Chairman, Southern Senators Forum, Hope Uzodinma has called on Igbo leaders at home and Diaspora to re-align themselves for 2019 elections by putting on their thinking caps.
He said, it was needful for the South East geopolitical zone to be repositioned for presidency in 2023, noting that such could happen if Igbo leaders get their political positions right in next year’s elections.
Expressing fears that the zone might lose presidency in 2023, the lawmaker, while addressing Igbo leaders from Imo State who visited him in Omuma, Imo state, explained that, “current political indicators in the country showed that all may not be well with Igbo people of the South east Nigeria.”
He emphasised: “it is necessary I advise that we should re-strategise because the current political indicators in the country point to the possibility that the South East might lose out in the nation’s political equation in 2019 which would be a precusor to 2023″, he said.
According to him, the South East was being ill-treated because of their stand in 2015’s general election, a situation he posited, became glaring when recently released federal board appointments showed that Igbo people were fast losing out.
“We must be conscious of the fact that other geopolitical zones appear to be outsmarting us as they did in 2015.”
“Right now, they are positioning themselves as the strategic allies of the Northern political elite and they appear to be receiving favourable attention as reflected in the Federal board appointments” he insisted.
According to him, there is an urgent need for Igbo leaders to put on their thinking caps and re-examine their present political leaning which he believes will put Igbos at a grave disadvantage in 2019.
He explained that Igbo people need to re-examine their stands so that they would not be on the wrong side in 2019.
He declared: “Let me be honest with you my brothers and sisters, I think we are putting ourselves in a disadvantaged political position, we need to re-strategize and quickly strike strategic alliance with our Northern political elite ahead of the 2019 electrons so that what happened to us in 2015 will not be our lot in 2019”.
According to him: “unless this is done Igbos might find that in 2019, two planks of the tripod that make up Nigeria would have conspired to put us into political disadvantage as they did in 2015.”
“Such a development will spell a great tragedy for the Igbo nation and we cannot afford the consequences.” “I tell you my brothers and sisters, we should grow above politics of region. We need a national platform to properly integrate our people into the National Political grid.”
“Let us forget the ugly events of the Civil War and be part of a larger Nigeria. In the next four years, it is hoped that the North would have spent eight years in the presidency and after that the presidency will come back to the South.’
“May I once more remind you that Obasanjo from the South-West spent eight years as President, Jonathan from the South-South spent six years as President. The logic is therefore that in 2023 when the presidency is due to come back to the South, it will be the turn of the South-East to produce the president. We cannot toy with this great historic opportunity. We must be part of the going concern (Project Nigeria). Mind you, you can only reap where you sow. A word is enough for the wise,” he concluded.
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