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2023: Lobby For Presidential Slot Thickens
Barely 19 months to Nigeria’s high-stakes 2023 presidential elections, intense lobbying and permutations have heightened among political actors on who or which geo-political zone should produce the next president.
In “A Message to Nigerians,’’ released in Abuja on Sunday, elder statesman, Dr Nnamdi Onochie, wrote that the political class should “toe the path of reason above other considerations in their search for the man or woman to take over from incumbent President Muhammed Buhari’’.
Nigeria is scheduled to go to the polls in 2023 for another round of general elections, since the return of democratic rule in 1999.
He said that political parties should embrace consensus, equity, justice and fair play and give due attention to the demands of “relegated geo-political zones or ethnic nationalities that have not been given opportunity to produce a president over the years’’.
Onochie, a chieftain of the PDP, argued that it had become compelling for a politician of southern Nigeria extraction, especially from the Igbo-speaking areas to produce the president in 2023.
The former diplomat said that allegations of marginalization by Igbo-speaking people would continue to ring loud and promote national instability and disunity, unless their persistent demands were addressed.
Re-echoing the request made by southern governors last month for the south to produce the next president, Onochie said that equity, fair play and justice should serve as yardsticks in choosing the president of a heterogeneous and federal system as practiced in Nigeria.
He argued that the principle of fairness had made it compelling that the top job should be zoned to a Nigerian of Igbo extraction, whether from the Igbo heartland or from the Igbo-speaking communities in other states in the federation.
“As a leading member of the PDP in Delta State and now a PDP 2023 presidential aspirant, I began the defence of the Igbo stand on the 2023 presidency at Wadata Plaza in Abuja.
“I stood my ground that the 2019 presidential slot should be zoned to the North because it was their time. This makes it untenable for any politician from the North in the PDP to grandstand to run for the position in 2023.’’
The former diplomat said that he was delighted that PDP governors re-affirmed that position in their recent meeting on July 28 in Bauchi, recalling that the Yoruba, having also had a fair share of holding the top job should support the Igbo, to produce a presidential candidate in 2023.
Onochie also faulted arguments in some quarters that the 2023 presidency should go strictly to South East Igbos, pointing out that the position should be zoned to an Igbo-speaking person without dividing Igbo land as east or west.
“There are Igbos west and east of the River Niger and this cannot be disputed or denied,’’ he said, citing the heroic roles played by Asaba people in ensuring the survival of the Igbos, particularly the exploits of a renowned retired soldier, Col. Joe Achuzia and other indigenes of Igbo-speaking communities in Delta State during the Nigerian civil war.
“The imperfections of Nigeria today make it unacceptable, pitting millions of Igbos against each other and herding them into second-class citizens in Nigeria, where a new classification has Igbos as different from Ibos.
According to him, Chief Ralph Uwechie and Ochiaya Achuzia, a few years back served as president and secretary-general of the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, respectively with both hailing from Delta State “but in 2021 others who are Ibo from west of the Niger must now defer to the South East Igbo for the 2023 presidency.
“We are all Igbo and none is more Igbo than the other. Our resilience moving forward is to seek peace, cohesion and stability in Nigeria that must make this congenial transfer of political power in Nigeria realizable.
“Every Igbo person and indeed, all Nigerians, must seek a better Nigeria in which all citizens are equal and can prosper to be whatever they want to be.
“I am passionate that we can achieve this and I can provide that quintessential presidential leadership. We can accommodate every shade and creed of our diversity, to the glory of God,’’ said Onochie.
NAN
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CELEBRATING A CENTURY-OLD CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR TRAJECTORY IN NIGERIA
This week, millions of Nigerians and others across the globe will join the Ministry of Aviation and Space Development under the irrepressible leadership of the Honourable Minister, Festus Keyamo(SAN),and all the notable Aviation sector stakeholders in and outside the country,in celebrating a century of Nigeria’s civil aviation history.
There is no doubt that under the present leadership of the Honourable Minister and within the short spell of time in his stewardship,he has consciously and intentionally embarked on a “silent revolution” for the industry with very veritable and laudable landmarks that have consistently grown the industry.
Some of these spirited efforts for instance have consequently led to trust restoration amongst international lessors, financier,any global partners.Of note also is assidiously working for the full domestication and implementation of the “Cape Town Convention Agreement” ,which gives Airlines access to modern fleets of competitive rates as well as enforcement of IDERA(Irrevocable Deregulation and Export Request Authorization).
Having well applauded these vital contemporary initiatives,it will also be germane to cast our minds in retrospect by taking a peep into our history over several decades to recognise some of the notable forebears in the industry whose impressionabl efforts cannot be overlooked,as they took the impetuous initiatives of breaking the ice at the nascent stage.
It will aptly corroborate the truism which says that… ” a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step”.
The above is vividly captured from a tribute by the First Republic Minister of Aviation Chief Mbazulike Amaechi at the funeral of late Igwe of Oba,HRH Peter Ezenwa(MFR) in 2018.
It states inter alia…”One significant thing I will say many people didn’t know is that the first indigenous airline that was to run in Nigeria was known as “STANDARD AIRLINE”.It was founded in 1966 by a company formed by Igwe Peter Ezenwa from Oba,and had on board,John Nwankwu from Abagana,Edward Ebo from Ezinifitte,(all from Anambra state),John Anyaehie from Nkwerre in Imo state,and lastly my very self Mbazulike Amaechi.
The five of us later acquired two brand new aircrafts,and had four pilots,namely;Unachievable,John Emma Ngwu and Felix Offor,who was to be the General Manager of the airline.
But just about the time for the take-off the crisis of the military takeover erupted in the North as the planes were on their way for delivery to us.In fact the bank handling the transaction was to allow the planes to be flown from the USA,but the news of the war broke out in 1967,the insurance company cabled for the cancellation of the deal as they will not be able to cover the risk cost of aircrafts being flown into war zone.
So,we asked the manufacturers to take the two aircrafts back to their country and hold on for six months with the hope of that the war will end within the requested time frame,but the war didn’t end as thought.We consequently asked for refund and they deducted some money and refunded the balance which was deposited at the London branch of African Continental Bank(ACB).
When the government took over the operations of ACB,we still hoped for the refund but unfortunately were disappointed that the Federal government took over the whole money and we lost everything.”
Further in line with our historical perspective,it will also be pertinent some of the later years reformists in the likes of Engr Onyereri and Harold Demuren who advertently sponsored some far reaching regulations that eventually steered the industry towards greater autonomy with the passage of the 2005 Civil Aviation Act,which I was also a prime participant of in my capacity as an Aviation sub chair in then House of Representatives.
As we mark this great century milestone,and with the clear evidential pathway set out by the current managers of the industry under the indomitable leadership of Honourable Minister, I do not see the sky posing any limitations as they say,but rather availing new vistas of limitless growth opportunities.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Hon Chidi Nwogu
Former member House of Representatives & presently Governing Council member
,African Aviation and Aerospace University,Abuja.
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