Elder statesman and former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife has said that no Igbo man will still claim Nigerian citizenship if the South East zone is not supported to produce the nation’s president in 2023. In this interview with WILLY EYA, he was emphatic that denying the East the chance to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 will be too dangerous for the unity of the country.



A major issue of concern to every Nigerian today is the increasing level of insecurity of lives and property in the country today; as a senior citizen of this country, how do you feel?

I think our traditional leaders including the Obas, Obis, Emirs and others from other areas should hold some kind of summit. It is necessary that the herdsmen are spoken to properly. Whatever happens, they are the final losers in the game, however way it ends. If they think that they are the leaders and whatever they want will happen, and they talk with some kind of arrogance, nobody enjoys beeing talked down on. They should also partner with churches and mosques to find a solution to the challenges we are facing as a country. What is happening now is very bad. I heard that about two people this morning were kidnapped in Anambra and I heard one was asked to bring N1.5 million and the second person asked to bring several millions as ransom. Such a development is not good for the country. When the British, our colonial masters left Nigeria, the Fulani had a very good name. Now, I am sure that three years from now, that is if it will be that long, some people will become hated so much that nobody will like to see them and it is not good for anybody to fall into that category. I do not want my people to be so hated and I do not also want the Fulani to be so hated. Anybody who feels he is enjoying the situation now is not realistic; it is not an enjoyable situation. We appeal to individual groups to sue for calm and we should also be talking to God with regards to the situation we find ourselves in Nigeria.

Do you agree with those who insist that the style of leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is the cause of the crises we are having especially in the security situation in the country?
There are many things going on and some people say he is doing what he is doing because he is the patron of the Miyetti Allah. All these things should be corrected for the future of the country.

One of the narratives coming from some groups and prominent northerners is that southerners, especially the Igbo, are enjoying in the North whereas they make their place (South) uncomfortable for the herders. What is your reaction to that?

Everybody knows the truth. People may pretend but everybody knows the truth. The Igbo man is comfortable in Japan, China, United States, any part of the world. No matter the condition of any place they find themselves, they try to survive there. Anybody making that kind of insinuation knows that Nigeria has fully benefitted from the Igbo man. The Igbo man believes in Nigeria and helps in developing the country. We should all approach what is happening in Nigeria today with an open mind.

So many prominent Northerners are already flying a kite that power will not come down South in 2023 after President Buhari would have spent eight years in office. As a statesman from the South East zone which is yet to have a shot at the presidency since 1999, what is your take on the projection?

It is easy to pontificate. There will be no Igbo citizenship of Nigeria if in 2023, the South East is not given serious chance to produce the president of this country. After being given a serious chance and we could not make it, that could be understood but if anybody begins to say that there is no chance in 2023, that will be very dangerous.

The argument by some people is that the Igbo are not playing good politics by always putting their eggs in one basket. The explanation is that the region has always identified with the PDP and should not expect anything from the APC government?

I do not know how many baskets there are. People who want to follow their minds would always do so. In the 2019 presidential election, the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who everybody knows where he comes from, became an original Igbo man. How could anybody have called on the Igbo to divide themselves and vote one part for Atiku and the other for President Buhari. The Igbo did not vote for one party actually. They voted for both the PDP and the APC but we followed our minds just like we followed former President Goodluck Jonathan. We cannot begin to pretend not to know where we want to go. What I am saying is that when it is our turn, let them vote for us, that is all.

But with the picture you are seeing in the country today, what do you think is the future of Nigeria?

I am sure you know me. For very good reasons, especially being an economist, I believe in one Nigeria. I prefer one Nigeria. Therefore, I believe that instead of having miniature countries called Nigeria, I prefer that Nigeria is a big country where there is peace and where the market is as large as it is and where individuals are at peace with one another. This is what I am thinking. In such a situation, nobody loses. The way I am thinking is the same way other Igbo are thinking about it; they crave for a peaceful large area.

How did the suspension of the controversial Ruga settlement policy come to you? I ask this question because many are calling for outright cancellation of the plan to forestall the backlash over fears of its long term implication on the areas where they are established.

I think there are many mistakes being made by this administration. We have a law which entrusted the land to the state governors and not to the president of the country. Therefore, if we follow our own law which we gave ourselves, it will be better, instead of looking for land that does not belong to the Federal Government.




https://www.sunnewsonline.com/ndigbo-will-cease-to-be-nigerians-if-denied-2023-presidency-ezeife/

Why wait till then. I am surprised that you can not use your age, intelligence, position to guide and direct/advance the Igbo man's course rather you resort to fanning the embers of war and separation at your age. No wonder you never governed well during your time

till then

Let the Igbo Man Contest Legally and Fight for " shirt'' as in soccer game. Then, if he Triumphs, Good luck to him.Not that Somebody will sit in a Corner and be threatening other Nigerians.

Supported

Is this coming from the Igbo, Ibo, Ipob or Biafrans

Let’s see na.

Chest beating as usual

In political mind, you people should have Prepared the ground just like the yorubas.ok let's look at it this way:if the federal side won militarily,as they did before.this time it would be a tragic and extreme human sufferings.In short,without the British Naija no fit divide O Cos they need this country incase of WW3.

Just following and reading comments .

janey1984:
Oga u Don old
Leave that side
IBO's no be yoloba wet sabi chest beating
2023 still far.
One step at a time.

.

at 35 you're still sounding unreasonable with your incoherent sentence

Igbo should continue crying for top sit position as if na the chief titles given to anyone in their land. they always cry victim of their own caused


if you want 2023 presidency come and take it on political contest and stop wailing like a toddler

If one of the three stands in a tripod breaks off, how will the remaining two carry the weight of Nigeria. I prefer three stands that carries and distributed weight equally. Alliance of two stands against the third will always cause problems. I don't know how 2023 will be.

Wow! So, so much intresting.

This man has a penchant for making ridiculous statements.

So typical of a Shiite Christian.

Igbo had a peculiar problem and couldn't survive in the present Nigeria. They are proud, overate themself and under rate other. How can a man of such age still think that you can threaten your way to presidency?

Una wish .

Una chest beating as usual

They will simply become Almajiris since they are already insisting that PDP must zone their 2023 Presidential ticket to their Northern masters, so as to prevent any other Southern tribe from wining.

How can a tribe who have wholeheartedly supported the PDP who have likewise returned the favour by turning the SouthEast to Dubai of Africa, be so scared and terrified of the Yoruba tribe who have supported the APC, and then insist that if APC gives Yorubas what Yorubas have worked for, the PDP should give the North what the Igbos have worked for?

But many Igbos seem to have resigned themselves to another Northern/Fulani presidency after Buhari's tenure ends, going by their body language and utterances.

My Candid Advance,Join politics, present a candidate in both leading parties, lobbies across the region, don't expect anyone to come and give u president in ur room, lobby d Yoruba and hausas, and others tribe

Time to ponder........

SOUTH EAST: IS IT NOT TOO LATE?

I will chip this in just to keep the reality before us, at least for posterity sake. Truth is bitter but it's still the best medicine. 

My people say; 'He who does not remember where the rain started beating him, will not remember where it stopped'. 

REWIND TO 2014. 
A new National Party was being conceived. Political Parties, political players and Regions were being wooed to the new alliance. 

'We' Igbos (read South East) vehemently refused to touch it even with a long pole. We packaged, sold to ourselves and bought the baseless propaganda that it was an Islamic alliance that would birth an "Islamic" and "Hausa" Party. Simply because those our brethren heavily invested in the PDP at the time were afraid of losing their vested selfish interests.
Till today I'm still trying to fathom the basis for that wicked and twisted deceit especially as many of those Igbo elites who sold that dummy have since ported to the same APC.

We failed to even identify with that new Alliance. Hence the Party, APC was birthed without any remarkable input from us or presence. The few amongst us who aligned were called all kinds of names and abused to high heavens by us even when they were proven right afterall.

Thus the few Igbos who were part of it were at best fringe players as they didn't have the required clout to make serious demands and do the necessary political wheeling and dealing required in Politics to strike the hard bargains since politics is all about interests and numbers. They were even suspect, so much so that it was only their personal political sagacity that gave them whatever they got.

That Party went on to win the Presidential Election which in truth, most of us never believed it could or would, because of our half baked permutations and poor understanding of Nigerian politics. But it did. 

Curiously we turned up at the fore front of telling this same Party how it should share it's 'spoils of war'. We became hypocritical moral champions with an over bloated sense of entitlement. Who does that, in all political reality and practicality? But we did, even while vehemently and vociferously still refusing to shift our position, style and rhethoric.

We dug in. Supported every bad thing and person against the Party, the elected President and the Administration while denying any and every good done to and for our Region.

Fast forward to where we are today. Almost four years after the 2015 misadventure, we have stayed put at 2015, refusing to move forward, refusing to shift grounds, refusing to play pragmatic politics, telling ourselves the same lies we cooked and bought in 2015 and some more. 

We have started again saying "APC cannot give Presidency to Igbos in 2023", they don't want us in the National Assembly".
Buhari cannot hand over to an Igbo man because Buhari hates Igbos". "APC is deceiving you", bla bla bla.

Of course. We will believe Saraki, but we can't believe Buhari who's already President and who has a record of voluntarily picking two great Igbo sons as running mates in the past? Chukwu aju.

It is interesting and vital to note here that the PDP which many of us still proudly support and adore was in power for 16 solid years and in those years there were 4 Presidential Inaugurations and on none of those was an Igbo man found worthy by the PDP of even Vice Presidency and we are still bold to say it is the APC that has barely finished one tenure that doesn't want to give power to Igbos. Odi nma. 

NOW; Seriously, let's be sincere. As things stand today politically, why would the APC even hand power to us Igbos in 2023? 
On what grounds? 
On what records?
On what politics?
Is power given to anyone? 
Is it an appeasement or a gift? 

The APC is a political party. The main focus of a political Party is to hold power and keep it to enable it deliver on its agenda. So if the APC reads that the SE does not want the Presidency or does not have the capacity to help them win and keep power, they will stick with the regions that can and work with individuals who are interested. 

Make no mistake, I have always said, I do not blame us Igbos for the decision majority of us took in 2015. It's our right. But continuing to pretend that it was other regions, Buhari or the APC that made us do what we did then or remain where we are today is purely self deceit and I refuse to play that ostrich game. 

As far back as 2014, I and many others made that argument that Igbo Presidency was very feasible in 2023, ONLY under under the APC, ONLY IF we did a couple of things right politically. I personally continued to speak loudly on that even after the 2015 elections until when I realized that we were not ready to play the politics that was required and now I dare say it may be too late. Or is it not? Time will tell.

For now, we can continue to tell ourselves that we cannot hold the Presidency of Nigeria. I heard and read many of our brethren go from PDP to Biafra/seccesion (read IPOB) to Referendum to "Igbos do not need Presidency but Restructuring" etc forgetting that all that didn't lie squarely with us alone. We think other regions are not reading our body language?

All these guys below have all come to realize that it's very easy to play us like a flute. So like Saraki, like Fani Kayode, like Fayose, like Atiku, even Jonah Jang of all people, they keep playing us.

We've learnt not to bother myself anymore.
As some of us have said, it's good governance we want, even if only one village will be producing the Presidents. So be it.

Ka Chineke mezie okwu!!


See ya NL!
Issa Barbecue-filled weekend!!

WisdomFlakes:
But many Igbos themselves seem to have resigned themselves to another Northern/Fulani presidency after Buhari's tenure ends, going by their utterances.

Because they want to avoid the disgrace of losing to another Southern tribe who would be contesting on another party ticket.

That in itself should tell you the inferiority complex that ails the tribe.

I am not a secessionist but truth be told nobody is
Given Us Presidency on a Platter of gold.
Nigeria knows that Igbo Votes are sizeable
My Advice to Ohanaeze is that they should seek
For Secession though it may be a hard pill
To swallow but it is the Best Option.

Tinubu's men are already in the federal house.
Besides if APC fields a South West Candidate
PDP would field a northerner leaving Igbos
To Nothing.

I advise the Ohanaeze to seek for Secession now
You are not only doing yourself a favour
But also your future generations.

If you are an Igbo man still doing Business or Building
Houses outside Igbo land then that is left for you.

Nobody in the federal government would
Restructure Nigeria for you

pinkPUSSY:

Typical response from afonja coward.
Why didn't you slug it out with Jonathan your fellow southerner you hated so much in 2015 ?.. Rather you decided to get stuck in Fulani @$$..

If you were man enough you should have presented yourself rather than licking Buhari's $crotun who is sending your kinsmen to their early graves with his footsoldiers...
Now who is inferior?
Coward is waiting to ride on power of incumbency to grab power in 2023..
We are waiting...

Miserable thing that would continue to plan a life as a reaction to what others are doing.

StOla:


Miserable thing that would continue to plan a life as a reaction to what others are doing.

Will you shut up !
Get closer to a mirror and see a miserable product.

Modified ::He quoted someone said he enjoys misery engulf them.. Which people?
You mean your elders who are still crying for their self inflicted calamity that are currently going through in Oduaa land ... ?.. Herdsmen have turned you guys to cry cry babies..

We know those that are weeping just that shame no go allow you to speak it out even when the few wise ones among you issued a warning before

Antoeni:
Why wait till then. I am surprised that you can not use your age, intelligence, position to guide and direct/advance the Igbo man's course rather you resort to fanning the embers of war and separation at your age. No wonder you never governed well during your time

It is like you read your own book from the right to the left.

StOla:



I always enjoy the misery that engulfs them after their wicked plans fail to materialise.

You enjoy the misery that engulfs your fellow country man?

What will a Kenyian say...?

When people say Nigeria is not a country some of you will start wailing and begging for fake UNITY.