjo. Except the short six-month stint of Gen. Johnson Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, the East has not had any taste of the office.
Since the end of the 1967-1970 Nigerian civil war, the South East zone has been grappling with marginalisation in virtually all fronts, including the glass ceiling to the highest political post in the country. We agree with other eminent Nigerians that conceding the presidency to the zone in 2023 will signal an end to that ugly side of Nigeria’s history. Moreover, the people have exhibited greater commitment in the unity of the country through their interactions and investments in other parts of the country. As the political parties are moving towards holding their national conventions to nominate their standard bearers, we enjoin them to choose their candidates from the South East region.
We also urge all statesmen to support the quest for the South East to produce the next Nigerian president in 2023. At the same time, the South East political elites should reach out to other zones and convince them on the need for the zone to produce the next president of Nigeria. More than ever before, this is the right time to have a Nigerian President of South East extraction.