Emmanuel Ukudolo l Friday, October 26, 2018
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – The Igbos by location situated majorly in South-eastern Nigeria but found in every state and all over the world are a respectable breed of people. Among them you found genius of every kind, scholars, entrepreneurs, scientists and artisans capable of transforming any nation into an industrial hub and a prosperous nation. Who knows, an Igbo Presidency, as some say might just be the magic wand, Nigeria needs to industrialise.
Amongm them is Professor Philip Emeagwali who was born on 23 August 1954 in Akure, Nigeria. “In 1974, based on a 1922 science fiction novel he read, Emeagwali worked on a theory about using 64,000 processors distributed around the world to forecast the weather, calling it a HyperBall network.
“His idea was rejected, but in the late 1980s, he was able to test his theory when the Los Alamos National Laboratory had access to 65,536 processors, and Emeagwali had permission to remotely program them. These computers were able to perform 3.1 billion calculations per second, and in 1989 he was making magazine cover stories about the capabilities of supercomputers. His HyperBall idea was given credibility”, there after, Wikepedia. He is not just the only Igbo making waves all over.
Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu is another genius from that part of the world. He was a brilliant Igbo Electrical Engineer and lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede. In 1997, he designed the Izuogu Z-600, the first African indigenous vehicle.
That car was described by the BBC as ‘ the African dream machine’ as 90% of its parts were sourced locally . “The car was equipped with a self made 1.8L four cylinder engine that got 18mpg and allowed the car to achieve a top speed of 140 km/h. Front Wheel Drive (FWD) was chosen over Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) because a transmission tunnel, which RWD would require, would be more expensive to fabricate.”http://scannewsnigeria.com/news/the-first-african-made-car-of-igbo-extraction/.
Dr. Leo Stanley Nnamdi Ekeh, an ICT guru who was awarded the Icon of Hope by then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on 1st of October 2002 is another from the region. https://www.entrepreneurn.com/profile/full-biography-of-leo-stan-ekeh/#ixzz5V1sggAAg, and Chief Innocent Chukwuma, of Innoson Motors, just to name a few of them. The ingenuity of the average Igboman is right there in the open for all to see in Aba and Onitsha, all in eastern Nigeria, where footwears and clothes that will rival the best in the world are made.
Notwithstanding this level of manpower, the region has had very few opportunities to call the shot at the highest level. The best they had was between 1960 -1966 and again 1979-1983.
The first to have the privilege was Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe(ZIK) who served as the Governor General of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966 when Nigeria became a republic and later Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme who became the first elected Vice-President of Nigeria, from 1979 to 1983, on the platform of the National People’s Party, with Alhaji Shehu Shagari as President.
Since then the narrative has been that of denial since the return of democracy. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo(Yoruba) ruled Nigerian from 1999-2007. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar(North, Fulani) was his Vice President. He handed over to Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua( Hausa North, Katsina). He ruled Nigeria from 1998-2010. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan(South-South, Bayelsa) was his Vice President. Goodluck Jonathan served as President from 2010-2015, all under the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).
The All Progressive Congress(APC) took over in 2015 with General Muhammadu Buhari(North, Hausa Fulani) as President. His Vice President is Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Consequently, from 1999 to 2018, a period of 19 years, there has been no mention of an Igbo Presidency or even vice in the political history of Nigeria. Their only crime seems to be the fear of Biafra, even as politicians of Igbo extraction continue to thinker with the idea of an Igbo Presidency. Notable among them was Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who has continued to toy with the idea after losing out in the APC primary in 2015.
At a South-East mega rally, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha said the only way to have an Igbo Presidency is to vote President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
“2019 will make or mar the chances of the South East zone in occupying the presidency in 2023. I call on South East sons and daughters to have a paradigm shift in 2019 and support Buhari’s re-election”, he said. He represented Buhari at the July 2018 event.
Just few months down the lane, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged as Presidential candidate of the PDP. His choice of Dr. Peter Obi(Anambra, Igbo South-east), an economist, noted for his prudent management of material and resource as running mate seemed to have changed the political dynamics, prompting analyst to suggest he has the best chance of getting block vote from the region in 2019.
But while the Igbos(South-east) were still contemplating whether to go for the APC in 2019 and wait for President Buhari( if he wins) to actualise his promise delivered through a proxy(Boss), which could be denied) or go for the real thing, Peter Obi, which has been stamped and sealed, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, dubbed as the most powerful person in office after President Buhari and indeed the de facto ‘Prime Minister’, delivered a deadly blow on the Igbos(South-east) when he said they have no chance of realising Igbo Presidency in 2023, even if they vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
Fashola, one of the most intelligent politician, a well read lawyer, who does not mince his words, said categorically at a special town hall meeting on infrastructure, organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency that the people of the South-West should vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general election to guarantee return of power to the region in 2023. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, were also at the town hall meeting with Fashola. Fashola, who spoke in Yoruba language: “Did you know that power is rotating to the South-West after the completion of Buhari’s tenure if you vote for him in 2019?
“Your child cannot surrender her waist for edifying beads and you will use the bead to decorate another child’s waist. A vote for Buhari in 2019, means a return of power to the South-West in 2023. I am sure you will vote wisely”, he told the gathering.
Fashola is yet to refute the story. Although he is known for bending backward especially when the tide is against him, could eat the humble pie and appologise, seeing that it could impact negatively on the fortune of President Buhari come 2019. But it seems the harm has been done, and his utterance has continued to receive condemnation from far and wide with many saying that Fashola only revealed what has been sealed by the APC.
Moreso, when his utterance seems to tally with what President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has said that the National Leader of the APC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu will do all it takes to ensure that Buhari wins in 2019 since he has presidential ambition in 2023.
“However, during those meetings, the point of disagreement between me and him was that while I expressed my worry that there was nothing on the ground to assure me that the administrative style and attitude would change in the next four years in a manner that would enable us to deliver the positive changes we promised to our people, he (Tinubu) expressed a strong opinion that he would rather ‘support a Buhari on the hospital stretcher’ to get a second term because in 2023, power will shift to the South-West.
“This Tinubu viewpoint was not only expressed to me but to several of my colleagues; so much for acting in national interest”, Saraki said. With these unfolding scenarios, it only seem to me that the masquerade has danced naked in the marketplace. All that is left is for the Igbos(South-east people) to use discernment during the 2019 general election.
NB: This article is a personal opinion and has nothing to do with the editorial slant of www.starconnectmedia.com
