Okupe said to Ohanaeze: “At the risk of being accused of bias , I dare say that the southeast leaders must choose an aspirant from the PDP.“
Doyin Okupe, a former presidential aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has advised leaders of the Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo to take a stand on who it is backing for the presidency in 2023.
In an open letter addressed to Ohanaeze and leaders of thoughts of Igbo, Okupe said they should prevail on all the contestants across all the political parties from the South East to step down for it’s preferred candidate.
Okupe letter reads
Many Nigerians including my humble self are sold on the idea that the Presidency of Nigeria be zoned to the south east in 2023.
For the political leadership in Eastern Nigeria, the fact that there are two major political parties in Nigeria must pose a problem for the leadership. Making it rather difficult to come out and prevail on the Presidential aspirants of Igbo extraction,in both parties to step down for the best and most nationally accepted amongst them.
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Yet without this singular action and step, the Igbo Presidency will remain a political mirage and a pipe dream, God forbid.
Fellow Nigerians who stand on fairness, equity and justice in the rotation of leadership in Nigeria will take the South East serious ONLY if it can achieve this feat, of presenting a single consensus candidate from the array of qualified and eminent aspirants currently on the field in both parties, within the shortest possible time, possibly before the end of April, since the Presidential primaries come up from the end of May 2022.
At the risk of being accused of bias, I dare say that the southeast leaders must choose an aspirant from the PDP. This is the only politically fertile ground where the igbos have sown seeds of political support for more than 20years. If the Igbos try to cast their net in the ocean of APC, it will be an attempt to reap where they have not sown and the chances of achieving an electoral victory at the primaries will be very remote.
Knowing how difficult it is for politicians to submit to reason in attempts to achieve consensus and taking into consideration the universally acknowledged republican and independent nature of an average igbo man, Ohaneze and the Igbo leadership should not be too optimistic on the possibility of achieving full consensus. Under that situation, the leadership must confidently announce their decision publicly and be seen to stand by it. With this 80 to 85% of southeast voters will follow the leadership.
After achieving this, then the leadership of the southeast, political, traditional, religious, business, intelligentsia and other well recognized institutions in the South East must move around the country swiftly and canvas, negotiate, allay fears of people in various nationalities, and make pledges and promises that will make it easy to rally national support for the chosen candidate.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not qualified to teach the igbo nation what to do, but as a principal stakeholder in the Nigerian project, who has worked closely with Nigerian leaders and institutionalized national stakeholders to install three past presidents, and also as one who is sympathetic and committed to Igbo Presidency in 2023, I feel compelled to express these opinions publicly not just for the attention of the leaders of the south east but also to assist to bring to bear on the good conscience of other nationalities and men and women of good will in the country, that Nigeria must prepare for an IGBO PRESIDENT in 2023. This is to foster true unity and peaceful coexistence and accomplish equity and justice in our polity.
Dr Doyin Okupe.
