Dear Comrades,
2023: Southeast Presidency Is The Noble Agenda
I am not unaware that some of you are worried over my decision to advocate for a credible man from the Southeast geopolitical zone to emerge as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
I am also not unaware that some of you, my comrades, still hold the conviction that His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria, who we all supported for the office of the Nigeria President during the 2019 general election, still hold the magic wand to win the 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria.
Although, I also share in the view that the Wazirin Adamawa possesses the charisma, leadership qualities and political will to make Nigeria great, it is unfortunate that the issues of 2023 Presidential election are about Equity, Justice, Fairness.
You may recall that since the Fourth Republic in 1999, Nigeria has been practicing an unwritten rotational arrangement between Northern and Southern Nigeria. The South, through Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba man of Southwest geopolitical zone, presided over the affairs of Nigeria for 8 years between 1999 and 2007. Penultimate to the conclusion of Chief Obasanjo’s last days in office, the entire country elected Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua, a Fulani man from the North as his successor for a tenure of four years that could be renewed the second time after the expiration of the 4-year term; unfortunately, Alhaji Yar’adua demised three years into his first term.
Upon his demise, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, a native of South South zone and the deputy of Umaru Yar’adua, was subsequently elevated to the position of President, and he held the position for a period of five years. Although Dr Jonathan sought reelection in 2015, his bid was rejected by Nigerian electorates due to the consensus among the populace that the North should be allowed to produce a candidate for the office instead.
The collective decision of Nigerian electorates led to the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, was declared winner of the Presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and his victory affirmed by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court – even though field results pointed to the victory of our amiable principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON).
By the year 2023 when President Buhari will conclude his Presidential tenures of 8 years, it is expected that power returns to the South in line with the spirit of the unwritten rotational arrangement; and the Southeast, being a marginalised zone and the only geopolitical zone in the southern region that is yet to produce the President of Nigeria, is naturally expected to produce the successor of President Buhari.
It is unfortunate that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, although loved by many, is not a native of the Southeast, neither did he hail from any part of the Southern region. It will amount to gross injustice, unfairness and inequity for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or any other Northerner to be supported to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, their own kinsman.
It is based on this fact that I, alongside other well meaning Nigerians, are advocating for a credible aspirant of Southeast extraction to emerge as the President of Nigeria and succeed President Buhari in 2023.
May I add that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is a well respected elder statesman in every right. However, he can write his name in gold as the father of modern Nigeria by joining the advocacy for Southeast 2023 project. He has the political goodwill and financial might to help the Southeast and other well-meaning Nigerians to actualise this noble cause.
Furthermore, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar can endorse Mr. Peter Obi, the immediate past governor of Anambra state and his running mate during the 2019 poll, to run for the office of the President of Nigeria in 2023 and actualize their blueprint for Nigeria.
Finally, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has always displayed leadership and sacrifices for better Nigeria. He should see 2023 as a noble task for the actualisation of the Southeast PRESIDENCY. This task when actualized, would provide the platform to address all the various agitations and injustice in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
May Nigeria flourish in our lifetime.
Sign:
Mazi Dickson Nnamdi-Iroegbu (DGN)
For Southeast Presidency Project 2023.
