An Abuja-based lawyer and human rights activist, Deji
Adeyanju, on Wednesday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the
All Progressives Congress, APC, to zone its presidential ticket to the
southeast.
Adeyanju said Igbos have business acumen they can use to
repair Nigeria’s damaged economy and continue the path of restoration that
Buhari has started.
The convener of Concerned Nigerians said the country could
not heal if the southeast is denied the right to produce a president.
In an open letter to Buhari, Adeyanju said Buhari should not
allow Yorubas to produce Nigeria’s next President.
According to Adeyanju, it would amount to injustice if the
Yoruba nation produce Nigeria’s next President.
Adeyanju said: “As a preliminary point, please accept my
commendation over your leadership role in the recently concluded All
Progressives Congress (APC) primaries. Considering the almost Siamese
relationship between political parties and governance in the country, it was a
huge relief to note that the two leading political parties successfully
conducted their respective conventions and elected national officers without
crisis.
“As you may be aware, the Independent National Electoral
Commission recently released the timetable for electioneering activities
towards the 2023 general elections. By the said timetable, all political
parties would have picked their presidential candidate not later than 2nd June
2022. Sequel to the above, it is common knowledge that the APC has zoned its
presidential candidacy to Southern Nigeria.
“However, I am using this medium to urge you to leverage on
your influence in the party towards zoning the office of the President to a
candidate from the Igbo Tribe of Nigeria, whether from the Southeast or
South-South of the Nation. I am sure that your highly successful template of
electing a consensus APC party chairman can be deployed towards electing a
consensus APC presidential candidate of Igbo extraction.
“There are numerous reasons why a presidential candidate from
that part of the country is most ideal at this time of the nation’s
development. Since General Aguiyi Ironsi’s unfortunate demise in 1966, no
person of South-Eastern extraction has governed Nigeria. Sadly, this undeniable
and systematic exclusion has created a largely subconscious and increasingly
permanent feeling of disenchantment amongst the Igbos. In a country where tribe
and ethnicity continue to play important role in our daily affairs, it is
inexcusable that the Igbos have been denied a shot at the highest office in the
land for so long. Additionally, picking a presidential candidate from the South
East will go a long way to disabuse the mind of the citizens on the anti-Igbo
perception currently being associated with your name. It can therefore be said
that President Buhari did what any of his forebears failed to do!
“Furthermore, the Igbos are known for their business acumen.
An Igbo presidential candidate will be able to repair our badly damaged economy
and continue the path of restoration that you have started. In addition to the
foregoing, our country needs national healing. We cannot heal our fault lines
if we continue to deny one region the right to produce a president. Since 1999,
the Yorubas have occupied the office of the President and vice president for 15
years.
“They have also been Speaker of the House of Representatives
for 8 years. It will, therefore, amount to a great injustice for a Yoruba
candidate to succeed you in office and stay for another 8 years. Indeed, if a
Yoruba person were to succeed you in office, that would mean they would have
been President for a period even more than entire northern Nigeria since our
return to democratic government.
“I understand that a lot of pressure is being mounted on
you, at this time, to pick political convenience over national unity. However,
I am optimistic that you will use this opportunity to repair your legacy and
retire as a respected elder statesman.”
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