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I was astound to find in a news story on Page 6 of the Daily Sun of last week Wednesday, that five Igbo leaders instead of seeing through former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ill – will advice, were supporting his call on their ethnic group to present a candidate for the 2019 presidential election. And that they did it castigating Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State who wisely counseled the Igbo to wait until 2023 after President Muhamadu Buhari would have completed his second term. In other words, that they should hold on until the North would have had the presidency for eight years as was the case when Obasanjo himself used the southern slot and was president back – to – back from 1999 – 2007.
I would not have bothered to write this if one of the five Igbo chieftains, Chief Damian Okeke – Ogene, the Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Anambra State, had not given the impression that the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nwodo, would soon come out to give official stamp to Obasanjo’s advice. From the realities of the political situation in the country today, the Igbo are placed to produce the country’s next president after the North in 2023. But if they present a candidate in 2019 to contest against the North, I don’t see how the ethnic group can have the presidency before 2032 or even beyond that date.
Obasanjo’s Igbo for president in 2019 advice is his latest demonstration of the ill – feelings he has had against northern leaders since they frustrated the amendment of the country’s constitution in 2006 to facilitate his third term ambition. It was to punish the North that he schemed late Governor Umaru Yar’Adua of Katsina State, whom he knew had cancer of the liver or kidney and would die within two – three years, to be the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2007. Knowing that his deputy, Vice – President Goodluck Jonathan would succeed him.
Since Obasanjo on southern ticket spent eight years as president, the North should have provided the PDP presidential candidate in 2011 to serve out what would have been Yar’Adua’s second term. But Jonathan through Obasanjo’s encouragement used the power of incumbency to be PDP’s flag bearer and got re – elected. It was because of this that most northerners dumped him for re – election in 2015 for a second term.
In spite of what he caused to happen to Jonathan two years ago, it is strange and unimaginable that Obasanjo is now telling the Igbo to present a candidate for the 2019 election to challenge the North from having the presidency for a second term. It does not need the prophecy of a seer that if the Igbo hearken to his advice that the majority of northerners would not vote for a candidate from the South – East during the presidential poll in 2023. Rather, it is a Yoruba candidate they would go for.
To be the country’s president, one must win more votes than the other candidate or candidates and score 25 per cent in at least two – thirds of the states in the federation, that is in 24 of the 36 states. There are 19 states in the North, six in the South – West, six in the South – South and five in the South – East. If Buhari or whoever is the northern presidential candidate picks a Yoruba man or woman as running – mate in 2019 the six states in the South – West would vote for the APC flag bearer. And maybe the majority in Imo State in the South – East and Edo State in the South – South controlled by party. So, all things reasonably considered, it is better for the Igbo to wait for the presidency in 2023 when the two leading parties are most likely to have their candidates from the South – East. In other words, the Igbo should discard Obasanjo’s advice to seek the presidency in 2019. It’s a poisoned drink pretentiously served in a chalice (holy cup).
Sun re (sleep well), Professor Layokun
Ido – Faboro Ekiti – born Professor Stephen Kolawole Layokun, Friday, March 23, 1945 – Thursday, December 22, 2016 was my classmate in the 1957 – 61 West African School Certificate (WASC) set at Christ’s School, Ado – Ekiti. Where he also did his Higher School Certificate (HSC) course from 1962 – 63 while I had mine at Ibadan Grammar School. His transition 48 days ago was a rude shock to all of us, his classmates in both the WASC and HSC sets, because 19 days before then, on Saturday, December 3 he had hosted our annual get – together luncheon at his personal residence in Ile – Ife.
He was a contract professor of Chemical/Biochemical Reaction Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife. An appointment he secured in October 2010, a month after he ended a glorious teaching career which began at the institution in June 1975 when it was known as the University of Ife. He was a very brilliant world – class scholar I featured in this column three years ago, when he was admitted into the Fellowship of the prestigious Nigerian Academy of Engineering in June 2014. Before then he had been a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers.
Professor Layokun’s cerebral excellence is testified to and confirmed by the salient facts that he used scholarships throughout his secondary and tertiary education. It began with the scholarship awarded by the defunct Government of the Western Region for his HSC course at Christ’s School. That region is now divided into eight states – Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta and Lagos, minus the Island, Apapa, Ebute – Metta and Yaba. He also used the scholarship of the Federal Government for his undergraduate studies at the University of Ibadan. And the Nigeria/Romania Scholarship for his M.Sc degree at the Technical University, Bucharest, Romania and the Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarship for his PhD degree at the University College, London.
Professor Layokun’s accomplishments include working on Mechanistic Studies of High Temperature Reactions of Hydrocarbons at the Imperial College, London in the 1970s and designing a Re-entrant Pyrolytic Reactor operating up to 1000oc (internal) with the outside at ambient temperature. His funeral rites begin today with lying – in – state at Ogunbanjo Center, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife and continues tomorrow at the Chemical Engineering Department at 7 – 8am and commendation service at the All Souls Chapel at the institution from 9 – 10am. He would be laid to rest on Friday after a funeral service that begins at 10am at St. John’s Anglican Church, Ido – Faboro, Ekiti State.
