South East politicians are pressing President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to pick Ogbonnaya Onu as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to woo the zone into the column of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In turn, Buhari has kind words for Onu, recalling how the man stayed by him after his release from detention in the 1980s when everyone else deserted him.
No juicy post left for South East
The APC has no single lawmaker in the National Assembly from the South East, which would have qualified the zone for the Senate presidency or House of Representatives speakership.
Onu is a former Governor of Old Abia State, former lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), and former National Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
Okorocha presents Onu
The South East caucus of the APC presented him to Buhari as their preferred candidate for SGF at a meeting with Buhari in Abuja on Thursday, April 30.
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, the caucus Chairman, said the caucus also unanimously agreed that Onu should be recognised as the leader of the party in the South East.
“We know that we have lost out for the position of the Senate presidency because we did not have a ranking senator returned to the National Assembly.
“We, however, appeal and we believe that you will be generous enough to consider the South East region to be considered for the position of the SGF,” he told Buhari.
Okorocha, who is the Chairman of the caucus, added that Buhari’s victory has helped them to escape being forced into exile.
“We (South East APC) are more victorious than you are on your victory at the presidential election. Many of us would have gone on exile if you had lost.
“We could not deliver the South East to you but we cut down the damage, the 7.2 million votes the PDP had projected to get from the South East.
“Nigeria is more united now. Division in the country has been reduced due to Buhari’s victory.”
Buhari thanks South East
Buhari thanked the caucus for cutting down the votes for the PDP in the zone and promised that his government would not discriminate against anyone regardless of tribe and religion.
A shrewd political tactician, Onu hardly makes public appearances like other politicians but one can never deny him his pride of place in the success story of the APC.
Though his kinsmen refused to harken to his wise counsel that they should not put all their eggs in one unsafe basket in the general election, his close associates said even the little electoral gain the party made in the South East came from his deft political moves.
He reportedly got several groups of Ndigbo at home and in the diaspora to team up with Buhari during the election.
Onu, man after Buhari’s heart
Buhari had shown Onu’s kinsmen a few days before the meeting in Abuja that he is a man after his heart.
Buhari demonstrated this when the leaders of Igbo Delegates Assembly (IDA), an umbrella group of Ndigbo in the 19 Northern states and Abuja, visited him on Tuesday, April 28.
His words: “I thank you very much for organising yourselves to come and congratulate me. The way you articulated your address shows that you made a very shrewd political decision by coming to meet me before I went to the polls.
“You organised yourselves, you declared your political support for me. You may not have been very successful in convincing your brothers across the Niger but now you have been proved right.
“You made very shrewd political decision and appreciation, I congratulate you for that.
“I appreciate what Ogbonnaya Onu had done in trying to convince you, having known me for so long. I have just addressed another group which Ogbonnaya Onu led, very quietly, in his usual ways.
“The relationship between me and him is so personal because the first time he contacted me was when people did not want to contact me. It was after I went home from detention as former military Head of State.
“He was then a governor of Abia State. He was sending people to as far away as Daura, to go and greet me.
“The relationship was very original because there was no politics then. So I am trying to share with you that what he did in trying to convince you to come and support me is not just because you are in the Northern states but as Nigerians.
“It is due to the very articulate foresight that God has given him. I didn’t know what he saw in me that when other people were running away from me when I came out of detention he was coming closer to me. It is amazing.
“Politically we have been together but he is more consistent than myself. He went into APP (All Peoples Party) which later became ANPP. He remained there until when we formed the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“I was the one who shifted from ANPP. Later I moved to the CPC (Congress of Progressive Change) and now the APC. You can see that, politically, he is more consistent than myself.
“So, this will show you how close we have been and how much I respect him for his foresight and steadfastness and for his effectiveness. And I remain grateful to him for sticking to me even when we were in different parties.
“When we wanted to come together for merger, him being the Chairman of the ANPP, and me as one of the leaders of the CPC, I had no problem with him because I knew he would try to understand what is best for Nigeria and work for it. This is what we did that brought us where we are now. So, I thank you very much.
“And you must, as a group, express these thanks from me to him so that he will know how much I appreciate him.”
Igbo group praises Onu
IDA President General, Damian Inyama, also praised Onu for his foresight, saying “it is the first time in our political history when the yearnings of our people translates into reality, as the votes counted in a most transparent manner, in [Buhari’s] favour.”
Inyama recalled that IDA had pledged support to Buhari and the APC at a meeting him and other leaders of the APC held in Abuja on March 20.
“We openly worked for your success and the success of the APC, in accordance with our promise. We are glad that our votes were visible and counted.
“It is pertinent to note that we voted for the PDP in 2011, believing that the party would keep its election promises. But Ndigbo were used as cannon fodders
“We would have made the same mistake but for the dogged insistence of our brother and leader, Ogbonnaya Onu. Immediately you won the presidential primary of the APC, [he] continued to hold meetings with our group and convinced us beyond reasonable doubt of your suitability.
“We thank God for using him to make us take the right decision. At least [some] Igbo put their eggs in other good basket.
“You have held many leadership positions in our country, Mr president-elect. You were a state governor, minister of petroleum, head of state and chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). In these assignments, you distinguished yourself as a responsible, fair and firm leader.
“You abhor tribalism before you love Nigeria and Nigerians. We feel bold to tell you that Ndigbo in the East appreciate you. They also yearn for a change.
“Many voted for you. Please carry them along and prove to them that we in the North were not wrong when we told them that you treat our people the same way you treat the people of Katsina State.
“We heartily congratulate you for your victory. We are indeed happy to be part of this history. May God Almighty who made this victory possible guide, protect and strengthen you.”
