Eminent statesman and nationalist, Annie Okonkwo has predicted that the north would benefit more from Peter Obi presidency.
Speaking against the backdrop of perceived northern skepticism about the Labour Party candidate, he asserted that if honesty of purpose and fidelity of antecedents are yardsticks for candidates, rather than manipulative ethnic and religious propaganda, “Northern region brothers will surely benefit more than others in a redemption focussed Obi presidency.”
Recalling the public commitment of Obi to make the North the pride of Nigeria’s centre for food production and agrarian industries, as his prime policy to tackle insecurity and savage criminalities everywhere, through modern agriculture, Okonkwo said the North would practically be the greatest beneficiaries of it without doubt.
“It will be deeply regrettable if our desperate search for transformational leadership is, again, allowed to be kidnapped by emotions of ethnic and religious discuss, than marshall plans for rescue and revival, at this time of grave national perils,” he said.
Okonkwo, who spoke as the chairman of eminent diaspora dinner for Obi and his strategists in Los Angeles, USA, during his recent cross-continental engagements, said the clarity of Obi’s political mission is obvious by its simplicity and common sense value, without any pretence to be rocket science.
“How can the dimensions of possibilities embedded in the northern belt elude the minimum facility of those who have ruled the country to ruin scandalously, yet their prime enablers who recruited them in the first place, still drum their entitlements as the next Aso Rock goalkeepers, instead of repentant town criers, if not for pure corruption insanity.
“This is why the message must be louder that since this evil dynasty is never penitent, the citizens should justly serve them the penitentiary. The good side is that hope is here because an empowered North will redeem Nigeria from hunger and starvation, poverty and penury. Agriculture will generate the employment that will bring security and expand decent livelihoods. Secondly, from the blessings of those vast arable lands, will come the silver bullet for our quicker economic recovery far-greater than oil and gas in the South.
“I am very happy, Obi has marked it down as first line policy action of his administration, and believe our prolific Pat Utomi completely, who revealed to me, that northern Nigeria can, indeed, feed West Africa, and still remain our continental food security depot, agro tourism destination of choice and much more,” he said.