A blockbuster interview published in The Sun of last Saturday, January 29, 2022, showed frontline nationalist and notable Igbo leader Chief Mbazulike Amechi in his best elements. He spoke like the experienced, politically sagacious, and respected Igbo leader that he is. He reasoned logically like a sage. And he analysed methodically the present situation facing Igbo people in Nigeria, as well as the opportunity available for the South-East region to produce a President during the 2023 general election, and the political trajectory that could be followed to get the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, out of incarceration. The interview is a collector’s copy.
Asked whether he thought Igbo were preparing for the 2023 presidential election in an appropriate and strategic way, Amechi cautioned about the possibility that too many ambitious politicians from the region might damage the rare opportunity the region has to get a shot at Nigeria’s presidency.
In response to that question, Amechi said: “How much are we reaching out? But we are already paving the way to lose the presidency. The Igbo are too far now, paving the way to lose the chance to produce the next President next year by the number of the Igbo declaring that they want to contest. If five or six Igbo contest, they will split the votes. They will split the Igbo votes. That is creating chances for other people. They will be splitting their votes and maybe give Tinubu the chance. They are already paving the way to lose the election.”
He spoke further: “As far back as May last year, I called a joint meeting of the PDP and APC from the South-East in my house here. APC came in a good number. PDP sent only one or two persons. But look at the multitude that is coming out from the PDP. How do they think they can get the party nomination?”
Amechi was right. If many Igbo politicians declare interest in the presidential election, they would be narrowing the corridor through which a President could emerge from the region.
If the horde of politicians does not think tactically, if they all jump into the same boat with limited seating capacity, if they do not decide wisely on the best candidate to contest the election on behalf of the region, they could end up constricting their opportunity to make history. That means they would be hurting their own cause by doing something silly that would harm the chances of the South-East producing a President in 2023. If that happens, another candidate from another ethnic group could take up the opportunity to become President.
Amechi’s words of caution must be taken seriously. South-East politicians must learn to compromise. They must recognise what is in the region’s collective advantage or benefit and agree to advance that interest. In the current political environment, the overriding philosophy should be “what is ours is ours and should be promoted vigorously.”
The narrow interests of individual politicians must give way to the greater objectives of people in the South-East.
While there might still be time enough for Igbo to put their act together, Amechi also offered some constructive advice on how the region’s political leaders could advance the interests of the South-East in a beneficial way. He said: “Ohanaeze should be strong enough, other Igbo organisations should be really strong enough to bring together all the aspirants and tell them, you, you, you, step aside. Let one person go and contest.”
Amechi said while he was aware that some states in the North, South-West, and Delta were willing to give the Igbo an opportunity to produce the next President, he warned, however, that Igbo politicians would have themselves to blame if they shunned sound advice, refused to resolve their individual differences and misused an important opportunity to push ahead to achieve the political and economic goals of Igbo people. Amechi cautioned: “But if the Igbo are given the chance and they don’t want the chance to be properly used, who will they blame? Will they blame the people who gave them the opportunity to produce the next President? So, they should come together and listen to the voice of reason or get prepared to accept the responsibility that they have failed the Igbo race and destroyed the chances of their children unborn.”
The message is clear. If presidential candidates from the South-East do not resolve their differences or check their vaulting ambitions, they could be looking down the barrel of the gun that will fire them completely off the presidential election track. They will be responsible for denying their region a rare opportunity to produce a President. Uncontrolled political ambition, hardnosed political viewpoints, and pig-headedness are toxic character attributes that could terminate the dreams of people in the South-East. These attributes are a deadly mix. South-East politicians must understand that, in politics, compromise is not a sign of weakness but evidence of maturity, level-headedness and judicious knowledge.
If (and this is a highly qualified conditional clause) other regions decide to accede to the South-East the unique opportunity to produce a President in 2023, it should be seen as a rare chance that must be considered and utilised carefully. In as much as I agree with the sentiment that the region should produce the next President who will succeed Buhari, I am not persuaded that, in a multicultural society such as Nigeria, with a large and diverse population, presidential candidates from other major ethnic groups would agree unanimously to step down for a candidate from the South-East. I don’t think that desire would be achieved on the platform of wishes and expectations, even if the possibility exists. But it is an idea worth tracking.
On a practical level, South-East leaders must ask the question: How do we expect, for example, someone such as Bola Ahmed Tinubu to drop or defer his “lifelong ambition” of becoming Nigeria’s President in order for the South-East to produce a President? While leaders of other regions may agree in principle to offer the South-East that opportunity, in practice, that decision may be hard to implement or supervise. Regional or ethnic leaders may not have the power to compel candidates from their regions or ethnic groups to quit the presidential race. After all, the decision to contest or not to contest an election is usually a matter for individual candidates to consider.
It would be interesting to see how candidates who are driven by single-minded ambition to become President would give way, in 2023, to a presidential candidate from the South-East. Politics in Nigeria, including voting patterns, are often influenced by extremely entrenched ethnic, religious and regional feelings or biases.
Among Nigeria’s diverse ethnic and religious groups, there is mutual suspicion. Every group suspects the other of pursuing a secret or unknown agenda that could undermine the interests of their own members. These prejudices have held Nigeria back for many decades. They are the reason appointments to official positions at federal and state levels are not given to the most deserving applicants.
Over the years, we have seen how selection, employment and promotion in various government and private sector organisations are often made not on the grounds of merit, excellence or ability but on the bases of frivolous, mindless and unsound arguments relating to ethnicity, region of origin and religious faith of the preferred candidate.
Drawing on the title of James Ene Henshaw’s classic drama, This is Our Chance, 2023 might be an important year for the South-East but the region’s political leaders must accept there are huge obstacles to clear before a President can emerge from that area.