ABIODUN NEJO
President, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Southwest Nigeria, High Chief Nathaniel Uzomah, has given tips on how Presidential Muhammadu Buhari, who is the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in 2019 election, can warm his way into the heart of Igbo people, saying consideration for restructuring is crucial.
Uzomah, however, advised Igbo people to hesitate and consider the growth and development of the South West in choosing who to support in the 2019 Presidential poll.
Uzomah, who said Igbo people should not risk giving block votes to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Peter Obi, because Obi is their kinsman, hinted that such might amount to another political suicide reminiscent of 2015.
According to the Ohaneze Ndigbo leader, who is immediate past President of the group in Ekiti State, there is need to avoid a repeat of the 2015 scenario, when Igbos gave their votes to the PDP, giving President Buhari, who contested under the APC reason to say he did not have their support.
Uzomah, in a chat with journalists in Ado Ekiti, advised that Igbo people should weigh the consequences before taking decisions for the Presidential Election, saying: “I am happy that Atiku Abubakar was picked as the PDP candidate, he is a business man to the core and business is one thing that drives the economy and if a business man is in the saddle, things are bound to take shape.
“Having picked one of my brothers, Peter Obi, it is a double joy for me because I am from Anambra State, but I am coming from a different background because I am not a politician, politicians pitch their tents where their interest lies, if you ask a PDP man, he would say Atiku is better and if you asked an APC man, he would tell you to rather vote Buhari.
“But you get a frank opinion from people like us who would not take sides. If you ask me, I cannot say Buhari hasn’t done well although much of what he has done will take time to surface and Atiku has only been promising, we haven’t really known what he can do. He had served as Vice President but that was under a President.
“However, what every southerner wants is restructuring and Atiku has made a strong promise on that and this is an area many of us do not like Bubari for.
“You see, Buhari abandoned the recommendations of the last National Conference convened by former President Goodluck Jonathan, and that is a fundamental issue, especially the one on restructuring. President Buhari cannot say that every recommendation made in that conference report is entirely wrong. He can look into them and take the ones he can do.
“Buhari can outsmart Atiku now by starting promptly the process of restructuring to please majority of Nigerians. He has the opportunity to do that now. Buhari has the chance to right the wrong now by starting the restructuring process and win the hearts of southerners as he is still in power.
“I also want to advise that President Buhari and APC should show cause why Igbo should vote them by meeting with the leadership of Ndigbo and committing themselves to creating a platform for Igbo Presidency after his tenure in 2023.
“I want our politicians to shun politics of bitterness and vendetta and address issues of development and growth when campaigning instead of engaging in character assassination,” he said.
Speaking on the detention of former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayo Fayose, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged graft, Uzomah advised the anti-graft agency to confront the governor with their allegations against him and charge him to court “and allow the court to decide his fate.”
He also advised the new governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to use his experience “to ensure that he delivers the dividends of democracy to the masses. He should ensure the payment of salary arrears very soon.
“He should complete all the abandoned and uncompleted projects, even those ones Fayose and Segun Oni left behind, he should complete them. He should not say because Fayose never completed his own projects, he would now abandon his, he should complete all. In any case, if you complete an abandoned project of your predecessor you would have taken the glory and taken the shine off your predecessor who didn’t complete it.
“Also, now that he is back and as he has promised, he should consider the Igbo community in appointment because we are very critical stakeholders in Ekiti project,” the Ndigbo leader said.