IGBOs ARE RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE IN NIGERIA ...... Ohanaeze

THE IGBO PRESIDENCY ... trending Media Reports

Introduction

We continue our media account of the quest by the people of the South East, one of the three major tribes in Nigeria to lead the Nation, as President.  It has been a struggle filled deceit and apprehension.  

The politicians from the region seem incapable of producing a viable roadmap to birth the dream, but it is expedient that the dream is realized.  I want to say without any doubt in my mind that it will happen one day if Christ tarries, but the date and time may be difficult to position accurately.  

I remember the story of 'The Ngwa people'.  They struggled for years to govern a state they are the majority tribe.  This is a state known as the "God's own state.

The conspiracy was so thick and strong against them, but did it last forever? NO!  Today, the first Ngwa man to mount the saddle as the Governor of Abia state is completing his second tenure.  So, I know that nothing lasts forever, and I counsel people to know there is an appointed time for everything under the sun.  

Grassroots Mobilization

When that time comes, doors will open on their own accord, and the dream will be realized. This assertion is not a political statement, so it is not for the politicians of the South East.  They have to continue to build bridges, network and seek to realize their dream till it comes to pass.  

Politics is such a powerful game of numbers that 'you either network or you perish'.  The people of South-East should mobilize themselves everywhere they live in Nigeria and network their respective communities for the dream to be realized.

Their talent in business will be needed in politics, especially at the grassroots, among the people who actually do the voting, not city elites.  This has to be done in every state of Nigeria where they live and do their business.

They have to plan, work hard, compete and win, it is never given on a platter of Gold, except for overriding national importance.  We publish as it is, a recent statement made by the Ohanaeze chairman, Chief Nwodo.  The story

Igbos running out of patience in Nigeria — Ohanaeze

The apex Igbo organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Tuesday, warned that the nation is tottering on the brink with the refusal of successive governments to restructure the country.

President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, in a keynote address at the 90th birthday of Chief Mbazulike Amechi, one of the icons of pre and post-independence Nigerian leadership, heaped the blame on the military for imposing  a unitary constitution on the country that should operate a federal structure.

Chief Nwodo said contemporary Nigeria was no longer the same country Chief Amechi and his colleagues bequeathed when they left governance 53 years ago.

“I have argued elsewhere that our present constitution is an imposition by a group of military officers without any democratic credentials or mandate. It was not subjected to a plebiscite or referendum.

Nigeria’s legal basis is untenable. If we continue like this, this nation is tottering on the brink. We need a national conference. We cannot exist  by force.

“Speaking for Ndigbo, our patience is running out We cannot continue to belong to a country whose constitution is imposed on us without any move to allow freedom of discussion, agreement or disagreement.

The circumstances that led to the Nigerian civil war are once more being allowed to fester.

“Every Nigerian patriot must speak up and help to seek a peaceful solution.  So long as foreigners are daily entering our country to swell the numbers of a particular ethnic group, so long as the leaderships of the vital armed services are in the exclusive control of one section of the country, so long will a threat be posed to the peace of our country,” he said.

Chief Nwodo lamented the marginalisation of the Igbo in infrastructural development, administrative units and budgetary allocations by the Federal Government.

“We no longer feel Nigerian. So soon after the Nigerian civil war? This is sad. We are continuously reminded that there was a victor and a vanquished. By implication, we are reminded of Biafra.  So long as Nigeria marginalises the Igbo, so long will Biafra remains in the consciousness of Ndigbo.

Biafra is an unforgettable experience. Biafra is a virtual state easily recalled when Nigeria visits us with the pangs of hatred, despise and marginalisation.”

Nwodo said restructuring remained the only peaceful and reasonable way to go.

“No Federal Republic in the world runs a unitary government.  Ours cannot be an exception. The only way we can let our past leaders rest peacefully is by returning to the agreements they entered into in Lancaster House and all other constitutional conferences they held. It worked well for the First Republic.  There is no reason why it cannot work now.

If each region takes care of its own area, controlling their God-given resources and donating agreed powers and obligations to a loose federal government that runs external relations, defence, Customs and other common functions, Nigeria will be more peaceful and prosperous. This will be a sure way to ensure the labours of our heroes past shall not be in vain,” Nwodo said.

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka also warned that any attempt to shut-out the South East in the 2023 political calculation would be ill-conceived.

Chidoka said the country cannot make progress with its current composition.

Chidoka while reviewing the book, “A Political History of Modern Nigeria: Words and Thoughts of Mbazulike Amechi,” said alienating the South East from the 2023 presidential contest will “open old wounds.”

He said the South East had remained committed to the unity, harmonious co-existence, mutual understanding, economic development, social and political wellbeing of Nigeria.

He, therefore, called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and  All Progressives Congress (APC)  to respect the principle of zoning and cede their presidential tickets to the South East.

“I crave your indulgence to use the words of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) in an advertorial where they warned President Jonathan not to contest the 2011 election, to sound a note of warning: “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 using the perceived strength of the other geo-political zones or ethnic groups 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.”

He said electoral results showed that the South East is ethnically blind when it comes to voting and that it was a proof of the cosmopolitan ethos of Ndigbo. (Daily Sun)

 CONCLUSION

Friends, Jesus is coming soon.  Repent your sins, accept the gospel and receive Him as your Lord and Saviour.  If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, do so now.  

Say this simple prayer:

Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ.  I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose again for my justification. I repent of my sins and ask for forgiveness. I ask Jesus to come into my heart and reign as my Lord and Saviour.  I receive Him by faith, I am born again!

FIRE...