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From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
Managing Director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Chief George Moghalu, has advised Igbo to reach out to other geopolitical zones if they must actualise the project.
He said the fact that presidential aspirants from other ethnic nationalities were also warming up for the same position, showed that no law said it must be the Igbo.
He said this was the more reason Igbo should work hard to clinch the presidency.
He said if there were any law made that it must be an Igbo, that there would also be a problem arising from which state, local government or town in Igboland.
“Nigerian president of Igbo extraction is a welcome development and also a possibility. We should have in mind that power belongs to God and He gives to whom it pleases Him at His own time. We also understand that power is not given, but power is taken. If we have this at the back of our minds, its left for us to work towards actualising the ambition.
“It now behoves on the Igbo to sit down and work out the modalities. There are only two platforms today, realistically speaking, that can be used to actualise the project. These platforms are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). These are two political parties that have political structures across the country. That doesn’t mean that political parties can’t collapse to form a big one, but I’m looking at the realistic consideration, “ he said.
Moghalu said the Igbo were left to make their choice from either of the two existing mega political parties to actualise their presidential ambition.
“So, we need to really work hard, extend our handshake across the Niger, reach out and do the basic political lobbying. There is need, in as much as it’s not constitutionally provided that we will be given power. But conventionally speaking, in the interest of equity, justice, fairness and unity, it will not be out of place to see an Igboman emerge the next president of Nigeria, “ he said.
On whether the agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) would hurt or help the actualisation of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction, Moghalu said the danger in the agitation was that it created a sense of mutual suspicion among all the contending forces.
“If you’re looking for a President of Nigeria of Igbo extraction, what it implies is that the man from Sokoto, the man from Lagos, the man from Calabar and the man from Rivers all have a stake. They have votes towards contributing to actualising the project. Don’t you think we should as a people do everything to avoid creating fear in the minds of these people?
“If you look at history, no political disagreement has ever been resolved at the battle front. It has always ended on a negotiating table. And the question I keep asking is why do we have to fight first before we negotiate to achieve a result? Why don’t we negotiate first and avoid the fight? So, by nature we are peaceful people and I believe that all what we are struggling or fighting to get can as well be achieved by negotiation.”
The APC aspirant in the just-concluded Anambra State governorship election said there were various platforms that could be used for peace initiative.
He praised the move by some Igbo leaders led by Chief Mbazuruike Amechi describing it as part of the process towards actualising peace.
