Columnists usually have passionate followers and once in a while such followers want to be heard. It is a good desire and there is big gain in diversity as they say variety is the spice of life. I agree, so today I cede this space to Chuks Ogbonna as my guest writer.
“Idiotic” was the descriptive consideration of late Chief Ojo Maduekwe at the mention of Ndigbo’s bid for the presidency of Nigeria at the expiration of the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Chief Maduekwe was a serving minister in that administration then.
Political brinkmanship of other nationalities over the country’s plum office notwithstanding, not a few Ndigbo themselves then and, most worrisome now, expressed doubts over the possibility of Ndigbo producing the next president of the country.
One is constrained to ask: could it be that the barber knows not how to shave or that the blade is not sharp? It is common knowledge that all other geopolitical zones except the South East have had shots at the presidency of the country. But, what has the exhibition of political astuteness and gerrymandering thus far yielded if not the epitome of hegemony, bigotry and catalogue of woes plaguing the nation? The socio-politico economic milieu still remains in the doldrums.
I consider it a fool’s errand to be star gazing Nigeria’s firmament to ascertain the opportuneness for Ndigbo to try their mettle on the Nigeria project come 2023. Ndigbo have a definite role to play in moving Nigeria forward, having taken the butt of unwholesome prescriptions by actors of prevailing systems of government and watched the country make motions without movement. Idealism and fair play, which are the bulwarks of any progressive nation and the missing dimensions in the nation’s political calculus, can only be injected into governance of this country by the people that have experienced such deprivations.
Yes, the socio-political milieu adumbrated by the aftermath of the civil war makes the task prodigious. But, the resilience and enterprising nature of Ndigbo capped by the auspiciousness of the time are augury.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the consciousness of solidarity and unity of purpose of blacks of South Africa fuelled the dismantling of the Apartheid regime. Such should be the case of Ndigbo in the quest for the presidency of the country. Cerebral minds abound among them.
A dispassionate search under divine direction for one known to be imbued with the fear of God and thorough knowledge of the sociopolitical and economic afflictions plaguing the country, one whose robust profile and inclination towards austereness put him in a good stead to attract and proffer robust solutions is the challenge before Ndigbo.
If it was “idiotic” in the yesteryears for Ndigbo to aspire for the leadership of Nigeria, it cannot be now. Synergy among them at home and in the Diaspora to cause an acceptable one of their own to merge in 2023 and win to perform the God-ordained feat of taking Nigeria to the next level is at stake. A superlative performance of such a president would, among other dividends, have profound impact on the agitation of MASSOB/IPOB freeing psychic energy and colossal resources investable in other areas for the same public good.
Nevertheless, underscoring the indispensability of prayer – intensive and extensive – in the project is of great essence. Only a door shut by God can no man open. God has not shut the door of Nigeria’s presidency against Ndigbo. Every perceived obstacle is man-made and can be surmounted. While the political elite of other geopolitical zones scheme to perpetuate themselves in power, solace there is, in the eternal truth that the most High, the God of justice, “rules in the kingdom of men, and gives the kingdom to whomsoever he wills.”
Not a few Ndigbo are people of God loyal to Him and able to hear and obtain direction from God even on political affairs. Not a few servants of God of Ndigbo extraction can be said to be miracle conduits of the Almighty God.
Is the case of Nigeria and that of Ndigbo not deserving the intervention God? A thunderous yes, it is. One is of the opinion that salvaging our nation Nigeria has to do first and foremost with dedication to God for the emergence of a divinely ordained leader now from within the Igbo nation as such a leader is still a political desideratum.
Such thought dominating the hearts and minds of people of God will vitiate hobnobbing with politicians, maintaining their distinction in spite of the exigencies of time to focus on turning the course of the nation. In 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9, it is written, “For the eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect towards him so that he can show his great power in helping them.” Furthermore, James 5 verse 16 says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and wonderful results.”
Where are the people and servants of the Potentate of Heaven and Earth of Ndigbo extraction whose righteous indignation over the skewed and unwholesome trend in the polity would ignite a deep sense of urgency, cause them to pay the price to ensure a turnaround of Nigeria’s situation?
The prodigious task of producing a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction come 2023 should be a crusade of crusades worth embarking upon to usher in a new Nigeria likened to the biblical Canaan. Giants are on the way. Structural imbalances exist. You name it; it is there. “But with God all things are possible” is an eternal truth believed, acted upon and the living had their dead resurrected, the physically challenged restored to normalcy in today’s world.
It is an eternal principle that pervades all spheres of human endeavour. A president after God’s own heart of Ndigbo extraction can be prayed into Aso Rock in 2023 with healing in his wings causing Nigeria to blossom and hallelujah chorus renting Nigeria’s air space in recognition of palpable dividends of democracy.
God is looking, the world is watching and Nigeria is waiting.
Chuks Ogbonna wrote via email, but can be reached through his mobile number (08037831129)