An Igbo group, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, Monday justified why South-East Nigeria deserves to produce the nation’s president in 2023.
The group said,”Nigeria was built on tripodal arrangement of her major three ethnic groups and nationalities, yet one – being the South East – has never had a chance at the office as executive president and even now with the six geopolitical zones the equation remains unbalanced. ”
This was contained in a statement by the group’s President General Goodluck Egwu Ibem in Owerri, Imo State.
“We wish to sound it clear that the presidency, come 2023, deserves to come to the South, South East to be specific. ”
The group said,”If at all the war ended with the 3Rs, this is time to allow Ndigbo to assume their position since in the spirit of justice and equality. This is a politics beyond Baba-Ahmed. ”
While we may yet agree that the South may need to dialogue with the North, it should not be a candidate foisted on the South (South East, by right) from the outside.”
“When under the APC platform, Muhammadu Buhari was presented, all the structures and machinery of the South in the party yielded and even Tinubu, Ogbonnaya Onu and others in the merger only supported him.”
“This was no different with Yar’Adua the politics of whose emergence we know. It is only understanding and support that the North need to give this time, just like the entire South has done for it heretofore. ”
Nigeria, the Coalition said, can only work where every man is equal, has the right to aspire to any position without someone somewhere wishing to bring him down on the premise of “born to rule”.
“The group frowned at the position being advanced currently by the Northern Elders Forum through its spokesperson, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, September 24, 2021, where the supposed northern elder saw as a “threat” the position of the Southern Governors Forum on having the South do the presidency come 2023.
“We wish to remind Hakeem and whoever he speaks for that there were many other points in the communique issued after the Asaba meeting adopted and re-emphasized by the 17 governors who recently met in Enugu. COSEYL now wonders why it was just the question surrounding the presidency that Hakeem Baba-Ahmed saw as a “threat”. What do men like Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, beyond all eye-catching facade of mere fancies, understand as “fiscal federalism” and other salient points raised in the said communique?
“Baba-Ahmed, indeed, has shown he is biased politically and unsympathetic to the question of equity to make the presidency of 2023 open in which the North has greater stake both to decide who leads or who don’t. Do we need a special skill to educate men like Baba-Ahmed on how the resources of this nation are shared and which region and produces what and in what size? From the get-go of the nation, the North has had a grip, whether in a civil or military administration, on power. “
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