By Odo Ijere
I have told all who care to listen that power must revert back to the South by head or by tail on the 29th of May, 2023. The constitution has guaranteed that conclusion through either APC or Labour Party who consciously ceded their presidential candidates to the South. These two mainstream political platforms were sensitive enough to pander to the feelings of the citizenry who are looking forward and waiting patiently for a paradigm shift of political power to the south to heave a sigh of relief after 8 tyranical years of power domiciliation in the North.
PDP by bringing Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to subtly contest the presidency with southern aspirants committed sacrilege and by so doing decided to take the people’s patience for cowardice but will pay for their impunity. PDP are therefore not considered to be in the race for the presidency having failed to zone the office to the south as envisaged by their own written rule and operational Party constitution.
It is important to make it abundantly clear to Nigerians especially southerners that having Labour Party candidate from the Southeast and APC candidate from the southwest does not imply a popularity contest between the Igbos and Yorubas. The best positioned candidate out of the two will expectedly be sworn in by 29th May, 2023 when power is expected to swing back to the South.
PDP and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s desperation will not stop power rotation mantra requiring a peaceful balancing of the structure of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in which all component units of the federation must be carried along. The emergence of Atiku Abubakar is ultra vires and negates the principle of oneness and Federal character. It also would disrupt the unity, peace and possibly lead to more instability and separatist agitations that already is tearing the country apart. This nation cannot endure the retention of power in the North for another possibly 8 more years.
All those surreptitiously supporting Atiku and his gang of perfidious power mongers because of Party and ethnicity are poor readers of history. Their roguery and avaricious greed will not see the light of the day. The likes of Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, who hosted and moved the communique of proclamation of Southern governor’s meeting to the effect that presidency must return to the South, but who went ahead to sabotage the South by accepting to become Atiku’s Vice President, and others in his ilk of desperation. They will be celebrated in the hall of villains of Southern Nigerian. Their evil conspiracies against the people will be checkmated by the new emerging order of people’s power mastatising across the nation.
Patriotic Southern leaders that stood their grounds to say the old order of manipulating the fais par of ethnicity that only harvested incompetence in our leadership rostrum, such leaders like Pa Ayo Adebanjo, the leader of Afenifere who led by example and sounded the final death knell on Yoruba Igbo divide and rule politics by supporting Peter Obi of Labour Party will become heroes of the 21st century Nigeria. The present generation of youths of Igbo and Yoruba nation owe him a gratitude. We have also seen Chief Bitrus Porgu of Middle Belt Forum that came out boldly to say, presidency must return to South by supporting Peter Obi. These leaders have put their names in reference books of history.
Southern leaders who manage the campaigns of both Asiwaju and Peter Obi are also advised to avoid anything that will give the impression of Igbo Yoruba rift. One of either Peter Obi or Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be sworn in by 29th of May, 2023 by God’s grace. Either of them gives victory to the South. Presidency in 2023 has become the right of the South. Every Patriotic southerner must divorce himself or herself of Party and ensure that we take what belongs to us. When presidency is reverted to Southern Nigeria, the reign of impunity will come to an end in Nigeria. We would have taken back our country.
Odo Ijere, Okpotemba of Ohafia.
