Presidency 2023: Group calls for support to South-East aspirants
A pro- Igbo group, Ndigbo Royal Heritage (NIROH) Worldwide, has urged other geopolitical zones in Southern Nigeria to support the South East to produce Nigeria’s President in 2023, in the spirit of equity and justice.
President General, NIROH Worldwide, Dr Paul Okoye, who appealed to Umuahia, Abia State, while delivering a keynote address during the 2023 Igbo Political Conference organised by the organisation, said, “it is only natural that 2023 is the turn of the Igbo to produce Nigeria’s President”.
He argued that other geopolitical zones in the South except the South East had produced the President; hence, equity demands that South-East should be supported to take a shot at the Presidency to come 2023.
“Obasanjo gave the West their share. Good luck gave the South-South their share. Buhari is serving the share of the North, so it is only natural that 2023 is ours.”
He, however, cautioned that the dream might not be realised if Ndigbo failed to work in unity and form an alliance with other regions in the country, submitting that ” power is not given but fought for”.
“The sad story is that Igbo may stand to lose 2023 if they fail to understand that they cannot get power on a platter of gold.
“We are not oblivious of the fact that only a president of Igbo extraction can take us to Aso Rock and not an Igbo president. We fought war out of sentiment and failed to accept that President cannot be gotten by sentiment or deceit.
“The North is static while the West and the East are dynamic. Whoever aligns with the North rules the country. We did it before, and we can do it again suffice it to say that we have the West to checkmate in our drive to Aso Rock.”
He called on the Igbo to drop the blame game syndrome as it creates an impediment to their dream of producing President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in 2023.
Presenting a paper at the conference as a Guest Speaker, Rocks Okezie Eze, a Professor of Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology, said Igbo needed the support of other regions to get to Aso Rock in 2023.
He called on the Igbo to shun divisive tendencies and work hard to present their best feet forward instead of fighting whether a suitable candidate can come from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu or Imo. Ndigbo Royal Heritage was founded by Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, erstwhile leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra.
NIROH was established to redeem the Igbo people of South-East Nigeria, whose leadership is bequeathed on individuals nominated through the ancient leadership structure of Igbo located at Nri, the ancestral headquarters of the Igbo. NIROH maintains a presence in most capitals of the world and is in every state in Nigeria.
NAN/Suzan O.
