South-east Presidency will Bring Unity to Nigeria, Says Nwodo

Mary Nnah

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and former governor of Enugu State, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo has said that the zoning of the presidency to the South-east come 2023 is the green light that the nation has been waiting for, adding that it was the only thing that will bring peace and unity to the nation.

Speaking as a guest on ARISE News, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspaper, yesterday, Nwodo opined that any of the political parties that zones its presidential candidate to the North, stands to engage in a difficult campaign in the four geopolitical zones of the country are asking the parties to zone the presidential candidate to the South-east.

The former governor, who said every Nigerian is aware of the agitation from the South-East for a presidency of the Southeast extract built on fairness, justice, equity and history, noted:“I think they have a very strong and persuasive argument to have the presidency zoned to the South-east. This is the sentiment that is dominant in that region as we speak and they are also asking that this passionate appeal be allowed to reunite Nigeria, to bring back justice, equity and peace in our country and that feeling is very strong.”

He stressed further that if any party decides to abandon the wishes of Southerner Nigerians and indeed the sympathy of majority of the states in the middle belt and refuse to zone the presidency to the South, they would be playing a very high stake in abandoning the votes of four major geopolitical zones of our country in the general elections.

“So I think that if APC and PDP are listening to the wishes of the Nigerians they generally would like to zone their presidency to the South. This is also a major feeling in the PDP. And those who feel this way believe that the best thing the zoning committee will do is for us to choose our chairman on the basis of who is best qualified to lead our party to victory in 2023 and wherever we find that person, we zone our chairman to that place because it is important for us to win.”

Nwodo said it has come to a point where it is good that politicians listen to the voice of the people, adding “We cannot continue to run our country ignoring what the people want and at the same time expecting the country to be united and to be progressive. If you jettison the transition of a nation, you would continue to perpetuate the leadership of the country from one part of the country and then you expect acquiescence from people who say this is not right. Therefore I think that we need to listen to the voices of the people in taking strategic decisions of this nature in order to carry our people along and reunite the country which unfortunately has been so badly disunited as we have it at this time.”

Nwodo who said his party PDP was extremely conscious of the fact that presently, Nigeria has the worst government she has ever had since independence, added, “If you swear to an oath to lead a country, the first thing is the preservation of lives and properties but this government has failed woefully and this is very clear in the public domain.”

“You talk about unemployment, we have the highest level in the whole world; talk about poverty we are the worst in the whole world; you talk about our economy, it has never been so bad.”

“So for PDP, we are conscious of this fact and it is extremely important that we give the Nigerian people an alternative. We can’t leave them with one alternative of what is available today to continue in the next dispensation.”

Speaking further on the failure of the present APC –led government he said, “The percentage of those who live above the poverty line is extremely minimal in Nigeria today; millions are in severe pains in all ramifications of their lives – weather it is the education of their children who are being kidnapped at schools and schools are being shut down across the country to the health of their children. Thanks to COVID, if not for COVID that some states started to do something to beef up their health institutions – you see the exodus of medical practitioners – doctors and nurses from Nigeria. I mean what exactly is common man enjoying in Nigeria today under the APC government that he will wake up in the morning in 2023 in all conscience and go and vote for APC continue. I would like to be told.”

He said therefore that if PDP does not live up to its bid to provide an alternative for the people of Nigeria, then the party would have committed the worst crime than APC, adding definitely we will not. We love this country and we would give them alternatives that they can live with.”

Speaking further on the huge benefits that the nation will derive from having a presidency from the South-east extract in 20213, Nwodo who said South-easterners are the cement that holds Nigeria together noted “A president of Nigeria from South-east extraction will bring to the table the following: Number one is unity of this country. The South-Easterners more than any other people in Nigeria live in every part of Nigeria and call it home and develop it like they would have developed their own home; therefore they are the cement that holds this country together. They have sacrificed property and everything for the unity of this country.”

The former PDP chairman said further that actions taken by a south-eastern president to marginalise any part of the country will amount to putting the lives of his people on the line as they are located in every part of the country.

Speaking further he said:“A South-East president will definitely re-unite because anything he does to marginalise any part of Nigeria is putting the lives of his people on the line because his people are the second largest population after an indigenous population in any part of Nigeria. So the onus falls on him to be fair, just and equitable to all parts of Nigeria.”

“Secondly, the president from the South-east is bringing to the table the economic endowment of the people of the South-east. These are people who are endowed in entrepreneurship and I believe that the most critical problem in Nigeria today apart from insecurity is the economy and I expect a South-east presidential candidate to really work on the economy of this country.

“The ordinary South-easterner believes in trading and in doing that trading there must be profit, so he will run the economy of Nigeria to make sure that we have profit at the end of the table and not squandermania and not borrow money and share on the table and no infrastructure is going no education is going on, no health facility and nothing is going on and we generate all our income and use 91 percent to service our debt, no that will not work under a president of South-east origin.

The people of the South-east are extremely friendly, boisterous and very friendly and they are the most detribalised people in Nigeria today. Nigeria is hungry for a detribalised president to reunite all parts of this country. It is very important

I think injustice has been meted out to the South-East through the civil war up till today and I ask how long, after 60 years, do you intend to punish the people of the South-east for a war they did not start; a war that was visited on them; and for a coup that they did not plan but they still accuse them that they did a coup to destabilise Nigeria. Do we have to suffer for a 100 years before we are fully integrated into Nigeria? I do not think that is fair?

He said however that the agitations “all parts of Nigeria today for separation and autonomy will end the very day that the number one agitator is consoled and is told you are part and parcel of this country and nobody discriminates against you. When we solve this puzzle, we will finally end the civil war”.

He said that as far as the people of the South–East are concerned, that war has not ended because they are still suffering persecution for it noting “If a president of the south-east comes on board the agitation for the separation of Nigeria will end that day without any question. So this is the right time for us to rewrite the history of Nigeria and give it a new lease of life for tomorrow. We cannot continue in injustice and unfairness and expect at the end of the day a just and equitable society. All parts of the country must be carried along if we want a country that would be united, prosperous and would give equal opportunity to its entire people to manifest their God-given potentials and that’s when people will say confidently that they are Nigerians. We need to rewrite the history of our country. The injustice in our country is crying to high heavens and we must use 2023 to heal the wound.”