Yerima Shettima, the president of Arewa Youth Consultative
Forum, AYCF, has advised the Southeast to look beyond 2023 because it might be
too late to produce the next Nigerian president.
Shettima stated this in an interview with Daily Post while
reacting to the statement credited to former Anambra State Governor,
Chukwuemeka Ezeife on 2023 presidency.
Ezeife had said the Southeast was ready to kneel and beg
other regions to support the 2023 presidential ambition of the Southeast.
But Shettima said begging won’t be enough at this injury
time because Ezeife has been anti-North for the past 20 years.
The AYCF National President noted that the Southeast must
start engaging other regions of the country beyond the 2023 election to stand a
chance.
Shettima said: “It’s not enough at this injury time, after
he has spent years being anti-North. Ezeife that I know for about 20 years has
been anti-North, recently he turned out to be anti-Nigeria, anti-Buhari, and
about one year to the election, he now somersaulted and became a repentant
person, nobody is a fool. Moreover, he is not alone in all of these.
“Some of their utterances do not in any way promote national
unity. Now if the likes of him suddenly somersaulted and say even if it takes
them to kneel down, they would. We all know that this kneeling down is not the
same kneeling down we all know; we are not fools.
“We don’t have a problem with an Igbo man becoming a
president but they should do the needful and not under these circumstances of
abuses, threats, and intimidations.
“For me, kneeling
down would not be enough, they need to heal the injury and go through the
processes, so that it would serve as a deterrent to other Nigerians that you
can’t eat your cake and have it, it’s not done anywhere.
“When the Southeast were busy abusing the sensibility of
Nigerian while believing that they have one of theirs who will use his
primitive attitude of intimidation to get their way, they should have realized
that it won’t take them anywhere. The attitude of this so-called hero under
detention (Nnamdi Kanu) is a clear indication that they are not very much
enlightened and exposed. I expect them to be more exposed not to allow such a
person to speak on their behalf believing that he is a champion that can give
them the presidency on the platter of gold.
“For me, it’s a good thing that the likes of them have
decided to realize that intimidation, blackmail, and harassment can’t give them
the Presidency, so they should continue doing and sustaining the tempo by
pleading with Nigerians to forgive them for their utterances and abuse of our
sensibility as a people. They should retract all the mess they have done to
this country, so that at the end of the day; we can have a common front.
“The Southeast are also Nigerians but they must understand
that politics is about understanding, negotiating; but not by intimidation in a
very primitive form by this their so-called champion who talks and barks like a
dog.
“Knowing that he can’t help them achieve the presidency,
some of them are saying they are ready to beg; but we are not saying they
should kneel and beg, but do the needful by reaching out, engage people so as
to build trust and confidence in people.
“All the Southeast need now is confidence building, they
should go across board and convince Nigerians that they are prepared. 2023
might be too late for them to do anything, maybe; they should look at the
future which is the truth of the matter.
“And in the future, they should not allow somebody with bad
attitude to come out and speak for them. That primitive attitude does not sell
anymore, violence does not sell anybody anymore. We should be more mature and
civil in our approaches so that we can build a country of our dreams where we
can all be proud. Nobody wants the country to break and if we all understand
this, it will be better for us than going separately.”
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