The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has said the
South-East has the right to produce Nigeria’s next president because the region
has a better understanding of the country.
Ikpeazu said this while addressing State House
correspondents after a visit to the President, Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja on Thursday.
“I think that the southeasterners have a right to take a
shot at the presidency of Nigeria and I dare say that our qualification starts
from the fact that we understand and know Nigeria better than the other regions
of Nigeria.
“I dare say, this is my opinion. We go everywhere, we are
everywhere, we invest everywhere, we are Pan-Nigerian people,” he said.
“Today, a lot of people are afraid of Sambisa, but for an
Igbo man, Sambisa is a business opportunity,” he added.
Ikpeazu said the next president of Nigerian must have a
Pan-Nigerian mentality with understanding of all the contending interests and
influences in the country.
“The question of Nigerian president of southeast extraction
is a national question that required negotiation, discussion and conversation
with all parts of this country and I am least qualified to determine what
happens in 2023.
“I also want to spend my time supporting the incumbent
president to do his time and do his best while we wait for what will begin to
unfold. So, these are my views about the presidency.
“In the first place, anybody who wants to aspire to the
highest post of the presidency must have what I regard as Pan-Nigerian
mentality. He must be somebody who has an understanding of all the contending
interests and influences in this country. He must understand that we are a
country of diversity with the different persuasions, traditions, cultures and
religions. All of these must be put in a place where you can understand and
respect them.
“That individual must also be somebody who is ready to
accommodate the youths of this country without necessarily throwing away the
experienced ones, he must be able to find a labyrinth of all the interests.
“He must also reflect an extreme women agenda. He must be
investor-friendly and an individual who understands the nuances of economics,
the relationship between international politics and economy. The person must be
strong enough to face up to the issue on the front burner, which is security.
“He must be able to create jobs, he must be able to not
deploy the kinetic device all the time, he must able to also listen and
negotiate peace.
“I’m a Christian and
my religion believes that if you seek peace you will find it. So, that which
you seek is not commonplace. We must be able to dredge up courage to listen to
one another and then find a middle course all the time for the interest of our
people.
“The political parties need to be sensitive to the feelings
of the various contending ground because politics should not be a winners take
all thing.
“It’s not at all times that you want to use your might, at
times you listen even to those whom you think are weak or those whom you think
may not be able to find themselves at the centre stage due to circumstances.
“Because if you don’t do that, you will bottle up sentiments
that will implode the system going forward. So, you must be able to create
ventilations from here and there so that you can accommodate diverse opinions
and have strategies to help you run the country.
“So, all the political parties should be alive to this
sentiments and feelings in taking decisions going forward. We are at a critical
point in our history. Anything that is self-serving, anything that is selfish,
anything that leads to winner takes all mentality should be jettisoned at this
time. We need to rescue our nation; we need to work hard to put Nigeria on a
strong footing before we can begin to look at other things.
“So, if we have this at the back of our minds, my thinking
is that we will arrive at the fact that there is a geo-political zone that has
been clamoring and yearning for an opportunity to lead.
“And we should be gracious and magnanimous enough to give
consideration to such yearnings and aspiration.
“But as I said earlier it cannot not be done in isolation.
It’s not a matter of ‘I have to.’ It’s a matter of negotiation, conversation
and discussion going forward.
“And I think Nigeria is alive to all of that. We can find
people who listen,” the Governor said.
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