By Kelly Diva
POLITICS: All Progressives Congress, APC, the ruling party in Nigeria has finally chosen its Presidential candidate for the 2023 General election and he is no other than the Party’s leader , the fomer Governor of Lagos State , the Jagaban , Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
I am going to pause here a-bit and re-direct my opinion piece to the South East politicians who had over the years clamoured for the Presidency . They have argued and justified for years why zoning the presidency to the South East was crucial at this time, they highlighted that the South East has not produced the President in Nigeria since the emergence of the Democratic Government in 1999.
In 1999 the South West clinched the Presidency and in 2007 the North briefly had it , before power was transferred to the South South, in 2015 the North clinched the Presidency again. This clearly demonstrates that it was undeniably the turn of the South East to clinch the presidential ticket for 2023.
It is also worthy to mention that just as the APC South East politicians were advocating for the presidential ticket ,Bola Ahmed Tinubu from the South West was also advocating for the Presidential ticket , he even Publicly declared that it was his turn to run for president and thus on the 8th of June 2022 he won the Presidential ticket .
ASSUMPTION: The assumption that the Presidency will one day be zoned to the South East have become an intense political discourse and a tactic ( in my opinion) for the South East politicians to relax and wait . Take for instance, I read a notion insinuating that voting for Atiku will be beneficial to the South East because he will rule for eight years and then the Presidency will be zoned to the South East while zoning the Presidency to the South East after Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency will take longer due to rotation obligations . And my thoughts were , how are we sure that after eight years our peers will hand over the ypresidency to us without coming up with another agenda that could sway the narrative once again , and I am asking,haven’t we learnt anything yet?
The Honourable minister, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu literally cried out yesterday saying and I quote, “ where is the Justice”?.Sir with all due respect, there is no justice, it’s all about planning ahead and improving our consultation and negotiation skills. It is very glaring that some politicians in this country do not care about the zoning directive rather they prefer the compelling notion of “ if you want it, then you come and get it” and that seems like the language they clearly understand, with no apologies whatsoever. This, undoubtedly illustrates that some politicians simply have no intention of relinquishing power to you , just because you think it’s your turn. It’s time for the South East politicians to understand that fact.
Sentiment: The above paragraph opens the door to my next talking point which is the sentimentality of it all. The South East (people) are very sentimental, we are always expressing our heartfelt thoughts on the lack of equity attributed to the Presidency of Igbo extraction , please don’t mind me , I am guilty of that too. But yesterday, I watched the convention and I saw how the South West aspirants threw sentiments out of the window and stepped down for their brother ,even those we thought had our backs in the South South and in the North also stepped down and worst of all, our female candidate from the South East also stepped down for Bola Ahmed Tinubu leaving her brothers :Engr.Dave Umahi,Hon. Emeka Nwajiuba, Sen.Rochas Anayo Okorocha hanging out to dry.
I do love politics but I always wondered If I could get accustom to the lack of emotional mindset that comes with it and I always pondered how some people do it . But yesterday, I saw the exhibition of brotherhood and at the same time the disregard for equity and fairness play out right before my eyes and with such jubilation and cheer. That public display led me to understand further why politics is a game of interest served with no guilty conscience.
Hon. Nwajiuba you were clearly absent at the convention which was a surprise to all. I read your Press Release and I clearly understood that you really do not understand the politics that you built a very prosperous career on over the years . Senator Okorocha, I will commend you , because you had all the odds against you but you still showed up and made your remarkable speech which brought a slight smile to PMB’s face , Senator Okorocha it’s very clear to me that you do understand the politics and I hope you will re-invent yourself, moving forward.
Recommendations:I would suggest that Its time for the South East politicians who are aiming for the presidential office to adapt some form of flexibility and create a great followership in the other regions of the country . They need to forget the obligation of the zoning script and start taking chances during every election year ,and I mean the Jagaban style.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu won in 2015 when APC, the political party he helped to set up, won the General Election and yesterday he won the Presidential ticket despite the criticism and surprisingly at a time when the South West presidency wasn’t initially on the cards. However, he planned early, and he conquered.
And my advice to my South East politicians aiming at the Presidency,if you haven’t learnt anything yet particularly at the APC special convention at least endeavour now to cut down on the sentiments and take up the challenge , the Jagaban style. Thank you.
