Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo has cried out.
He said: “With the experience I had in my political life, I believed the greatest achievement I would have recorded in my biography as a politician is to midwife an Igbo presidency.”
“Since 1998, I have done everything in my power to make sure that God helps me to achieve that objective. I think looking back, I’ve had more by emotion and patriotism for the Igbo race that I did not take so much into consideration the political reality in Nigeria.”
“At 72 years now, if I continue to be ruled by emotion in the remaining years I have, I may not even be able to help Igbo more than I have done. There was no pressure that I didn’t come under in 1998/99 to abandon Alex Ekwueme to support Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.”
“I was the last man standing when we went to Jos and Obasanjo set out to punish me for giving Ekwueme 150 per cent support as he put it. Obasanjo told me that my problem was that I insisted on being Igbo Nigerian, that I didn’t want to be a Nigerian Igbo.”
“I use that an opportunity to crack jokes with him that after all, his people didn’t vote for us in this thing, and he was enjoying the power, and that we were the real Nigerians not his people and we laughed.”
“I have come to the painful realisation that it is impossible to get the Igbo on one page to fight even for something that is so dear to them. It is very difficult to galvanise them under one platform.”
“The last time we made such a serious effort was under Ekwueme. Since then, that effort has been whittled down. Again, maybe because of the quality of leadership that is available for us to follow.”
“Secondly, I have come to the painful realisation that if we don’t build a solid network outside Igboland, the presidency of Nigeria will continue to elude us.”
“What do I mean, if we don’t partner seriously with a sitting President in Nigeria and use his influence to midwife an Igbo presidency; working alone from our place may not be as successful.”
“So, that’s why I said it is important for those of us in the PDP to strategise with the incoming government not only to make sure that he does restructuring but to factor us into that government for our people to feel for the first time after eight years that they are part of Nigeria and the Nigerian government, but that the government will midwife an Igbo presidency.”
“This is critical also for those of them in the APC. How do you get an Igbo president out of the APC sooner than later? Now, we have an opportunity; Peter is doing well. How much support can be got for him internally and externally, using him to install the first Igbo president in Nigeria?”
– Source: Punchng