Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
Former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, has said the Igbo nation alone cannot make itself president of Nigeria in 2023.
Okorocha stated this while speaking with some select journalists yesterday in Abuja, adding that ethnicity or religion should be no basis in politics as poverty knows no tribe or religion.
Okorocha, who represents Imo West in the Senate, spoke against the background of northern leaders insisting that the presidency would remain in the North, while some are saying power should shift to the South in 2023.
While admitting that the North has the population to determine whoever emerges as president of the country, he added that there must be collective interest in moving the country forward rather than sentiments. The former governor said he believed that power must be given to anyone who has the vision irrespective of where he comes from “because tribe cannot put food on the table of the common man or guarantee security.”
According to him, “As you observe the politics of today, everybody looks up to the North because it has the large chunk of vote to determine who becomes the president of Nigeria. One good thing I know of the North, especially the Islamic world, is that a good Muslim is a man of conscience who believes in equity, justice and unity.
“That is the only hope for anybody who wants to contest from the southern region. The North can say for the purpose of equity and not showing tribal and religious differences, that the North, having served as president, let someone else from the South be the next president.”
Okorocha stated categorically that other regions needed the support of the North if powers must shift.
He noted that what Nigeria needs now is a man who would emerge as president and continue with the efforts of uniting Nigerians, create jobs and also guarantee security.
Okorocha stated that “the Igbo alone cannot make themselves the president. The quicker they come together and start shoring up support from the North and other parts of the region the better it is to realise the dream.
“I know we shall come up to that point one day when who becomes the president would not be based on tribe or religion. For as long we keep promoting tribal and religious sentiments, we are not getting it right.”
