…Says Jonathan free to seek second term
AWKA – FIRST civilian governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, insisted yesterday that Igbo nation must produce the president of Nigeria in 2015 in the interest of justice and equity.
Ezeife, who spoke at a workshop organised by Orient Communications Limited and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, said, however, that the Igbo presidency project would not pitch the South East against President Goodluck Jonathan if he eventually decided to vie, adding that Jonathan was free to seek for another term for the exalted office.
Ezeife said: “There are six pieces of meat on the table. There are six people on the table. Every person has taken a piece of meat, except one person and the meat remains one piece and the question is who takes it?
“We are talking of law of equity. We are talking of law of fairness in Nigeria. Every zone in Nigeria has supplied the Chief executive of this country except the South East, so in 2015, the zone should be allowed to take its own.
“Let us not destroy what has taken us years to build. The North is saying it wants it in 2015. Ndigbo are saying the same thing too. The incumbent President, they say, wants a second term. In all these, let justice prevail.
“We do not have any conflict with Jonathan. We are equally not going to fight him. He is also free to seek for second term. We will play only a game of cooperation and not a game of violence.
“But Igbo must be there. Jonathan should equally campaign if he wishes because the constitution made provision for that. Igbo people will not hound him, but the project is a must for Ndigbo.”
Though, the former vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, was present at the event, he failed to speak on the issue, stressing that the occasion was not a forum for politics but culture.
He commended the organizers of the event, hoping that it would help to bring back Igbo culture and values to life. Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Maja Umeh, disagreed with the insinuation that Ndigbo was not united.
According to him, the South East governors have done great things together in making sure that there is unity in the zone.
He added that it was the reason the governors in the zone were working out a way of restoring Igbo values and culture. Sponsor of the workshop, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, said if the people of the South East wanted to get to the Promised Land, they must eschew hatred and retaliation and embrace the spirit of rejoicing with one another.
His words: “We must not run people down in order to actualize our selfish interests. We must not tell the public lies as policy makers when we seem to be failing to live up to expectations. “It is left for us to start thinking of what to do to save the face of Ndigbo and it is left for us to critically think out pragmatic ways by which we can once again fulfill the dreams of our forefathers.”
National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Malam Mohammed Garuba said the only way to achieve the 2015 dream of Ndigbo was through unity, noting that he had found out that the people of the South East did not love themselves, citing examples with a situation where four people from the zone are fighting for the office of the national treasurer of the NUJ reserved for zone.
He appealed to the South East leaders to bring sanity to the zone by being in touch with one another in their own interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment