Obasanjo, Ekwueme and the Igbo vote 

By Okey Ikechukwu 

Perhaps, we should remind ourselves that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) was not set up to enthrone Dr. Alexander Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, or any other Igboman/woman for that matter, as President.  It was set up as a political party.  That makes it an association of persons with similar ideas on governance, who choose from within their ranks men and women to contest for public office.  One member, or a thousand members, may indicate interest in an elective office, but only one person will carry the party's banner.  Supporters of party members who are angling for nomination will naturally wish to have their man or woman nominated by the party.

It is, therefore, understandable that some ardent supporters of Dr. Ekwueme, especially the Igbos among them, are pained by Gen. Obasanjo's clear victory in the presidential primaries of the PDP.  They expected and wanted their man to win.  He did not.  Some of them assumed that Ekwueme's involvement with the G-34, a group of eminent patriots who practically challenged Sani Abacha to a wrestling match, would put him in good stead.  It did not, apparently.  There was also the presumption that Ekwueme's position as former Vice President of the Federation, his role in the formation of the PDP, his position in the party, as well as his academic pedigree would turn the table.  Nothing of the sort happened.  Which accounts for what sounds like the groans or unrequited love among some Igbo commentators: "After all that we have done for them, see how they are treating us".  It is also mostly among persons who mumble thus that you hear talk about an Igbo protest vote against Obasanjo.  With all due respects to such people and without prejudice to the grounds for their grouse, it must be said that they are standing clear thinking on its head.  Are they saying that the delegates to the PDP primaries had no right to choose anyone else, except Ekwueme?  Are they saying that the party elections were not free and fair, and transparently so?  The talk about the use of money falls on its face because the voting procedure allowed delegates to vote for whomsoever they wished, undetected.  If the elections were not rigged and the purpose of the primaries was to choose a presidential flagbearer, then it is reasonable to say that such a person has emerged.

There will always be power play within political parties.  A supposed "vengeance" vote against Obasanjo is hardly to be recommended.  Of all the zones, the South West sent the least number of delegates to the PDP primaries.  Obasanjo got nearly 70 per cent of the total votes cast and was, therefore, not a "Yoruba" candidate.  Most of the winning votes allegedly came from the northern delegates, which could then be interpreted to mean that the man was/is their candidate.  Still there is the question: why is the Igboman/woman complaining about losing in an unimpeachable democratic contest?  The battle-cry of a response is, "we are marginalized".  I beg your pardon: you tried but you lost.  You mean you did not see it coming?

Events of the last six years, more than any other thing, give enough pointers to the position of {Ndigbo,} decades after the civil war.  Negotiations and consultations leading up to the formation of Babangida's Interim National Government (ING) was begun and concluded without involving the core East in any way.  When it became clear that that nitwit of a government could not help Nigerians or help itself, arrangements were made for its burial ceremony.  Consultations, again, excluded the East.  Igbo men/women have held political office, but none of them has smelt power.  It is perhaps only Arthur Nzeribe and one or two other silent Igbo operators that have come very close to being in power.  Can Ofonagoro, Chukwumerije, Nwobodo, John Nwodo, Gen. Momah, Madueke, etc., facilitate things the way a Jubril Aminu, a Shehu Idris, or a Gidado Idris does for people?  

The on-going transition program is supposed to go in tandem with the reorientation of soldiers and the society at large.  The soldiers, we hear, have been organizing and doing their reorientation programme.  We also hear of sundry Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and fora organizing one thing or the other on how things should be "in a democracy".  But there is a National Orientation Agency (NOA).  That agency ought to be the busiest in the country today.  But the visibility and relevance it enjoys now come in the form of occasional advertisements on television.  These advertisements enjoy the merit of having no impact at all.  The NOA would most probably have been the only viable transition instrument of the sleeping regime of Gen. Abubakar today if it was headed by a "powerful Nigerian".  And, before the core East hurries off to cast its protest vote(s), let us not forget that the Igboman/woman of today is severely disadvantaged.  Power, military might and mind-blowing cash reserves have been cornered and secured by the Middle Belt and the North.  Mineral wealth is, strictly speaking, in the South-South, a region that now has its own Direct Line.  The bureaucracy and the advantage of good education reside with the Yoruba people.  The anti-Yoruba tone of some of the doings of the Abacha regime was severely frustrated by the legion of qualified Yorubas who could replace all displaced persons three times over.  And what does the core East have?  Distributive trade?  Is that something?  One decision from those in power and you are flat on your back.

There is coal in the core East alright.  There is even oil in Anambra State.  But that huge oil deposit is not going to be exploited.  The reason is that the Federal Government has put it under National Reserves: Meaning that nobody would touch it until all the other wells run dry in, say, 100-500 years' time.  That decision of the Federal Government was made by those in power, the way they make other decisions that have led to the ruin of the Niger Delta.  Thus, while Anambra State has oil that could give it wealth, it has no voice in power.  The PDP governor-elect in the state recently called for a reclassification of the oil deposit, so that it can be exploited; but he was only speaking on television.  Dr. Alex Ekwueme has demonstrated great maturity by standing solidly behind Gen. Obasanjo, his party man.  It is the party and its programs they want to win, not themselves.  That is party loyalty and the true spirit of democracy.  There is no denying the fact that the less-than-elegant enthusiasm of some of Ekwueme's Igbo supporters worked against the man.  To now carry that enthusiasm to the point of self-immolation is to stretch the limits of rational discontent.  Protest votes and sojourn in the political wilderness is political illiteracy.  Stand up, work with structures, fight for relevance in several ways.  Power, not office, please.  Today, the Igboman/woman is not in power and he is not trusted by the North.  The question on the lips of {Ndigbo} is, "What have we done"?  {Nke a bu nke bu ezi okwu} (This is the plain truth)!

As for Gen. Obasanjo, this is the time for him to do {his own will} in power.  He cannot heal the wounds of the nation if he condones existing inequities and allows the international community to continue to hold us in contempt.  All said, the man is truly behaving more like a politician: laughs easily, lacks the alienating rigid bearing of a Buhari, and generally rumbles with the crowd.  A lot has gone wrong in the land.  One of the things that went wrong was the unjust conviction of the same Obasanjo for alleged coup-plotting.  He should not become President in order to 'deal' with his "enemies".  Barring any surprises from the barracks, Gen. Obasanjo should show us what it means to be a quintessential statesman, {when} (not if) he is elected.  He has no real opponent now.  

Okechukwu, a doctor of philosophy, is a Lagos-based policy analyst and writer for The Guardian newspaper of Lagos, Nigeria.   
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Obasanjo the orijin of nigeria's problem and current situation

hyfr,

i will start generating IGR from guys reserving space on my post.

MayorofLagos:
hyfr,

i will start generating IGR from guys reserving space on my post.

lol make I modify abeg

Your obsession with the word Igbo's are appalling.what is your problem?.tell us about lagos and Yoruba and leave Igbo alone.thanks